Ke'Shawn Vaughn

Vaughn was a true freshman last season, but a mid-season injury to starting running back Josh Ferguson led to a big time role for the former four-star recruit in 2015. He finished the year as the Illini’s leader in rushes (157), yards (723) and touchdowns (6). Vaughn had some understandable struggles as a true freshman as he was held to just 3.6 yards per carry over a four week span in which he was the featured back, meaning that he still has room for improvement as he adjusts to the tough run defenses in the Big 10. That said, Vaughn is in one of the best positions of any sophomore back in the country coming into this year in terms of his role. Not only is Josh Ferguson gone, but Illinois will also be breaking in an almost entirely new receiving corps, which should put Vaughn in line for a ton of touches. He may not be the receiving threat out of the backfield like Ferguson was, but Vaughn is a talented and physical back that should get the kind of workhorse treatment that’ll result in a 200+ carry, 1,000+ yard season.