On Saturday, LSU needed a spark trailing 17-0 to the South Carolina Gamecocks, and that spark came from freshman running back Caden Durham. The highly talented freshman running back from Duncanville, Texas helped the Tigers get back in the game with a 26 yard touchdown run to put LSU on the board for his first rushing touchdown in the Purple and Gold.
From that play on, Durham continued to impress more and more with each pressing carry as he ran for 98 yards and two touchdowns on only 11 carries. His second touchdown actually helped give LSU their first lead in a back and forth ball game that ended up being a Tigers’ 36-33 win on the road at South Carolina.
What was most impressive about Durham’s breakout performance is that he had 50 yards rushing after contact and missed seven tackles while doing so. After struggling to get anything going on the ground through the first two weeks of the season, one of the question marks entering the South Carolina game was which running back was going to emerge and it happened to be the 5’9, 205 pound freshman running back.
His impressive SEC debut also got him the game ball from head coach Brian Kelly for his performance.
“He broke a ton of tackles. That’s the nature of the SEC, to make guys miss and run through tackles. He did a really good job of showing himself today and setting a standard of what we need at that running back position.”
LSU HC Brian Kelly on Caden Durham
There has been no question about Durham’s talent as he was rated as a top 10 running back in the country and was a two time state champion for Duncanville High School in Texas, but now, he was finally able to show what he can do. When asked about Durham being the number one running back moving forward, LSU head coach Brian Kelly stated that Durham has put himself in position to getting more carries.
“I don’t think we’re at the point where he’s “the guy,” but he’s in the mix and certainly did the things we were looking for.”
LSU HC Brian Kelly on Caden Durham’s role moving forward
Although Caden Durham is not RB1 just yet, history does tell us that a freshman running back having his breakout game against South Carolina is a good thing for not only him, but for Tiger fans.
If LSU fans think that a freshman running back breaking out against South Carolina sounds familiar, that is because it has happened before. Back in 2012, #3 South Carolina came into Tiger Stadium to take on #9 LSU in a top 10 matchup. Like it was in Columbia on Saturday, it was a performance by a young, talented freshman running back that ultimately helped the Tigers get the upset victory and that was by none other than Jeremy Hill
His performance against South Carolina was actually Hill’s first big time breakout performance in a LSU uniform with 124 yards and two touchdowns including a 50 yard touchdown to help clinch the 23-21 victory. After his performance, Hill actually ended up leading the Tigers in rushing with 755 yards rushing and 12 touchdowns. Also like Durham, Hill was a highly talented four star recruit out of Redemptorist High School in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and that talent gave him an opportunity to excel in a crowded backfield.
For both Caden Durham and Jeremy Hill, they combined to only have 18 carries between the two before becoming the hot hand against the Gamecocks as Durham had only five carries while Hill only had 13 carries.
Not only did Hill have a standout freshman season, but he ended up having an incredibly productive career for the Tigers. When it was all said and done, the All-SEC running back finished with 2,156 yards and 28 touchdowns, which put him Top 10 all-time in both categories. His best season came in 2013 when he ran for the second most yards in a season in school history (1,401) and touchdowns in a single season (16). That catapulted him into becoming a second round NFL Draft pick by the Cincinnati Bengals.
There are a lot of similarities on how both of these Tiger running backs began their careers and if history is an indication of anything, Tiger fans should be excited about what is to come from Caden Durham moving forward.
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