"Obviously losing a guy like Crow it is going to be hard to replace him," Head Coach Reggie Barlow said.  "We have all the confidence in the world in (Malcolm) Cyrus.  We know he can run for power in-between the tackles, he can run it on the edge, he catches the ball well."
 
"Then we have Jahaad Coleman who is not big in stature but runs like a power back.  (Andre) Kincey is a guy we have confidence in and runs the ball real hard.  Khalid Thomas is a guy that I think is going to have a big year for us and I'm excited about seeing how he progresses with the things he does from here on out.  Then of course there is Rodney Cross and he is our ace in the hole.  He's that guy that you bring in and he is going to be downhill."
 
Offensive Coordinator Fred Kaiss also is the position coach for the running backs and he is looking forward to how well the running backs play this season.
 
"We're so deep at running back, of course Cyrus is highly intelligent and can draw every position, every assignment of every play," Kaiss said.  "He is a very smart player."
 
Leading those returners will be 2014 Preseason First Team All-SWAC honoree Malcolm Cyrus.  All the senior did last season was rush for 759 yards, which was good enough for 10^th among all SWAC runners last season.  He averaged almost six yards per carry and had six touchdowns.  For good measure he caught 17 passes out of the backfield for another 174 yards.
 
In fact, it was not Crowell who had the biggest rushing game of the season, but Cyrus, when he rushed for a SWAC and team-high 241 yards against Prairie View.  His 80 yard scoring run was also the team's longest of the season.
 
Behind Cyrus are plenty of talented ball carriers who will be looking to get in their carries on the field this season as well.  Sophomore Jahaad Coleman only saw action in four games last season, but his 150 yards rushing was good enough to earn him Turkey Day Most Valuable Offensive Player honors.  He capped off his performance with a 78 yard touchdown run with only a couple of minutes left in the game.  Coleman finished the season averaging 6.5 yards per carry and scoring three times.
 
"Jahaad has good speed and is a downhill runner," Kaiss said.  "A whole lot of people would love to have him as one of their backs.  He is going to play."
 
Another sophomore Andre Kincey played in six games last season rushing for 93 yards on 24 carries.  He missed several games because of injuries and has been having an excellent camp.
 
"Kincey is a lot like Cyrus," Kaiss added.  "He can play a slot receiver and he can do a lot of things for us because he is very athletic.  He has sweet hands and sweet feet, in fact they call him sweet feet."
 
Junior Rodney Cross is the hardest runner of the group.  He has seen action in 22 games during his first two seasons as a Hornet and has rushed for over 200 yards and four touchdowns.
 
"Rodney is a physical runner," Kaiss said.  "I like his desire and he is a player that is a solid replacement.  He is great in short yardage and just a great young man.  In a four minute offense he is that style of runner for that type of offense."
 
One player the coaching staff is extremely excited in is sophomore Khalid Thomas.  The former University of Kentucky signee transferred to ASU before his freshman season and saw action in eight games.  He may be the fastest and most elusive runner of the group and may return kicks and punts just to get on the field to use his running ability.
 
"Khalid has really come on strong," Kaiss said.  "He is really coming on and has confidence in himself and is really playing well.  He is having fun now and just a pleasure to be around.  He is going to have a heck of a year for us.  He is special, he really is."