Arkansas' Raheim Sanders 'always gives' Quinshon Judkins praise for breakout season
NASHVILLE — The race to become the Southeastern Conference’s best running back is still over a month from getting underway but Quinshon Judkins and Raheim Sanders are set to lead the pack once again.
Ole Miss’ Judkins took the 2022 SEC rushing title and edged out Arkansas’ Sanders by less than 200 yards. The pair is expected to be the top two running backs in the conference this fall, if not the country.
Michigan running back Blake Corum heads a lot of people’s list of the top college football running back in 2023 but Judkins and Sanders are right behind him.
Wednesday was Arkansas’ turn to take the Media Days stage and Sanders was one of the player representatives.
The Razorbacks standout is fully aware of the freshman campaign Judkins put together last season but beyond some complimentary comments Sanders is keeping his blinders on when the SEC rushing title race is concerned.
“(Judkins) is a great guy. I always give him praise,” Sanders said. “I got him on Instagram. I always give him praise. It’s never a hateful thing. He a young guy. I give the youngins praise as well. But, I wasn’t really worried about him (last year). I was worried about me and my team as well.”
There is plenty of respect between the SEC’s top returning running backs. Sanders is entering his junior season and looking to boost his NFL Draft stock. Judkins is looking to make his sophomore season better than his breakout freshman season.
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Judkins is set to be the centerpiece of the potentially potent Ole Miss offense.
After a nearly 1,600-yard season last fall the expectations are lofty for Judkins to replicate that if not improve on it drastically.
Without Zach Evans in the running backs room this year Judkins is the now the workhorse for the Ole Miss ground attack. The workload is going to be at worst the same as 2022 if not more.
With that in mind it has caused for national pundits to offer up their predictions for how Judkins will fare his second season in the SEC.
“Now, I’m genuinely curious to see how much that offense is going to improve from a passing standpoint,” said SEC Network’s Greg McElroy this week. “He was a one-man show last year. But guess what? I’m very convinced, whether it’s Spencer Sanders or Jaxson Dart — I think it’ll be Jaxson Dart — that the passing attack is going to improve drastically. Now that you can complement Quinshon Judkins’ run game with the passing attack that Ole Miss is likely to have, this is going to sound crazy, (but) I think 2,000 yards by Quinshon Judkins is within reach.”
