Welcome to the second part of the series where I break down the Cajuns football team position by position. This week, we look into one of the most stacked positions on the roster, running back.
Who Left After Last Season?
A trio of running backs both left the team after losing eligibility. The most notable back has to be Torrey Pierce, who had a great senior season as a backup to Eli McGuire with 401 yards on the ground off of 87 carries and four touchdowns. He’ll be sorely missed and was a good chunk of the Cajuns offense on the ground in 2015. Effrem Reed and Montrel Carter also left the program but had a minimal role in the Cajuns running attack last season.
Who’s Coming Back?
The Cajuns have a lot of players coming back from last season at the running back position. The most notable has to be the 2014 Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year Elijah McGuire. He has been the Cajuns MVP the last three years and this team is extremely thankful that he is coming back for his senior year. McGuire even got a chance to play some basketball during the second half of the season. One of the players to watch that didn’t see a snap last season has to be Jordan Wright. The Pearl, Mississippi native showed a lot of promise back at the spring game, looking like a solid number two running back behind McGuire this season before being thrust into the role as a number one. All that being said, there’s a chance the Cajuns could have a three headed monster on the ground. Jalen Nixon, who was a quarterback for the Cajuns for much of last season, has attempted to transition over to running back. A foot injury during spring practice has potentially derailed that experiment, but it all depends on how he performs in practice.
The Other Guys
There are two incoming freshmen that have a lot of potential to make an immediate impact this season: Trey Ragas and Raymond Calais. The Louisiana natives have been highly touted as being great running backs and either one of them has a chance to be inserted into the role that McGuire currently has. All that being said, odds are they won’t see the field outside of special teams in 2016 because of how stacked the position looks. Now if Jalen Nixon’s injury persists and makes it tough for him to get ready for the season opener against Boise State, you could see either one of them be the third head of the monster.
How Should the Pie Be Split Up?
This is a little different than the first part of the preview because the position has a chance to have three running backs take snaps for the Cajuns in 2016. The big question is how much of the pie will each of the three get. The majority of the pie will obviously go to the big dog in Eli McGuire. He should have another 1,000 yard season barring anything out of the ordinary happening. Jordan Wright is most likely going to take another chunk of that pie based off of what he showed during the spring game, possibly more of an up the gut type of back that will allow McGuire to do what he does best. The rest of the pie is once again dependent on what Nixon’s progress is. If he is good to go for the start of the season, then he’ll take what’s left of the proverbial pie and will have a similar role to Wright.
Conclusion
If Eli is allowed to do what he does best, the Cajuns rushing threat will be something that Sun Belt foes will be concerned about. If not, the Cajuns offense will be hindered on the ground.
-Clint Domingue
Ragin Cajun Position Preview: Quarterback