Will Arkansas be better at running back in 2024?

Here’s an in-depth look at Arkansas’ running back situation in 2024. Who is in. Who is out. Is the outlook better looking ahead to next season than what was put on display in 2023?

The Arkansas Razorbacks have added four-star transfer Ja’Quinden Jackson out of Utah and lost two of their top four running backs last season to the transfer portal in four-star transfer Raheim Sanders and ‘un-reranked’ AJ Green. Will the Hogs be better off at RB in 2024 than they were in 2023?

The program returns rising sophomore Isaiah Augustave, 6-2, 208, junior Rashod Dubinion, 5-10, 216, and redshirt senior Dominique Johnson, 6-1, 252, and is adding incoming four-star freshman Braylen Russell, 6-2, 240. The Razorbacks are also expected to host four-star freshman J’Marion Burnett, 6-1, 220, this coming weekend. There has been some speculation in Columbia that South Carolina native Jimmy Smith might be a candidate for the same position with the Gamecocks to fill their vacancy, though there is no tangible evidence of that at this time.

If Arkansas were losing the first-team All-SEC version of Sanders from 2022 — who rushed for 1,443 yards and 10 touchdowns last season — this would be considered a crushing loss for the Hogs with an in-conference move to South Carolina. But they’re actually losing a guy who had one good game last season (18 carries for 103 yards at Florida), who only played in six games (barely in some of them) and was injured from the first game of the season.