In 2025, the LSU football running game took another step back -- it wasn't just bad, it was virtually nonexistent. In 2024, a healthy Garrett Nussmeier covered up some of the issues, but that wasn't the case in 2025.
LSU head coach Brian Kelly and offensive coordinator Joe Sloan were, of course, let go in October, while interim head coach/running back coach Frank Wilson was among the many, many LSU-Ole Miss swaps we saw in the offseason. Out went Wilson; in came Kevin Smith, who had to work overtime to restock his running back room; and just as Smith and Lane Kiffin found success at running back with a then-unheard-of transfer named Kewan Lacy, the two might have found LSU's next bell cow back via the portal.
Today, we preview the outlook for LSU football's running back room in 2026.
LSU football running back preview
| Player | Height/Weight | Carries | Yards | YPC | TDs |
| 13 Dilin Jones* (Rs. Soph.) | 5'11"/211 | 76 | 300 | 3.9 | 2 |
| 22 Harlem Berry (Soph.) | 5'10"/187 | 104 | 491 | 4.7 | 2 |
| 23 Stacy Gage (Rs. Soph.)** | 5'10"/206 | 13 | 63 | 4.8 | 1 |
| 25 Rod Gainey (Rs. Soph.)*** | 5'9"/183 | 74 | 260 | 3.5 | 1 |
| 29 Caden Durham (Jr.) | 5'9"/200 | 111 | 505 | 4.5 | 3 |
*At Wisconsin
**At UCF
***At Charlotte
When it comes to the running backs, the talk of spring practice and fall camp hasn't been one of the returning faces; instead, it's been Wisconsin transfer Dilin Jones, who seems to be the leader in the clubhouse. Jones was Wisconsin's starting running back up until the midway point of the season, but his sophomore campaign was ended by a turf toe injury.
Despite only appearing in 10 games over two seasons, Jones has seemingly seized the No. 1 running back job and, for whatever it's worth, measures very similarly to Kewan Lacy. That's not to say Jones should be penciled in for a 1,500 yard/20 touchdown season like Lacy had in 2025, but Kiffin and Smith clearly have a type and Jones appears to be what the new coaching staff prefers.
Of course, if there was anyone poised to win the starting job or at least split the bulk of the carries, it would be prized sophomore Harlem Berry.
As a freshman, Berry flashed some of the ability that made him the No. 1 running back in the country for the class of 2025 and, by all accounts, was one of the most heavily prioritized retentions on the roster once the coaching change happened. Berry started the final six games of 2025 and finished second on the roster in carries (104) and yards (491). Berry's talent is off the charts; now it's on the new regime to bring it out of him.
Speaking of rising sophomores that were poised for a breakout, Caden Durham, unfortunately, did not build upon his Freshman All-SEC season from 2024. Despite an ankle injury and the aforementioned atrocious blocking in front of him, Durham still ended up leading LSU in rushing for a second consecutive season, but he clearly didn't have the season anyone was hoping for. Durham entered the transfer portal but took his name out about 10 days later, and will instead run it back ahead of his draft year.
There's no such thing as having too much depth on a football team, but right now it's hard to envision either Stacy Gage or Rod Gainey earning too many carries of significance this season. Maybe one of the two works his way up the depth chart, but right now it appears that LSU's top three, in some combination, are Jones-Berry-Durham.
This article originally appeared on LSU Wire: LSU Football 2026 Preview: Transfer leads the RB room