Lost in the euphoria of Eno Benjamin’s establishing ASU’s new single-season record for rushing yards was another mark that he eclipsed. Some will argue that this feat should be less celebrated and one the junior will not come even remotely close to matching.

Benjamin accumulated 300 rushing attempts in his 2018 campaign, another ASU single-season record. If that figure sounds like an unusually high number, it’s because it is. Case in point, it's 45 more attempts than the Pac-12’s next closest running back- Arizona’s J.J. Taylor.

All this, by the way, in Benjamin’s first season starting for the Sun Devils.

Nevertheless, the running back is not shying away from another potential season as the Sun Devils’ proverbial workhorse in the backfield.

“I’m just working on my everyday game,” Benjamin said on what he’s doing to prepare for 2019. “Not even just in running the football, I’ve been working routes a lot this offseason, and just getting used to all the quarterbacks throwing, working on timing and stuff like that. I think that’s a very important part of my game as well.”

With ASU set to have a first-year starter behind center this fall, it’s standard to expect a higher reliance on the running game- at least early in the season, until coaches feel the quarterback has developed his decision-making enough to regularly incorporate a passing game.

The Sun Devils were already a run-heavy team in 2018, around 55 percent of all offensive plays, but if they must run the ball even more, as expected, it will be paramount to find other tailbacks to share the touches and keep Benjamin away from breaking his fresh record for rushing attempts.

“We want to make sure that we have tread on his tires, especially during the season and at the end of the season,” Shaun Aguano, ASU running backs coach said. “Of course, again he’s going to carry the load but we want to make sure that he’s healthy the the whole time through, so the other two backs that we’re looking at, A.J. Carter and Isaiah Floyd, hopefully, they’ll come in and take a little load off of Eno.”

ASU’s only other two running backs on the roster are true freshmen, not including senior Paul Lucas, who Aguano described as a hybrid back/slot receiver who they’re trying to get the ball in specific plays.

Therefore, those extra reps in the backfield should fall exclusively on Floyd and Carter, as Aguano said.

But will one of them emerge as the number two back?

Is one more reliable than the other?

Is it possible they could share reps behind Benjamin?

While it’s hard to gauge the answers to these questions from ASU personnel ahead of Fall camp, it is clear how different Carter and Floyd’s skillsets are from each other.

“I think they’re two different types of backs,” offensive line coach Dave Christensen said. “Isaiah’s a quick-twitch guy, you know movement, and I think A.J. has got good quickness, but he possesses some power also and can run you over…they’re both a little bit different in how they play the game.”

For what it’s worth, Carter cut some weight in the offseason, but he’s still regarded as the ‘bruiser’ type of running back behind Benjamin.

“A.J. Carter has trimmed-formed his body, lost about 15 pounds, is a lot quicker,” Aguano said. “He’s still that bigger back at about 220 pounds, he’s more of a one-step guy. Isaiah Floyd is more of that scatback, make people miss (type of running back).”

Floyd is also the more experienced of the two at the collegiate level.

In his lone season playing at the JUCO level, for City of San Francisco College, he averaged over 163.4 rushing yards per game in 11 contests, while adding 21 touchdowns in 2017.

He also saw the field in his first season as a Sun Devil, generating 240 yards from scrimmage on 49 touches (45 rushes, 4 receptions) plus a touchdown in 2018.

On the other hand, Carter got two carries in the opener and two in the bowl game, amounting to a grand total of 12 yards. He was able to redshirt the season, thanks to the new rule that allows those who play in four games or less to qualify.

“I felt like it (helped), but in the end, it didn’t because I didn’t get enough (game action),” Carter said, “but I wasn’t ready though, so I feel like there’s nothing I can do about that. But now I’m ready, I’m just waiting for my opportunity to play.”

On top of Floyd’s additional experience, Benjamin noticed something else with the redshirt junior running back this offseason.

“I feel like Floyd has picked up his understanding of the game,” Benjamin said. “You can see him- there’s a lot more dedication to being in his playbook and whatnot.”

All that said and every factor considered, it seems fair to expect Floyd as the main guy who steps into the role of the number two running back in 2019.

That’s not to say Carter won’t get his chances to see the field, especially considering how common injuries are in football, and at running back in particular. But unless the redshirt freshman proves to be much more of an asset somewhere that Floyd is not- maybe pass blocking, for example- then Floyd should be the main back that helps take some of the load off Benjamin.

Another key aspect to this conversation is the running backs’ involvement in the passing game, commonly a staple of offenses with inexperienced quarterbacks.

“I think Eno is incredibly dangerous out in the perimeter,” Aguano said, “he makes people miss in open space and that’s his forte, and so we want to make sure that we take advantage of that.”

“When you take a piece like Eno or even the other guys we got out of the backfield, you’re looking for different ways to give them the ball,” wide receivers coach Charlie Fisher said. “Anytime you got a younger quarterback, you always want to make life as easy as possible for them as they learn and grow, but we love our skill talent across the board.”

In this regard, Floyd seems like the logical choice behind Benjamin on plays where a screen pass or other type of short throw to the running back is possible, being the fastest of the three in general.

However, even with the likely increased focus on the running game in the 2019 season, only time will tell if Benjamin ends up being the focal point of the rushing attack again, or if the Sun Devils diversify who gets reps out of the backfield more than they did in 2018.

For what it’s worth, Aguano did relay this message on the matter:

“I think (offensive coordinator Rob) Likens does a good job schematically, two backs have been talked about as well. I think we will incorporate that; it just depends on the schematics of the game and the game plan.”

Also, as a sort of disclaimer, the intent here is not to make it seem like the running backs are set against each other. In fact, Carter stated that the opposite is true.

“We help each other after every snap,” Carter said. “After every series we get, we tell each other what we need to do better, stuff that we missed, just help each other out and work on everything, it makes us all better.”

Of course, if you know head coach Herm Edwards by now, you know how much he preaches competition throughout the season.

So, although Floyd seems the likely candidate to ease Benjamin’s workload as the number two back in 2019, Aguano reiterated the importance that guys stay on their toes.

“We’ll have the depth chart for that first game, whoever has a great Fall camp will probably be that number two,” Aguano said. “But I think that competition goes throughout the year, and you’re one play away from being that guy, and so we want to make sure we trust that guy.”

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