A ton of mouths to feed, and only so much food to do it. May I present: The Florida Gators running back room.

The Gators are entering the 2019 season with a ton of potential at running back, but without a strong history from anyone other than Lamical Perine, it's unclear exactly what role each ball carrier will serve.

Entering last season, now-Carolina Panthers running back Jordan Scarlett was the listed starter, but Lamical Perine had solidified himself as a strong change-of-pace and passing down back. Malik Davis was the No. 3, but a season-ending foot injury, so Dameon Pierce took his role and put up solid production, recording 424 yards and two touchdowns on 69 carries. Heck, even Kadarius Toney had 21 carries and over 200 yards.

Without Scarlett, Perine enters 2019 as the clear-cut starter. He has seen a serious uptick in production dating back to his true freshman season, to the point where he out-carried Scarlett last year despite Scarlett starting 12/13 games.

Despite Perine being the proven commodity of the group, Florida has several mouths to feed in a crowded running back room. Let's take a look at how they can do just that.

As an all-around threat, Perine has proven he can handle three-down responsibilities, posting nearly 1000 scrimmage yards last year - 826 on the ground and 170 through the air - and eight total touchdowns.

Perine's yards-per-carry went up from 4.1 yards in 2017 to a whopping 6.2 in 2018, while actually carrying the ball two times less. As the leader of the pack, his carries should top 200 in 2019, and that would lead him to becoming Florida's first 1000+ yard rusher in four years (Kelvin Taylor, 2015), so long as he can maintain an average of five+ yards per carry.

His vast experience, production growth over the past three seasons, and chemistry with quarterback Feleipe Franks as a pass-game contributor will earn Perine the majority of snaps to begin the year, thus earning the "bell-cow" status. Florida tends to run by committee, and it's fair to expect a committee to form over time in order to replace Scarlett's role. But to get the offense flowing at the start of the season, it's easy to peg Perine as "the guy".

We've heard this story before. Malik Davis stepped into Ben Hill Griffin Stadium with all the potential in the world to be a game-changer for Florida back in 2017. And he flashed that in his first seven games as Scarlett sat out that entire year due to a suspension... but missed the rest due to a season-ending torn ACL.

Davis recovered from that knee injury, and entered 2018 with high expectations following his 526 yards on 79 carries - averaging 6.7 yards per rush as a true freshman. But all it took was three games and 13 carries in 2018 for Davis to be ruled out for the season again due to injury, this time with a broken foot.

This injury history makes Davis a bit of a liability, which is unfortunate because he has immense talent and can contribute both as a speedy runner and a blocker for QB Feleipe Franks. It's just tough to rely on a player with two serious lower-body injuries in as many years, at a position that depends on the lower body more than most others.

Davis has stated he's back to "100 percent", and he participated in spring practices but at this point, anything he provides the Florida offense will be a pleasant bonus. He could see a limited share of touches near the start of the season, simply to get him back in tune with the offense before gathering more of a workload in a potential No. 2 role.

While he certainly isn't an unknown, Dameon Pierce feels like the "sleeper" of the Florida Gators running back group. If he can follow up on an impressive freshman season, he will demand a workload of his own throughout 2019 and beyond.

With an angry, physical running style and surprising agility at his stout size of 5-10, 216 lbs., Pierce should fill in for Scarlett as well as anyone. His power will be utilized in short-conversion situations, but if Pierce can continue to break off like he did in limited fashion in 2018, he can earn himself some early down carries as well. This could lead to Pierce earning the No. 2 spot over Davis.

In 2018, Pierce had 69 rushes for 424 yards and two touchdowns. He didn't offer much in the pass game, which like Davis will keep him off the field in favor of Perine in passing situations. However, Pierce has a great opportunity to be a big contributor going forward.

Kadarius Toney, as noted above, is transitioning into more of an exclusive receiving role. However, his 10.3 yards per carry over the past two years - 35 carries for 360 yards and a touchdown - can't be ignored. Expect him to have a role in the run game in Wildcat formations, as well as running reverses from in the slot and out wide.

Iverson Clement tallied four carries for 17 yards in games against Charleston Southern and Idaho, which led to a redshirt as he never ascended beyond being a depth piece despite Davis being injured. As long as Perine, Davis and Pierce can remain healthy, Clement will serve as the No. 4 back and on special teams.