The Forgotten 1000-Yard Rusher Primed to Re-Surface in 2025
New Temple OC had an offence that produced three 1000 yard rushers last year... two of those being RBs.
I was broke yesterday, I was rich by the morning.
- Lil Uzi Vert, musician
Temple OC Tyler Walker is just one of many former FCS coaches making their way up to the FBS level this offseason. He’s joined by another former FCS coach in Sam Houston’s KC Keeler, who served as the Bearkats’ head coach for over 10 years dating back to 2014 prior to leaving this offseason.
As coaches do in the year 2025, Keeler brought along some mementos to ease his transition, one of those being RB Jay (also known as Jevyon) Ducker, who spent one season with the Cats following a transfer to Memphis. Ducker originally began his career at NIU in 2021, where he ran for 1184 yards on 218 carries as a true freshman.
He capitalized on the stellar campaign by moving up a level within the G5 ecosystem, finding his way to Memphis. He struggled to gain traction with the Tigers for two years before trying his hand at Sam Houston.
While he didn’t break any records, his sole season under Keeler was a relative success; Ducker rushed 158 times for 745 yards and seven scores. He added an additional 110 yards on 15 receptions for a total of 855 yards in 2024.
Evidently Ducker thought so too and decided to follow his old coach over to Philly. Like Memphis, Temple plays in the AAC so this is a reunion of sorts in more ways than one.
Normally I wouldn’t think twice about this move, after all, it is Temple… but then when I peeped what Montana State did last season under OC Tyler Walker. The Bobcats offence produced three 1000-yard rushers, two of those being RBs. One of them was Scottre Humphrey, who is currently competing at New Mexico.
Coaching & System
RB1 PPG AVERAGE — HC: 12.8 — OC: NA1 (half ppr)
I’d advise the reader not to get caught up in the RB1 average of KC Keeler above, as this average only includes his FBS numbers from 2023 and 2024. This number is certainly relevant, but it doesn’t tell the entire story either.
In his 10 full seasons at SMHU, the Bearkats saw five 1000-yard rushers, four of those being RBs and the other a QB. There was also Donovan Williams who came close with 970 yards in 2019 on 205 carries. Williams also scored 14 rushing TDs.
In 2019, Ramon Jefferson took 173 carries for 1202 yards and 13 scores. Corey Avery went over 1100 yards twice, once in 2017 with 186 carries for 1121 yards and 14 scores, and another time in 2015 taking 194 carries for 1493 yards and 15 scores.
In 2014, RB Keshawn Hill didn’t lead the team in rushing with his 1200 yards (QB ran for 1275 on 214 carries and six scores), but he did score 18 rushing TDs on 195 carries.
OC Tyler Walker has only one season under his belt as a play caller. That was in 2024 with Montana State. You can find the passing and rushing numbers presented below (top two RBs played 15 games):
Before taking over as OC at Montana State, he served as the TEs/FBs coach from 2022-23. And before that he was the director of recruiting. I just like that Montana State even had a ‘FBs coach’. It tells you all you need to know about that program right there.
Of course, a lot of this success at the FCS level under both Walker and Keeler is predicated on elite efficiency. Rarely are the RB1s who go over 1000 yards seeing over 200 carries. Instead, these teams are averaging six, or seven+ yards per carry.
This is understandably hard to recreate at the FBS level. Keeler has learned this firsthand himself with SMHU. For example, the Bearkats’ RB1 in 2024, Ducker, averaged 4.7 yards per carry. The year before, John Gentry, who led the team in rushing, averaged a paltry 3.3 yards per carry.
The data from Keeler’s two FBS seasons tell different stories about what he wants to do on offence. In 2023 the Bearkats averaged 57% pass plays to 43% run. Some may remember the enigmatic Noah Smith, who was a beneficiary of this split. In 2024 the Kats moved in the opposite direction with a vengeance, averaging 62% run plays to only 38% pass. The good news is that in both seasons, Keeler’s Kats ran 70 plays or more per game, which is in the upper bracket of FBS programs.
