Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press

Ranking 10 Best Running Backs in College Football

Brad Shepard

The 2020 college football season is about to go into full-tilt mode with the vast majority of conferences and teams on the field each week.

That means it's time to re-evaluate the nation's top running backs who are already (or soon will be) in action. 

At this point, it's difficult to get too caught up in stats. For instance, Clemson's Travis Etienne has not yet burst out this year, but everybody knows he's one of the sport's top athletes. After all, he's won back-to-back ACC Offensive Player of the Year awards.

While Chuba Hubbard had a massive game against Kansas on Saturday, he hasn't reached midseason form yet. He's still on this list.

Speaking of the Jayhawks, the nation's leader in average yards per game is Virginia Tech's Khalil Herbert, who transferred from Lawrence as a redshirt senior. But is he the best out there? Nah. Not yet, at least.

Memphis' Kenneth Gainwell or Oklahoma's Kennedy Brooks would have made the list, but they are among the opt-outs due to COVID-19.

Group of Five standouts like UTSA's Sincere McCormick, Buffalo's Jaret Patterson, SMU's Ulysses Bentley IV and UAB's Spencer Brown narrowly missed, as did Miami's Cam'Ron Harris, Tennessee's Eric Gray, Notre Dame's Kyren Williams and Mississippi State's Kylin Hill (whose stock has plummeted due to the Air Raid).

So, who did make it? Based on past performance, promise and the early on-field results in 2020, let's take a look at the top running backs in college football. 

10. Jahmyr Gibbs, Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Eric Gay/Associated Press

The first spot on this list is based on potential, and there's no running back in the nation with more than Georgia Tech true freshman Jahmyr Gibbs.

The Yellow Jackets are not where they want to be as a program in Geoff Collins' second year as head coach, but they've done an exceptional job selling the team to recruits. Some youngsters, such as starting quarterback Jeff Sims, are already making names for themselves.

Gibbs, a Dalton native, is already the biggest star on the team. He is teaming with Jordan Mason to carry the load for the Bees, but his ability to do it all has him narrowly edging the others mentioned in the intro slide for this honor.

Back in the recruiting process, many of the nation's top programs pursued him late after he was an early commitment to Collins. LSU, Ohio State, Georgia, Florida, Alabama and others attempted to lure him away and caused him to take his recruitment to the late signing period. He ultimately stuck.

That's huge news for Tech.

Even before the season started, a source at Tech told 247Sports' Steve Wiltfong: "Jahmyr Gibbs is better than even I thought. Has a chance to be top back in country by time he's done."

It's not hyperbole, either. After not playing the first weekend, Gibbs has suited up in losses to UCF and Syracuse, compiling 171 yards on 33 carries (5.2 yards per carry) and scoring a touchdown. But he also has six catches out of the backfield for 86 yards and a pair of scores as a huge weapon in the receiving game.

If that's not impressive enough, the first time he ever touched the ball in a college game, he returned the opening kick 75 yards to set up a touchdown against the Knights and is averaging 27.4 yards per return.

He's a future Heisman Trophy candidate and belongs on this list already.

9. Zamir White, Georgia Bulldogs

Brynn Anderson/Associated Press

Let's move from Georgia Tech just down the road to the hated rival Georgia Bulldogs, who have their own young back who, despite a lack of evidence on his resume to this point, is showing the potential to be a star-in-the-making.

That shouldn't be surprising to those who followed Zamir White's recruitment. The North Carolina product was a 5-star talent, and despite suffering a torn knee ligament in high school and another one when he got to Athens, his ability is just now beginning to be realized.

With D'Andre Swift out of the way, this is the redshirt sophomore's team, and though he has to split carries with James Cook and others, the Bulldogs are better for it. White is the offense's bell-cow running back, and with the Dawgs breaking in a new starting quarterback, they're going to ride him even more.

That's proving to be just fine for the 6'0", 215-pound runner.

After amassing 408 yards and three touchdowns in limited action last year, culminating with a 92-yard game and a score in a dismantling of Baylor in the Sugar Bowl, White is off to a strong start this season.

With Georgia moving on from D'Wan Mathis to Stetson Bennett in the sluggish opener against Arkansas, White got a lot of run and showed up even though the Razorbacks were loading the box. He scored once against the Hogs and followed it up with a pair of scores against Auburn.

