Running Backs to Watch in the SEC in 2024

© Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports

The Southeastern Conference will have some talented running backs toting the rock north and south on gridirons from Norman, Oklahoma to Columbia, South Carolina, and all points in between. Here are just a few of the SEC teams with running backs to watch on Saturdays this fall.

SEC Running Backs

LSU Tigers

The Tigers’ running game will be much different than that of last year. With 2023 leading rusher and Heisman winner Jayden Daniels off to the NFL, the bulk of the carries will fall on the broad and capable shoulders of sixth-year veteran Josh Williams and talented sophomore Kaleb Jackson.

Josh Williams

Williams a graduate student with an MBA, rushed for 284 yards and five touchdowns a season ago.

Kaleb Jackson

Jackson, at 6-foot and 225 lbs., is a human steamroller who rushed for 165 yards and four touchdowns last season, and is tough to bring down. Mississippi State found out just how tough it is to tackle Jackson.

Texas A&M Aggies

The Aggies, under new head coach Mike Elko, will have a three-headed monster at running back. This trio combined for 14 rushing touchdowns last season.

Amari Daniels

Daniels led the team in rushing with 532 yards and six TDs in 2023.

Le’Veon Moss

Moss piled up 484 yards and five scores.

Rueben Owens

Owens turned in 385 yards and three touchdowns last season.

Texas A&M will have a ton of talent at the offensive skill positions for new Offensive Coordinator Collin Klein.

Mississippi State Bulldogs

The Bulldogs have suffered through attrition, losing their all-time leading passer to the transfer portal, and losing Head Coach Zach Arnett to a pink slip, and that is just since December. However, Mississippi State does return their leading returning rusher.

Seth Davis

Davis gained 356 yards and a score in 2023.

And, with the hiring of Jeff Lebby as the new head man in Starkville, the Cowbells will have a few reasons to ring loud and proud for the maroon and white.

Missouri Tigers

Mizzou lost stud running back Cody Schrader but gained a talented replacement via the transfer portal.

Marcus Carroll

Carroll is a transfer from Georgia State and rushed for 1,350 yards and 13 touchdowns last year, and recorded seven games of over 100 yards rushing. In a loss to Georgia Southern, Carroll rushed for a season-high 208 yards.

Arkansas Razorbacks

The Razorbacks lost veteran running back Rocket Sanders to the transfer portal (to South Carolina) and Head Coach Sam Pittman looked in the portal to find a talented replacement.

Ja’Quinden Jackson

Jackson transfers in from Utah. Jackson rushed for 797 yards and four touchdowns a season ago. As a high school quarterback, Jackson was a 4-star prospect and the No. 2 overall prospect in Texas and was ranked No. 28 on the ESPN300.

Texas Longhorns

Fresh off an appearance in the 2023 College Football Playoff, all eyes will be on Texas in 2024 as they transition from the Big 12 to the SEC. Texas’s offense will be loaded with talent, including at running back.

CJ Baxter 

Baxter is the leading returning rusher gained 659 yards and five touchdowns in 2023, including a season-high 117 yards in a win over Iowa State as a true freshman.

Auburn Tigers

Auburn fans will have something to cheer about in 2024. Payton Thorne returns at quarterback, and a veteran running back returns for his fourth season on The Plains.

Jarquez Hunter 

Hunter rushed for 909 yards and seven TDs a season ago, and now has 2,172 yards, 17 touchdowns, and a six yards per carry average in his collegiate career.

Ole Miss Rebels

The Rebels lost their most productive running back over the last two seasons, Quinshon Judkins, to the Ohio State Buckeyes via that pesky transfer portal. But fear not, Lane Kiffin was the King of the Portal in the offseason, as he found talented players on both sides of the ball.

Logan Diggs

Diggs transfers in from conference rival LSU to help fill the massive void left by the Judkins’ departure to the Big Ten. Diggs rushed for 653 yards and seven scores a season ago.

These SEC running backs to watch will have fans standing and cheering on Saturdays across the country. August cannot get here fast enough.