Entering this past season, running back was set to be a position of strength for the Miami Hurricanes, with a stable of talented backs providing depth and experience.
Things will look a little different this year.
Gus Edwards, a redshirt junior, is transferring from Miami, the school announced Wednesday in a release. He is the second member of the Hurricanes' running backs corps to leave the program in recent weeks following back Joe Yearby, who announced he would bypass his senior year to enter the NFL draft.
Edwards started the season third on the depth chart, but played behind starter Mark Walton late in the year. He finished as Miami's third-leading rusher behind Walton and Yearby with 290 rushing yards and a touchdown on 59 carries. Edwards, who was sidelined the entire 2015 season after suffering a foot injury in camp, finished his Hurricanes career with 977 yards and 12 touchdowns on 186 carries.
"Gus indicated to me that he would like to explore the possibility of other opportunities to continue his football career and we have given him permission to do that," Hurricanes coach Mark Richt said in the statement announcing Edwards' transfer.
With Edwards and Yearby on their way out, the Hurricanes return just two running backs that saw playing time this past season: Walton, who finished with a team-high 1,117 yards, and rising sophomore Travis Homer, who earned praise from coaches with his solid special-teams play and had seven carries for 44 yards. Running back Trayone Gray, who rushed for 145 yards as a sophomore in 2015, missed last season while recovering from an ACL injury.
The Hurricanes are also set to get help from Miami Gulliver Prep running back Robert Burns, who is expected to join Miami as an early enrollee, though the school hasn't officially made an announcement yet.
