Yesterday CaneSport broke down the QB depth chart and took a look at the state of the program at that position ... including how many Hurricane quarterbacks were drafted since Ken Dorsey (one, Brad Kaaya).

Now it's the running backs' turn.

Quick ... how many backs have been drafted out of UM since 2001?

The answer?

Eleven, with the most recent Deejay Dallas (fourth round pick this year). Seven have come since 2012 (Lamar Miller that year, then Mike James in 2013, Duke Johnson in 2015, FB Marquez Williams in 2017, Mark Walton in 2008 in the fourth round and Travis Homer in 2019 in the sixth).

So it's been a fairly talented stable of backs that have come through Coral Gables.

And the cupboard remains far from bare.

Yes, it's a small running backs room with only four players on scholarship - Cam Harris, Jaylan Knighton, Don Chaney and Robert Burns. But we see huge potential in Harris, Knighton and Chaney, and Burns is serviceable if needed.

This spring?

Both Harris and Knighton shined in the four practices, with Chaney held out due to a shoulder injury. While Harris has experience, including starts when Deejay Dallas was injured, he could be pushed for the No. 1 role by the ultra-talented Knighton.

Certainly, though, Harris has the ability to get the job done if he's the featured guy. He emerged in the latter half of his freshman season in 2018 with 166 yards and 5.9 yards per carry, and he built on that last year with two starts and had 576 rush yards along with five TDs (averaging 5.1 yards per carry). He's got experience and talent.

Meanwhile the four-star early enrollee Knighton flashed his explosiveness this spring, and while he doesn't always know what he's doing that will come with time. Knighton can be a weapon not just running but also as an excellent pass catcher out of the backfield in Rhett Lashlee's spread attack.

It's a shame that Chaney was banged up, as it would have been interesting to see how he stacked up against Knighton in practices. Chaney will be back in the fall and some that have watched both play extensively in high school think Chaney has more upside. But that's a battle for another time.

The bottom line here is that, despite a numbers crunch, there's a high level of potential and talent at a position that has to be able to take some of the load off D'Eriq King and the passing attack.

A closer look at the RB's on the roster:

ROBERT BURNS, RJR

Burns, fully healthy for the first time in his Cane career for the majority of 2019, was really the fourth teamer behind Deejay Dallas, Harris, and Lorenzo Lingard (since transferred to UF). But with Lingard not 100 percent it was Burns getting some burn on a few occasions - he ended with 29 carries for 116 yards and a receiving TD vs. Duke. His season high was 48 yards rushing in the regular-season ending loss. Burns isn’t a guy who will wow you with his speed, but he does have a power aspect to his game and could factor into short yardage situations. If the other backs stay healthy, though, we see Burns once again taking a back seat.

DON CHANEY, FR

Chaney sat out the spring as he rehabbed a shoulder injury and should be fine for the regular season. Because of the missed time he will enter practices a bit behind the other three backs on the roster and will have to show early on that he should be in the rotation. Regardless Chaney has a very bright future.

CAM HARRIS, JR

Harris emerged in the latter half of his freshman season with 166 yards and 5.9 yards per carry, and he built on that last year with two starts and 576 rush yards along with five TDs (averaging 5.1 yards per carry). He also had a couple of long runs called back by penalty that would have pushed him over 650 yards rushing. He showed his explosiveness with a 136-yard effort against Georgia Tech on 18 carries, and he’ll only be better with another year under his belt. He’s got a nice mix of explosiveness and power, and if he can take a page out of Dallas’ playbook and break some more tackles he’ll really be on his way to breaking the 1,000-yard plateau. With a new coordinator and the talents Knighton displayed this spring, it'll be interesting to see if Harris will be the featured back.

JAYLAN KNIGHTON, FR

A highly sought national recruit, Knighton joined Don Chaney as outstanding freshmen in this class. Both enrolled early, but with Chaney out this spring with injury it was a chance for Knighton to show that he deserves plenty of carries in the coming season. And he took advantage, displaying great explosiveness through the line and excellent receiving skills out of the backfield. It wouldn’t shock us if he pushes Harris for the starting job. This whole offense will be revamped under Lashlee, and Knighton might have the best wiggle/escapability of the backs on the roster. We think his body type (5-10, 178 pounds, extremely athletic) really fits what Lashlee wants to do extremely well.

As you can see above, it's a thin running back room with Dallas turning pro early and Lingard transferring to Florida. In a perfect world the Canes would have at least one more and probably two more tailbacks on the roster as an in-season injury or two will really put this position in dire straits.

The good news is that Cam Harris has shown he can be a workhorse and carry the load, and newcomers Don Chaney and Jaylan Knighton have a world of potential. We still see Robert Burns as only an emergency guy - he just doesn’t have the combination of speed/size that makes for a top college tailback. But he can be a good short yardage option.

Also worth noting: Last year Lashlee relied heavily on a featured back, Xavier Jones, who had 1,276 yards and 23 TDs. The No. 2 back had half as many carries but still managed 517 yards and five scores. That should have these guys excited.

The bottom line?

If the backs stay healthy they can be very productive in Lashlee’s spread attack that saw the SMU run attack average 156 yards per game with 35 total TDs.

The State of the U at this position? While there's not big numbers, there is tremendous upside with the top three backs. We like what we see.

Perhaps the only thing that can hold this group back is a suspect offensive line.