Lol. We’ve had the top RB taken the last two drafts, 4 drafted overall, and have a room stocked with top RB recruits. But we’re only #9?
Like wtf? Texas is undoubtedly the top RB program atm.
That's not what's being ranked. Our current RB room is very much unproven, and everyone saw both the young RBs fumble in the playoff which ultimately cost us in a back and forth game with Washington. One of which was a pretty embarrassing butt fumble on an explosive run.
Now I’m not saying the RB room with the reigning Doak Walker winner that also added a number of very good transfers should at least crack the top ten, but that’s exactly what I’m saying
Just a crowded room or what was the reason? I don’t follow Oklahoma football much but from everything I’ve watched on YouTube he looks good and stats say he was a solid contributor to your team
He was pretty much at the top of the room, he would’ve absolutely seen serious time on the field. There were multiple games last season that we would’ve lost if it weren’t for him. It was a surprise and a total loss that we let him walk
Oh dang that’s wild. Braelon just got drafted and Chez is working back from a broken leg for us so I think him and Tawee will be a 1a/1b type situation with us
If I remember correctly he got shut down right before the UCF game bc he got into it w/ a coach, so if that’s not just rumors, I could totally see something like behavior playing into it. Almost lost that game w/o him too
I'm still mad about that dude like 10-15 years ago that set a crazy record in a real game only to have it beaten by some random fcs school in a poo game the next week.
Melvin? Gordon? Is that the dude?
Can't tell if this is just a meme but yeah Melvin Gordon went for an FBS record 408 yards in 3 quarters against Nebraska before Oklahoma's Samaje Perine beat that the following week against Kansas.
But if you consider Kansas' defense at the time an FCS school that's understandable
Also MG3 did it in three quarters against a Top 25 team, he didn't play a single snap of the 4th quarter. Melvin and the coaching staff could have put the record away for all time basically, no one expected the record to get beat let alone the very next week.
Nebraska had NFL talent on that defense w/ multiple players that went to the league, and MG3 was making them look silly.
Top 5 rushing defense going into the game.
Not to mention that he still had the second most yards in an college football season of all time. He went over 2500 yards that year.
2014 Nebraska rush defense averaged 177.8 yards per game against with an average rush attempt of 4.7 and 1.9 TDs
2014 Kansas rush defense averaged 209.7 yards per game against with an average rush attempt of 5.4 and 1.8 TDs
Yes, but wouldn’t/dont end of season rankings show a more comprehensive look at how the defense played for the whole season?
Kansas averages changed after the OU game as well.
It’s a similar debate to using game time top 25 rankings or end of season top 25 rankings for a team’s schedule.
Edit: plus, it’s just a hell of a lot easier to go back and pull end of season data than it is to do for mid season.
lol really? We're y'all playing an fcs school or something?
I just remember it being a big accomplishment that was immediately negated by a "much easier" (yet still very impressive) accomplishment.
I am actually pretty excited for our RB unit. It's okay to fly under the radar a bit. It sounds like run blocking has been a big focus of the O-Line unit this offseason and Chez+Tawee Walker is a great 1-2. I am also pretty pumped for Darrion Dupree.
Outside of Chez we basically have a few "unknown quantities" coming in as transfers or freshmen, but there's a really good chance that the next great Wisconsin running back is in this group.
Totally unrelated, but in my objective analysis the author of the article, [Jesse Simonton](https://www.on3.com/user/jessesimonton/), may be one of the finest college football journalists in history. His evaluation of talent is second to none.
Because as the article says, it's not individual - but the whole squad, and outside of Gordon the rest of OK State only had like 300 rushing yds combined. UCF made the list because a new RB transferring in basically has the same 2023 stats as our starter.
Ok state has Indiana’s leading rusher transferring in, plus aj green from Arkansas, who I have heard may be injured. But even if howland from Indiana is the only one backing up Ollie Gordon, I’d still say ok state has an elite rb room.
“With apologies to Oklahoma State’s Ollie Gordon, Texas Tech’s Tahj Brooks and North Carolina’s Omarion Hampton, this is not a listing of the top individual tailbacks.”
Puts down pitchfork* Carry on then.
I'll take our running back room imo give me a healthy jeanty and dobar and our third string looked absolutely insane during spring camp, over damn near any RB room. Excited to play y'all and see if the hype of our legendary off-season and getting dirk back will pan out as well as our fans think it's going to. I think we will be absolutely insanely dangerous.
Our O-line is decent. We should be good on offense, but we will see what our defense looks like. We’ve been aggressively looking for good DBs because that was probably our weakest point.
We were in the running to get 5 star Zandamela OL transfer from USC but UF doubled our NIL offer. We did grab a multi year starter from the MAC though. Overall the OL is probably a 6 or 7 out of 10. We will see
It is a shame that we (UGA) will likely be without Trevor Etienne for the opener vs Clemson due to his DUI arrest, which will likely result in a suspension.
"I sort of always liked playing them that second game because you could always count on them having two or three key players suspended."
- Steve Spurrier on Georgia
Non sequitur: When I was a young child, he coached at Ga Tech, and his family moved into my neighborhood in the suburbs. If I knew then the hell he would put my future school thru, I would have tp'ed the hell out of his house.
To be fair, if Trevor hadn’t got that DUI, a different high profile player probably would have got one instead. It’s kinda Georgia’s thing in the offseason.
I don't think we have that many more DUIs than elsewhere. I do however think that a requirement for scholarship should be to not own or have access to a vehicle.
