When junior running back Branden Oliver went down with an injury in the third game last season, many were concerned the dominant Bulls' ground game would shift to ineffective.
Oliver was fresh off a season in which he had dominated competition - running for a school record of 1,395 yards and 13 touchdowns. After Oliver's breakout season, the Bulls' next two leading rushers from 2011 graduated, leaving an apparent lack of depth behind Oliver.
Freshman Devin Campbell proved the Bulls' running game was more than just Oliver, as he broke out for 160 yards against Ohio and rushed for over 100 yards twice more later in the season. He finished the season second on the team in rushing with 502 yards, two touchdowns and 176 yards receiving, though he did not play in two of the 12 games.
This season, the Bulls will look to add even more depth to their running game. Junior Brandon Murie saw limited snaps last season as the third-string running back, but head coach Jeff Quinn sees Murie among potential contributors.
"We're trying to get not just one running back on the field, but two, three and maybe we'll have to go four," Quinn said. "We'll put a few new sets in there for them."
Behind Oliver, Campbell and Murie are two players coming off redshirt seasons and one returning from an injury.
Junior James Potts had two caries and ran for 54 yards last season. The second time he touched the ball (during a 56-34 win over Morgan State Sept. 8), Potts took the ball into the end zone but tore his ACL in the celebration. Potts was sidelined for the rest of the season and though he has dressed for practice this spring, he has yet to take a snap on the practice field.
Buffalo-area freshman Jordan Johnson redshirted last season, his first year on campus, but he will look to contribute to both the offense and special teams. Johnson played quarterback in high school - right next door at Sweet Home High School - rushing for 22 touchdowns in his career and winning Class A State Player of the Year in both his junior and senior seasons.
Sophomore Anthone Taylor is the sixth back who will look to contribute. Taylor redshirted last season after seeing limited action his freshman year, when he appeared in seven games on special teams and also ran for 20 yards on four carries.
"We are going to have the type of running back core where anybody can step in," Oliver said. "I don't even have to do everything. We can go from the first string to fourth string; anybody can get the job done in our backfield."
For Oliver, this season will be his final chance to etch his name into the record books at UB. He will start the year fourth on the Bulls' all-time lists for rushing attempts and yards, seventh on the all-time touchdown list and second in 100-yard games.
He needs 627 yards to break the career rushing mark, 17 touchdowns to break the career rushing touchdown record and two 100-yard rushing games to break the career 100-yard games mark.
With so many individual accolades already accomplished and school legend status within his grasp, Oliver is clearly the leader of the group, but he is hungry for more.
"When you watch Bo Oliver practice, you don't know if you are watching him rep the first play in practice or the last play because he doesn't have any change in his effort, speed and determination," Quinn said. "It's always 100 percent. I've always been really impressed with his level of work ethic, attitude, passion and determination, and I think that rubs off on the rest of the team."
The Bulls' offense will likely rely heavily on the ground game this season, and with Oliver and company running between the tackles, there shouldn't be much to worry about.
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