Saturday, May 23, 2015

Wanted: One Go-To Running Back


The key for Ole Miss on offense will be whether the running game will get significantly better so that whichever quarterback wins the starting job will have a fighting chance in the pocket. Too often last fall, Bo Wallace was the victim of overbearing defenses. With the running back not working defenses would pin their ears back and Wallace had no time. A solid running game puts a stop to that. It's called balance, and that's what the Rebels need if they're going to knock off the likes of Auburn and Alabama in 2015. 

If there's one thing I'd like to see happen for Ole Miss, it's for Hugh Freeze to  finally find a running back who is head shoulders above everybody else. I'm sure he'd like that, too! Having a go-to guy in the backfield would be a good sign. Likewise, scattering the carries across four different running backs is a sign that none of them have separated himself from the group. That's what happened last year, and it didn't work. 

“We have to improve,” Freeze said. “Does that mean someone gets 20 carries? I try to always look at the unit as corporately instead of individually until a guy is really deserving of that many.”

Of course, it goes without saying that the offensive line will be a deciding factor in all of this.