Mississippi.... Running back... Mississippi Running Backs. Those words go together like peanut butter and women. This state has produced some of the greatest running backs of all time. And most importantly, I can't remember a season where State had a horrible running back. Sure, we've had some really bad offensive lines thus scathing the running game as a whole, but go back. Try to find the last running back that had no business starting for MSU.
Forever, it seems, Michael Davis was regarded as THE guy when you thought about MSU history and their running game. But the guy by his side was Kevin Bouie. When these two were in the maroon and white, they accumulated over 4,000 yards. Bouie, of course, was only a two year player but was able to rack up 1400 yards. Davis, a Morton native, still stands fourth all-time in MSU annuals for rushing.
Another great duo (at least for a season for sure), were Dicenzo Miller and Dontae Walker. And before you start with, "Dontae ain't no good! He too big to run!". Remember that when he got to State he was a parade all-american and before things went downhill the guy could flat out play. If you need be reminded then here............
Dontae Walker runs for 60, Wayne Madkin scores (via sfslickdawg)
Yeah... THAT Dontae Walker. Walker was flat out bad in his last season I understand but let's focus on the more important point. During the 2000 season, Walker and Miller combined for nearly 1,800 yards. It still stands as the single greatest two man rushing attack in State history for a season.
Now here's my question to the loyal readers of FWTCT.... How will this group of running backs stack up against Miller/Walker, Bouie/Davis, and heck Dixon/Ducre/Stallworth.
With this group of running backs comes a lot of explosiveness. And in my extremely humble opinion, State has never had four SEC caliber running backs in one season. Ladarius Perkins... The greek god Zeus. Built like a statue with lightning bolt speed. We've seen what he can do. He blistered Ole Miss two seasons in a row and was MSU's savior and what could have been a disastrous La. tech ballgame. There's no worrying about Perkins. We know what comes with him. Now what about these others?
Nick Griffin seems to be the one most of the fans want to see. In limited action last year he looked good in mop up duty. But following his knee injury of two years ago, how affected by it is he? It remains to be seen if he can be the Vick Ballard that everyone expects him to be. But at this point, I believe there might be not one but two men for him to beat out.
Josh Robinson... The human bowling ball with legs. Dan Mullen says he has a big butt that's pure muscle..... OKAY! CoOOL! I get Dan's point. The kid is a rock. But he's got speed as well. And he seems to be gaining ground on even Perkins. At this point I would say that Griffin's stock might be dipping slightly. Does that mean he'll get lost? No, not at all. Just has some hurdles to jump before he finds himself being THE man.
Derek Milton would be getting significant snaps just about anywhere else but at this point he's just the number four guy in a very talented backfield. He's a solid mixture of speed and power and looks like Boobie Miles. So you never know until coach puts Milton in and lets him spin...
So what say you people? With expectations sky high for this group, would you say that MSU is the DEEPEST it's ever been? Neither of these four guys may never be remembered after 10 years. But as it stands now, potentially this could be the most impressive group of running backs in MSU history. FEEDBACK