Kentucky Football put together one of its greatest seasons since the 1970s. The Wildcats went 10-3 on the season including a Citrus Bowl win over Penn State.
Benny Snell Jr. was a critical part of Kentucky’s success all season. He carried the ball 289 times for 1,449 yards and six touchdowns. Snell averaged five yards per carry, 111.46 yards per game, and recorded seven games with at least 100 yards.
He also became Kentucky’s all-time leading rusher surpassing Sonny Collins who held the record since 1975. Through three seasons, he toted the rock 737 times for 3,873 yards and 48 touchdowns.
According to Kentucky’s Citrus Bowl game notes, Snell joins Herschel Walker as the only two players in SEC history to rush for at least 1,000 yards and score 12 touchdowns in their first three seasons.
It’s safe to say that Snell is the best running back to ever come through Kentucky.
The way he ran made you raise an eyebrow. Snell ran the ball like he was mad and always seemed determined to make the first guy miss him or earn the tackle.
His most impressive stat was his yards after contact.
Before Kentucky’s bowl game, PFF College tweeted that 63.3 percent of Snell’s total rushing yards came after contact. With one game to go, he already recorded 829 yards after contact.
Benny Snell gained 63.3% of his rushing yards this season AFTER contact pic.twitter.com/2qJjzbxVBt
— PFF College (@PFF_College) December 11, 2018
Despite having one more year to slaughter the record books, the junior declared for the NFL Draft on Dec. 14.
How with the Wildcats replace him? They won’t. There is only one Snell in this world, and it would be almost impossible to find another just like him.
Kentucky has three guys on its roster that will be fighting head-to-head this offseason to earn that spot. Not to mention, the incoming freshman, Travis Tisdale who will be hungry to make his name known.
The Wildcats would also have Sihiem King, but the senior decided to transfer as a graduate player to another program. Where he will end up is still in the air.
Granted it is only January and Tisdale hasn’t gotten to campus yet, but here are the three guys that will replace Snell and earn the starting running back spot.