Killins’ exit isn’t really an end
Knights confident that run game will continue to be a strong point
UCF RUNNING BACKS
UCF football returns talent and experience at the tailback position despite losing arguably its most explosive player.
Adrian Killins wrapped up a successful career with the Knights in 2019, finishing with 2,459 rushing yards and 25 rushing touchdowns. His 6 yards-per-carry career average is the best in school history, and he holds two of UCF’s top five longest runs from scrimmage.
“AK was a huge part of the foundation of the UCFast movement,” UCF running backs coach Anthony Tucker said of Killins. “He’s somebody that will go down as one of the greatest players to play here and hopefully he gets to play a lot longer [in the NFL]. But I just think the way that we run that room, there’s a lot of contributors.”
Four players rushed for at least 500 yards last season, a group led by Otis Anderson (726 yards). Killins (629), Bentavious Thompson (604) and Greg McCrae (529) followed behind him.
“You have an immense amount of experience coming back in Greg, Beno and Otis, who I would put against any three guys in the country, and they could play anywhere in the country,” Tucker said.
Greg McCrae
Otis Anderson, Bentavious Thompson, Trillion Coles, Damarius Good, Johnny Richardson
Adrian Killins
After putting together his first 1,000-yard rushing campaign in 2018, McCrae saw his production dip after missing several games with an apparent knee injury. McCrae returned in time to take part in the final three games, including leading the team in rushing with 80 yards against Marshall in the Gasparilla Bowl. … Anderson, who also plays receiver, took on a bigger role out of the backfield when Killins and McCrae went down with injuries. He set career highs in carries (113), rushing yards (726) and rushing touchdowns (five) and his 1,391 allpurpose yards were a team high. … Thompson took advantage of the added playing time while Killins and McCrae were out with injuries. He quickly asserted himself as a valuable addition to the rotation, leading the team with eight rushing touchdowns — four were by 20 or more yards. His 6.94 yards-per-carry average was the second highest on the team behind Killins (7.23). … Coles also figured into the UCF attack, rushing for 168 yards in seven appearances in 2019. … Good spent last season on the scout team as a true freshman. Freshman Johnny Richardson, a speedy three-star prospect, will also look to learn from the deep running backs group.