Brandon Bolden rushed for 542 yards and five touchdowns as a freshman last season.

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Second in a series

Running backs

Depth is still the name of the game at this position.

The staff clearly likes Brandon Bolden as the No. 1 tailback. He really showed out in the Cotton Bowl and could take off with a year under his belt.

It’s less clear where Cordera Eason fits in the picture. Eason seemed to find himself the second half of last season. He turned his intensity up another level after the Alabama game and had a three-week stretch where he ran for almost 300 yards. Much of that was in the second half of games. After starting out with Dexter McCluster, the staff liked to grind and pound with Eason late.

Eason was less a factor against Mississippi State and in the Cotton Bowl. It’s unclear whether he’s closer to Bolden or to the third back, Enrique Davis.

And is Davis still the third back? His disorderly conduct arrest isn’t likely to terribly impact his playing time, but the emergence of Devin Thomas might.

Thomas fell off the pace of the three freshmen last year. He also had a rebuilt ankle to contend with where others did not. The San Antonio kid had a solid spring and looked good in the spring game. It’s possible he could step into the role of the small, quick back, a la McCluster, and allow McCluster to spend more time with the wide receivers. Time will tell if Thomas can carry that spring impact into August practice.

Among the signees, Tim Simon will start out at running back but is more likely to impact on defense.

Korvic Neat at 5-8 and Rodney Scott at 5-9 are little fast guys who could be Wild Rebel candidates in waiting.

At fullback, the emergence of Derrick Davis makes the Rebels much more athletic at the position. Davis ended spring at No. 2 behind Andy Hartmann. Hartmann is a physical blocker in the mold of the departed Jason Cook, but this staff will ask more of the fullback. Cook would likely have done more had he been with this staff longer.

Look for Davis to grab some screen passes. Coaches were confident enough in him to call his number for short passes that resulted in touchdowns against Auburn and La.-Monroe.