CONWAY, Ark. — One could argue Central Arkansas has one of the best running back duos in all of FCS in seniors Darius Hale and ShunDerrick Powell. And the numbers would back up that assessment.

Both Hale (Pearland, Texas) and Powell (Hoxie, Ark.) have 1,000-yard rushing seasons on their resume, with Powell topping the 1K mark twice. Together they have combined for 4,730 rushing yards and 51 rushing touchdowns heading into their senior seasons.

Both have also been finalists for the Walter Payton Award and the Jerry Rice Award, two of the top offensive awards at the FCS level.

“There’s not a whole lot of argument that that’s probably the best 1-2 punch in Division I FCS football,” said UCA coach Nathan Brown. “I know coaches are always going to support their guys, but the numbers speak for themselves. Not many programs have two 1,000-yard rushers in their program at the same time.

“Darius is going to go down as one of the top touchdown guys in UCA history when it’s all said and done. And obviously ShunDerrick has two straight years of over 1,000 yards rushing, one at his prior school and one here.”

The duo leads a talented running back room for a team predicted to win the United Athletic Conference (UAC) title and standing at Nos. 11 and 13 in the preseason FCS polls.

ShunDerrick Powell (Ted McClenning | AllBears+ Images)

Powell, despite playing the last half of the season with an injury last season, finished with 1,009 rushing yards and six touchdowns and had rushing games of 256 yards (11.1 per carry) against Abilene Christian and 218 yards at perennial power North Dakota State.

Those individual efforts were the top two in the UAC last season in his first season at UCA after transferring from North Alabama.

Hale had 1,015 rushing yards as a freshman and finished second in the nation with 17 rushing touchdowns. He turned in a 258-yard rushing performance (13.5 per carry) against North Alabama as a sophomore, when had had 954 yards on the ground while missing most of three games due to injury. For his career, Hale has 27 rushing touchdowns and three receiving.

“They just complement each other so well,” said Brown. “ShunDerrick is probably the fastest, or one of the fastest, guys on the football team. He’s definitely the quickest twitch guy on the team. What he may lack in size — because of lot of people are going to look at him and say he’s a slightly built kid — he makes up with his strength. He really runs physical. If you’ve watched our games, he’s a physical runner, one guy is not going to take him down.

“He pitches a fit with his feet when he makes contact and he’s always moving forward. And what separates him, what has allowed him to be such a high rush guy — and obviously his yards per carry is impressive — is just his speed. He’s electric when the ball is in his hands.

Brown was as equally effusive about Hale, a 5-11, 225-pounder with deceptively good speed and hands.

“We’re in a position where, on the other hand, a guy like Darius is a big, strong, physical back,” said Brown. “Darius has a future at the next level, whether he’s able to work himself into getting drafted or he’s able to get an opportunity through free agency, he’s an NFL-size back. That’s what they look for, somewhere between 225 and 240 pounds. As we’ve seen in the past, he has the ability to make 60, 70-yard touchdowns with speed.

“Those two are going to be our workhorses. At the end of the day, their success is going to, in turn, give Will McElvain success because a quarterback’s best friend is the run game. Those two guys are the kind that you can’t start a conversation about the UCA Bears’ offense without saying Darius Hale and ShunDerrick Powell in the first sentence.

“We’re in a blessed position to have those two guys suiting up again for us this year and giving us the opportunity to hopefully give them the ball as many times as they can handle it. Because we are at our best when those two are playing and having the ball in their hands and feeling good and being engaged in the game. Because good things happen.”

Brown hinted UCA fans could see both Hale and Powell on the field together this season.

“Hopefully we’ll see those two on the field at the same time this year,” he said. “We’re continuing to grow as an offensive staff with our schemes, and the more that those guys can handle the more they will be out there together. And the more they are out there together, the more parts of the field you have to defend. And that’s the exciting part about those two guys.”

Isaiah Broadway (Ted McClenning | AllBears+ Images)

Behind the dynamic duo are several other talented running backs waiting their turn to shine, according to Brown.

“The next two guys that get me really excited are Isaiah Broadway (Lancaster, Texas) and Landen Chambers (Keller, Texas),” he said. “Isaiah is going into Year 3 here. He’s a kid who has really good hands, he’s obviously a physical runner. He’s just been bogged down behind some really good backs, so you haven’t really seen his full potential. He’s had some moments last year, but he’s a big kid as well that can carry it between the tackles. But you can also split him out and he can run routes. He’s got really good hands.

“He got injured his true freshman year during camp, but if not for that, he would have probably played as a true freshman in some sort of role but we held him out because of injury. He’s just a very mature kid that understands the running back position and just understands football. That’s why he’s able to do a lot of different things and be versatile back there. He can play a lot for us in our K position, which we created last year for the obvious reason of having the depth we do at running back. No. 20 will be lined up in a lot of places.”

Chambers is a 5-11, 215-pound redshirt freshman.

“Landen is going into Year 2 and we were fortunate to be able to redshirt him last season,” said Brown. “He is built like Darius. He’s a big, physical kid, his legs are built like tree trunks. Very elite speed for his size. He was a highly, highly recruited guy out of high school. We did a great job early on and sticking with him in the recruiting process, and ultimately building a deep enough relationship that he decided to come to UCA.

“Again, last year with the depth we had, we didn’t have to force-feed him. He was able to learn, grow, run with the scout team and get some spot reps in practice. I think Landen Chambers is poised to have some big moments this season and for the next three years.”

Despite the depth in the running back room, UCA was able to add several talented student-athletes through the recruiting process.

“A huge freshman class of talented running backs we brought in that we’re excited about, and it starts with Dennis Gaines from East Poinsett County,” said Brown. “He’s the second all-time leading rusher in the state of Arkansas. He had over 100 touchdowns and 7,000 yards during his prep career. He took EPC to the state championship game as a senior. Never came off the field, played defense as well.

“He’s going to have to get used to the speed of the game, coming from a smaller class of high school football, but in his time here this summer, you could see that his upside is huge, and we’re really excited about that.

Elijah Jackson (Ted McClenning | AllBears+ Images)

“Michael Wilson (Spring) and Elijah Jackson (Wichita Falls), both Texas products, both had highly, highly successful prep careers. Elijah is built with a more physical stature, I could see him playing our K back position a lot this season. He’s a really smart kid. I would say Michael Wilson is built more like a ShunDerrick, a little bit more like a Dennis Gaines. Not quite as big but he has that electric speed and can really get down the field. He played in a big-time program at Klein Collins outside of Houston.

“One of those freshman backs is going to have to contribute in some form or fashion, so obviously fall camp will be big for the running back room.”

Brown said the depth behind the Big 2 will be a key in 2024.

“Especially when you look around the country, and you look at our depth in that room, and it’s built with high school guys that we recruited and brought in from Day 1 and developed and hopefully turned them into something special.”

Information from UCA Sports is included in this story.