MWC Roundtable: Will a Aztec RB eclipse 1500 rushing yards this year?

San Diego State likes to run the ball. The past four seasons they have had a 1500 yard rusher, twice topping the 2000 yard mark. Penny is gone, but Juwan Washington looks primed for a big season. Does he eclipse 1500 yards (which would more than double his total from last year)? How many does he end up with and how many TDs do you predict for him?

Zach: Last year the Aztecs had over 3000 yards rushing as a team. I expect them to continue to be a run heavy team and rely heavily on Washington. However, they also have a talented true freshman running back in Zidane Thomas. I expect Thomas to get a fair amount of carries, which will keep Thomas from having numbers like Penny or Pumphrey. I will go with 1200 yards for Washington and 800 for Thomas. Washington will finish the year with 15 touchdowns.

Christian: The Aztecs managed to have a monster rushing attack last season despite the offensive line going through massive changes from week to week the first half of the season. With four of five linemen returning the stability up front should mean that no matter who is taking the carries San Diego State should be able to produce massive yards on the ground. Unless d-coordinators are going out of their way to gameplan for him he should come out of the gate strong a stack up some huge early season numbers, by the end of the season I will say 1600 yards and 9 touchdowns.

Vic: For almost 10 years, the Aztecs have amassed well over 2,000 plus yards a season as a team. Firstly, that says more about the system and the time of possession style offense they like to run, literally. So, as a team, they’ll continue that trend, which means yes, I believe Washington will certainly get there barring any injuries. He just has too much speed and toughness and from the one game I saw vs. the Spartans, he’s a spark plug. And just as Penny was in the wings of Pumphrey before he broke out, Washington is right there as well. As far TD predictions, I’d put it north of 10.

Matt: It’s tough to see the Aztecs getting less than 2,500yds rushing, since they’ve been above 3,000 for the last 4 years. Juwuan Washington probably isn’t going to be another 2,000yd rusher on his own, probably easier to pin him around 1,200. Even while having a feature back, SDSU has been known for having multiple RBs getting big yards. Also could mean Washington gets his TDs vultured more than a few times, so I’m going to put him at 10TDs, but the team total will be closer to 20 on the ground.

Mike: It’s San Diego State, they will run the ball early and often. Washington will be a great RB for the Aztecs this year, but I don’t think he’s on the same level as Pumphrey and Penny. That isn’t a knock against him, as their level was other-wordly. Still, after getting around 700 yards last season as the primary backup, it isn’t out of the question to see Washington getting around 1250 yards and finding the end-zone at least 10 times for good measure. As a bonus, true freshman Zidane Thomas leads the backups, and as a group they get above 2,000 for another year.