KB has his sophomore season and 1-1/2 games in his junior season. The two guys coming back have all of last season and one has a year of backing up the previous year. These two guys together had about 1300 yards last year. TO had over 800 yards rushing. TM had over 900 yards rushing.
The previous year, TM had almost 1150 and KB had just over 1050 yards. KB got 1053 yards on 204 carries, Howard/Mason ran for 1223 yards on 215 carries. KB was definitely a work horse in 2017, but the tandem of Howard and Mason were more effective and more productive. Both averaged more yards per carry than KB.
All this being said, I really like KB. He's tough to bring down and if he wants to stay and compete for playing time, I'm all for it. With his injury, I think he's a wildcard. I don't think anyone really understands yet what 2019 holds for KB on the field. It's possible with Howard, Mason, Smith, and the new guys (Griffin, Amerson, and Ellison coming in) that KB and the coaches have decided that the unknown is just that, and that if KB wants a more focused opportunity to start, that may be best elsewhere, assuming he graduates. There's also a chance that this is garbage and that KB is going nowhere. Until he decides to leave, I'm rooting for him. Even if he decides to leave, I'm rooting for him as a player.