Review and Preview: Running backs
The 2018 football season is officially in the books. In this series, PowerMizzou will go position-by-position to look back at the Tigers' 8-5 2018 campaign while also previewing the depth chart for the 2019 season. Today, we take a look at the running backs.
2018 recap
Missouri's running game started off the 2018 campaign slow, but the three-headed monster of Damarea Crockett, Larry Rountree III and Tyler Badie quickly became a strength for the Missouri offense. The Tigers topped 200 rushing yards in eight of 13 games this season, including five of the last seven.
Entering the season, Tiger fans knew about Crockett and Rountree, but Badie's emergence came as a bit of a surprise. The true freshman saw playing time all season and made a few huge plays in the receiving game, including a 20-yard catch and run on the final drive of the game against Purdue that kept Missouri's chances alive. Crockett battled injuries and occasional ineffectiveness but ended up rushing for more than 700 yards in 10 full games, including two games of over 100 yards.With Crockett out of the lineup at the end of the season, Rountree came up huge. Rountree carried the ball at least 26 times and racked up at least 119 yards in each of the last three games of the season, including a beastly Liberty Bowl performance that saw him rush for 204 yards. Rountree finished the season ranked fifth on Missouri's all-time single-season rushing list with 1,216 yards on the year.
2019 preview
Departing: None
Returning: Larry Rountree III, Damarea Crockett, Tyler Badie, Simi Bakare
Missouri’s offense will enter the 2019 season with high expectations in part because of Kelly Bryant, but perhaps more so because the Tigers are expected to get their three leading rushers from 2018 back next season. Plus, Bakare, who saw carries in the last three games of the regular season, could continue to see his role expand.
Incoming: Anthony Watkins
The three-star prospect only had one other scholarship offer from a Power Five school, but he put up ridiculous numbers as a senior, rushing for 2,601 yards and scoring 35 total touchdowns in 10 games. There might not be room for him to play as a true freshman, but the coaching staff is very high on him.
Projected 2019 starter: Larry Rountree
After his strong ending to the this season, Rountree will likely be the nominal starter to open 2019, but in reality we’d expect Missouri to employ a “hot hand” approach similar to this season. Crockett, Badie and even Bakare will likely get a series of work just about every game, and whichever is most effective will continue to handle the majority of the workload
Offseason storylines to watch
Assuming none of the returning backs transfer or, in Crockett’s case, declare for the NFL Draft, the biggest question will be how Missouri uses its running backs in an scheme quarterbacked by Bryant. Next season’s offense could see more option-style plays, more quick passes to the running backs, and possibly even multiple backs on the field at the same time.
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