Brandon Wilds rushed for 570 yards and four touchdowns in 2014. (AP photo)
Every year, programs must replace key players.
This is a team-by-team look at 13 SEC programs (Chip Towers and Seth Emerson have UGA covered) and a key player who must be replaced this season.
Who replaces Mike Davis? Brandon Wilds has his chance.
He’s waited behind Davis, a fourth-round pick of San Francisco, for three seasons and will finally get his opportunity to be the Gamecocks’ No. 1 running back.
He has the experience, even starting four games in 2014, when he finished with 570 yards and four touchdowns, to go with 18 catches for 143 yards and another score.
At 6-2, 224, Wilds is larger than Davis (5-9, 217), but is facing competition from sophomore David Williams, who often worked with the first-team offense during spring drills.
Wilds has 1,277 career yards and Williams (6-1, 216) rushed for 256 yards in 2014.
“There’s a big running back competition, and I respect Dave to the utmost,” Wilds said this spring. “He reminds me of a great running back. We are coming out here competing every day.”
