The SEC Running Back Renaissance Is Here - And It’s Loaded
For the past couple of seasons, the SEC backfield scene felt... quiet. Not empty, but certainly not what fans had come to expect from a league that once churned out elite running backs like clockwork. That stretch is officially over.
Heading into 2026, the SEC is bringing back a stable of running backs that doesn’t just look good on paper - it’s historically loaded.
Let’s rewind for a second. Just a year ago, Tre Wisner was the SEC’s only returning 1,000-yard rusher.
That was after a 2024 season where the conference didn’t have a single one coming back - a first in the Playoff era. Only one of the top eight rushers returned.
The production just wasn’t there. Even when you looked at the numbers - 800+ yards, 9+ touchdowns, 5.4 yards per carry, 65+ yards per game - only Wisner and a post-ACL tear Le’Veon Moss checked any of those boxes.
And if you needed more proof that the position had taken a back seat, consider this: not one running back was among the 48 players representing the SEC at Media Days in 2025. The year before?
Just one - Montrell Johnson Jr. from Florida. That’s one back out of 96 possible player reps over two years.
That drought is over.
The 2026 Class: Best We've Seen in Years
Start with the headliners: Ahmad Hardy (Missouri) and Kewan Lacy (Ole Miss) are both coming back. That’s not just good news - it’s historic.
For the first time in SEC history, the conference returns multiple 1,500-yard rushers. That’s a step up even from 2023, when Rocket Sanders and Quinshon Judkins became the first duo of returning 1,400-yard backs.
Hardy and Lacy weren’t just productive - they were elite. Both were Doak Walker Award finalists, with NFL-bound Jeremiyah Love taking home the trophy. But make no mistake, Hardy and Lacy will be front and center in any preseason running back rankings.
And they’re not alone.
For the first time since 2017, the SEC is bringing back four 1,000-yard rushers. Alongside Hardy and Lacy, Jadan Baugh is sticking around at Florida under a new coaching staff, and DeSean Bishop - a former Tennessee walk-on - is back after a breakout season.
Bishop quietly scored 16 rushing touchdowns last year, a number that only Judkins had hit among returning SEC backs over the past seven seasons. In 2026, three guys - Bishop, Hardy, and Lacy - come back after hitting that mark in 2025.
It’s not a stretch to say those four will likely dominate the All-SEC preseason first- and second-team lists.
Depth That Goes Beyond the Stars
Here’s where it gets even more impressive: six of the top seven rushers in the SEC from 2025 are returning. That includes:
- Ahmad Hardy (Mizzou)
- Kewan Lacy (Ole Miss)
- Jadan Baugh (Florida)
- DeSean Bishop (Tennessee)
- Mike Washington Jr.
(Arkansas) - out of eligibility
6.
Jeremiah Cobb (Auburn)
7.
Nate Frazier (Georgia)
Six of those seven topped 940 rushing yards last season. That’s a level of returning production the SEC hasn’t seen since 2017. And that’s just the guys who are staying put.
Transfer Portal Delivers Even More Firepower
The portal wasn’t quiet either. Auburn pulled in former Baylor 1,000-yard back Bryson Washington, who joins a program now under Alex Golesh - the same coach who led a USF rushing attack that averaged over 200 yards per game last season.
Then there’s Hollywood Smothers, who initially committed to Alabama before flipping to Texas. He tallied 937 yards last season at NC State.
Texas had already added Raleek Brown from Arizona State, who ran for 1,141 yards in 2025. Among returning Power Conference backs, only Hardy, Lacy, Baugh, and Rutgers’ Antwan Raymond had more rushing yards than Brown.
So, to recap: four of the top five returning Power Conference rushers - Hardy, Lacy, Baugh, and Brown - will suit up in the SEC this fall. And that doesn’t even include Bishop.
LSU’s Backfield Is Quietly a Monster in the Making
One more name to watch? Lane Kiffin.
Now at LSU, Kiffin brings with him running backs coach Kevin Smith from Ole Miss, and a track record of ground-game production that spans over a decade. His offenses have averaged at least 166 rushing yards per game in each of the last 12 seasons - from Alabama to FAU to Oxford.
At LSU, Kiffin inherits a backfield that already includes preseason All-SEC selection Caden Durham and former 5-star Harlem Berry, who showed flashes of big-time potential late in his freshman year. With Smith coaching them up, and Kiffin calling the plays, that duo could be scary.
Remember: under Kiffin, Ole Miss produced a first-team All-SEC running back in three of his six seasons. That kind of track record doesn’t lie.
The Bigger Picture: SEC Ground Game Could Be the Key to a Comeback
There’s a bigger storyline here. In a time when the SEC is trying to reclaim its dominance in an evolving college football landscape, the return of elite running back play could be a major piece of the puzzle.
This isn’t just about numbers or nostalgia - it’s about identity. The SEC built its brand on physicality, on running backs who could carry the load in the biggest moments. That identity has felt a little lost in recent years.
But in 2026? The foundation is back.
The last time the SEC entered a season this deep at running back was 2017. That year ended with an all-SEC national title game. No one’s saying that’s guaranteed this time around, but it’s worth keeping in mind.
One thing is clear: the backfield is back in the SEC - and it might just be what brings the conference back to the top.