Not often can a team lose its top running back, the league’s offensive player of the year, and believe it is better at that position heading into the next season.

Yet that is the case at McNeese State.

Gone is Deonta McMahon, who simply put: was the Cowboys offense last season. McMahon ran for 1,408 yards and 12 touchdowns last season in an offense that otherwise struggled mightily

This year though the Cowboys look deeper at running back with new weapons and the return of an old one.

“We have a really good group of running backs that have a lot of different skills,” head coach Gary Goff said. “Running back is our deepest area. I like the talent we have back there.”

Redshirt junior D’angelo Durham should lead the way. In four games last year Durham ran for 340 yards on 35 carries, a whopping average of 9.7 a rush. He also scored three touchdowns.

However, the 6-foot-1, 208-pound back was hurt in the season’s fourth game and almost lost his leg after rushing for 148 yards on 14 carries against Mississippi College. After a long recovery, he is back to full speed if not faster.

“I feel great,” D’angelo said. ”I’m 100 percent and ready to go.”

D’angelo has returned as a new player, showing leadership skills and a determined attitude.

“Nobody has worked harder than this guy,” Goff said pointing to his running back. “He has put in tremendous effort and has become a real leader of this program. It has been great to see.”

Durham, who as a freshman at Savanah State ran for more than 1,000 yards, says the time off helped.

“I take nothing for granted,” Durham said. “I learned a lot watching last year. I could see the game differently.”

Durham will not have to do it alone. Junior Josh Parker returns after a solid offseason to provide speed in the backfield.

Parker ran for 175 yards on 42 carries last season but showed big-play capability during the spring scrimmage. He could become a weapon in the passing game out of the backfield as a matchup problem as well.

Two additions to the roster from the junior college ranks should also help. Colby Hamm (5-10, 217) joins the Cowboys from Tyler Community College in Texas after spending his first year at the Air Force Academy.

Hamm, who Goff called “freakishly strong,” ran for 101 yards on 30 carries last year at Tyler. He should provide a big back to the McNeese game.

Cam Thomas (5-8, 170) joins the Cowboys from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. In 22 games for the Bulldogs, Thomas averaged 5 yards a carry, gaining 1,601 yards on 321 tries.

Thomas finished with 13 touchdowns but did fumble eight times, losing three of them. He showed big-play ability ripping off a 99-yard scoring run last fall.

“I think this group has the ability to make some big plays for us,” Goff said. “This is a room that is big for us this year.”

Playing behind a rebuilt and beefed-up offensive line should help.

“Those guys are big,” Durham said of his O-linemen. “I’m excited to see them play.”

Goff, who admittedly loves to throw the football first, second and third, turned to the running game last year and may do it again this fall.

“I want to score points and will take them any way we can get them,” Goff said. “If that means running the football we will run it.”

Last season McNeese led the Southland Conference in rushing at just over 200 yards per game. While Goff said he would like more balance this season, he isn’t about to give up on a good thing.

And if the running backs stay healthy, the Cowboys might be able to run their way back into the Football Championship Subdivision playoff hunt.