Syracuse football's 2026 season preview: Taking a look at SU's running back room

There’s no getting around it: The Syracuse football rushing attack was a mess last season. Replacing LeQuint Allen, who had a fine rookie campaign with the Jaguars, turned out to be even harder than expected. Yasin Willis and Will Nixon both struggled to find consistency, not that the offensive line or frequently playing from behind helped.

During the offseason, there has been considerable turnover in the running back room. Both Willis and Nixon are gone, with head coach Fran Brown dipping into the transfer portal in search of a fix. With plenty of new faces and tons of uncertainty, let’s take a closer look at the Syracuse running backs heading into the 2026 season.

The starters

The starting spot looks anything but settled heading into the season. The two leading options are LSU transfer Ju’Juan Johnson and Jackson State transfer Ahmad Miller. Johnson is the more intriguing option, as he hails from Louisiana and spent two seasons as a backup at LSU. He had just 155 yards on 41 carries with two touchdowns for the Tigers last season, so he’s still lacking experience. However, 17 catches in limited action show that Johnson has a versatile skill set.

On the other hand, Miller is coming off a 1,000-yard season at the FCS level. He had five 100-yard games last year, helping propel Jackson State to the SWAC Championship Game. Miller’s 2025 season certainly warrants a step up the college football ladder. But whether he can hit the ground running in the Atlantic Coast Conference remains to be seen.

The backups

Behind the two transfers are sophomore Tylik Hill and redshirt freshman Malachi Coleman. Hill got 24 carries last season, gaining 129 yards. At 5’9’’, he won’t be a workhorse back, but the New Jersey native could offer a change of pace. With the starting spot unsettled, Hill has an opportunity to play his way into the rotation and get consistent touches this year.

The same logic applies to Coleman, who saw limited action last year, gaining 31 yards on nine carries. Since he was limited to just four games, Coleman was able to redshirt. As a more diminutive running back with great speed, Coleman also fits into the change-of-pace category. Similar to Hill, there will be opportunities for him to see an increased role in 2026, although there is no guarantee that will happen.

The rest

One interesting name at running back on the Syracuse roster is Davion Kerr. His twin brother Davien has been a key part of the Syracuse secondary the past two seasons, whereas Davion took a post-grad year and didn’t join the Orange until 2025. His action was limited to five carries and two catches, as well as six kickoff returns, across seven games. Even with the running back position wide open, Kerr does look a little buried on the depth chart.

Finally, there is true freshman Shavane Anderson. He hails from Pennsylvania, bringing good size and a track background. Conventional wisdom says that Anderson will take a de facto redshirt year and won’t see much of the field. Of course, it’s not uncommon for freshmen running backs to come out of nowhere and make an immediate impact, especially with so much unsettled at the position heading into the season.

The skinny

It would be nice to have some answers heading into the season, but that’s not the case for the Orange running backs. In all likelihood, Johnson and Miller will split most of the reps unless one emerges as the clear workhorse back. Hill and Coleman should also be in the mix, at least early in the season, giving both a chance to carve out a meaningful role. The bottom line is that Syracuse enters the 2026 season without a running back who’s a proven commodity at the FBS level, and that is among the team’s biggest concerns heading into the new season.

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