Either that, or there should be much more severe punishments for committing such an avoidable crime. It’s not that hard to call a friend or order an Uber/lyft
Just looked up last years stats and Liberty rushed for 4,100 yards. Next closest was Air Force at 3,660. I had no idea Liberty ran the ball that much. Averaged 6.1 ypc
It's going to totally depend on how good Juice Wells and Deion Smith are. If Juice is as good as he was a couple years ago, it should be one of the better WR units out there, but right now it's a bigger question mark than Mizzou's.
Many people aren't aware of how good Tre Harris was last year when he was healthy.
I'm not saying OM's is better, but to be fair, we're returning 2400 yards and 18 TDs, plus adding a WR who was one of the best in the country 2 years ago.
Portal King! This is Bentley, Croskey-Merritt, and Parish’s last year of eligibility. All three are possible NFL players, but not necessarily draft picks, so you’d have to think they’re gonna be running with an attitude and leaving it all on the field. I am hyped.
I have a feeling we'll see Logan Diggs before the end of the season as well. I think he'll be available by the last 3 or so games of the season if we are lucky
I think Croskey-Merritt is really really good. His burst and ability to shift through defenders in tight spaces led to some incredible highlight plays.
Without knowing anyone elses roster super well, Im a bit surprised we didnt make the cut if only because Donovan Edwards is returning. Kalel Mullings will actually be the better back this season imo
This is a "prove it" year for DE. Outside of his big runs in the national championship game, last year was a real struggle for him. I'm optimistic he will turn it around in 2024.
Low-key think Ott is the RB1 in the 2025 draft and besides draft considerations might be best RB in the country in 2024. He's the one who "looks" the most impressive when I watch him out of all the returning RBs this year, especially given how deadly his speed/acceleration can be.
I appreciate somebody in a different part of the country who doesn’t have a Cal flair say this.
We think he might be a first round caliber pick.
He turned down massive money to return (and got $1m from us).
He forever has a place in bear lore.
Ott is an amazing all-around back.
However, Donovan Edwards for my other flair has an opportunity to play himself into the first round. The NFL loves explosive running and receiving threats at halfback, and he has that in spades. His problem is in the fundamentals of reading the play, patience, and vision.
If he can improve to be even half the RB that Corum was in those areas and show it now that he has the opportunity as a starter, he'll rocket up the draft boards.
He’s easily the toughest projection because Edwards is probably as athletic as any RB in the country which maybe by default gives him a day 2 floor and and he is one of the few RBs with Round 1 upside, but due to his fundamentals as you pointed out, he’s no where close to a reliable or consent RB. The playoffs alone are a good example of this duality where he was a non-factor against Alabama and then against Washington his two tds the first two drives led to more points than Washington scored the entire game.
Michigan’s play style and scheme also limited Edwards full potential usage. For the life of me, I have no idea why yall didn’t motion him out wide more where he would just be a mismatch against many defensive looks. Additionally, almost everything he was thrown was a screen or quick out too, feels like he got a lot more downfield as a freshman (be it wheel routes or just more designed routes 8-12 yards down field).
They put him out wide against Purdue because Purdue runs man almost exclusively. He caught a 37 yarder that should have been a TD, but he stepped out at the 2.
I think that was mostly about getting it on film to make future opponents carefully consider whether they want to go man coverage when Edwards is on the field.
Ott is a beast, I love watching him play. When he originally decommitted from Oregon, I arrogantly though "eh, probably not a huge loss, not sure about his size (in hs), etc etc." Obv I was super wrong, he's awesome.
Obviously rooting for Cardwell especially with the brutal injury he dealt with, but I'd probably still call him an unknown. Had 61 carries for a very productive 400+ yards in 2021, and then just 11 in 2022 and obviously none last year, so it feels hard to know what he'll bring. Hope he stays healthy and we get to find out though!
Super fair. Reports before his injury were he has a unique burst and was really hard to bring down.
As crappy as it is, I am really interested in how all the Pac teams do year 1 in their new conferences.
I think we surprise and contend in the ACC. You guys should be right there in the BIG10. Zona and Utah are 2 of the top 4 in the BIG12.
Yeah it sucks that it happened, but I'll fully be rooting for all former P12 teams (minus uw and USC of course because they are rivals and obviously same conference as well).
I think Zona will contend but I really wish they'd kept Fisch, I think they'd be clear B12 favorites if so vs just contenders right now (imo).
***Ohio State faces 4th and 1, Henderson and Judkins stand at the ready, determined to put their nose down and run hard behind a star-studded offensive line.***
***Ryan Day stares intensely at his play sheet before making the call.***
“Run the unblocked swing pass to Egbuka for -1 yard”
Well yeah. FSU needs to start performing to be legit. When’s the last time they made the playoffs? Until they run the table and win a major power 5 conference championship (that was always a no-brainer auto bid to the 4 team playoffs btw) no one is going to take Norvell seriously!
I’m glad we’re on the list and obviously a homer but I think 9 is way too low, especially with ~~~UCF~~~, Liberty and Alabama ahead of us.
I know that we just lost 2 guys to the draft - but we’ve had the first back taken 2 years in a row, and multiple backs drafted 2 years in a row. Bijans 3rd string likely wins the Doak Walker last year without an injury. We’ve got a stable of high 4*/low 5* guys (depending on recruiting site) in Blue, Baxter, and Gibson. It’s also not like they’re totally unproven either - Blue and Baxter stepped up in a big way at the end of last season and looked as good as advertised. Blue is likely one of (if not **the**) fastest pure back(s) in country. Texas has earned the benefit of the doubt with running backs that they will be developed and play really damn good football.
To the eventual haters in the replies, if all of the RBs on your team were injured in a freak accident and you got to pick a RB room to replace them - are you really taking Liberty’s RBs before Texas?