White is already showing he's a game-moving, between-the-tackles runner who can play every down and be dependable. He has also proved he can be a force in the open field once he gets to the second level.

In two games, White has 159 rushing yards and three touchdowns and is averaging 5.0 yards per carry.

Those are the kind of numbers against a rugged, SEC-only schedule that can land you on this list. He will only improve, and it's going to be interesting to see how he performs in next week's showdown against Tennessee. 

8. Journey Brown, Penn State Nittany Lions

Roger Steinman/Associated Press

Though we are going to miss watching Micah Parsons fly all over the field for the Penn State Nittany Lions when they crank up in late October, head coach James Franklin's team still has plenty of potential playmakers on both sides of the ball.

This has a chance to be one of the best seasons in Happy Valley in a long time, and Penn State is setting its sights on conference-title contention and even more.

If that's going to be the case, they need a massive season from breakout star running back Journey Brown, who emerged from a crowded backfield in 2019 to lead the team and provide the kind of pizzazz needed to take a team to the next level.

He's a big-time home-run hitter with the ball in his hands.

A season ago, the Lions relied on freshman Noah Cain to be a between-the-tackles, every-down presence, but this is now Brown's offensive backfield. Not only can the latter get the tough yards, but he is also especially adept in the open field.

Brown had a huge Cotton Bowl in the win against Memphis, setting up major expectations for this season.

The 5'11", 215-pound back finished with 890 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns a year ago and added 134 more receiving yards and another score. Perhaps this season, he can prove he is more of a receiving threat out of the backfield in new coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca's offense.

"I probably have caught so many jugs my hands are gonna start hurting," Brown told OnwardState's Shannon Soboslay. "I've been working on my hands, getting with Pat Freiermuth and Jahan [Dotson], learning how to do routes different and break defenders down."

If he polishes that part of his game, it's only going to improve his NFL draft stock, and Brown should be one of the top backs in the nation coming out in the next draft if he chooses to do so.

7. Michael Carter, North Carolina Tar Heels

Michael Dwyer/Associated Press

Mack Brown returned a bunch of offensive weapons in his second year back with the North Carolina Tar Heels, and sophomore quarterback Sam Howell received the most preseason hype.

So far, though, it's been running back Michael Carter who has carried the team to a 2-0 start entering Saturday's big showdown with Virginia Tech. 

In those two games, the senior has 199 rushing yards and is averaging 8.7 yards per carry. He's slightly one-upping teammate Javonte Williams, who is right outside the top 10 runners in the nation. Williams has 114 yards and four scores on the ground.

Really, this slide could be called "The Two-Headed UNC Monster of Carter and Williams." Choosing just one is hard, so we'll go with the one who has piled up the most yards on the ground. But the fact is the Heels need both of them, and they are both having elite years.

How is Brown going to disperse the carries between his two stars and keep them happy? Well, he did it last year, and they're still back, so there's obviously enough for everybody. Though Williams was perhaps expected to the better runner (and has gotten the scores), Carter adds the flash.

The duo is the strength of the offense this year, 247Sports' Ross Brewer wrote, and in coordinator Phil Longo's offense, they're both getting an opportunity to catch balls out of the backfield, too.

North Carolina's opponents have backed off defensively, choosing to take away Howell's ability to pass. Though the Tar Heels have found some yards through the air, it's typically been the running game that has helped them win so far.

Carter is showing NFL scouts what he can do as an explosive, do-it-all back.

6. Javian Hawkins, Louisville Cardinals

Keith Srakocic/Associated Press

If there was a breakout star in Scott Satterfield's first year as Louisville's head coach, it was redshirt freshman running back Javian Hawkins, who showed the Cardinals' pipeline into Florida was still alive and well.

The game-breaking speed back proved he is an every-down runner and packed plenty of punch in a small package to outfit the offense alongside quarterback Malik Cunningham. In 2019, he had 1,525 rushing yards, which was the most by a running back in the program's history.

His incredible debut was enough for him to wind up the second-team All-ACC running back behind Clemson's Travis Etienne.

This season, Louisville is just 1-2 and not quite off to the start it wants with a win over Western Kentucky and losses to the upstart Miami Hurricanes and a Pittsburgh Panthers team that was ranked before falling to North Carolina State this past weekend.

Hawkins is still off to a great start despite the team's overall performance. He has 313 rushing yards through the first three games and is averaging 5.7 yards per carry. His biggest game came against the Hurricanes when he had 164 rushing yards and a score.

