Cincinnati Bearcats running back Evan Pryor (6) runs down the field with the ball in the fourth quarter of a college football game between the Cincinnati Bearcats and West Virginia Mountaineers, Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024, at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati. Mountaineers won 31-24. Frank Bowen IV/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

'Have to be a Rolling Ball of Butcher Knives' - Cincinnati Rolling Top Offensive Strength Over Into 2025 Season

Originally posted on Cincinnati Bearcats on SI
By Russell Heltman | Last updated Jun 20, 2025 9:05 AM ET

Tony Pike welcomed Cincinnati football running backs coach Sean Dawkins onto this week's From The 513 episode and he had a fun way to describe his running back's mentalities.

Tawee Walker, Evan Pryor and more should be the feature part of the UC offense, like the run game usually is on Scott Satterfield's teams.

"We have to be a great protector of the football. We have to be great protectors of the quarterback, but we have to be able to create our own yards," Dawkins said on the show. "That is very much important too, not getting tackled by the first person is one of the deals right there. We have to be a rolling ball of butcher knives. The biggest thing is go hard. Kind of really simple, but it's going hard at everything that we do."

There's a lot to be excited about when it comes to the second year with Dawkins leading running backs. Cincinnati etched out plenty of hard-earned yards last season, amassing 184.1 rush yards per game. Walker should be able to emulate a lot of what Corey Kiner brought to the table and Pryor is primed to really break out.

He's grown stronger this offseason with the chance to take on more touches after rushing for 418 yards and six touchdowns. He averaged 7.46 yards per carry (second in the Big 12) and has massive big-play ability (four touchdowns of 55-plus yards).

Add in solid rushing ability from Brendan Sorsby and Cincinnati's top offensive strength likely won't change this fall.