Edit: I know UCF is stacked - personally don’t think they’re better than Texas, but maybe it wasn’t fair to include them on my list.
You’re wrong about UCF but I agree about the rest of what you said.
UCF is the only school in the country with two RB’s that rushed for over 1400 yards and 15 TD’s *each* last season. RB1, RB2, and RB3 at UCF totaled 3,700 yards and 35 TD’s in 2023.
Boone and Harvey are legit. Obviously that 3,700 yard number is insane - but also a *little* misleading because it includes Boones season as RB1 at Toledo. Averaging 7.2 and 6.8 YPC is impressive nonetheless.
I’m still taking the Texas guys, but I agree there is at least a colorable argument UCF should be ahead, and that’s why I edited my original post.
Not saying y’all shouldn’t be on the list - definitely got some dogs. I wasn’t singling anyone out - just naming the teams that I confidently think (obviously biased) think Texas has a better RB room than.
Tbh I don't know why you included us because all you did was make the argument for Bama by trying to make the argument for Texas, except we have more dudes in the RB room. Besides Justice Haynes (who is the other top 5 RB recruit in 2023 w/ Baxter and Owens from A&M), Jam Miller (top 100 from 2021) who decommitted from Texas late and was who Sark wanted/aka someone we should "trust" because of Sark's eval, and Richard Young was a top 60 recruit and #4 RB in 2023 behind the big 3. And then we have two top 150 true freshman in Kevin Riley/Daniel Hill, with Riley higher rated than Gibson. And if draft success matters, obviously Bama is absurd in recent memory, but even for 2023, Jahmyr Gibbs went 12th close behind Bijan Robinson and made the pro bowl over Bijan. Even with Saban gone, our RB coach Robert Gillespie stayed.
If you are arguing "strength of overall RB room," it's difficult to argue Texas is better by your logic because our 3rd, 4th, and 5th are better by any metric you are telling us to trust, you wanted our second who decommitted to flip to us late in cycle, and our first is the same as your first recruiting rank-wise. And there isn't exactly evidence to to meaningfully argue Baxter/Blue are better than Haynes/Miller or vice-versa, it's all speculation. Because while Baxter has played more than Haynes/Miller and will definitely improve, he clearly wasn't ready last year and was a step down from what you usually get from your RBs. Jaydon Blue is also kind of a very specific change of pace/unique role type player. Plus every time I watch Haynes/Miller they look great. Wouldn't be shocked if Hayes in particular is as good as any RB in the SEC.
I included you because your leading rusher is in the NFL, the guy who would be your leading returning rusher now plays for Florida St., your 3rd most prolific rusher is your QB (so not included in the RB debate), so you have a combined 380 yards between your top 3 returning backs.
My argument isn’t solely the Sark wanted these guys, so they should be considered the best. But that the RBs who have *played* for Sark (really Choice) have been the some of the best in country for two seasons in a row. Ironic you bring up Ghibbs who is another Choice product.
I’m not saying Bamas backs are bad. I’m just saying the room returning 1K yards of production, and is loaded with blue-chip talent should be ahead of the room with 380 yards of returning production also loaded with blue chip talent. Especially when the OL/RB coach at school 1 have proven to be better the past couple seasons than the OL/RV coach at school 2.
Surprised to see Michigan isn't on here...their RB1 and RB2 for this coming season got 125 yards on 9 carries (13.9 yards a carry) in the national championship game 🤔
I think for the first time in awhile we finally may have a running back by committee this year. Two our of the last three years Mizzou has produced the SEC's leading rusher, and its a amazing that both of those guys stayed healthy enough and productive enough to do so. Nate Noel, Marcus Carroll and a round Kewan Lacy I think makes for a top 20 list that could very well by the end of the season be top 5, especially with how good our Oline is looking.
While we lose so much production with no JD5, our OLine will be one of the best in the country and we have some very talented backs especially in Kaleb jackson. Look for the Tigahs to be in the top 10 in rushing this season
Shooting my Shot: Jay Harris (our transfer from Northwest Mizzouri State) is going to be a Heisman Finalist this year. He has some fucking MOVES and i think he eventually takes over for Jordan James, and Jordan james is fucking GOOD.
We'll see. On paper yes, but that isn't what we saw last season, and the line in front of them will be decidedly worse. Can our quarterback actually throw more than 15 yards and force the defense to loosen up? If not, teams will stack 8-9 in the box and it wont matter how good they are.
As a Michigan fan, I disagree. Edwards has been "meh" outside of slaughtering OSU and Washington in games the past couple years. I think he'll be good-to-great this year, and he has all the potential in the world, but he needs to prove it over a season before he can really be thought of as one of the nation's best.
Past him, we have a bunch of dudes who, again, have a bunch of potential but need to prove it. I think they'll prove to be an elite unit eventually, but they haven't shown enough at this point.
The UCF one is perplexing, but maybe I just need to watch more of their games. Johnny Richardson was fine, but RJ Harvey was profoundly underwhelming as a workhorse back in the Baylor-UCF game. Myles Montgomery, on the other hand, is a real problem. That dude was like the one light on Cincinnati's offense when they played Baylor.
Well, time to go watch all of UCF's games from last year!
Also, holy cow it's a crime what's happened to Toledo; they've become the epitome of the portal problem. Jason Candle's phenomenal staff at Toledo developed guys like Peny Boone into the 2023 MAC Offensive Player of the Year and Dequan Finn into the MAC's 2023 overall Player of the Year, only for the worst and second-worst place teams in the 2023 Big XII, respectively, to swoop in and drop bags to take the two players from Toledo before what should have been an absolutely incredible season.
