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When Ole Miss Football Resumes: The Running Backs
When Ole Miss Football Resumes: The Running Backs
When describing the players who will take charge of the Ole miss running back room now that senior Scottie Phillips has graduated and hoping for a career in the NFL, many things come to mind.
Talented. . . .
Young. . . .
Versatile. . . .
Deep. . . .
Not a bad start for any position on any team.
The two top returning producers from last year – sophomores Jerrion Ealy and Snoop Conner – anchor new RB Coach Kevin Smith’s troops.
Ealy, a speedster who showed surprising toughness and ability to play physical despite his 5-9, 180-pound frame, proved he could do it all in leading the running backs in rushing with 722 yards on just 104 carries goof for 6 touchdowns and a team high 6.9 yards per carry. He was also second on the team in receptions with 20 for 172 yards and 1 score.
Jerrion, from the first day of practice, showed a maturity beyond his years and that his five-star recruiting ranking was justified. His speed coupled with his ability to get past the first level of defenders with vision, instincts, elusiveness and even at times, when needed, initial power were all big parts of his arsenal.
Conner – at 5-10, 215 pounds with arms like a blacksmith – amassed 518 yards on just 81 carries good for 5 TDs and a 6.3 YPC average. He also caught 6 passes for 60 yards.
Power and a knack to find the opening that all quality backs have are his main calling cards, but as was illustrated in his long carry of 84 yards, Snoop has deceptive speed.
Even though the top two are still young, they have the 1-2 punch envied by a lot of teams and reminiscent of the Bamas, Georgias and LSUs of the running game world. Yes, that’s a big statement, but the talent of Ealy and Conner is proven and should be unquestioned.
Juniors Tylan Knight, who will play some RB and some Slot but was meeting in the running back room prior to the shutdown of school, and Isaiah Woullard are solid players and give the Rebs reliable depth. Knight has terrific hands out of the backfield and is crafty and elusive enough to give them Rebs a burst and Woullard got lost in the shuffle a year ago with the emergence of Ealy and Connor, but when Phillips got hurt the year prior, Isaiah filled in admirably. He needs to work on his receiving skills, but QB protection and running the ball are areas he’s shown to be capable.
In prior position articles, we’ve avoided getting in deep with incoming freshmen, but the Rebs were able to sign a pair of RBs who have drawn good reviews – four-star Henry Parrish out of Miami, FL, who is said to be in the same speed ballpark as Ealy, and Kentrel Bullock from Columbia, MS, who our own David Johnson called the sleeper of the recent signing class.
Parrish, at 5-10, 183, has a similar build and M.O as Ealy, relying mostly on elusiveness to get the job done but possessing more qualities in his game as well. Bullock is a little bit bigger at 5-10, 195 with all-around qualities and versatility that made him a quality signee from Mississippi.
As you can readily see, the running back room is something to be excited about when Ole Miss football resumes.
SOURCE: Rounsaville, Chuck. "When Ole Miss Football Resumes: The Running Backs." OMSpirit - 247Sports.com, 24 April 2020,
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