Devwah Whaley has said he is leaving no stone unturned in his preparations to lead the University of Arkansas’ rushing attack this autumn.

The Bermudian sophomore became the Razorbacks’ most experienced running back after Rawleigh Williams’ retirement following his second neck injury in as many years during Arkansas’ spring practices. Williams was the third-leading rusher in the Southeastern Conference last season with 1,360 yards and scored 13 touchdowns. Whaley finished his freshman season with 602 yards and three TDs.

Whaley told the Arkansas Democrat Gazette that “things happened pretty fast” after Williams’ sudden retirement thrust him into the No 1 role.

“What happened with Rawleigh, we weren’t expecting that to happen,” he told the Fayetteville-based newspaper. “I’m preparing myself to be the best I can be to get ready for the season and also become a better leader, and be more vocal in the running back room. I’ve always been kind of quiet, but making strides.

“I’m just becoming a better Devwah — a player, student of the game, as well as just learning from Rawleigh. I look up to him and he’s taught me a lot.”

Whaley improved as the 2016 season went along, eschewing Kody Walker, who has since graduated, as the Hogs’ No 2 running back and is keen to make similar strides now he finds himself as the main man in Bret Bielema’s powerful ground attack.

“As the season went along last year, I got better and more comfortable,” Whaley said. “For me coming from high school and playing my first year, it was a huge jump.

“I felt I had a pretty good game against Mississippi State [in which he ran for 112 yards and a touchdown]. I made strides that game and continued to make strides after that. I stayed in my playbook, stayed and asked questions from the older guys like Kody and Rawleigh, who were confident in what they were doing. Just sitting back and watching them helped me a lot, and then as I got more carries, I was more comfortable.”

Whaley is keen to improved his receiving ability out of the backfield.

“My hands have gotten a lot better,” the 19-year-old said. “There’s always room for improvement and I’m going to continue to work on my hands to be a good all-around running back. I need to work on little things, most importantly my pass protection.”

Whaley mostly impressed as an outside runner last season, but knows he must make more of an impact between the tackles in Williams’ absence in the run hungry SEC — traditionally the most powerful conference in college football.

“That’s where you separate the men from the boys, running through the ‘A’ gap,” Whaley said. “Our offence is based on physicality and all the coaches stress that a lot. That’s just power football and what we do at Arkansas, and what we want to continue to do.

“I feel good and everybody says I look good. I was in the 220s at the start of the off season. It was a point of emphasis to lose weight. It was important to me to get it done — not to necessarily gain speed, but not to feel sluggish and slow. It was mainly to maintain my speed.”

Head coach Bielema appears confident that Whaley has the right attitude to carry the load for his team.

“I think Devwah, my guess is he probably entered spring with the idea to become the starting tailback,” Bielema said. “That’s just how he’s wired. I don’t know how much it affects him.

“Some of those younger players, a guy like Maleek Williams and maybe possibly Chase Hayden … it probably pushes them a little bit more and that’s probably a good thing for the summer.”

Maleek Williams, a true freshman from Florida, is poised to be Whaley’s sternest competition for the starting job, but Whaley, who went to high school in Beaumont, Texas, is proving to be the ultimate team player.

“It was huge to have him here this spring,” Whaley said. “It was good for him to get up here early and get a head start on running our offence. He had to lose weight and got it done. His whole game, coming in from high school to college, is a big jump and he got it right away.”

But for now, the Razorbacks’ rushing hopes rest on Whaley’s impressive shoulders.