The state of LSU's running back room heading into 2024

Heading into the 2023 season, the Tigers running back room was very crowded. The Tigers had eight running backs on scholarship this past season, and while they had six of their backs reach 100 yards, it wasn't enough to keep everyone around with Armoni Goodwin and Tre Bradford entering the transfer portal.

That's okay though, because the Tigers backfield is still absolutely loaded with talent and guys who can be very productive in this Tigers offense. Today, we're going to go through and see how the Tigers running back room is shaping up for the 2024 season.

The Tigers still have three of their eight scholarship backs from last season with Armoni Goodwin, Trey Bradford and Logan Diggs hitting the portal and with Noah Cain and John Emery Jr. out of eligibility.

Josh Williams has one of the best stories of anyone on LSU's football team. In 2019, he held offers from some mid major schools, but instead of going there, he decided to walk-on to LSU, his dream school since he was a kid.

He began his career on the scout team in 2019, witnessing one of the best championship runs in college football history from the sidelines. After a couple of seasons on scout team, Williams earned his scholarship and has since been one of the Tigers best backs since.

In 2021, Williams was RB1, leading the backfield with 532 yards rushing. In 2023, he took a step back behind Diggs, but still finished the year with over 400 yards of total offense and six touchdowns while making some big plays for the Tigers and doing the little things well.

We're still waiting on the official word that Williams is coming back for his final season, but after his graduation in December, he said he's heavily considering a return.

The electric freshman running back, Kaleb Jackson, was a four-star recruit who played his high school ball right in LSU's back yard. Jackson was the No. 12 ranked running back in the class and the No. 13 player in the state of Louisiana in the 2023 class.

Jackson's freshman season at LSU didn't disappoint. He was the Tigers main kick returner, but also rushed for 150 yards and three touchdowns while averaging 5.2 yards per carry. Every time Jackson touched the ball, good things seemed to happen.

Jackson should be in line for an even bigger season in 2024. He'll have another offseason to learn the system, and with his production last year, I'm sure they're eager to get him more touches in his sophomore season.

Trey Holly was another four-star running back the Tigers brought in with their 2023 recruiting class. The Farmerville, Louisiana native didn't make quite as much noise as his freshman counterpart in 2023, but he should still receive more touches in a less crowded RB room in 2024.

Holly saw just ten touches in his freshman campaign, but he turned those touches into 110 yards of offense (11.0 average). Obviously that number is a bit inflated due to his 67 yards touchdown run, but 4.8 yards per carry on his nine other carries is still great production.

Like Jackson, I expect Holly to be much more involved in this offense next year. He's shown his explosiveness, and with four guys leaving, there's a path for Holly to play next season.

Caden Durham is the lone running back in LSU's 2024 class, but man is he a good one.

Durham, a four-star from Duncanville, Texas, is one of the most explosive running backs in the class. He ranks as the No. 4 running back in the 2024 cycle.

In his senior season, Durham led Duncanville to the Texas 6A Division I State Championship. In that game, Durham rushed for 243 yards on 22 carries (11.1 average) and scored three touchdowns in the teams 49-33 win over North Shore.

Throughout the six game playoffs, Durham rushed for 1,236 yards (206 YPG) and 23 touchdowns. Yep, you read that right. 23 touchdowns in six games.

Durham has all the tools to be the next great LSU running back, and while it may not happen in 2024, he's the future of this Tigers backfield.

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