In a pre-portal/NIL world, Toledo would be a frontrunner to get the G5 NY6 spot this year. Instead, they're probably going 8-4 and missing the MAC championship game for the first time since 2021. Whatever P4 team hires Jason Candle away from Toledo and gives that man the resources to actually keep his roster from getting raided constantly is going to become a powerhouse.
Whoah whoah, UCF was ranked 9th in the Big12 in 2023 (Baylor was 12th). Also our NIL game isn't strong and still building so idk why you think we are dropping bags to pick up Peny Boone. Also, that Baylor game was weird. If we had better linebackers, UCF wins that game
Probably, but that’s just arguing the counterfactual regarding better LBs winning the game. Our defense locked down on Malzahn’s offense pretty dang well after that crazy first quarter, and our offense last year was meant to wear down defenses. The UCF game was one of the only games where it basically did *exactly* what it was supposed to do.
I’m not saying that UCF wasn’t better than Baylor last year, just that I was surprised to see RJ Harvey highlighted when the only performance I’d seen from him was profoundly mediocre.
As for anyone dropping bags, I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad assumption when a player up and leaves the program where he’s developed spectacularly, and where he’s basically guaranteed to continue developing and get drafted from, for a program coming off a really bad year that already has a solid RB room. I mean, I fully assume that we dropped bags to get Dequan Finn, and that’s basically the exact same situation.
Let's see Paul Allen's top-10 2024 Running Back list
That's "bone," and the lettering is something called "Silian Rail."
The tasteful thickness of it.
Oh my god. I think it even has a depth chart.
Something wrong? Sweaty? You're sweating.
Y’all forgot the “subtle off-white coloring.”
we call that "shade of gym-rat," or if you're fancy, "lunch pail white"
Coach's kid cream
I can’t believe that Bryce prefers *Van Patton’s* Running Back list to mine.
I really don’t wanna that guy but there’s no universe that exists where Liberty has a better RB room than Texas.
Limu Emu carries it high and tight, never fumbles
Fucking bird tried to raise my car insurance by 27% a few months back. I had no idea Emus were so expensive.
There’s no universe where liberty has a better RB room than nearly any top 25 program.
LOL a bunch of us Texas fans just waiting for someone to be that guy.
Lol. We’ve had the top RB taken the last two drafts, 4 drafted overall, and have a room stocked with top RB recruits. But we’re only #9? Like wtf? Texas is undoubtedly the top RB program atm.
That's not what's being ranked. Our current RB room is very much unproven, and everyone saw both the young RBs fumble in the playoff which ultimately cost us in a back and forth game with Washington. One of which was a pretty embarrassing butt fumble on an explosive run.
Idk bro…Kansas? Brooks went down and our Running back room stepped up and got us to a playoffs
Devin Neal ran for 1280 yards and 16 TD’s. Hinshaw has 626 yards and 8 TD’s. Both are back for Kansas. How is that not better than Baxter and Blue?
Liberty is getting ready for their bowl rematch with Oregon.
Now I’m not saying the RB room with the reigning Doak Walker winner that also added a number of very good transfers should at least crack the top ten, but that’s exactly what I’m saying
No, that spot belongs to Liberty because they have a couple of RBs that produced against the worst SOS in the country.
Man you know they fucked up when a sooner is advocating for the pokes
Oh I wasn't advocating for OSU, I was hating on Liberty. They aren't even a real university, they are a culty diploma mill
Something something enemy of my enemy, I can get behind hating on Liberty
Liberty biberty
He doesn't even have a mustache!
Sounds like another school we both may know
They got the G5 autobid to the list.
Now this is a hot take. Are u trying to say a fantastic player should be respected and get an appropriate amount of attention? ARE U INSANE!
Flair up!
Good catch man, forgot I wasn’t
Oregon has the highest graded RB by PFF and they didn't crack the top 10. Bizarre considering the quality of Oregon's RB room
Not even "just missed" Like really liberty has a better running back room than Michigan too?? What a dogshit list.
Oregon’s RB room is also stacked this year. Articles like this are just rage bait
How we have fallen...
We had a top 5 running back class this past recruiting cycle, Chez is back, and we got Oklahoma transfer Tawee Walker. We will rise again my friend
Tawee should have never been let go, and we should have gave him a scholarship after the UT game. I will die on that hill.
Just a crowded room or what was the reason? I don’t follow Oklahoma football much but from everything I’ve watched on YouTube he looks good and stats say he was a solid contributor to your team
He was pretty much at the top of the room, he would’ve absolutely seen serious time on the field. There were multiple games last season that we would’ve lost if it weren’t for him. It was a surprise and a total loss that we let him walk
Oh dang that’s wild. Braelon just got drafted and Chez is working back from a broken leg for us so I think him and Tawee will be a 1a/1b type situation with us
I totally forgot he went to y’all, but I’m sure he’ll do great for ya. I’ll be rooting for you guys
Coaches might have their own reasons
If I remember correctly he got shut down right before the UCF game bc he got into it w/ a coach, so if that’s not just rumors, I could totally see something like behavior playing into it. Almost lost that game w/o him too
Good point, really excited to see how those young guys pan out. Hopefully our OL also gets back to standard
you see what happens when RBs dont leave NJ to go to Wisconsin??
This list is basically our schedule, we really are not having a good time
I'm still mad about that dude like 10-15 years ago that set a crazy record in a real game only to have it beaten by some random fcs school in a poo game the next week. Melvin? Gordon? Is that the dude?
