At the start of the season, Florida had three running backs listed as the possible starters for its season opener against Eastern Michigan — Matt Jones, Kelvin Taylor and Mack Brown.
All three averaged a minimum of 45.2 yards per game on the ground in 2013 and reached the end zone at least twice.
And after Florida’s 65-0 win to kickoff the season, it’s still too close to decide who will break out as the Gators’ leading tailback.
The trio combined for 191 rushing yards on just 22 carries, with each gaining no more than 68 yards or garnering more than eight rushing attempts.
"Everybody feeds off each other," Taylor said. "We see one do good and then I’ll want to do good. … We’re like brothers out there, so we go out there and just work hard."
All three of Jones, Taylor and Brown had a rush of at least 31 yards against Eastern Michigan.
On UF’s second drive against the Eagles, Taylor needed just one play to find a seam and break free, going 31 yards for a touchdown. One offensive drive later, Jones found paydirt for the first time this season after a 40-yard run.
Brown pulled out a 47-yard run in the third quarter — 15 yards longer than his previous career long set during Florida’s 19-14 loss to South Carolina on Nov. 16.
"I thought it was pretty cool how all the running backs got up there and had a nice game, you know, broke a few times," right guard Trenton Brown said. "I love blocking for those guys. You never know if they can break a big play at any moment. So that’s one of the good things about blocking for some big playmakers cause you know that just gives you more drive to do your job at a high level."
Moving forward in the season, coach Will Muschamp will continue to rotate his deep group of running backs, with Taylor and Jones getting the bulk of the load.
"They’re fun to be around, they’re fun to coach. But they understand the big picture of this thing and we’re going to be playing 75-80 snaps a game," Muschamp said. "They’re going to have their opportunities. They’ve got to make their opportunities count. They understand we’re going to go with the guy with the hot hand, but we need both of them."
And in addition to the three main backs, Florida also has true freshman Brandon Powell, redshirt freshman Adam Lane and junior Mark Herndon at its disposal in the backfield.
"It’s nice to have that many, but at the same time you want to get them all touches and that’s not always realistic," quarterback Jeff Driskel said. "But I’m very confident in all of them. They all know what they’re doing. They all play hard, and they’re all rooting for each other, which is huge back there."
Powell made the most of his first career rushing attempt, scampering 12 yards into the endzone to give the Gators a 24-0 lead early in the second quarter.
Herndon ran for just 11 yards on three rushing attempts, but the Ocala native scored on a screen pass from backup quarterback Treon Harris, running 78 yards to paydirt in the fourth quarter.
Lane, who was not in attendance for Florida’s season opener due to a family situation, showed flashes of potential throughout training camp.
In the Orange & Blue Debut, the redshirt freshman led all runners with 76 yards of total offense.
"I feel like Lane, he’s going to bring a lot to the offense," Taylor said. "He’s very powerful, he’s going to get us those hard yards: 3rd and 2, 3rd and 3, 3rd and 5 - Lane can drive. He can drive easy for five yards, when he falls forward he’s got ridiculous power. He’s a very good guy and I’m looking forward to see Lane do great things this year."
With Florida’s Southeastern Conference opener against Kentucky at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, the Gators will need their running back stable at its best.
Through two games, the Wildcats have given up an average of just 128.5 yards on the ground per contest.
Kentucky also has a knack for penetrating the backfield, evidenced by its 13 tackles for loss.
"I feel like they play hard," Taylor said. "I mean, it’s SEC ball so it should. It’s going to be a physical game. It’s going to be a hard game. I feel like we could run the ball pretty good on them, and we’re just going to play our game."
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Kelvin Taylor runs 31 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter of Florida’s 65-0 win over Eastern Michigan on Saturday.
