Running back may be the position facing the least turnover from last year at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.
UAPB brings back its top two rushers from last season, junior BJ Curry and redshirt sophomore Za’Marion Webber. That duo combined for 61.3% of the Golden Lions’ rushing yards and 29.4% of rushing touchdowns in 2024.
Curry, one of head coach Alonzo Hampton’s first signees when he took over ahead of the 2023 season, led the Golden Lions in rushing with 509 yards on 123 carries with four touchdowns. He scored twice in UAPB’s home win against Prairie View A&M.
Webber, a Louisiana-Monroe transfer, was second on the team in rushing with 65 carries for 334 yards with a touchdown. His best game was a 93-yard day against Grambling State.
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The Golden Lions must replace their other top running backs, OJ Ross and Johness Davis, who both missed significant time with injury.
Ross was third on the team with 164 yards on 26 carries and scored four touchdowns, though three of those came against non-Division I foe Arkansas Baptist. Ross, a Tennessee Tech transfer who has since transferred to Long Island University, appeared in only the first three games last season.
Davis, who led UAPB in rushing in 2023 despite battling injury, scored twice in 2024 to go with 95 yards in another injury-riddled season. As Curry and Webber cemented themselves as the top two backs, Davis finished the season playing special teams and later linebacker. He transferred to Duquesne in the spring.
With Ross and Davis gone, redshirt senior Dae’Trell Cooper may finally get a chance to contribute.
Cooper has been with the Golden Lions since 2021. He carried the ball nine times for 18 yards in 2022. He hasn’t carried the ball in a game since, though he did catch one pass for 12 yards in 2023.
The career Golden Lion will likely still enter the season behind Curry and Webber in the depth chart, but he got some playing time in UAPB’s spring game in April. He rushed 13 times for 67 yards and a touchdown.
UAPB excelled in passing offense last season but couldn’t match that in rushing during offensive coordinator Tony Hull’s first season. The Golden Lions finished eighth in the SWAC in rushing offense with 115.8 yards per game and 17 touchdowns.
With UAPB seeking a new quarterback and breaking in several new receivers, the run game took the lead in the spring game. The Golden Lions rushed for 385 yards and six touchdowns, while the quarterbacks threw for 329 yards and two scores.
Webber led with 113 yards and a touchdown, while Curry scored twice while rushing for 98 yards.
Running backs caught two passes in the spring game, which matches last year’s trend. Under Hull, UAPB threw fewer passes to running backs than in Hampton’s first season.
In 2023, Golden Lion running backs caught 23 passes for 267 yards and one touchdown. Davis and former UAPB player Michael Jamerson were the leading pass catchers among the backs, with Curry and Cooper also involved.
Last year under Hull, the backs combined for 18 catches and 233 yards. Curry was responsible for most of that, catching 13 passes for 199 yards. He was UAPB’s fifth-leading receiver last year. Davis caught four passes, Webber caught one and Ross did not catch any.
Experience in the backfield may help UAPB improve its rushing attack this fall, but that may also depend on whether the offensive line takes a step forward.