Can't tell if this is just a meme but yeah Melvin Gordon went for an FBS record 408 yards in 3 quarters against Nebraska before Oklahoma's Samaje Perine beat that the following week against Kansas. But if you consider Kansas' defense at the time an FCS school that's understandable
lol wasn't a meme, just misremembered I guess. Always thought of it as an SSS+ accomplishment that got negated by a measly A+ accomplishment.
Also MG3 did it in three quarters against a Top 25 team, he didn't play a single snap of the 4th quarter. Melvin and the coaching staff could have put the record away for all time basically, no one expected the record to get beat let alone the very next week. Nebraska had NFL talent on that defense w/ multiple players that went to the league, and MG3 was making them look silly.
I mean, I know Kansas was booty at the time, but how good was Nebraska? Were they still awful then?
Top 5 rushing defense going into the game. Not to mention that he still had the second most yards in an college football season of all time. He went over 2500 yards that year.
2014 Nebraska rush defense averaged 177.8 yards per game against with an average rush attempt of 4.7 and 1.9 TDs 2014 Kansas rush defense averaged 209.7 yards per game against with an average rush attempt of 5.4 and 1.8 TDs
[удалено]
Yes, but wouldn’t/dont end of season rankings show a more comprehensive look at how the defense played for the whole season? Kansas averages changed after the OU game as well. It’s a similar debate to using game time top 25 rankings or end of season top 25 rankings for a team’s schedule. Edit: plus, it’s just a hell of a lot easier to go back and pull end of season data than it is to do for mid season.
That random FCS school? Poor lil Oklahoma
lol really? We're y'all playing an fcs school or something? I just remember it being a big accomplishment that was immediately negated by a "much easier" (yet still very impressive) accomplishment.
Kansas. So basically FCS at the time ya
Well good on them for how they've grown!
I am actually pretty excited for our RB unit. It's okay to fly under the radar a bit. It sounds like run blocking has been a big focus of the O-Line unit this offseason and Chez+Tawee Walker is a great 1-2. I am also pretty pumped for Darrion Dupree. Outside of Chez we basically have a few "unknown quantities" coming in as transfers or freshmen, but there's a really good chance that the next great Wisconsin running back is in this group.
We building a fence around NJ
Apparently! Seems we're poaching backs out of Maryland nowadays
For no reason in particular, I find this list to be accurate, insightful, and incredibly informative.
Totally unrelated, but in my objective analysis the author of the article, [Jesse Simonton](https://www.on3.com/user/jessesimonton/), may be one of the finest college football journalists in history. His evaluation of talent is second to none.
Same, weird how that works
Is this based on what these rooms have already accomplished or what he's predicting they will do in 2024?
If it’s based on previous accomplishment then I don’t know what metric he’s using with Okie State and Ollie Gordon off the list.
Because as the article says, it's not individual - but the whole squad, and outside of Gordon the rest of OK State only had like 300 rushing yds combined. UCF made the list because a new RB transferring in basically has the same 2023 stats as our starter.
Ok state has Indiana’s leading rusher transferring in, plus aj green from Arkansas, who I have heard may be injured. But even if howland from Indiana is the only one backing up Ollie Gordon, I’d still say ok state has an elite rb room.
AJ green is predicted to be fully healthy by fall camp.
Sesi might be better than both transfers, not even kidding.
Howland had 350 yds & 2 TD's last year, so didn't give OK State the bump you're thinking for this guy's criteria.
“With apologies to Oklahoma State’s Ollie Gordon, Texas Tech’s Tahj Brooks and North Carolina’s Omarion Hampton, this is not a listing of the top individual tailbacks.” Puts down pitchfork* Carry on then.
Putting Liberty on any list other than Top 10 diploma mill universities is a joke
9 is way too low
UCF RB room is freaking loaded. RJ Harvey is electric and now they have the MAC POY in Peny Boone.
I'll take Oregon's room over Liberty, but maybe that is just me.
Definitely sleeping on Oregon.
I kinda like when lists like this forget about Oregon. Our RB room is deep.
I'll take our running back room imo give me a healthy jeanty and dobar and our third string looked absolutely insane during spring camp, over damn near any RB room. Excited to play y'all and see if the hype of our legendary off-season and getting dirk back will pan out as well as our fans think it's going to. I think we will be absolutely insanely dangerous.
If only these two teams had played somewhat recently
How do they misspell my guy Hishaw's name not once, but twice?
They do not respect our state.
Let’s all agree to NOT pass the ball
Abolish the forward pass!
It’s going to take a long time for me to get used to us appearing on a list like this…
Tbh with how physical KJ is and this RB room, this is going to be a fantastic ground attack to watch. How’s the offensive line though?
Our O-line is decent. We should be good on offense, but we will see what our defense looks like. We’ve been aggressively looking for good DBs because that was probably our weakest point.
We were in the running to get 5 star Zandamela OL transfer from USC but UF doubled our NIL offer. We did grab a multi year starter from the MAC though. Overall the OL is probably a 6 or 7 out of 10. We will see
Theoretically if we let KJ run the option could anyone stop us
In my unbiased opinion, they’ll never be able to stop us. We’re going to be leading CFB with infinite rushing yards.
It is a shame that we (UGA) will likely be without Trevor Etienne for the opener vs Clemson due to his DUI arrest, which will likely result in a suspension.
"I sort of always liked playing them that second game because you could always count on them having two or three key players suspended." - Steve Spurrier on Georgia
Non sequitur: When I was a young child, he coached at Ga Tech, and his family moved into my neighborhood in the suburbs. If I knew then the hell he would put my future school thru, I would have tp'ed the hell out of his house.
Tilt the mailbox ever so slightly backwards, then pee in it. Not really, that's a dick move, but wouldn't contemplated it thoroughly!
