CHARLOTTE - Early this spring when Rico Dowdle was sidelined with an injury, running backs coach Bobby Bentley said that he absolutely wanted to see his returning starter back on the field for spring practice. Dowdle, however, was never healthy enough to practice again before the spring concluded on Tuesday.

Head coach Will Muschamp had a heart to heart with his running back, who played in just eight games and rushed for 251 yards in 2017.

Dowdle missed so much of last season because of a broken bone, but he was out nearly the entire spring with a hamstring injury. Those soft tissue injuries are ones that Muschamp frowns upon.

“Rico and I had a long conversation today and a lot of soft tissue issues go back to hydration, continuing to strain the muscle all the time. We had a very productive conversation today,” Muschamp said. “Better care of yourself, straining all the time and Rico agrees. He’s a mature guy, he’s a guy who understands that. He practices extremely hard when he’s there. He pushes himself extremely hard.”

Dowdle came to South Carolina with a groin injury that kept him on the sideline until midway through his freshman year. He came back to start seven games and was an All-SEC selection by Athlon after rushing 133 times for 764 yards.

The broken bone Dowdle suffered against Tennessee last season was tough and frustrating, but Muschamp says that doesn’t make the rising junior injury prone. That was a bad break, but now he needs Dowdle to take better care of himself to leave the soft tissue injuries in the past.

“The soft tissue issues are my concern,” Muschamp said. “When they break a bone, those things are frustrating, but happen. When you start talking in terms of soft tissue, we’ve practically eliminated issues from year one to year two. A lot of it was through hydration, living the right way, getting the right amount of sleep and straining all the time. That’s been my experience with eliminating those issues on a football team.”

While Bentley was sure to note that he wanted to have Dowdle on the field this spring, Muschamp made clear that there are two very capable running backs ready to go right now.

“But the great thing for us right now is Ty'Son Williams and A.J. Turner,” Muschamp said. “We have two guys who can roll out there with anybody. At the end of the day, we’re going to play the guys who practice.”

Williams had four carries in the spring game for 63 yards with one touchdown. Turner had three carries for 36 yards. Junior Mon Denson, who had surgery on his meniscus after the bowl game, did not practice this spring.