Rocket Sanders admits he didn't expect to play as much as he did as a freshman at Arkansas

With running back Rocket Sanders transferring to the South Carolina Gamecocks football program over the offseason, he can now speak a little more openly and candidly about his time in Fayetteville with the Arkansas Razorbacks.

Recently, Sanders met with members of the media following South Carolina’s fourth practice of fall camp. While reflecting on his time at Arkansas, the senior running back revealed that the amount of playing time and where he received it in his freshman season was a bit surprising.

“What was so crazy was, when I first got to Arkansas, Coach (Justin) Stepp left. So when that happened, I was like, oh man,” said Sanders. “And then I started thinking about running back because I came in as an athlete, and a lot of schools recruited me as an athlete. So whenever I actually got on our first practice, we were doing drills and individual stuff. I was like, ‘hey, Coach Pitt, what position do you want me at for today?’ He was like, ‘running back; you try it out.’ And then after that, the sky was the limit.”

Sanders was listed as an athlete in his recruiting class but made his way to Arkansas thanks to Razorbacks wide receivers coach at the time, Justin Stepp. Steep moving on from the program created a ripple effect on Sanders’s career trajectory as he would soon make the switch to running back. In his freshman season, he would play in all 13 of Arkansas games, recording 114 carries for 578 yards for an average of 5.1 yards per carry and five touchdowns. Sanders also had 11 receptions out of the backfield for 109 yards with one receiving touchdown.

One thing that helped the now-South Carolina running back transition from being primarily a receiver to a workhorse ball carrier was learning the tricks of the trade of position at the collegiate level. In order to do so, Sanders had to take a few hits along the way.

“One thing I learned when I first got in there; going to high school, I didn’t take as much hits because I [played] more receiver than I was playing running back. So it was a lot of hitting that as a running back had to change a lot of things — change pad level and being patient because I was a go guy,” Sanders said. “When I got the ball, I’d just go. My second year, watching my freshman film, I feel like the patience was the key as being a running back and the pad level — all the little things. I was patient with that and my running back (coach) Jimmy Smith had helped me with that.”

Sanders enters his senior season with South Carolina after struggling with injuries during his junior campaign at Arkansas. Last season, he played in just six games tallying 62 carries for 209 yards and two rushing touchdowns. This season with the Gamecocks, Sanders looks to put his injury woes behind him as he attempts to recapture the magic from his freshman and sophomore seasons as a Razorback.