Arkansas Football: True freshman Chase Hayden has bright future ahead

Arkansas football found a gem of a running back in true freshman Chase Hayden who had a huge game against the Florida A&M Rattlers.

The Arkansas Razorbacks always seem to have a great stable of running backs. Sophomore Devwah Whaley looked like the set in stone starter after the unexpected retirement of Rawleigh Williams III. True freshman Chase Hayden is one of Whaley’s presumed backups.

However, Whaley was not the best Arkansas back in the season opener against Florida A&M. Hayden got two more carries than Whaley. He also doubled the total rushing yards in the game. Whaley racked up 60 rushing yards while Hayden got 120.

Averaging 5.0 yards per carry is nothing to scoff at. Whaley played well against the Rattlers. However, Hayden averaged 8.6 yards per carry. Both backs found the endzone once. For a true freshman in his first game, Hayden looked very calm and collected in such a big role.

Arkansas always finds running back depth even when there seems to be none. Senior South Carolina transfer David Williams did get seven carries but only managed 23 yards. Williams did get in the end zone twice, though.

Run, run and run some more

In total, Arkansas racked up more than 230 rushing yards and four touchdowns against the Florida A&M defense. They took advantage of the opportunity to build some momentum against a FCS opponent before they take on the head coach Gary Patterson and the TCU Horned Frogs in Week 2.

Bret Bielema now has another go-to guy on offense that Austin Allen can give the ball to. Hayden could be the RB of the future for the Razorbacks since Whaley is destined to leave for the NFL Draft. It would not be a surprise if he declares early. Hayden has the talent to be a starting running back in the SEC.

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Arkansas is a run by committee team this year. Without Rawleigh Williams, they need all hands on deck. They now have a running back with fresh legs and a bright future that has Freshman All-American type potential in Hayden.