SEC football: Top 5 running backs for 2020 season

Who are the top five SEC football running backs for the 2020 season?

SEC football teams are known for strong running games and producing some of the best running backs in the country every year. There are five of them coming into the 2020 season that should be leading the pack in the conference.

Even without spring workouts, drills, or games SEC football teams and their players have been busy doing individual workouts and getting some virtual training. Running backs, in particular, have to stay as close to playing shape as possible.

With quarantines, shelter-in-place orders, and gym lockdowns in place during the COVID-19 pandemic, these five backs had to do anything they could to ensure they’d be ready when the season finally kicks off.

Jerrion Ealy was a five-star prospect for the Ole Miss 2019 recruiting class and had a season to remember as a freshman. Starting four games and appearing in 12 total, Ealy finished the season with 722 rushing yards on 104 carries, with six touchdowns and a 6.94 yards-per-carry average, which was best on the team.

Ealy will once again be sharing carries with quarterback John Rhys Plumlee, but in Lane Kiffin’s high-flying offense he’ll need to become more adept at catching the ball.

In 2019, Ealy caught the ball 20 times for 172 yards and one touchdown. If he’s looked at to be the feature back for the Rebels in 2020, he’ll be expected to up those totals.

He’s the perfect back for the system Kiffin is installing, and he can hurt a defense both with power and speed. His second season in Oxford should cement him as an eventual early-round draft pick in the NFL.