2015 Prediction: Brandon Wilds for 1,000 yards
Brandon Wilds is feeling pretty confident heading into the 2015 season. Just check out this interview from the 2nd scrimmage of camp:
As a low 3-star Fullback prospect in the class of 2011, Wilds began his true Freshman season as an afterthought buried on the depth chart. With injuries to Kenny Miles and Shon Carson, however, he began to get a few carries each game, and after Marcus Lattimore went down with his first knee injury at Mississippi State Wilds found himself alone at the top of the depth chart. In his first start at Tennessee he carried the ball 28 times for 137 yards and added another 31 yards on 3 receptions. He added 2 more 100 yard games over the next 3 contests, and ended the season with the 3rd most carries on the team. It's safe to say that Wilds had far exceeded expectations and was a critical piece of South Carolina's first ever 11-win season.
After battling injuries for the entirety of the 2012 season and part of 2013, Wilds spent last season backing up Mike Davis and getting about 22% of total carries (vs 42% for Davis). Now that Davis has moved on to the NFL, Wilds enters his final season as the clear #1 at running back.
South Carolina maintained a very balanced Offense last year (49.5% Pass, 50.5% Run). Given the relative inexperience at QB and WR in 2015, it's safe to assume that this balance will at least be maintained, and more likely will skew more toward the running game. If Wilds stays healthy, he should see at least as many carries as Mike Davis did last year from his position as the featured back. In terms of yards per carry Wilds has consistently improved his numbers every season in which he has played, from 4.5 yards / carry in 2011 to 5.4 in 2014. Assuming that his 2015 average doesn't fall below his career average of 5.0 yards / carry and won't be significantly higher than his 2014 average, Wilds can be expected to accumulate between 993 - 1,070 yards on ground with 8 TDs.
Here's some Brandon Wilds highlights from 2014: