We looked at Liberty’s quarterbacks on the blog yesterday. We’ll move on today to the running backs, a group that is sorely in need of a bounce-back year.

(As an aside, we’ll look at the fullbacks during the tight end positional preview, as both fall under the umbrella of assistant coach H.T. Kinney.)

DEPTH CHART
SirChauncey Holloway, 5-7, 200, rJr.
Aldreakis Allen, 6-0, 230, So.
Korrey Davis, 5-11, 205, rJr.
Desmond Rice, 5-8, 200, Fr.
Irwin Coleman, 5-9, 190, rSr.

Running backs coach Pete Sundheim breaks down the position, and we’ll start with Allen, who missed last season after violating school rules. Before he could worry about playing football again, Allen had to get back in the good graces of the school, which he did, Sundheim said.

“He committed himself to doing the things he was asked to do, over and above the football,” Sundheim said. “He accomplished those things and he was faithful to them. He proved that he deserved to have the opportunity to come back and be a part of this thing.”

Allen led the team in rushing as a freshman, and he’s up to 230 pounds, which gives him the potential to be a bruising, between-the-tackles runner, something the Flames lacked last season.

“I think there’s a lot more maturity,” Sundheim said. “What it gives us is a guy who has been in some games. He’s had some time to think about his future and his commitment and all of the things that go with it. He’s committed to what we’re trying to do.”

Holloway comes back as the starter after a strong season in which he ran for 524 yards and 10 touchdowns.

“What he challenged him to do was improve on his speed, to give him some goals to take the next step and run away from people,” Sundheim said. “He’s been very good at catching footballs, and he’s an excellent blocker. Pass blocker, run blocker, he’s really special at those things. And he’s got a knack for running the football. He has improved on the speed aspect, in terms of getting to the next level. He should be that much better.”

Davis, the former Heritage High School standout who began his career at Massachusetts, had a rough first season at Liberty, running for just 201 yards and one touchdown. Davis suffered an early turf toe injury last season, and he never got into a groove after that.

“That was an issue, but he doesn’t complain,” Sundheim said. “He’s a humble kid. He’s not going to tell you he’s banged up. But I think there was an issue. But he’s a solid, hard-nosed guy.”

Rice, the former LCA standout, could be a redshirt candidate this season.

“That’s a great question,” Sundheim said. “We still don’t know yet. We’re still in the middle of that process. What we said to Des is that when you’re ready, we’ll be ready. Then we’ll have to make a tough decision. But I’ll say this, he can compete. He can play.”