La’Damian Webb set the South Alabama program record for rushing yards and touchdowns in 2022, but he’s only one of several running backs in a deep and talented Jaguars backfield this spring.

Webb ran for 1,063 yards and 13 scores despite missing one game and parts of two others last season, his first since transferring from Jones (Miss.) College. Then-freshman Braylon McReynolds added 326 yards rushing and 226 receiving, while Virginia Tech transfer Marco Lee scored four touchdowns as the Jaguars’ primary goal-line back a year ago.

All are back this spring, sharing reps with veteran backups Bryan Hill and Damean Bivins and Ole Miss transfer Kentrel Bullock. The group will be joined this summer by freshmen PJ Martin and Jarvis Durr, both of whom signed as part of the 2023 recruiting class.

“In our room, you can be fourth, fifth, first — you’ve got to be ready to go, man,” running backs coach Antonio Bradford said. “You don’t ever pass on the opportunity. So every time you practice, you’ve got to think ‘I’m a starter,’ because two plays (into a game), you may very well be.”

That depth was on display in South Alabama’s first scrimmage of the spring last Friday, when Webb scored two touchdowns and McReynolds scored one. Lee also had a 50-plus-yard run that might have resulted in a score if not for a quick whistle.

It’s an important spring for Lee, who was a key fill-in for the injured Webb in two South Alabama victories last season. He rushed for a team-best 93 yards and two touchdowns against Louisiana-Monroe and 57 yards while the Jaguars were running out the clock in the second half against Texas State.

He did that despite playing at 240 pounds, which by his own admission was a little more than he would have liked. The 5-foot-11 Columbus, Ga., native is down around 225 this spring, he said.

“I dropped 15 pounds,” Lee said. “I was 240 but that’s not a weight you need to be at for a running back. So I noticed that and did what I had to do to get down.”

McReynolds was another instant impact player for the Jaguars in 2022, earning the No. 2 spot behind Webb as a true freshman. The former McGill-Toolen star scored a receiving touchdown in his first college game against Nicholls, had a 98-yard kickoff return score vs. Louisiana Tech wiped out by a penalty and ran for 100 yards against Southern Miss while Webb sat out due to injury.

The 5-8, 180-pound McReynolds is arguably the fastest player on the South Alabama team, and has proven to be a dynamic pass-catcher out of the backfield. Though he’ll still have to share the football with all the other team’s backs, his in-game touches are only likely to increase after what he showed as a freshman.

“I’d say the key to that was maturity and growing as a person,” McReynolds said. “It was a big transition from high school to college, and I felt like I faced that well even though there were some things that I wish I would’ve got better at. I feel like overall, I took advantage of the opportunities that they gave me.”

Three years after recruiting Bullock out of Columbia (Miss.) High School when he was at Indiana, South Alabama head coach Kane Wommack was finally able to land him through the transfer portal in December. Though he played primarily on special teams the last three years for the Rebels, the 5-11, 200-pound Bullock is a “dynamic athlete” who is “fast, powerful, has 10-inch hands and is good in pass protection,” Wommack said.

South Alabama’s backfield would likely have been deep even without Webb, who toyed with the idea of entering the NFL draft before deciding to return for a final college season. His 2022 performance was his first full-tie chance at the Division I level to show the skills he displayed as Mr. Football at Beauregard High School way back in 2016.

Webb (5-7, 208) played two years at Jones, one at Florida State (where played in seven games and started three during the COVID-shortened 2020 season) and was briefly at Troy before signing with South Alabama in December 2021. He set a school record by scoring at least one touchdown in his first five games, and had back-to-back showings late in the year of 163 yards and three touchdowns vs. Arkansas State and 247 and four scores vs. Georgia Southern for the Jaguars.

“La’Damian be as good as he wants to be,” Bradford said. “We want to challenge his leadership abilities. He’s earned the respect of a lot of guys in the conference. He’s not competing necessarily with running backs just on this team, but his goal should be one to be the best running back in the nation. He has the ability to be that, if he continues to grind and work at it.”

The South Alabama running backs also serve key roles in the kicking game, and not just as return specialists. Along with positions such as tight end, linebacker and defensive back, running backs form the core of special teams as both blockers and tacklers.

It’s another way to compete for reps on one of the most-talented position groups on the Jaguars’ roster. And Bradford isn’t letting them rest on an excellent showing in 2022.

“Coming into the spring, we were like ‘control, alt, delete’ everything we did from the previous season,” Bradford said. “Yeah, what we did last year, it was great, but we’ve got to go to another level. One thing you can’t be afraid of at the running back position is competition. If you don’t want to compete, you can’t play running back. So those guys embrace that. They push each other, they work at it, and I think the experience is going to be great for our team.”

South Alabama is back on the practice field Wednesday leading into the second scrimmage of spring on Friday morning. The annual Red-White spring game is set for Saturday, April 15.

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South Alabama football spring practice