Georgia Football: D’Andre Swift among top SEC backs through Week 3

#10: Tyler Badie, Missouri-

Badie has been a surprise this season, as he has been a guy that did not have much hype coming into the season, especially considering his running mate is Larry Rountree III.

However, Badie has established himself as a dual-threat running back as he is second in the SEC among running backs in receiving yards and just outside the top 10 in rushing yards (11th with 197).

He also has a good yards per carry rate at 5.63 which is good for 11th in the SEC among running backs.

Badie is also tied for third with two rushing touchdowns, but ranks just 18th among running backs in yards per catch.

Badie is a good rusher but he currently fulfills a bigger receiving role than rushing role, while Rountree III is the back used more as a runner for the Tigers. Regardless of what role he is used in, he has shown his athletic ability and gives the Tigers a versatile number two back.

#9: Clyde Edwards-Halaire, LSU-

Clyde Edwards-Helaire (or CEH for short) has been the definition of a solid running back for the LSU Tigers this year.

He ranks 13th in rushing yards with 182 and first in rushing touchdowns with four on the year. While he is top 15 runnner in yards, he needs to get a little more out of his carries on a per carry basis as he gains just 4.92 yards for every carry.

However, CEH is not just a one-dimensional back. He also ranks 13th in receiving yards in the SEC among running backs and gains about 5.74 yards per catch.

CEH has been a solid, steady back that LSU knows will churn out yards at a respectable rate and offers them the ability to not just run the ball, but also catch the ball out of the backfield.

#8: JaTarvious Whitlow, Auburn-

Whitlow has been the lead back for Auburn this season and has found success in that role.

Through three weeks of the season, Whitlow is second in rushing yards with 341 and tied for second in rushing touchdowns with three. His carries aren’t just going for three yards a pop either as he is gaining over five yards per carry when he totes the ball.

Auburn has a true freshman, Bo Nix, playing quarterback right now so it is important that they have a good back who can pick up a handful of yards every time he takes the ball.

He has not yet shown himself to be a huge big play threat as his longest carry on the year is just 39 yards, but he is a dependable back who fights for yards and can carry the load for this team while the freshman quarterback is learning what it is like to be an SEC quarterback.

#7: Rakeem Boyd, Arkansas-

The Arkansas run game has not been very good this season outside of Mr. Rakeem Boyd.

Boyd has rushed for 303 yards this year, which is good for the fourth highest total in the SEC, but the rest of the team combined has not been able to crack 200 yards.

Boyd is also averaging over 5.5 yards per carry, a rate that puts him at 12th best in the SEC among running backs.

Boyd also has the fourth most receptions on his team and has gained 30 yards through the air, which while not seem like much, is still good for a top 20 number among SEC running backs.

So while Boyd isn’t a huge threat out of the backfield, he can still be a factor in that part of the game. Boyd has almost three times more carries than the next back behind him and is a ‘workhorse’ back for sure.

His ability to carry the load for the Arkansas offense on the ground, and doing so at a quality pace, has him sitting as the seventh best back in the SEC as of now.

#6: Najee Harris, Alabama-

The Alabama offense traditionally splits carries between it’s top two running backs pretty evenly and this year is no different.

Harris has 31 carries, but his ‘back-up’, Brian Robinson Jr., has 28. However, there has been a stark difference between the two when they are on the field as Harris is gaining 5.03 yards per carry (for a total of 156 yards) on the ground, while Robinson Jr is averaging only 3.54 (for a total of 99 yards).

The rushing stats in and of themselves may seem only solid and respectable, but where Harris separated himself from the rest of the running backs in the SEC is his receiving skills out of the backfield.

Harris has 99 receiving yards on the year while averaging over 16 yards per catch.

The next highest receiving total by a back is Missouri’s Badie, who has only 81 yards and averages only 7.4 yards per catch. Harris’s outstanding receiving skills, along with his solid rushing totals, puts him just outside of the top five running backs in the SEC at number six.