The SWAC often gets titled as the conference of the quarterback and wide receivers. The offenses in the conference are known to be high flying and capable of generating a lot of points. The running back position in the conference sometimes gets forgotten about but to forget about the ball carriers who have cut their teeth in the SWAC would be a mistake.
One of the best backs to ever play the game of football Walter Payton was magical at Jackson State rushing for more than 3,500 yards in his career as a Tiger. Another Tiger by the name of Destry Wright assaulted the school and conference record books in the late 90s, rushing for 4,020 in three seasons and becoming the SWAC’s all-time leading rusher until a young man by the name of Lenard Tillery from Southern University left his
own mark. Tillery came to Southern as a walk-on but left as the school’s all-time leading rusher and the conference’s all-time leading rusher with 4,856 yards rushing and 45 touchdowns over his career.
Over the years the SWAC has produced running backs like Isaiah Crowell of Alabama State, Frank Warren of Grambling, Brad Baxter of Alabama State, and so many more. This year the league will boast another talented crop of running backs. Let’s take a look at the top 5 running backs in the SWAC for 2019.
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No. 5: Devon Benn, Southern
Devon Benn came to Southern University with a winning pedigree and an impressive high school resume. Benn won two state titles and ran for almost 2,400 yards and scored 26 touchdowns at Louisiana high school powerhouse John Curtis. In his first season of action in 2017, Benn ran for 442 yards while splitting time with Herb Edwards. He came into the 2018 season as the bell cow for the Southern rushing attack and did not disappoint. Benn finished 2018 with 788 yards rushing and an impressive 5.1 yard per carry average.
Now Devon Benn comes into 2019 with two years of experience and is now one of the leaders on the offensive side of the football for the Jaguars. Benn has amassed 1,230 yards on the ground in his first two seasons on the field and the expectation is that he now emerges as one of the better backs in the conference. Benn only carries the ball on average 14 times per contest
due to Southern’ s running back by committee system but he has found a way to make the most of his touches. The talented young back is now the veteran in the backfield, and with weapons all over this offense teams just can’t key on Devon Benn anymore which will open up opportunities this season. The fans down on The Bluff are expecting a big year from Mr. Benn.
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