It’s an elusive thing, but when executed correctly, the late-round workhorse can flip a CFF roster into a league winner.
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(A muddy field hides the strongest hoof.)
– Anonymous
Moses Gray (6β1″, 205), Southern Miss
There are more questions than answers regarding this Southern Miss program entering 2025. First and foremost: What does the offense look like this fall? OC Blake Anderson brings in with him a pedigree of an air-raid-light scheme, while head coach Charles Huffβlast year notwithstandingβhas a history of an expansive ground game, typically led by one back.
The 2024 offseason may offer some clues as to what to expect; Charles Huff, then the head coach of Marshall, declared that the Thundering Herd were moving to an air-raid offense. Was this just a soundbite to appease his superiors after several disappointing seasons? Or a genuine philosophical shift? The 2025 Southern Miss team will likely provide us with the answer.
The hiring of Blake Anderson as his OC is probably the next clue as to what Huff wants on offence. After all, the OC selection is usually heavily influenced by the head coach, and oftentimes, the selection is completely under the head coachβs jurisdiction.
That being said, on the off chance that Southern Miss channels some early 2020s Marshall vibes under Huff, it should be noted that one name at RB stood out this spring: Marshall transfer Gray. In the spring game, Gray led the team in carries:
Marshall transfer, running back Moses Gray, was featured heavily with 10 carries for 60 yards.
Thereβs a world where Southern Miss doesnβt have the personnel to execute what Anderson wants on offence, and to be fair to the OC, Anderson himself had a 250+ carry, 1,100-yard rusher in 2022 (Calvin Tyler, Utah State).
The ever-enigmatic Braylon Braxton figures to be QB1 to open the year, but weβve yet to see him complete a full season in college. If he goes down, this team may end up leaning on the run game. And we all know what Huff, a former RBs coach, wants to do deep down in his heart: run the damn ball.
CURRENT ADP: NA
Elijah Green (5β11″, 210), Sam Houston
When Jared Palmgren (CFFJared) started drafting this player in the later rounds of bestball drafts this offseason, I couldnβt help but make a note of it. He then featured Green on a segment we did together on his show, which focused on late-round RBs that are intriguing for one reason or another.
His argument was quite compelling. For those who donβt know, new Sam Houston head coach Phil Longo is coming over from Wisconsin, where he spent the last two seasons as the OC. Before that, he was the OC for UNC for four seasons (2019-2022).
While at Wisconsin, Longo did not have an exceptional CFF asset at RB in either 2023 or 2024, but he did have two solid players in Braelon Allen and Tawee Walker.
Remarkably, at UNC, he had four 1,000-yard rushers despite not having a single RB finish a season with more than 182 carries. The success of his RBs was predicated on elite efficiency more than volume. Though when combining 2020βs Michael Carter and Javonte Williamsβ receiving usage, their total touches surpassed 200.
At SMHU, Green, formerly of IU, and who was with Longo at UNC, will potentially be a cut above from a talent perspective relative to the Bearkatsβ other options at RB. It should be noted that former Houston standout Alton McCaskill also joined the program this offseason. Itβs been several years since his injury that weβve seen McCaskill perform at a high level, so there are more questions than answers with him.
To be fair, Green hasnβt done much thus far in his career, and heβll be entering his sixth season of college football in 2025.
CURRENT ADP: 276
Lucky Sutton (6β1″, 212), San Diego State
SDSU head coach Sean Lewis has an intriguing history at the tailback position. When he was the head coach at Kent State (2018-2022), he had a workhorse in Marquez Cooper and a player whom he leaned on before injury in 2019, Justin Rankin.
Prior to his time in the MAC, Lewis was the OC at Syracuse (2016-17). Both of his seasons spent there yielded terrible results from the RB1. However, when he was in the MAC in 2015 with Bowling Green, Travis Carlton Greene took 223 carries for 1,299 yards and 15 scores.
Point being, Lewis has an enigmatic track record on offence. Last year, he had, once again, his old workhorse in Marquez Cooper, who reunited with Lewis after a year away at Ball State. Cooper has since moved on.
SDSU brought in a few transfers this offseason to help offset the loss of their former RB1, namely Christian Washington from Coastal Carolina and Bryson Cardwell from Cal.
However, it is Lucky Sutton (a former C2C favorite) who is catching my eye. Sutton was the starting tailback for the Aztecs in their spring showcase and looked set to be the RB1 for 2025 prior to Cardwellβs transfer announcement. Now, Iβm not as sure what to expect.
Cardwell was a standout producer in California as a high school player and has the requisite frame to handle a heavy workload in College. Yet, his injury history tells a different story. Through three seasons of college, he has appeared in only 11 games thus far. Not great.
Maybe the fourth time is the charm? This one is definitely a long shot, but worth the risk should you accidentally stumble upon a Lewis workhorse in, say, the 30th round of a bestball.
CURRENT ADP: NA
