clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

New Mexico’s Kasey Carrier could be the best RB in the conference

Only four games into the season the New Mexico running back is already leading the conference as the most explosive back in the league

New Mexico RB Kasey Carrier.
New Mexico RB Kasey Carrier.
Ivan Pierre Aguirre-USA TODAY Sp
According to the statistics there is no doubt about who leads the MW conference as the most prolific running back in the league. New Mexico's senior RB Kasey Carrier, 5-9, 185 lbs, has that distinction. UNLV’s Tim Cornett, Boise State’s Jay Ajayi and Wyoming's Shaun Wick are all next in line, but none of them are averaging over 100 yards per game. Cornett is averaging 99.6 yards at 5.3 yards a carry, Ajayi is averaging 87 yards at 4.9 a carry, and Wick is averaging 72.4 yards with 5.8 yards a carry. By contrast Carrier is popping out 139.8 yards per game on average with 6.0 yards per carry making him the best in the conference.

Those stats should come as no surprise to Mountain West fans. Last season Carrier carried 255 times and racked up 1,469 yards and 15 TD’s, averaging 5.8 yards per carry. Like this year he seemed to be making up for lost time after a knee injury forced him to redshirt the 2011 season. So far the New Mexico Lobo star out of Pearland, Texas has carried 93 times for 559 yards and 5 TD’s easily putting him on track to meet or exceed last year’s gaudy numbers. He was the week 2 Mountain West Player of the Week and featured here in August as one of the 50 best players in the Mountain West Conference. He has also been named to the Maxwell Award preseason watch list.

Last October Kasey Carrier set a school and Mountain West record with 338 rushing yards with three touchdowns on 38 carries against Air Force. Don’t be surprised if at some point this season he breaks his own record.

More from Mountain West Connection: