BATON ROUGE, La. – Clyde Edwards-Helaire totaled 1,867 scrimmage yards in 2019, and the Tigers now have the tall task of replacing the stocky running back. LSU has three sophomores poised to replace Edwards-Helaire, but the Bayou Bengals only called on one last season when the Catholic High Bear went down: Chris Curry, who could be the next feature back for LSU’s offense.
“The big game that he had. Obviously, he waited his turn, and had an excellent game and provided a spark plug for us when Clyde was down. I think that gives him some confidence. I think it gives him some motivation for this year, and he also can use Clyde as an example. Last year, nobody thought Clyde would have the year that he did, except his teammates and his coaches, and he even surpassed that,” LSU head coach Ed Orgeron said.
Curry was the main back for the Tigers in their 63-28 win over Oklahoma in the Peach Bowl. The Lehigh High School alum had 16 carries for 90 yards against the Sooners, averaging 5.63 yards per carry. No other LSU running back reached double digit carries.
However, none of the backs have pulled out front in fall camp, and opening kickoff is on the horizon. The Tigers could go running back by committee until the best back stands out.
“I can see, especially in the beginning of the year, using all three backs, maybe four, but if a back is hot, he’s having a great game, we’re not going to take him out. I want the best. I want our guys to do what they do best. Whether it be catching the ball, blocking, outside runs, inside runs. Let’s use the running back that can do that skill the best,” Coach O added.
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