By Southern Pigskin Staff
SouthernPigskin.com

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Southern Pigskin’s ranking of the top five Sun Belt backfields for 2019.

1. Appalachian State — The combination of quarterback Zac Thomas and running back Darryton Evans is one of the best tandems in all of college football. Thomas is fresh off scoring 31 total touchdowns, while Evans, with 1,187 rushing yards, averaged over 6.6 yards per carry. A dual-threat talent, Thomas has the ability to keep defenses completely off balance. Evans is a big-play waiting to happen. Marcus Williams is a productive reserve back.

2. Louisiana — Remarkably, the Ragin’ Cajuns had three different running backs with at least 750 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. Trey Ragas, Elijah Mitchell and Raymond Calais combined for 2,912 yards and 28 touchdowns in 2018, forming a truly elite trio nationally. Ragas had 1,181 yards, while Mitchell had 13 scores. Junior Levi Lewis will get the first chance at stepping in under center.

3. Georgia Southern — Quarterback Shai Werts made history as a sophomore, scoring 25 total touchdowns and leading the first offense in FBS history to not throw a single interception, setting a new NCAA record with just five turnovers. The versatile Wesley Kennedy averaged over 7.84 yards per rush and is poised for a banner season. Logan Wright is another promising rotational running back.

4. Troy — B.J. Smith had a breakout year in 2018, rushing for 1,186 yards and 13 touchdowns as a junior. He, impressively, had a stretch of five consecutive 100-yard games through the middle of the season. Kaleb Barker is back healthy at quarterback; he started off last fall on a tear with 10 touchdowns and two interceptions on 73% passing. New head coach Chip Lindsey has an impressive offensive track record.

5. ULM — Senior quarterback Caleb Evans is a proven playmaker with 61 total touchdowns. Entering his third year as starter, Evans has seen it all. He is a dual-threat talent, making plays both through the air and on the ground, who has over 1,200 rushing yards over the past two seasons. Fellow senior Austin Vaughn steps into a more prominent role at running back.