[Tuck4Bama]

Thurman Thomas had Barry Sanders at Oklahoma State. Eric Dickerson played alongside Craig James at SMU. Auburn's Cadillac Williams was teamed with Ronnie Brown. At Arkansas, Darren McFadden shares the ball with Felix Jones. Even the most dynamic running backs need a capable backup.

And that's especially true in the brutal Southeastern Conference, where ferocious defenses try to impose their will with punishing hits.

" I learned 13 years ago when I got to Ole Miss that you'd better have more than one [tailback ], " Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville said Wednesday on the league's weekly teleconference. " If you go in with one, you're not going to make it. "

Even with Jones occasionally taking his place, McFadden currently leads the SEC in average number of carries, running the ball 28. 5 times per game. Whether he will be able to keep that pace going is subject to conjecture at this point. But Razorbacks coach Houston Nutt said he's not opposed to using McFadden as much as he can.

" Barry Sanders averaged about 31 carries, " Nutt said. " Same with Thurman Thomas. We know Darren is going to get his carries. If he's healthy, he gets better as the game goes. He gets stronger as the game goes. So you want him in the game. " But Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer said that running backs must be treated delicately over the course of the season. They can wear down easily if featured too much in the offense. " Defenses have gotten so physical and there are so many hits those guys take that it's almost necessary [to have another one available ], " Fulmer said. " We have always tried to have three ready. We have three when we're playing well. " Right now, Nutt's stable is stocked. Jones has carried the ball 28 times. Michael Smith has 11 rush attempts. Yet, McFadden is the workhorse - as he proved last Saturday in Arkansas' 41-38 loss to the Crimson Tide. In that game, McFadden amassed 195 yards on 33 carries. But Tuberville wonders if any running back is capable of doing what McFadden has already accomplished over an entire season. " It would be almost impossible to start a Herschel Walker or a Bo Jackson at the beginning of a 12-game regular season and say we are going to run 25 times, " Tuberville said. " You'd have to be awfully lucky for them not to miss one, two, three games or possibly more. "

WholeHogSports.com - One tailback not enough to survive SEC schedule