Derrius Guice | RB | LSU | Junior Guice was more impressive than Leonard Fournette in 2016. It was obvious. Even in 2015, when Fournette was 100 percent healthy, Guice, then a freshman, had his fair share of eye-popping runs when he averaged 8.5 yards per carry on 51 rushes. At 5-foot-11 and 222 pounds, Guice packs plenty of power yet has sudden agility, elite vision, and deceptive breakaway speed to round out his complete game.
Saquon Barkley | RB | Penn State | Junior Guice and Barkley will have a tremendous battle to take the crown as the nation's top running back in 2017. Barkley has averaged 5.7 yards per carry on his 454 rushes in his two season at Penn State, and he's scored 25 touchdowns on the ground. He's 5-foot-11 and 223 pounds and runs with a balance, low center of gravity, and the ability to make a cut on a dime. In the open field, he's dangerously elusive with keen vision, and he possesses good long speed. Barkley has "NFL feature back" written all over him.
Royce Freeman | RB | Oregon | Senior With Oregon's down 2016 and myriad running backs piecing together fine seasons, Freeman was overlooked last year. After totaling 3,100 total rushing yards in his first two seasons for the Ducks, his workload was scaled back, and he played in 11 games, rushing for 945 yards on 168 carries with nine touchdowns. Freeman has a style reminiscent of former Oregon star Jonathan Stewart. He has a big but compact frame and consistently shows off impressive change-of-direction skills and vision.
Ronald Jones | RB | USC | Junior No running back kicks it from first gear to second gear faster than Jones, and his top gear is scintillating. At 6-foot-1 and 195 pounds, Jones has a skinnier build, but he's flourished between the tackles in his first two years at USC. Last year he had 1,082 yards at 6.1 yards per carry with 12 rushing touchdowns.
Nick Chubb | RB | Georgia | Senior Chubb has had an amazing and interesting career at Georgia. He looked Herschel Walker-esque during his freshman season, rushing for 1,547 yards and 14 touchdowns at a 7.1 yards-per-carry clip. He picked up right where he left off in 2015 but a knee injury derailed a sophomore campaign in which he averaged 8.1 yards per. Last year, he ran at 5.0 yards per carry but improved his power at the point of contact. Many were stunned when he decided to return for his senior year. There's an NFL feature-back amount of talent within this 5-foot-11, 228-pound running back.
Bo Scarbrough | RB | Alabama | Junior When healthy, Scarbrough looked liked a supercharged version of Derrick Henry. In the College Football Playoff semifinal against Washington, he ran for 180 yards on 19 carries with two scores and appeared nearly impossible to bring to the turf. At 6-foot-2 and upwards of 230 pounds, Scarbrough is a tank with rocket boosters.
Sony Michel | RB | Georgia | Senior Michel has seemingly been at Georgia forever, mainly because he proved to be special right away in Athens. A former five-star recruit, Michel has 17 rushing touchdowns and a 5.5 yards-per-carry average on his 434 rushes in college. He wins with burst and change-of-direction ability. Now he's upwards of 222 pounds. Michel and Chubb are the best running back tandem in college football heading into the 2017 campaign.
Myles Gaskin | RB | Washington | Junior As Washington emerged as the premier team in the Pac 12 a season ago, Gaskin helped an underrated ground game, quietly piecing together his second consecutive 1,300-yard campaign. The 5-foot-10, 195-pound back runs hard between the tackles and has some wiggle in space. He has 24 rushing touchdowns in two seasons with the Huskies.
Akrum Wadley | RB | Iowa | Senior It's easy for Wadley to be overshadowed as a running back in the Big 10, with Saquon Barkley leading the way and a few other talented ball-carriers at other programs. But Wadley possesses the gifts to flash Barkley-like runs. In his final three games of 2016, he toted the rock 46 times for 302 yards (6.5 YPC) with a pair of scores. Don't sleep on the 5-foot-11, 195-pounder.
Kalen Ballage | RB | Arizona State | Senior Ballage wasn't nearly as decorated as a high school recruit and hasn't had the same success as Leonard Fournette in college, but the 6-foot-3, 230-pound locomotive has comparable power and speed to that of the No. 4 overall pick in the 2017 draft. His career stats aren't tremendous, but he did show versatility in 2016, as he totaled 469 yards on 44 receptions to go with his 536 yards on 125 carries.
Mike Weber | RB | Ohio State | RS Sophomore As a redshirt freshman in 2016, the speedy Weber eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark at 6.0 yards per carry with nine touchdowns. His final 16 carries only went for 50 yards, yet he demonstrated big-play ability throughout the rest of the season. He and Parris Campbell will shoulder the load for the Buckeyes this season.
Damien Harris | RB | Alabama | Junior After just 46 carries as a freshman in 2015, Harris had 1,037 yards on 7.1 yards per carry with two scores a season ago. At 5-foot-11 and 214 pounds, he's not a massive as Derrick Henry or Bo Scarbrough. However, Harris brings the electricity down the field with impressive quickness and good long speed.
Lavon Coleman | RB | Washington | Senior Myles Gaskin is the headliner in the Huskies backfield, but his running back mate will garner attention from NFL scouts too. Coleman ran for 852 yards on just 114 carries with seven rushing touchdowns in 2016. He's a boulder at 5-foot-11 and 228 pounds.
[ Edited by jreff22 on Sep 4, 2017 at 3:40 PM ]
