Shamari Brooks
Tulsa’s Running Back Group Second Only to Clemson
9/11/2020 7:00:00 AM | Football
TULSA, Okla. –– Tulsa's returning stable of running backs enters the 2000 season with over 4,500 yards between the four returning players, which is second among returning running back corps in the FBS this season.
It's the second-highest rushing yardage and rushing TD totals returning in 2020 and is second to the nation's preseason No. 1-ranked Clemson Tigers. Tulsa's running back room returns 4,541 yards and 51 TDs, while Clemson returned highs of 5,887 yards and 74 rushing TDs.
For the Hurricane, Shamari Brooks leads the way with 2,700 yards and 23 TDs followed by Corey Taylor II with 1,490 yards and 22 TDs. T.K. Wilkerson has gained 315 yards and 6 TDs on the ground, while Christian Lovick has 36 rushing yards.
Brooks enters the 2020 season ranked 5th on the school's career rushing list and 11th for rushing TDs. He became just the 16th Tulsa player to gain over 2,000 career rushing yards and had a career-high 202 yards in the season finale at ECU last year.
Brooks has 12 career 100+ rushing games in 32 contests, while Taylor has five 100+ rushing games in 31 games.
In the last two years, Brooks and Taylor have rushed for 81.6-percent of Tulsa's total rushing yards. The tandem combined for 1,507 rushing yards and 12 TDs in the 2019 season, which was 90.7-percent of Tulsa's rushing game. Brooks totaled 1,046 yards and 6 TDs, while Taylor had 461 yards and 6 TDs for 1,507 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2019.
In 2018, the duo combined for 1,813 of Tulsa's 2,406 rushing yards for 75-percent of Tulsa's run game, as well as scoring 18 of Tulsa's 23 rushing TDs.
Top-5 Returning Running Back Groups for Yards and TDs
(Schools with nation's top returning RB groups for yards and TDs, excluding QBs)
RUSHING YARDS RUSHING TOUCHDOWNS
Rk School Yds Rk School TDs
1. Clemson 5,887 1. Clemson 74
2. Tulsa 4,541 2. Tulsa 51
3. UAB 4,368 3. Toledo 49
4. UCF 4,279 4. Fresno State 45
5. Toledo 4,199 5. UAB 42
Players Mentioned
Running Back
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Running Back
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Running Back
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