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[QUOTE="sutomcat, post: 336074, member: 27"]
It has been a while since we had a team where we have seen so little of the RB unit going into the season. 
 
There is no proven returning talent to speak of and even though Gulley, Smith and Rene are academically juniors, because of injuries and lack of playing time, we really haven't seen much from them.
 
Given that I have barely seen any of these guys play, it is really hard to rank them.  As mentioned before, despite the lack of experience, I really like the depth and the breadth of talent here and am very optimistic about this unit's future.
 
Listing them by academic year:
 
Smith JR
Gulley JR
Rene JR
AAM SO
Broyld FR
Morris FR
McFarland FR
 
Allocating 7 of the 85 scholarships to the RB position is not a normal thing and we will see a couple of these guys get moved.  Smith or AAM might become a FB down the road.  Broyld is surely headed elsewhere next season.  And one of these guys will likely get moved to the slot or to defense.
 
Based on DM's recent comments and the move of McFarland, it sounds like this is the most open competition for a starting job at RB in a while.  The staff has not used a 'RB by committee' approach yet, and I don't think they will this season either.  I am going to assume Broyld is a special case and is not in the running to be the starter.  I will also assume Rene is too small to be a starter and will play on special teams and perhaps in the slot or in passing situations...he also has no chance to start.  And I agree with Chip that McFarland has too much to learn to play, forget about start, at least for the early part of the season.
 
So in the end, it comes down to Smith, PTG, AAM and GM.  I think two will play regularly with one getting 3/4 of the carries or so.  No idea who those 2 are right now.
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