How Will Steve Spurrier, South Carolina Replace Mike Davis in 2015?

The days of South Carolina having a bell-cow running back could be coming to an end in earnest. That's because its latest every-down running back, Mike Davis, is headed to the NFL. 

“Yes, this will be my last game,” Davis said in an email statement from South Carolina on the upcoming Independence Bowl versus Miami (Saturday, Dec. 27). “You always want to go out with a bang. I just tell my teammates that I love them. I’ve enjoyed this long ride."

Davis has led the Gamecocks in rushing in each of the last two seasons, with 927 yards this season and 1,183 yards in 2013. He's accounted for 20 rushing touchdowns during that two-year span as well as 64 catches for 701 yards out of the backfield. 

Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

The most telling stat, though, is the percentage of the running game that went through him. The next-closest running back in terms of production was junior Brandon Wilds, who had 85 fewer carries than Davis' 186 attempts.

That number is dwarfed by his number of carries last year, though. Davis carried the ball 203 times, while Shon Carson, the next-leading running back, had 61 carries. (Quarterback Connor Shaw was an important part of the ground attack with 154 carries.) 

Before Davis, Marcus Lattimore was the Gamecocks' go-to running back for three years. Not since 2009, with Kenny Miles and Brian Maddox, has South Carolina relied on multiple running backs to carry the load of the offense. 

That could be the case in 2015, however. Unless someone emerges as the No. 1 guy, head coach Steve Spurrier's offense could have a real running back-by-committee approach—at least at first. Wilds seems like the most likely candidate to be that No. 1 guy.

As Avery Wilks of GamecockCentral.com points out, Wilds briefly took on the role of an every-down back in 2011 because of injuries elsewhere: 

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Wilds was ready as a true freshman, when injuries to Marcus Lattimore and Shon Carson left the Blythewood, South Carolina, native as the Gamecocks' best option at tailback.

Wilds accounted for nearly 81 percent of USC's tailback carries over the next four games, taking 87 carries for 387 yards and three touchdowns.

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Wilds and redshirt freshman David Williams, the next-leading rushers behind Davis, have been extremely productive in the times they have seen the field. On average, the two have picked up 5.6 yards per rush on about seven carries per game. 

Beyond them, it could be a wild card. The Gamecocks still have Carson, and two more running backs—AJ Turner and Mon Denson—have verbally committed to South Carolina for the 2015 class, per 247Sports. There's also wide receiver Pharoh Cooper, who tends to do a little bit of everything. This past season, Cooper ran the ball 24 times and scored a pair of touchdowns. 

Brandon Wilds	Junior	567 yards	4 TDs
David Williams	Freshman	256 yards	2 TDs
Pharoh Cooper (WR)	Sophomore	198 yards	2 TDs
Shon Carson	Junior	141 yards	2 TDs

Turner is a smaller back, listed at 5'11" and 180 pounds on 247Sports. The overall identity at running back, however, is of the bulky, downhill-runner variety. All other running backs, including Cooper at wide receiver, are over 200 pounds. 

It appears next season will be a steady diet of multiple power backs for opposing defenses. With Spurrier breaking in a new starting quarterback, that should be a good thing. 

Ben Kercheval is a lead writer for college football. All quotes obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise. All stats courtesy of cfbstats.com.