OGara: Why its clear that Rocket Sanders first-team All-SEC campaign is beginning its … – Saturday Down South

Excuse me while I belt out some Elton John.

Rocket maaaaaan burning out his fuse up here alone

Raheim Rocket Sanders is in a class by himself. Unlike that classic hit song, which was based on a science fiction story about an astronaut who had regular visits to space because that was something we thought would one day be normal 50 years ago, Sanders ascension is happening on earth. The Arkansas ground game, specifically, is where Sanders worked overtime in the early part of 2022.

At the unofficial quarter-mark of the 2022 season, its becoming abundantly clear that the 227-pound sophomore is steamrolling his way to a first-team All-SEC season. His rise from solid rotational freshman to stud feature back is obvious to all, including Sam Pittman.

Pittman was asked after Saturdays nail-biter comeback win against Bobby Petrinos Missouri State squad why Dominique Johnson didnt play in his return from a knee injury. After all, Johnson and Sanders were separated by just 3 rushing yards in 2021.

Here was Pittmans response:

I didnt consider that as a slight to Johnson. That was a nod to Sanders, who has played at an All-American level so far.

Dont believe me? Through Week 3, Sanders ranks:

If we were talking about 3 games against cupcakes, thatd be one thing. Were not, though. Sanders faced a Cincinnati team fresh off a Playoff berth (albeit after it lost 9 players to the NFL Draft), South Carolina and Missouri State, which came in as a cupcake but only lost because it couldnt stop Sanders. In each game, he recorded at least 23 scrimmage touches, 125 all-purpose yards, 55 snaps and multiple catches out of the backfield.

Its clear that the game plan is no longer to split backfield work with 3 backs like it was last year with Sanders, Trelon Smith (now at UTSA) and Johnson, all of whom finished between 97-to-119 carries. Its now Sanders and KJ Jefferson, who have 112 of Arkansas 144 rushing attempts. The ESPN broadcast during the South Carolina game revealed was the heaviest running back-quarterback duo at the FBS level at 469 pounds.

Thunder and lightning? How about thunder and thunder?

To be fair, Sanders isnt just a power back. I mean, the guy is nicknamed Rocket, which he got playing youth football. Why? As he told Whole Hog Sports after his commitment in 2020, all I did was get the ball and ran towards the outside and he said he was good at jet sweeps and no one was able to catch me.

(It also made sense because his hometown of Rockledge, Fla. is located just 12 miles from the Kennedy Space Center, where they regularly launch rockets from.)

Sanders leads the SEC with 4 plays of 30 yards, and hes tied for 4th nationally with 3 plays of 40 yards. Theres no denying that he has remarkable breakaway speed for anyone, much less someone weighing in at 227 pounds. He ran an 11.31-second 100-meter dash in high school. If you can believe it, he actually didnt play football as a freshman he wanted to follow in brothers footsteps and focus on basketball and a knee injury his sophomore year at running back pushed him to shift to receiver. So he ended up getting more work as a receiver than as a running back when he was a 3-sport star at Rockledge High School (Fla.). Actually, he was your standard WR/RB/LB/KR. Thats right. Because who doesnt have a linebacker who also serves as a kick returner?

Sanders being listed as an athlete as a 4-star recruit made perfect sense, as does why his career has taken off.

He went to an ideal scheme for his skill set with Kendal Briles. The up-tempo, run-heavy spread concepts meant that Arkansas needed several backfield options and even true freshmen like Sanders and AJ Green got a chance to be part of the rotation in 2021. Nobody in the SEC ran the ball more often than Arkansas (588 carries), and nobody in Power 5 averaged as many rushing yards as Arkansas (228 yards/game). The Hogs had the luxury of riding the hot hand and rotating fresh backs.

Johnsons injury combined with Smiths transfer opened the door for Sanders to get more run from the jump in Year 2. The 24 carries he got against South Carolina were a career-high, and as crazy as it sounds, that was 1 fewer carry than he had in his entire career as a varsity football player.

So why does it somehow always look like Sanders is shot out of a cannon? He certainly looks like someone with fresh legs.

By the way, that catch and run came with Arkansas trailing by 10 in the 4th quarter against FCS Missouri State. The Hogs needed all 24 touches and 242 scrimmage yards from the sophomore tailback.

Maybe its just the fact that hes doing big things in an Arkansas uniform while rocking No. 5, but Sanders is going to get all sorts of Darren McFadden comps if he keeps this up. Its probably unrealistic to expect Sanders to hit McFaddens program record of 325 rushing attempts (hes on pace for 286), but with Sanders running behind PFFs No. 2 offensive line in America so far, maybe there could be some competition atop the single-season rushing leaderboard. As it stands, McFadden has the 2 best rushing seasons in Arkansas history with 1,830 yards in 2007 and 1,647 yards in 2006. Sanders 13-game pace is at 1,907 yards.

Its early, but its hard not to be bullish about Sanders. Hear Briles talk about him and youll be even more sold that hes ready for superstardom.

Time will tell how Sanders workload evolves over the course of the season. Someone who has never averaged more than 9 carries per game at the high school or FBS level is going to endure a season unlike any hes ever had, even in the likely event that Johnson works his way back into the rotation. But any thought of an even backfield split is in the past with how well Sanders came out of the gates to kick off 2022.

It went under the radar that Pittman actually said in August that Sanders would get the majority of the carries as long as he was fresh. It made sense with Johnson still working his way back from a knee injury he suffered in the Outback Bowl and with Smith no longer in the backfield as the elder statesman. Preseason love aside, it was hard to imagine that Sanders would look this fresh.

Quickly, Sanders became the best player on a top-10 team. Saturdays primetime matchup against A&M will go a long way in determining whether the Sanders buzz continues to soar. Win or lose, the promising start to his career has many coming to the same conclusion.

Dont bet on the Rocket Mans fuse burning out anytime soon.

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OGara: Why its clear that Rocket Sanders first-team All-SEC campaign is beginning its ... - Saturday Down South