Remember me? The SEC’s forgotten tailbacks of the BCS era

We’re only two years removed from the infamous BCS era, yet the legacies of some of the stars of that generation of SEC football are already beginning to fade into the distance.

We’re not talking stars like Tim Tebow or Cam Newton or Cadillac Williams, but rather players from the next tier of stardom. Many of these players earned all-conference honors and went on to post wonderful careers in the NFL, yet that still hasn’t kept them from being overshadowed by the stars of a new generation.

In an effort to recognize the best of the BCS era as we distance ourselves from that time, here are some of the SEC’s forgotten star tailbacks from 1998-2013:

Brandon Bolden

School: Ole Miss

Years: 2008-11

Stats: 2,594 yards rushing, 5.3 yards per carry, 27 rushing touchdowns, 76 receptions, 807 yards receiving, 6 receiving touchdowns.

Career: Bolden was a star all-purpose back at Ole Miss in the late 2000s, picking up where star all-purpose weapon Dexter McCluster left off (the two overlapped for two years in Oxford in 2008-09). Bolden never amassed more than 163 carries in any one season, but still averaged more than 600 yards per year on the ground at better than 5 yards per carry. He was even more productive as a receiver, much like McCluster, adding another threat to the Ole Miss backfield during his four-year career. He’s since served a productive dual-threat back for the NFL’s New England Patriots, among others.

Cedric Cobbs

School: Arkansas

Years: 1999-2003

Stats: 3,000 yards rushing, 5.1 yards per carry, 26 rushing touchdowns, 26 receptions, 138 yards receiving, 1 receiving touchdown, 1 kickoff return touchdown.

Career: Cobbs starred at Arkansas during the turn of the century, dating back all the way to the earliest days of the BCS era. He’s one of only 33 players in SEC history to hit the 3,000 career yards mark, and he finished second in the SEC in yards with more than 1,300 as a senior in 2003, earning first-team All-SEC honors as a result. He was also an SEC All-Freshman selection in 2000, foreshadowing one of the greatest careers by an Arkansas tailback since the school joined the SEC in 1992.

Kenneth Darby

School: Alabama

Years: 2003-06

Stats: 3,324 yards rushing, 4.7 yards per carry, 11 rushing touchdowns, 70 receptions, 340 yards receiving, 2 receiving touchdowns.

Career: Of all the successful tailbacks in Alabama history, Darby still ranks third in school history in career rushing yards with more than 3,300. He posted 1,000-yard seasons as a sophomore and junior in 2004 and 2005, earning second-team All-SEC honors in ’04 and first-team honors in ’05. He was also active as a receiver at Alabama, catching 70 balls during his career. He was a late-round draft pick in 2007, but only ran for 408 career yards in four NFL seasons.

Earnest Graham

School: Florida

Years: 1998-2002

Stats: 3,085 yards rushing, 5.1 yards per carry, 33 rushing touchdowns, 59 receptions, 402 yards receiving, 0 receiving touchdowns.

Career: Graham was a model for consistency during his career at Florida, rushing for at least 600 yards in each of his four seasons as a Gator. He posted his only 1,000-yard season as a senior in 2002, and he was named a second-team All-SEC honoree in 2001 despite only playing in nine games due to injury. His greatest attribute was his nose for the end zone, and his 33 career rushing touchdowns still rank in the top 25 in SEC history. He went undrafted in 2003, but overcame the odds to post a nine-year NFL career before retiring in 2011.

Rafael Little

School: Kentucky

Years: 2004-07

Stats: 2,996 yards rushing, 5.2 yards per carry, 16 rushing touchdowns, 131 receptions, 1,324 yards receiving, 4 receiving touchdowns, 1 kickoff return touchdown, 1 punt return touchdown.

Career: Little was a true all-purpose back, making up for his lack of size with immaculate speed and shiftiness in the open field. He posted two 1,000-yard seasons in 2005 and 2007, and went over 300 yards receiving for three straight years from 2005-07. He’s the only player on this list to post at least 2,500 yards rushing and at least 1,000 receiving, and he added a pair of return touchdowns during his career to truly round out his game. He’s easily forgotten as an alum of an unheralded UK program and as someone forced to share the spotlight with stars like Andre Woodson and Stevie Johnson during his career.

Jerious Norwood

School: Mississippi State

Years: 2002-05

Stats: 3,222 yards rushing, 5.6 yards per carry, 15 rushing touchdowns, 43 receptions, 186 yards receiving, 2 receiving touchdowns.

Career: Norwood posted consecutive 1,000-yard seasons in his final two years in Starkville, which just happened to be Sylvester Croom’s first two years as Mississippi State’s head coach. In that time he ran for nearly 2,200 yards and 13 touchdowns, although the Bulldogs were a mere 6-16 those years. Nevertheless, Norwood starred during a difficult rebuilding period, and the work he did in the backfield would help pave the way for future star tailbacks to come to Mississippi State, like Anthony Dixon, Vick Ballard, LaDarius Perkins and now Josh Robinson.

Zac Stacy

School: Vanderbilt

Years: 2009-12

Stats: 3,143 yards rushing, 5.4 yards per carry, 30 rushing touchdowns, 46 receptions, 415 yards receiving, 0 receiving touchdowns.

Career: It’s only been two years since Stacy was last gashing SEC defenses, but as a former Vanderbilt Commodore his career is easily forgotten, especially by fans of the SEC West who don’t encounter Vanderbilt often. Stacy’s final two years at Vanderbilt coincided with James Franklin’s first two years as head coach, and it was Stacy who served as the ‘Dores’ workhorse as Franklin rebuilt the program into a contender in the SEC. Stacy ran for more than 1,100 yards in both those seasons (2011-12), adding 24 touchdowns in that time and earning consecutive All-SEC honors. His senior year was the first of Franklin’s two nine-win seasons, allowing Stacy to enjoy the reward for his work as a Commodore.

Ethan Levine

A former newspaper reporter who has roamed the southeastern United States for years covering football and eating way too many barbecue ribs, if there is such a thing.