Kentrel Bullock won’t ever be the most-famous player from his hometown and isn’t even the most well-known running back on his own team, but he’s as big a reason as any that South Alabama’s ground game returned to prominence last week vs. Louisiana-Monroe.

The Jaguars piled up 355 rushing yards in a 46-17 victory over the Warhawks, the most in program history vs. an FBS opponent. Leading the way was Bullock, the junior from Columbia, Miss., — home of NFL legend Walter Payton — who totaled a career-best 141 yards on 18 carries with two touchdowns as South Alabama evened its overall record to 4-4 and improved to 3-1 in Sun Belt Conference play

Heading into Saturday’s home game vs. Georgia Southern (5-3, 3-1), South Alabama leads the Sun Belt in rushing at 216.3 yards per game. The Jaguars average a league-best 5.9 yards per carry and have totaled 21 rushing touchdowns, six more than the second-place team in that category (Old Dominion).

“First off, shout out to the (offensive linemen) up front,” Bullock said. “They did a great job during the week of preparation before ULM. When it’s working, you just keep calling it. We did a lot of Turbos — fast, fast tempo plays — and it just kept working all night. We stayed with it and that was the outcome.”

The 5-foot-10, 203-pound Bullock is in his second season at South Alabama after transferring from Ole Miss, where he totaled only 19 carries in three seasons. He served as the primary backup and occasional injury fill-in for two-time 1,000-yard rusher La’Damian Webb, with Bullock running for 448 yards and four touchdowns in 2023.

With Webb’s eligibility expired after last season, Bullock has started every game in 2024. He’s got 504 yards and five touchdowns on 85 carries, averaging 5.9 yards per attempt.

Bullock was also able to bounce back mentally from a goal-line fumble in the first half of the ULM game, which South Alabama trailed 17-12 at halftime. He scored a 13-yard touchdown in the third quarter to help the Jaguars pull away.

“I’m proud of him because that’s probably something two years ago, he wouldn’t have been able to do,” South Alabama head coach Major Applewhite said. “So, he’s grown. We talk about it sometimes in here, that football doesn’t build your character, it reveals it. had a very famous head coach (Mack Brown), tell that to me when I was a freshman at Texas.

“That’s the reality of it. Very seldom does the game build your character, it just reveals who you are. And so for him to continue to battle through the fumble, come back, be productive, says a lot about his character.”

Bullock was one of the top high school players in Mississippi during his time at Columbia, rated a 4-star prospect in the 2020 class. He amassed 4,386 yards and 60 touchdowns in his four-year prep career, including 1,966 yards and 33 scores as a senior.

Bullock played his high school games on what is now known as Walter Payton Field, the same ground “Sweetness” had trod in the early 1970s before going on to star at Jackson State and become the NFL’s all-time leading rusher with the Chicago Bears. Bullock said Payton’s legacy is impossible to escape in his hometown.

“Walter Payton, he’s such a big deal around there,” Bullock said. “His brother (fellow former NFL running back Eddie Payton) still comes around, talking to the younger guys to inspire them. When you’re coming up and you’re playing running back at Columbia, you know you’re kind of in his shoes.”

Even though he’s nominally the Jaguars’ No. 1 back, Bullock has ceded some of the spotlight to freshman phenom Fluff Bothwell, who became a minor sensation for his bruising running style in preseason camp and early in the season. Bothwell leads the team with 580 yards and eight touchdowns, including 119 yards and two scores on 17 attempts vs. ULM.

However, Bullock has been the more-productive of the two in recent weeks. Bothwell totaled just 102 yards and no touchdowns during a three-game stretch vs. LSU, Arkansas State and Troy before breaking out again in the Louisiana-Monroe game.

Applewhite said the job-sharing arrangement has worked out well.

“It’s a tough position,” Applewhite said. “All of them were probably the No. 1 player in their Pop Warner League. They were probably the No. 1 player in their junior high league. They’re probably the all-conference or all-district MVP for their area (in high school).

“Then they all end up in one room together and there’s one football. That’s part of being a college running back, is understanding that and then understanding that you’re probably gonna start about four or five different ones because they get hit so much. And so your opportunity is gonna come, and you need to stay ready.”

South Alabama’s offensive line returning to full health certainly played a role in the big rushing output vs. the Warhawks. Senior Reed Buys was back in place at right guard after missing time with a hamstring injury, allowing Kenton Jerido to move back to the left side.

The Jaguars also posted the big rushing total despite little contribution on the ground from quarterback Gio Lopez, who ran only three times for 25 yards with a touchdown. Junior running back Braylon McReynolds had his biggest day of the season with eight carries for 73 yards, including a 24-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.

“It makes me feel real good,” said Lopez, who has 348 yards and four touchdowns rushing this season. “Our O-line did a great job with the run game, and it wasn’t just one guy. We had multiple guys scoring, multiple guys carrying the ball.

“For me, I want the ball in my hands, but we’ve got great running backs that are better runners than I am. So, it’s just about giving them the ball and letting them make their plays.”

Kickoff for South Alabama-Georgia Southern is set for 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Hancock Whitney Stadium. The game will air live via ESPNU.