RB Cameron Carroll Transfers from Tulane to Florida
After losing two scholarship running backs to the transfer portal this offseason, the Gators have brought in a reinforcement.
Tulane running back transfer Cameron Carroll announced his commitment to the Florida Gators on Monday afternoon, becoming the eighth transfer into the program this winter.
With the desire to hold four scholarship backs, head coach Billy Napier elected to take a chance on Carroll, a rising sixth-year senior, to fill the void. He'll join the Gators at this stage in the offseason regimen, having moved to Gainesville on Sunday to enroll for classes in the spring semester at the last minute.
In five seasons with the Green Wave, Carroll toted the rock 312 times for 1,638 yards and 19 touchdowns. He added 23 receptions and five touchdowns to supplement Tulane's passing attack.
His best year came in 2020, as he accounted for 741 yards and 12 touchdowns on 122 carries, showing the perfect balance of power and burst to run between the tackles or off-tackle. He created multiple chunk yardage gains for Tulane, averaging 6.1 yards per carry, including a 65-yard score against Nevada to end the year.
Carroll's 2021 season produced similar returns from an all-purpose yard-production standpoint, as he posted 514 yards on the ground and 198 as a receiver out of the backfield for six total touchdowns.
However, his ascension halted in 2022. He appeared in just one game due to a leg injury suffered in his season debut.
Carroll now joins a Gators backfield highlighted by the dynamic duo of Montrell Johnson Jr. and Trevor Etienne from a season ago to serve as a change-of-pace back for Florida in rotation.
In the past, Napier has utilized the third running back in the rotation at about a 25% share rate compared to the two-headed running back by committee he likes to deploy frequently. Napier used this method in his last season at Louisiana Lafayette as Emani Bailey received 102 of the 417 total carries (24.4%) taken by the Ragin Cajuns' top three rushers.
Johnson earned the largest touch count with 162 attempts, while Chris Smith saw 153.
Carroll will expectedly fall into a Bailey-esque role for Florida in 2023.
The Flowood, Miss., native comes to Gainesville as a graduate transfer for his sixth season of collegiate eligibility.
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