"Hawk had a great night," Satterfield told reporters after the loss to Miami in prime time, per SI.com. "It's a shame we didn't come away with a victory because he played hard out there tonight and it was fun to watch him with the football."

Though he had just 78 rushing yards against Pitt, he was still one of the biggest offensive weapons on the field, and teams must scheme for him every time they line up against Satterfield's bunch. He is one of the nation's top playmakers.

Any time Hawkins touches the ball, the 5'9", 196-pound runner is a threat to take it to the house. 

5. CJ Verdell, Oregon Ducks

Tony Avelar/Associated Press

Several of Oregon running back CJ Verdell's teammates won't be joining him on the field for 2020, including the nation's best offensive lineman in Penei Sewell, who opted out because of the COVID-19 pandemic so he could instead prepare for the 2021 NFL draft.

His absence (as well as that of quarterback Justin Herbert, who went early in the 2020 NFL draft) will almost undoubtedly hurt Verdell's overall numbers. But do not sleep on the junior running back, who is as talented as any player at the position in the country.

He is by far the Pac-12's leading returning rusher, having gained 1,220 yards and eight touchdowns on a 6.2-yards-per-carry average. Verdell is yet another Ducks recruiting victory from California, hailing from Chula Vista, and he stands a very good chance of returning there for the Rose Bowl.

Verdell and his teammates hope it's for the College Football Playoff.

The 5'10", 210-pound back should already be coveted by NFL teams, and it's just a matter of time before he pads his resume for head coach Mario Cristobal and a Ducks team that should be the toast of the conference yet again this year.

With just a seven-game season, it's unlikely Verdell will eclipse 1,000 rushing yards for a third consecutive season, but it's not out of the question. With Oregon breaking in a new signal-caller in either Tyler Shough or Boston College transfer Anthony Brown, expect Cristobal to rely heavily on Verdell.

He's a sure thing, and though Oregon will have to replace a bunch of talent along the offensive front, Verdell is just the kind of shifty runner who can make defenders miss and still get his yardage in chunk plays.

He should have another big season.

4. Breece Hall, Iowa State Cyclones

Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press

As a true freshman a season ago, Iowa State running back Breece Hall made Cyclones fans forget all about star running back David Montgomery, who left for the NFL.

So far this season, it's been exciting to see what the sophomore has for an encore.

The 6'1", 215-pounder from Wichita, Kansas, finished with 897 rushing yards, 252 receiving yards and 10 total touchdowns in his first year in head coach Matt Campbell's offense. This season, though the Cyclones began the year with a disappointing loss to Louisiana, he's on track for even more.

He began the season with a 103-yard effort in the loss to the Ragin' Cajuns but has improved from there, registering 155 yards and a trio of scores against TCU and following that up with 139 yards and a pair of touchdowns in a huge upset of Oklahoma on Saturday.

In three games, Hall has 66 carries for 396 yards (6.0 yards per carry) and has already scored six touchdowns. Proving he's an all-around back, he has five catches for 28 yards, and those numbers will get better as the season progresses.

With Kennedy Brooks opting out for Oklahoma, Hall is the Big 12's No. 2 running back behind elite Oklahoma State back Chuba Hubbard.

"The dandy sophomore rushed 36 yards to 16th-ranked Oklahoma’s 8-yard line during a tie game and 5 ½ minutes or so remaining," the Des Moines Register's Randy Peterson wrote. "On the next play, he ran almost untouched into the end zone. Again, he did it against a team that had allowed opponents to rush for just 60 yards a game. And to make it even better for this nifty guy, he did in leading Iowa State to a rousing 37-30 victory."

It was the Cyclones' first home win over the Sooners since 1960, and Hall was the catalyst. Just add it to the long list of accomplishments in his young career. 

3. Najee Harris, Alabama Crimson Tide

L.G. Patterson/Associated Press

When Najee Harris, formerly an elite recruit and presently the workhorse of Alabama's running game, elected to return for another season in Tuscaloosa, he probably thought it would start out a little better.

Through two games, the 6'2", 230-pound senior from Antioch, California, has mustered 141 yards and five touchdowns, though he's averaging just 4.9 yards per carry.

It's going to take a Herculean effort the rest of the way for Harris to match his 1,224 rushing yards, 304 receiving yards and eye-popping 20 total touchdowns from a season ago. 