Jay Ducker (5’10, 205)
2024 RUSHING STATS: 158 - 745 - 7 (10.4 PPG)
Ducker had what I’d characterize as a solid season in 2024 under KC Keeler at Sam Houston. Between rushing and receiving work, he totalled 850+ yards in 13 games, with notable highs coming against Texas State (24 points), Hawaii (16), Kennesaw State (18), and Louisiana Tech (16).
He was originally rated a three star ‘All Purpose Back’ by 247 Sports in the class of 2020 coming out of Nebraska. He held one P4 offer coming out of high school and that was to Purdue. Other offers included NIU where he committed, Army, South Dakota, South Dakota State, and Texas State.
As a high schooler he clocked a 4.62 40-time at an event called the Opening Regional in 2019, and also registered a vertical leap of 35.7 inches. These are pretty good scores for a high schooler. His 40 time is probably closer to a 4.5 now as a collegiate athlete.
Clearly Keeler believes in the talent because he’s brought him into two programs in as many years now. Early reports out of camp state that Ducker looks to be RB1 with Joquez Smith running as RB2.
Temple, like programs such as Kent State and Vanderbilt, presents a problem for the stock of its CFF assets due to the overall team competency generally being low. Oftentimes Temple is an exceptionally poor program, such that even if they want to #PIG certain players, it doesn’t really matter.
That being said, there have been some notable names produced by this program in recent years. RB Ray Davis is perhaps the most formidable example. Dante Wright, last year’s WR1 for the Owls, is another good example.
This coaching staff, similar to the group that moved from the FCS to Fresno State this offseason, want to run the football. This much we know. However, much like with the Bulldogs, the question is whether that rushing volume is going to funnel through the hands of one player.
Here’s a snippet from one writer’s report after the spring game:
Walker plans to implement a run-heavy offense this season and it’s clear the Owls are still finding their footing in his scheme. Simon ran for 33 yards on the first play of the game but rarely used his legs after, aside from a rushing touchdown that Keeler called back to the five-yard line to see his offense in a short-yardage situation. The decision resulted in a goal-line stand, where running back Jay Ducker was stood up by defensive linemen Allen Haye and Sekou Kromah.
Ducker transferred to Temple from Sam Houston State and will likely be the team’s top option — he rushed for 66 yards on 21 carries and was unable to find the endzone.
“I love [getting] the ball,” Ducker said. “I think Coach Walker’s offense is definitely, as a running back, what you want to do and where you want to go and you gonna get it. Whether it be in the backfield, you seeing a lot of empty, just catching, just a lot of inner spaces, like as a running back this is where you wanna be. I’m excited.”
Unlike Fresno State, we also have the concern of whether this program can be effective in their pursuits on offence. Hence why a player like Ducker can be had at virtually no cost right now in CFF Bestball drafts, while in contrast Fresno’s Bryson Donelson seldom escapes the top-ten rounds.
Another thing to keep in mind is that Evan Simon, the potential starting QB for Temple this upcoming season, finished 2024 with 87 rush attempts, 20 yards and three scores in nine games. So he’s probably not going to be hitting 1000 yards rushing like Walker’s QB1 did last year with Montana.
Having two rushers go over 1000 yards and double digit scores on less than 200 carries each is something you can pull off when you’re one of the top dogs in your weight class. At the FBS level, and likely without an offensive line capable of cutting defensive boxes in half like Montana’s did, this staff finds themselves on the opposite end of the spectrum.
So it’s a question of intent vs. realized outcome. If the staff can establish what they want to do effectively in year one, I think there is an intriguing CFF option here via Ducker barring a notable spring transfer. They open the year with UMass, Howard, Oklahoma, and Georgia Tech before moving on to the AAC schedule. ◾
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Sample of 2018-2024 excluding 2020.