STARKVILLE — Whether Mississippi State running back Kylin Hill plays at all during the 2020 season remains a mystery.
Just days after Hill announced he would not play this year unless the Confederate battle flag is removed from the Mississippi state banner, he’s gained widespread acclaim for his use of his platform as one of Mississippi’s most prolific college athletes. That said, should he not suit up in the maroon and white, MSU would have to replace perhaps its most prolific offensive playmaker.
As a junior, the Columbus native finished 41 yards shy of Anthony Dixon’s single-season rushing record of 1,391 yards and notched 10 touchdowns on the ground. He also added 18 catches for 180 yards and one score — numbers that stand to grow massively should Hill partake in first-year head coach Mike Leach’s air raid offense.
With Hill’s future in Starkville now likely up to Mississippi state legislators, the most logical option to handle the load are senior Kareem Walker and sophomore Lee Witherspoon.
A junior college transfer who took an academic redshirt last season, Walker came to Starkville as a one-time Michigan running back and former four-star recruit in the class of 2016. In five games with the Wolverines during the 2017 campaign, he recorded 20 carries for 68 yards and one touchdown in 2017.
Walker spent the majority of his time in Starkville last season on the scout team, and coaches raved about his performance against the first-team defense.
“I think our skill set is kind of in line with what we do really well,” new MSU running backs coach Eric Mele said of this year’s running back contingent. “So it’ll be fun to see our guys catch a ball in the flat and see an SEC linebacker trying to go one on one out there in space.”
Behind Walker, Witherspoon flashed a dynamic between-the-tackles running ability in limited action as a freshman. He finished his inaugural campaign as a Bulldog with 22 carries for 101 yards and one touchdown and tacked on three receptions for 19 yards as a freshman, and teammates compared his ability and running style to that of former Georgia standout and current Cleveland Brown Nick Chubb.
Other players that could find themselves in the fold are the freshman tandem of Jo’quavious Marks and Dillon Johnson. Marks — a four-star recruit out of Atlanta — was the second-highest rated player in MSU’s 2020 recruiting class after he totaled 1,961 yards and 23 touchdowns on 168 carries as a senior despite missing two games.
As for Johnson, he arrives at MSU after a standout career at St. Joseph High School in Greenville. Despite splitting carries during his high school career with Oregon commit Trey Benson, he finished his final high school season with 1,665 yards and 24 touchdowns on just 120 carries.
“You have Kareem, who is an older guy, Lee Witherspoon — I think all of us agree that kid is going to be pretty special — and now to add Jo’Quavious and Dillon into the fold — one a four-star guy and the other a three-star guy who should be a four-star guy,” former coach Joe Moorhead said of the group in mid-December. “I think those guys are a great mix, and the one thing in the system we’ve had over the years is a tremendous amount of success from the tailback position and kind of the ingredients that you look for.”
Beyond Hill’s possible boycott of the season, this year also marks a major transition in ideology from Moorhead’s regime to Leach’s. Implementing his high-flying, pass-heavy offense, running backs should see their carries dip but their catches climb. None of the current running backs is a proven receiver, but both Marks and Johnson seemingly have some upside there.
“We’re not playing phone booth football,” running backs coach Eric Mele said in February. “You gotta catch every pass. You don’t drop a ball — that’s like fumbling a handoff. So they gotta understand that part of it too. You catch it first and then tuck, turn, get your pads square to the defender, make him miss or run through the tackle.”
Mississippi State has the pieces to mitigate a Hill-sized hole, but losing the Southeastern Conference’s leading rusher from a season a year ago is a hit nonetheless.
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
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