Even if he doesn't get there, he's still a major threat to bust out and carry the Crimson Tide at any time. And even though head coach Nick Saban and offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian like to throw the ball around a lot with guys like DeVonta Smith, Jaylen Waddle and John Metchie III, they still rely on Harris.

Though a bit of a slow start probably means the Heisman Trophy is out of the question, Harris isn't worried about that.

"I wasn't really focused on it," he said, per Bama Insider's Tony Tsoukalas. "As a running back, it's hard to win the Heisman if we're being realistic here, nowadays, especially with all these great quarterbacks."

While the top two backs on this list are going to impress draft scouts across the NFL, Harris is perhaps college football's most complete runner. He can catch passes out of the backfield, run between the tackles and display breakaway speed.

There will be a point this season at which Alabama relies heavily on Harris, much like it did a season ago, and he will be right there to answer the call and keep improving his stock. He is an elite offensive playmaker.

2. Travis Etienne, Clemson Tigers

Rick Scuteri/Associated Press

There is no more accomplished running back in all of college football than Travis Etienne.

Perhaps that's why it was stunning when he eschewed the NFL draft after yet another sterling season a year ago to come back and try to help Clemson win another national title after falling short against LSU in the championship game.

It wasn't because of Etienne that they didn't win; he has been a brilliant collegian who will go down as a Tigers legend and one of the best running backs to ever play in the ACC. The two conference Offensive Player of the Year honors are proof of that.

After a 766-yard freshman campaign, Etienne became the full-time starter, and the rest is history. During a national championship season in his sophomore year, the Louisiana native ran for 1,658 yards and scored 26 total touchdowns.

He followed that up last season with 1,614 rushing yards and 23 touchdowns to lead Clemson. Though quarterback Trevor Lawrence gets a lot of the headlines, Etienne is the team's leader and has been throughout his career.

This season, he hasn't wowed everybody yet, running for 243 yards and two touchdowns on 6.2 yards per carry through three games. But to be fair, he hasn't played but one full contest. Against The Citadel and Wake Forest, the 5'10", 205-pound runner sat for large portions of the game.

With the news that dynamic freshman Demarkcus Bowman transferred from Clemson to Florida, Etienne has a little less depth behind him, so he may wind up with even more carries moving forward.

Could this be the year he wins the Heisman Trophy? If he has a massive game against Miami this weekend, it may be his turn to do just that. It would add nicely to all the hardware already in his trophy case.

1. Chuba Hubbard, Oklahoma State Cowboys

Orlin Wagner/Associated Press

It's difficult to have the kind of season Oklahoma State running back Chuba Hubbard had a year ago and still be considered underrated, but he certainly is.

That's what happens when you lead the nation with 2,094 rushing yards, score 21 touchdowns, add nearly 200 more receiving yards and don't even get invited to the Heisman Trophy ceremony. Yes, he won the Big 12's Offensive Player of the Year award, but how do you have that type of year and get spurned?

Even more ridiculous is that he was down on several lists of NFL-ready running backs (like this one from CBS Sports' Josh Edwards), which may be a reason he returned for 2020. That's preposterous, as well.

The 6'0", 208-pound Canadian runner has the size to run between the tackles, and anybody who has watched the Cowboys play knows he can make house calls with the best of them, routinely breaking 60-yard scoring runs.

After quarterback Spencer Sanders went down with an injury in the opener, defenses have stacked the box against Hubbard, and he's still found space. He ground out a 93-yard performance in a close season-opening win over Tulsa then followed it up with 101 yards against West Virginia and 145 more versus Kansas.

That's more like it. Oklahoman writer Scott Wright mentioned Hubbard looked like his "usual self" against the Jayhawks. Yes, the competition was down a tick, but it's just the beginning of things to come.

Through three games, he has 339 yards and four touchdowns, and those numbers are going to get better once Sanders returns, too.

Hubbard can do everything you'd want a running back to do, and though he isn't a massive weapon in the passing game, he can serve as one. As much as head coach Mike Gundy likes to throw the ball around, Hubbard has been the epicenter of the Cowboys offense throughout his career.

That's for good reason. He's the best running back in college football.

       

All stats courtesy of CFBStats.com and Sports Reference, and recruiting rankings per 247Sports' composite rankings unless otherwise noted.

Follow Brad Shepard on Twitter at @Brad_Shepard.

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