BEAUMONT, Texas – With the start of preseason camp in full swing, LamarCardinals.com will be doing its annual position-by-position breakdown of the team heading into the season opener at Texas State (Aug. 31, 2024).
 
Today LamarCardinals.com will breaking down the LU running backs.
 
RB Quick Facts:
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 4/1
Starters Returning/Lost: 1/0
Newcomers: 1
 
Stats: The Cardinals carried the ball 428 times for 1,628 yards and 16 touchdowns last season. Big Red averaged nearly 4.0 yards per carry and 148.0 yards per game. The Cardinals ranked fifth in the Southland last year in rushing but trailed the league leaders (Houston Christian) by fewer than 11 yards per game. Big Red tied for third in the league with 16 rushing touchdowns.
 
Key Player: Khalan Griffin – returning starter who has really become the face of the position group for the Cardinals. Last season, he flirted with the league's overall rushing title until being outgained by Nicholls' Collin Guggenheim by only 10 yards in the final game of the season. Griffin carried the ball 177 times for 823 yards (4.6 ypc) and nearly 75 yards per game. He heads into his senior year with nearly 1,500 rushing yards to his credit.  
 
The Storyline
There should be no doubt in anyone's mind that this position should be a strength in 2024 if everyone stays healthy. Griffin is a budding star in the league and we should not be concerned to say that here because he understands he has to get better every day for him to to help Lamar get to the next level.
 
Although Griffin brings quality size to the position, when he has the ball in his hands he is bigger than the roster indicates. He runs angry, and he runs with 100-percent confidence in the other 10 guys on the field. He is a returning all-conference back who solidifies the position. He provides Lamar's offense with a weapon in the backfield most schools won't have. It goes without saying that Nicholls' Guggenheim and Jaylon Spears will get most of the headlines throughout the year and I guess that's fair. Those two were voted just ahead of Griffin on the 2023 postseason team, but it's now 2024 and no one should sleep on Griffin.
 
Add to that, Lamar returns four five starters on the offensive line this year, so no matter who is carrying the ball for LU they will have an experienced, strong line to run behind.
 
Admittedly, the Cardinals were hurt depth wise at the position when Damashja Harris decided to enter the transfer portal, but the flipside of that coin is Lamar returns Major Bowden back from injury. A junior from China Springs, Texas, Bowden was really coming into his own when his season was cut short. Bowden, already known as a return threat, brings added experience to the backfield.
 
The duo of Bowden and Griffin also provides the coaching staff with strong receiver options out of the backfield. Bowden and Griffin combined for 19 catches for 268 yards and two touchdowns last season.
The Cardinals have another experienced back in R.J. Carver. Entering his fourth year with the program (but just a junior athletically), Carver has played in 24 games for the Red and White. More of power back, Carver gives the Cards' ground attack an asset in short yardage situations that not all teams will be able to match.
 
In addition to the group that has already been mentioned, the coaching staff dipped into the transfer portal during the offseason to bring in Xavier Coleman (5-8, 185) from Boston College. A two-year letterwinner at BC, Coleman played in 11 games making one start for the Eagles. He carried the ball 28 times for 124 yards and a touchdown. He also caught six passes and was utilized on special teams.
 
Along with return of Dorian Manuel, the Cardinals enter 2024 with a ton of depth at the position, maybe its deepest stable of backs since the return of sport to varsity status.