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Arkansas Football: T.J. Hammonds the Razorbacks’ best kept secret

By Andrew Miller

COLUMBIA, SC - OCTOBER 7: Running back TJ Hammonds #6 of the Arkansas Razorbacks tries to elude a tackle by linebacker TJ Brunson #6 of the South Carolina Gamecocks at Williams-Brice Stadium on October 7, 2017 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Todd Bennett/GettyImages)
COLUMBIA, SC - OCTOBER 7: Running back TJ Hammonds #6 of the Arkansas Razorbacks tries to elude a tackle by linebacker TJ Brunson #6 of the South Carolina Gamecocks at Williams-Brice Stadium on October 7, 2017 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Todd Bennett/GettyImages) /
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Any program that has a strong emphasis on the rushing attack, like Arkansas football, has the ability to boast a multitude of skilled running backs.

Arkansas football exits spring camp with some positive takeaways for a new look offense under a new head coach in Chad Morris. The deepest position group for the offense is at running back, with a nice amount of experience returning to campus this fall. That group of solid running backs includes known names like Devwah Whaley, T.J. Hammonds, and Chase Hayden.

Each of those running backs adds a unique dynamic to the Razorbacks’ ground game that could help the entire team improve its record this year. That’s something that Arkansas definitely needs given the level of disappointment from the fan base coming off a four win campaign last season.

Between these three running backs aforementioned for the Hogs, Hammonds had both the smallest workload last year and also the most yards per carry. On 32 rushing attempts last season, Hammonds averaged 8.2 yards per carry. He also had an impressive 64 receiving yards and one touchdown on just two catches.

Meanwhile, Hayden had an average of 5.3 yards per carry and Whaley had 4.4 in 2017. Neither of those numbers are bad averages, but also nowhere near the efficiency of Hammonds. His production was maximized in an unnecessarily slim one point home victory over the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers.

In that win over Coastal Carolina, Hammonds had seven carries for 119 rushing yards and one touchdown. He also added a 60 yard touchdown reception to that nice rushing performance. It’s likely that the Hogs would’ve fallen short in what would’ve been a massive upset to the Chanticleers if not for the efforts of Hammonds.

His other impressive performance came in a huge win over Arkansas’ division rival in the Ole Miss Rebels. That victory over Ole Miss is one of the more surprising ones of the season, given that the Rebels played very well under the direction of dual-threat quarterback Jordan Ta’amu.

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Only time will tell if Hammonds is able to pan out this fall. All signs point to him having a breakout campaign as part of a new offensive scheme. This new system under Morris should help the efficiency of the Arkansas running backs increase more so than under Bret Bielema. That’s something that also directly benefits an already efficient Hammonds this year.

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