LSU rushing stats over the past 20 years.

I know you mentioned it in your OP, but we ran the ball 50 frickin times a game during the Miles era.

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2025: ~1,275 (in-season)*

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Add another 75 yds for the bowl game and that should do it (1,350 yds).

Now we run the ball out the shot gun right up the middle with 8 in the box on 2nd and 8 for zero yards 10 times a game to get into 3rd and long. Was wonderful to watch all year.

You can draw some tentative patterns, but the evidence does not support a clean, causal conclusion about Frank Wilson by itself. Here’s what can and cannot be reasonably concluded.

What the evidence does suggest

1. LSU rushing success is not tightly coupled to Wilson’s presence

* LSU produced elite rushing seasons both with and without Wilson.
* Peak rushing years occurred:

* With Wilson (2013–2017 Fournette/Guice era)
* Without Wilson** (2007–2008, 2019)

That weakens any claim that Wilson alone “creates” great rushing offenses.

2. Wilson recruited many elite backs — but did not uniquely develop them

* It’s fair to credit Wilson for recruiting:

* Fournette
* Guice
* Hill
* Davis-Price
* Durham

* However:

* Production varies wildly among Wilson recruits.
* Some had Heisman-level seasons (Fournette).
* Others were role players or mid-level producers.

Recruiting success ? guaranteed elite output.

3. Offensive context matters more than RB coach

The biggest spikes in rushing yards align with:

* Offensive identity (run-heavy vs spread)
* QB rushing threats (Daniels years inflate team totals)
* OL quality
* Game script

Example:

* 2019: elite rushing efficiency without a run-first offense
* 2022–23: high team rushing totals driven heavily by QB runs

4. Wilson-era production clusters around a golden generation

The Fournette/Guice stretch (2014–2017) is doing most of the statistical lifting for pro-Wilson arguments.

Outside that window:

* Wilson years look average, not dominant.
* Post-Fournette, production normalized quickly.

What the evidence does NOT prove

X That Wilson consistently elevates RB production
X That LSU rushing declines without him
X That his recruits outperform non-Wilson recruits on average
X That recent struggles are evidence of his value (too many confounders)

Strongest defensible conclusion

Frank Wilson was an excellent recruiter during a specific era, but LSU’s rushing success is far more dependent on offensive philosophy, line play, and quarterback usage than on the RB coach alone.

That’s a measured, evidence-supported takeaway—and it avoids overstating correlation as causation.

The only year lower was a 10 game sec schedule covid year.

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They’re just stats. Different factors obviously affect them as the Miles years were much more reliant on the run game, different pass threats (QB/OC), different OL’s, etc.

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I think if you look at YPC for each of those years, it probably at least partially mitigates a few of those things.

Bold are the years with Frank Wilson as the RB coach.

Italicized are the years with Brad Davis as the O-line coach.

2006 - 4.9 YPC
2007 - 5.1 YPC
2008 - 4.5 YPC
2009 - 3.9 YPC
2010 - 4.6 YPC
2011 - 5 YPC
2012 - 4.4 YPC
2013 - 5.3 YPC
2014 - 4.9 YPC
2015 - 6.2 YPC
2016 - 6.2 YPC
2017 - 4.9 YPC
2018 - 4.1 YPC
2019 - 5.1 YPC
2020 - 3.5 YPC
2021 - 3.5 YPC
2022 - 5.2 YPC
2023 - 6.3 YPC (5.3 if we take JD out of the stats)
2024 - 4.2 YPC
2025 - 3.8 YPC

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I know you mentioned it in your OP, but we ran the ball 50 frickin times a game during the Miles era.

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It seems like over the last 2 years we haven't even averaged 50 plays of offense per game, it's been that bad..

I wish we had a halfway decent running game under BK but never did outside of Jayden.

I remember talking to Frank one day and him telling me how much he did not want to recruit Jeremy Hill but was forced to because he was a local five star.

He was hoping he would go somewhere else.

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2010: 2,414* Ridley 1147 (recruited by Wilson)

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Josh Henson was Ridley’s primary recruiter. Frank Wilson was not on staff in 2007. Ridley was on the team for 3 years before Frank joined the staff.