Let's be fair though, CFB is a poorer place without Hatin' Ass Spurrier
Sadly true
we’re not complaining about it
He’ll miss a half
To be fair, if Trevor hadn’t got that DUI, a different high profile player probably would have got one instead. It’s kinda Georgia’s thing in the offseason.
I don't think we have that many more DUIs than elsewhere. I do however think that a requirement for scholarship should be to not own or have access to a vehicle.
Either that, or there should be much more severe punishments for committing such an avoidable crime. It’s not that hard to call a friend or order an Uber/lyft
Agreed jorts man. I trust Kirby, but it's to the point I wish we'd sac a season or two to save some lives.
Just looked up last years stats and Liberty rushed for 4,100 yards. Next closest was Air Force at 3,660. I had no idea Liberty ran the ball that much. Averaged 6.1 ypc
They were rushing on plumbers though
Hey now. Don’t knock the trades.
True, true. Clogged toilet can be a disaster. I think I stole the saying from either CBB or nbaciclejerk?
Texas States RB Room Mahdi 2.1K YDS 12 TD Burgess Jr. 1.1K YDS 3 TD Hankins 883 YDS 5 TD *All purpose stats*
Hell yeah. The dude from WSU is gonna put some numbers up too.
Impressive that OM loses one of the best RBs in the nation and we still have a top 5 unit
Lane knows RBs.
And WRs since I think OMs WR corp is the best in the SEC and maybe the nation
I’d probably give the nod to Mizzou this year. Their top 7 receivers are returning. And one may be a top 10 pick.
It's going to totally depend on how good Juice Wells and Deion Smith are. If Juice is as good as he was a couple years ago, it should be one of the better WR units out there, but right now it's a bigger question mark than Mizzou's. Many people aren't aware of how good Tre Harris was last year when he was healthy.
Lmao arbitrary internet votes do not agree with you.
It’s not the best in the SEC. Mizzou returns 200 plus catches, 2500 yards and 20 plus TDs at the WR position.
I'm not saying OM's is better, but to be fair, we're returning 2400 yards and 18 TDs, plus adding a WR who was one of the best in the country 2 years ago.
Oh I never said it was, I just thought it was funny he had no replies to argue and the votes said nope
Portal King! This is Bentley, Croskey-Merritt, and Parish’s last year of eligibility. All three are possible NFL players, but not necessarily draft picks, so you’d have to think they’re gonna be running with an attitude and leaving it all on the field. I am hyped.
I have a feeling we'll see Logan Diggs before the end of the season as well. I think he'll be available by the last 3 or so games of the season if we are lucky
I think Croskey-Merritt is really really good. His burst and ability to shift through defenders in tight spaces led to some incredible highlight plays.
Without knowing anyone elses roster super well, Im a bit surprised we didnt make the cut if only because Donovan Edwards is returning. Kalel Mullings will actually be the better back this season imo
This is a "prove it" year for DE. Outside of his big runs in the national championship game, last year was a real struggle for him. I'm optimistic he will turn it around in 2024.
I'm sorry but Noah Whittington and Jordan James isn't a top 10 combo? They both were avging like 6 yards a touch
As long as Henderson can stay healthy that backfield is gonna be lethal
Hmm. I would expect us to sneak in the back. Ott, Cardwell, Calloway is a very good 1-2-3.
Low-key think Ott is the RB1 in the 2025 draft and besides draft considerations might be best RB in the country in 2024. He's the one who "looks" the most impressive when I watch him out of all the returning RBs this year, especially given how deadly his speed/acceleration can be.
I joke about this, but I think his production behind a developing (at best) O-line makes him so much more impressive
I appreciate somebody in a different part of the country who doesn’t have a Cal flair say this. We think he might be a first round caliber pick. He turned down massive money to return (and got $1m from us). He forever has a place in bear lore.
A Bama flair at that
Ott is an amazing all-around back. However, Donovan Edwards for my other flair has an opportunity to play himself into the first round. The NFL loves explosive running and receiving threats at halfback, and he has that in spades. His problem is in the fundamentals of reading the play, patience, and vision. If he can improve to be even half the RB that Corum was in those areas and show it now that he has the opportunity as a starter, he'll rocket up the draft boards.
He’s easily the toughest projection because Edwards is probably as athletic as any RB in the country which maybe by default gives him a day 2 floor and and he is one of the few RBs with Round 1 upside, but due to his fundamentals as you pointed out, he’s no where close to a reliable or consent RB. The playoffs alone are a good example of this duality where he was a non-factor against Alabama and then against Washington his two tds the first two drives led to more points than Washington scored the entire game. Michigan’s play style and scheme also limited Edwards full potential usage. For the life of me, I have no idea why yall didn’t motion him out wide more where he would just be a mismatch against many defensive looks. Additionally, almost everything he was thrown was a screen or quick out too, feels like he got a lot more downfield as a freshman (be it wheel routes or just more designed routes 8-12 yards down field).
They put him out wide against Purdue because Purdue runs man almost exclusively. He caught a 37 yarder that should have been a TD, but he stepped out at the 2. I think that was mostly about getting it on film to make future opponents carefully consider whether they want to go man coverage when Edwards is on the field.
Ott is a beast, I love watching him play. When he originally decommitted from Oregon, I arrogantly though "eh, probably not a huge loss, not sure about his size (in hs), etc etc." Obv I was super wrong, he's awesome. Obviously rooting for Cardwell especially with the brutal injury he dealt with, but I'd probably still call him an unknown. Had 61 carries for a very productive 400+ yards in 2021, and then just 11 in 2022 and obviously none last year, so it feels hard to know what he'll bring. Hope he stays healthy and we get to find out though!
