Kelvin Taylor, the former Florida running back who didn’t turn the ball over once in three years of collegiate football, is gone.
But before he left for the NFL, he gave one piece of advice to the group that would be replacing him.
"No fumbles," sophomore Jordan Cronkrite said.
And if you do fumble?
"You’ll be the most hated man," he said.
With Taylor foregoing his senior season to enter the NFL Draft, four running backs lie in wait to take his starting position: sophomores Cronkrite and Jordan Scarlett, JUCO transfer Mark Thompson and redshirt senior Mark Herndon.
Of the four, Scarlett and Cronkrite saw the most production last year, combining for 338 yards and four touchdowns in their freshmen seasons.
But the most talked-about running back of Spring practice — in addition to being the most unknown — has been Thompson.
The 6-foot-2, 242-pound running back is at least three inches taller and 29 pounds heavier than the next biggest member of Florida’s backfield.
And they have noticed.
"I was like, this is a big dude," Scarlett said of Thompson. "He’s supposed to play another position or something? Shoot."
In two seasons at Dodge City Community College, Thompson became the school’s all-time rushing touchdown leader (26) and rushed for the fourth-most yards (1,298) in the NJCAA last season.
Through three weeks of practice at Florida, however, his expectations have been tempered.
During one practice session, senior linebacker Jarrad Davis put a hit on him that Thompson hasn’t forgotten.
"(Davis) is definitely making sure I know he’s on the field," Thompson said. "I’ve had some ‘Welcome to the (Southeastern Conference)’ moments, but I’ve also had some ‘I’m here in the SEC’ moments. It’s the best of both worlds."
And while Thompson is a raw talent — he's still learning to lower his pad level, run in between blocks and read defenses to make timely cuts through the tackles — his teammates and coaches believe he can be a large contributor once he becomes more polished, not unlike former UF running back Matt Jones.
Jones, who currently plays in the NFL for the Washington Redskins, was built similarly to Thompson while at Florida. In his last year at UF in 2014, Jones was 6-foot-2, 235 pounds and led the team with 817 rushing yards while scoring six touchdowns.
"That’s a good comparison," Florida running backs coach Tim Skipper said. "They’re both taller backs that you’re kind of looking for in this league."
Even with Thompson’s large stature and the comparisons to Jones, the expectations for the junior college transfer entering his first season in the SEC are fairly small.
But with no clear-cut starter in Florida’s backfield, Thompson is looking to bulldoze his way into a significant role come fall.
"He’s a big giant. ... You see guys like, I don’t want to tackle this dude, but they got to," Scarlett said of Thompson. "It’s getting everyone better."
Contact Ian Cohen at icohen@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @icohenb.
Mark Thompson carries the ball during practice on March 9, 2016, at the Sanders Practice Fields.
