Last week Arkansas running back Rakeem Boyd was named to the coaches’ preseason second team so it wasn’t surprising he was in the same spot on the media team Wednesday.
In the team standings, the Hogs were, well, dead last in the SEC West.
Sam Pittman wasn’t surprised on The Paul Finebaum Show on the SEC Network on Wednesday afternoon.
“We’ve been last in every poll I have seen,” Pittman said. “I didn’t expect it to change since we haven’t played a game yet. We understand that.”
I didn’t put the Razorbacks last in the West in my poll. Alabama was picked to win the West and the league title while Florida was the media choice to win the East. Every single year for over a couple of decades now I’ve picked the Tide and Gators to win their divisions … it makes for a pretty good average.
Boyd led the Hogs in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns in 2018 and 2019, totaling 1,867 career rushing yards and 10 scores in his first two seasons.
As a junior, he ran for 1,133 yards and eight touchdowns, while rushing for over 100 yards in five games, fourth in the SEC and 27th nationally averaging 94.4 yards per game; in addition, Boyd’s 6.4 yards per carry ranked ninth in the conference.
On just eight carries, he rushed for a career-best 185 yards against Western Kentucky, averaging 23.1 yards per attempt, including two touchdown runs of 76 and 86 yards with the latter being a career-long.
Last season, Boyd was one of five rushers in the country to have five runs of 50+ yards and one of just three to have three rushes of 70+ yards.
.@boyd_rakeem picks up another honor and has been named to the Preseason Media All-SEC Second Team ?
?: https://t.co/Wq41vG7jWl pic.twitter.com/ZA5JMMeZ57
— Arkansas Razorback Football (@RazorbackFB) September 23, 2020
As a sophomore in 2018, Boyd ranked 10th in the SEC averaging 6.0 yards per carry and 13th among league-leaders totaling 734 rushing yards.
His eight-career 100+ yard single-game rushing performances make him one of 16 running backs in school history to accomplish the feat.
The Maxwell, Earl Campbell and Doak Walker Awards have Boyd on their watch lists.