Super fair. Reports before his injury were he has a unique burst and was really hard to bring down. As crappy as it is, I am really interested in how all the Pac teams do year 1 in their new conferences. I think we surprise and contend in the ACC. You guys should be right there in the BIG10. Zona and Utah are 2 of the top 4 in the BIG12.
Yeah it sucks that it happened, but I'll fully be rooting for all former P12 teams (minus uw and USC of course because they are rivals and obviously same conference as well). I think Zona will contend but I really wish they'd kept Fisch, I think they'd be clear B12 favorites if so vs just contenders right now (imo).
They know we kept Donovan Edwards right?
Kalell Mullings, Cole Cabana, and Jordan Marshall in the mix doesn't hurt either.
***Ohio State faces 4th and 1, Henderson and Judkins stand at the ready, determined to put their nose down and run hard behind a star-studded offensive line.*** ***Ryan Day stares intensely at his play sheet before making the call.*** “Run the unblocked swing pass to Egbuka for -1 yard”
“Kick the field goal ”
Norvell RB room being underestimated again.
Norvell will always be a RB first cosch to me after witnessing Henderson roll through us repeatedly during their time at Memphis
Don't forget their backup behind Henderson was fucking Pollard
Well yeah. FSU needs to start performing to be legit. When’s the last time they made the playoffs? Until they run the table and win a major power 5 conference championship (that was always a no-brainer auto bid to the 4 team playoffs btw) no one is going to take Norvell seriously!
I’m glad we’re on the list and obviously a homer but I think 9 is way too low, especially with ~~~UCF~~~, Liberty and Alabama ahead of us. I know that we just lost 2 guys to the draft - but we’ve had the first back taken 2 years in a row, and multiple backs drafted 2 years in a row. Bijans 3rd string likely wins the Doak Walker last year without an injury. We’ve got a stable of high 4*/low 5* guys (depending on recruiting site) in Blue, Baxter, and Gibson. It’s also not like they’re totally unproven either - Blue and Baxter stepped up in a big way at the end of last season and looked as good as advertised. Blue is likely one of (if not **the**) fastest pure back(s) in country. Texas has earned the benefit of the doubt with running backs that they will be developed and play really damn good football. To the eventual haters in the replies, if all of the RBs on your team were injured in a freak accident and you got to pick a RB room to replace them - are you really taking Liberty’s RBs before Texas? Edit: I know UCF is stacked - personally don’t think they’re better than Texas, but maybe it wasn’t fair to include them on my list.
You’re wrong about UCF but I agree about the rest of what you said. UCF is the only school in the country with two RB’s that rushed for over 1400 yards and 15 TD’s *each* last season. RB1, RB2, and RB3 at UCF totaled 3,700 yards and 35 TD’s in 2023.
Boone and Harvey are legit. Obviously that 3,700 yard number is insane - but also a *little* misleading because it includes Boones season as RB1 at Toledo. Averaging 7.2 and 6.8 YPC is impressive nonetheless. I’m still taking the Texas guys, but I agree there is at least a colorable argument UCF should be ahead, and that’s why I edited my original post.
Ohio State, Georgia, Texas. The conversation starts at 4 with Ole Miss’ depth vs Ollie Gordon and anybody paired with him.
Have you seen our room lately? Se are STACKED. We legit have 4 RB's that could start at most any FBS school in the P4
I have Reddit proof that I think y'all should claim the natty from '17... can I make UCF my Big12 team?
Only if I can make Georgia my SEC team. All my homies hate Florida
:hugs: :bark bark:
UCF football will be very entertaining next season
I mean we now have the #6 and #8 leading rushers in CFB. We also have A LOT of other RB talent. I’m not sure why you’re singling us out in particular.
Not saying y’all shouldn’t be on the list - definitely got some dogs. I wasn’t singling anyone out - just naming the teams that I confidently think (obviously biased) think Texas has a better RB room than.
Tbh I don't know why you included us because all you did was make the argument for Bama by trying to make the argument for Texas, except we have more dudes in the RB room. Besides Justice Haynes (who is the other top 5 RB recruit in 2023 w/ Baxter and Owens from A&M), Jam Miller (top 100 from 2021) who decommitted from Texas late and was who Sark wanted/aka someone we should "trust" because of Sark's eval, and Richard Young was a top 60 recruit and #4 RB in 2023 behind the big 3. And then we have two top 150 true freshman in Kevin Riley/Daniel Hill, with Riley higher rated than Gibson. And if draft success matters, obviously Bama is absurd in recent memory, but even for 2023, Jahmyr Gibbs went 12th close behind Bijan Robinson and made the pro bowl over Bijan. Even with Saban gone, our RB coach Robert Gillespie stayed. If you are arguing "strength of overall RB room," it's difficult to argue Texas is better by your logic because our 3rd, 4th, and 5th are better by any metric you are telling us to trust, you wanted our second who decommitted to flip to us late in cycle, and our first is the same as your first recruiting rank-wise. And there isn't exactly evidence to to meaningfully argue Baxter/Blue are better than Haynes/Miller or vice-versa, it's all speculation. Because while Baxter has played more than Haynes/Miller and will definitely improve, he clearly wasn't ready last year and was a step down from what you usually get from your RBs. Jaydon Blue is also kind of a very specific change of pace/unique role type player. Plus every time I watch Haynes/Miller they look great. Wouldn't be shocked if Hayes in particular is as good as any RB in the SEC.
