GBK’s Looking Forward 2026 - Running Backs
It’s no secret that Army likes to run the ball. Changes in the blocking rules forced Army to diversify the offense somewhat in recent years, but Army still runs the ball about 85% of the time. In the past 10 years, Army has finished first in Rushing Offense twice, second 4 times, third once, and fourth twice. The lowest Army has finished in rushing yardage was 8th in 2023, when Monken experimented with a new offensive scheme. It’s not coincidental that Army’s scoring offense in 2023 was the lowest of that 10 year period as well. Army’s success is dependent on establishing the running game, and that is dependent on having a stable of good running backs.
For most of the Ellerson years and the early Monken years, Army ran the triple option primarily out of the flexbone formation with a B-back (aka Fullback) and two slotbacks, but Worley has introduced more variety in formations, and the distinction between RBs and SBs is not always apparent.
In our first two articles we looked at the offensive line and the receivers on either side of the line. In this article we move to the backfield to look at the prospects at running back, to include those identified on the roster as slotbacks.
Departures
Army will lose one slotback and two running backs to graduation this year.
Senior SB Noah Short (6-0, 182 lbs) tops our list of graduations losses among running backs this season. Short began his Army career as a safety appearing in 9 games on special teams in his plebe season. He was converted to a SB/WR in 2023 and led the team in receptions with 12 and also ran the ball 3 times for 8 yards. HE appeared in all 14 games with 13 starts and 542 snaps in 2024. He became the main perimeter threat in the Corley offense that season, rushing for 569 yards in 75 carries for a team-leading average of 7.59 yards per carry and 2 rushing TDs. He finished second in receptions with 17 catches in 2024 for 318 yards and 3 receiving TDs. He started all 13 games this past season, finishing second in rushing yardage with 571 yards and first in receptions with 32 catches for 438 yards making him the first player in Army history with 1000 career yards in both rushing and receiving.
Senior RB Hayden Reed (6-0, 215 lbs) started his Army career as a B-back in his plebe season of 2022, appeared in 10 games with 2 starts and 139 snaps as a plebe. He played in 9 games with 2 starts and 195 snaps at RB in 2023. He carried the ball 50 times for 205 yards and had 4 receptions for 29 yards. In 2024, he shared the starting role with Miles Stewart as the blocking slotback appearing in all 14 games with 5 starts with 40 rushing attempts for 207 yards. This past season he played in 12 games with 7 starts and 361 snaps. He finished third in rushing with 74 attempts for 335 yards.
Senior RB Sabastian Shannon appeared in 11 games in 2024 and 6 games in 2025 as a member of special teams.
Returning Backs
The current 2026 roster shows 3 Seniors, 3 Juniors, and 7 Sophomores listed as Running Backs along with 3 Seniors, 1 Junior and 4 Sophomores listed as Slotbacks.
Rising Senior RB Jake Rendina at 5-11 and 240 lbs is the most likely to be the power running back in the 2026 offense. He played in 3 games with no starts and 10 snaps as a plebe in 2023 and appeared in all 14 games with no starts and 219 snaps in 2024. He carried the ball 29 times for 104 yards and 1 touchdown that season. This past season he appeared in 12 games with 5 starts and 234 offensive snaps. He was utilized primarily as a blocking back but had 40 carries for 187 yards and 1 TD. We hope to see him called on to carry the ball more in short yardage situations this coming season.
Rising Senior RB Carson Smith is another power running back at 6-0 and 240 lbs. He appeared in 6 games with 37 snaps in 2024 and had 12 carries for 51 yards. This past season he appeared in 10 games with 1 start and 225 offensive snaps and carried the ball 55 times for 231 yards (4.2 ave) and 2 TDs.
Rising SeniorSB Samari Howard appeared in 12 games with 1 start and 202 snaps in 2024 with 23 times rushing attempts for 128 yards and 2 receptions for 11 yards. This past season he played in all 13 games with 12 starts and 660 offensive snaps. He had 13 carries for 41 yards and 11 receptions for 133 yards. His major contribution was blocking at the perimeter, but he was also the third leading receiver on the team.
Rising Junior RB Briggs Bartosh played in 7 games with 98 snaps at running back before being sidelined with an injury for the last half of the season. He had 44 carries for 246 yards (5.6 ave) and 1 TD. At 5-10 and 213 pounds he combines power with breakaway speed, and we expect to see a lot more of him in 2026 assuming he fully recovers from his injury.
Rising Sophomore RB Godspower Nwawuihe was the surprise of the season when he earned Offensive MVP honors at the Wasabi Fenway Bowl. Godspower was converted from QB to RB in midseason and made his debut against AFA with 2 carries for 8 yards. Prior to the bowl game he had just 9 rushing attempts and was averaging just 2.8 yards per carry, but carried the ball 12 times for 171 yards and 2 TDs against UConn which boosted his season average to 9.3 yards per carry.
Rising Senior SB Lloyd Benson III appeared in 3 games with 19 snaps in 2024 and played in all 13 games with 39 offensive snaps this past season. He has been used primarily as a return man on special teams and had only 3 rushing attempts from the slotback position this past season.
Rising Senior RB Brady Mott appeared in 3 games in 2024 and 12 games in 2025, primarily on special teams, but he had 40 offensive snaps and 1 reception for 15 yards. At 6-1 and 220 lbs his best potential appears to be a blocking back.
Rising Junior RB Aden Self appeared in 12 games with one start (vs Navy) and 201 offensive snaps in 2025. He had no rushing attempts. At 5-11 and 220 lbs, he appears best suited to be a lead blocker.
Rising Senior SB David Clerk appeared in 5 games with 33 snaps in 2024 and 6 games with 25 snaps at slotback this past season. He has 6 career rushing attempts for 52 yards for an average of 8.7 yards per attempt.
Rising Sophomore SB Jayden Walker played 3 snaps in the bowl game against UConn this year.
Outlook for the Spring
There are more than enough quality running backs returning to give us confidence that this will be a strong unit this coming season. At this point in time, we’re assuming that Chandler Burks will be back coaching the running backs and Dane Romero will be coaching slotbacks, but Offensive Coordinator Cody Worley has overall control and we expect he will tweak the offense to optimize the skill sets of his returning players and get the best possible combination of assets on the field for different situations.
The biggest task will be identifying the replacement for Noah Short as the starting slotback. Replacing Short could be by audition or by committee. Returning players at that position include Clerk, Walker, and Benson. Samari Howard has played a lot of snaps opposite Noah at the other slotback position, and he might be called on to replace Short as the perimeter threat as well.
Traditionally, the running back positions have provided a lot of opportunities for younger players, including freshmen to break into the lineup (e.g. Kanye Udoh, Tyrell Robinson, and Kell Walker to name three outstanding examples); so we’re not likely to know the full picture at running back until the fall.
