Depth Chart Dive: RBs
The Cowboys seem to have a rather solid stable of running backs again.
And that’s all good.
But we all know, it’s Chuba’s world and everybody else is really just biding their time – brief relief time, mopup time, future time – while living in Hubbard’s house.
Chuba Hubbard posted one of college football’s dominant rushing seasons a year ago, going for 2,094 yards, the 16th best total in FBS history.
Let that sink in a bit. The first official game of intercollegiate football is dated Nov. 6, 1869, so through 151 years of the game, Hubbard’s 2019 season ranks No. 16 overall.
Consider the company he keeps: Marcus Allen. Ricky Williams. Rashaan Salaam. Derrick Henry. LaDainian Tomlinson. Mike Rozier. And others.
And oh yeah, Barry Sanders, who sits atop the list with the greatest offensive season in college football history, marked by his 2,850 rushing yards.
And Hubbard produced his splendid season, we now know, while dealing with more than a few aches and pains.
“Chuba was fatigued and beat up a little bit towards the end of the season last year,” Cowboys coach Mike Gundy said.
As a result, Hubbard went to work making himself better, in every way.
"I feel great. I'm bigger, stronger, faster,” Hubbard said. “I fixed a lot of things that I need to work on. I feel good going into the season."
And that’s a good reason to feel good about the Cowboys in 2020.
The schedule’s been shrunken, to nine games, so Hubbard’s workload has been lightened in the process, helping with one issue that contributed to his fatigue last fall. And the expected improvement in the depth behind him is another positive, although none of the backups figures to gather major carries, barring something bad happening.
Still, it’s good to have options.
LD Brown remains No. 2 on the depth chart, following a 2019 year in which he started slow, but seemed to regain traction later in the season. Dezmon Jackson wowed in the preseason a year ago, got hurt, then redshirted, but is right there battling with Brown. Micah Cooper, a former walk-on, has enjoyed a strong camp, as has late addition Dominic Richardson. Deondrick Glass, the touted recruit a year ago, hasn’t yet made a move on the depth chart.