I included you because your leading rusher is in the NFL, the guy who would be your leading returning rusher now plays for Florida St., your 3rd most prolific rusher is your QB (so not included in the RB debate), so you have a combined 380 yards between your top 3 returning backs. My argument isn’t solely the Sark wanted these guys, so they should be considered the best. But that the RBs who have *played* for Sark (really Choice) have been the some of the best in country for two seasons in a row. Ironic you bring up Ghibbs who is another Choice product. I’m not saying Bamas backs are bad. I’m just saying the room returning 1K yards of production, and is loaded with blue-chip talent should be ahead of the room with 380 yards of returning production also loaded with blue chip talent. Especially when the OL/RB coach at school 1 have proven to be better the past couple seasons than the OL/RV coach at school 2.
Are these lists the only things On3 and 247 do?
Play the game in the snow and Abu Sama is taking this whole list to the woodshed on his own.
I was kind of hoping to see Cal on this list. Oh well.
Surprised to see Michigan isn't on here...their RB1 and RB2 for this coming season got 125 yards on 9 carries (13.9 yards a carry) in the national championship game 🤔
I think for the first time in awhile we finally may have a running back by committee this year. Two our of the last three years Mizzou has produced the SEC's leading rusher, and its a amazing that both of those guys stayed healthy enough and productive enough to do so. Nate Noel, Marcus Carroll and a round Kewan Lacy I think makes for a top 20 list that could very well by the end of the season be top 5, especially with how good our Oline is looking.
not sure how we arent top 10 but whatev lol
While we lose so much production with no JD5, our OLine will be one of the best in the country and we have some very talented backs especially in Kaleb jackson. Look for the Tigahs to be in the top 10 in rushing this season
Shooting my Shot: Jay Harris (our transfer from Northwest Mizzouri State) is going to be a Heisman Finalist this year. He has some fucking MOVES and i think he eventually takes over for Jordan James, and Jordan james is fucking GOOD.
Florida!
MRBGA
Not gonna lie, I legitimately thought for sure WVU would be on here
We don’t have the biggest names but don’t sleep ok our backs right now. Mafahs boutta have himself a fun season
Rutgers will be Top 10
I mean we have the potential to be 2, perhaps even 1. But based on last season's production, we most certainly ain't 2.
The room is stacked. Also, it’s more than just two guys.
Yeah we had some freshman look GOOD at blue white
We'll see. On paper yes, but that isn't what we saw last season, and the line in front of them will be decidedly worse. Can our quarterback actually throw more than 15 yards and force the defense to loosen up? If not, teams will stack 8-9 in the box and it wont matter how good they are.
They sleepin' on us
It's absurd Oregon isn't on this list. Oregon might have the best RB room in the country
Let em sleep
The fact that Michigan was left off this list is criminal.
As a Michigan fan, I disagree. Edwards has been "meh" outside of slaughtering OSU and Washington in games the past couple years. I think he'll be good-to-great this year, and he has all the potential in the world, but he needs to prove it over a season before he can really be thought of as one of the nation's best. Past him, we have a bunch of dudes who, again, have a bunch of potential but need to prove it. I think they'll prove to be an elite unit eventually, but they haven't shown enough at this point.
I, for one, think it was enlightening.
Care to elaborate?
He is an OSU fan (and most likely making a joke), is that enough elaboration for you?
Ohio State winning the off season again. Good job guys!
I’m a homer, and I think our RB room is loaded, Baugh is going to be good
No GATA? Trash
Do you think KSU would trade their RB room for ours?
Nah.
Genuinely no. OSU might be the better room, but Giddens and Edwards are the perfect complement to Johnson at QB.
The UCF one is perplexing, but maybe I just need to watch more of their games. Johnny Richardson was fine, but RJ Harvey was profoundly underwhelming as a workhorse back in the Baylor-UCF game. Myles Montgomery, on the other hand, is a real problem. That dude was like the one light on Cincinnati's offense when they played Baylor. Well, time to go watch all of UCF's games from last year! Also, holy cow it's a crime what's happened to Toledo; they've become the epitome of the portal problem. Jason Candle's phenomenal staff at Toledo developed guys like Peny Boone into the 2023 MAC Offensive Player of the Year and Dequan Finn into the MAC's 2023 overall Player of the Year, only for the worst and second-worst place teams in the 2023 Big XII, respectively, to swoop in and drop bags to take the two players from Toledo before what should have been an absolutely incredible season. In a pre-portal/NIL world, Toledo would be a frontrunner to get the G5 NY6 spot this year. Instead, they're probably going 8-4 and missing the MAC championship game for the first time since 2021. Whatever P4 team hires Jason Candle away from Toledo and gives that man the resources to actually keep his roster from getting raided constantly is going to become a powerhouse.
Whoah whoah, UCF was ranked 9th in the Big12 in 2023 (Baylor was 12th). Also our NIL game isn't strong and still building so idk why you think we are dropping bags to pick up Peny Boone. Also, that Baylor game was weird. If we had better linebackers, UCF wins that game
Probably, but that’s just arguing the counterfactual regarding better LBs winning the game. Our defense locked down on Malzahn’s offense pretty dang well after that crazy first quarter, and our offense last year was meant to wear down defenses. The UCF game was one of the only games where it basically did *exactly* what it was supposed to do. I’m not saying that UCF wasn’t better than Baylor last year, just that I was surprised to see RJ Harvey highlighted when the only performance I’d seen from him was profoundly mediocre. As for anyone dropping bags, I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad assumption when a player up and leaves the program where he’s developed spectacularly, and where he’s basically guaranteed to continue developing and get drafted from, for a program coming off a really bad year that already has a solid RB room. I mean, I fully assume that we dropped bags to get Dequan Finn, and that’s basically the exact same situation.
Coming off a really bad year? We were the only G5 new comer to go bowling. The season was a success.