Ohio State, Georgia headline five best college football RB rooms entering the 2024 season

“Running backs don’t matter.”

It’s a phrase that has become prevalent in football over the last decade as advanced analytics and statistics have become more important at all levels of the sport. The argument is that while the position is important, no running back is much better than any other. Although the idea has proven to be accurate in NFL level, I guarantee running backs are still very important at the college level.

A great running back can make a significant difference for a college team. All you have to do is look at how important Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards were for the Michigan Wolverines last season. Every year, the College football The playoffs are full of teams that have studs at the position, and that probably won’t change much in 2024, even with an expanded CFP field.

In fact, the position could become even more important in the era of the expanded CFP. Running backs also take a lot of hits, which is why it’s so important to have a lot of talent at the position. With more games to go to win a national title, fresh legs could be more important than ever.

Which teams have the deepest running back rooms in the country? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but for me, these are the five best out there.

The Buckeyes are never short of running backs at their disposal, and 2024 will be no different. TreVeyon Henderson surprised some people by returning for his senior season (NIL > NFL for running backs) after rushing for 926 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2023. Henderson shouldered most of the load at running back for the Buckeyes, but he will have more help this fall.

The Buckeyes signed former Ole Miss running back Quinshon Judkins from the transfer portal. All Judkins did for the Rebels the last two years was rush for 2,723 yards and 31 touchdowns. Those touchdowns might be his biggest appeal for an Ohio State team that struggled in the red zone last season. Behind those two, the Buckeyes also have freshman James Peoples, the No. 7 RB in the 2024 high school recruiting class.

From 2018 to 2022, Georgia saw Sony Michel, Nick Chubb, D’Andre Swift, James Cook and Zamir White enter the NFL Draft. In 2015, Todd Gurley was the 10th overall pick. Neither of last season’s top two rushers, Daijun Edwards and Kendall Milton, are back, but the Bulldogs made a big move in the portal this offseason by signing Trevor Etienne.

The younger brother of former Clemson RB and current Jacksonville Jaguar Travis Etienne left the Dawgs’ archrival, Florida, where he rushed for 753 yards and eight touchdowns while catching 21 balls for 172 yards. Behind Etienne will be Branson Robinson, who was the No. 2 pick in the 2022 class but missed last season with a torn patellar tendon. Then there’s Roderick Robinson, who was a top-10 pick in the 2023 class and will take on a bigger role this season.

Should any of them fall, Georgia added three more four-star running backs (Nathaniel Frazier, Chauncey Bowens, Dwight Phillips) in its latest recruiting class. I don’t know if you’ve heard, but Georgia recruits really well.

I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to thinking of Kansas as one of the most talented college football teams in the country, but it’s a reality in 2024, especially at the running back position. Devin Neal was one of the best defenders in the country last season, even though he wasn’t a household name. He has been one of the most productive quarterbacks in the country the past two seasons, rushing for 2,373 yards and 25 touchdowns. Neal is also a valuable weapon in the passing game, with 53 career receptions for 457 yards and three touchdowns.

Daniel Hishaw was a solid No. 2 behind Neal last season, rushing for 626 yards and eight touchdowns. He’s also back in 2024. Both are terrors in the open field; Their combination of size and agility makes them a huge headache, you know what to deal with.

4. Texas

Jonathan Brooks led the Longhorns last season with 1,139 yards, but has moved on to the NFL. Texas doesn’t have to worry about moving up to the SEC because as good as Brooks was, there is more talent ready to step up. CJ Baxter served as Brooks’ primary backup last season, and the No. 22 player in the 2023 recruiting class (No. 1 RB) had a slow start to his freshman season. However, when November arrived, Baxter had 90 yards on 10 carries against Kansas State, and had his first 100-yard rushing effort at Iowa State. Baxter finished the season averaging over 7 yards per carry against Washington in the Sugar Bowl with a touchdown.

Jaydon Blue was one of the best running backs in the 2022 class and will take on a bigger role this year as well. Blue rushed for 398 yards last season, averaging 6.12 yards per carry. Blue was also more explosive as a pass catcher than Baxter. He caught 14 passes for 135 yards, averaging more than 3 yards per catch more than Baxter. It’s a complete unit that complements each other and has the No. 3 RB in the 2024 class, Jerrick Gibson, behind them both.

Last season, UCF’s Rocky Harvey finished sixth in the nation with 1,416 rushing yards. That was 16 yards more than Toledo’s Peny Boone, who rushed for 1,400 yards and finished eighth nationally. In 2024, they will be in the same backfield. Boone, last year’s MAC Offensive Player of the Year, transferred to UCF in May to give the Knights the most productive backfield in the country. And while he’s not a running back, the Knights added QB KJ Jefferson from the portal, and he’s literally a tank pretending to be a human quarterback. I don’t have physical proof of this, but I trust my eyes.

There’s also Johnny Richardson, who finished second to Harvey for the Knights last season, averaging 6.59 yards per carry. Did those three defenders match up with Jefferson in Gus Malzahn’s offense? Ladies and gentlemen, sign me up for this.

Honorable mention

• Miami (Damien Martinez, Mark Fletcher, Ajay Allen)
• Penn State (Nicholas Singleton, Kaytron Allen)
• Kansas State (DJ Giddens, Dylan Edwards)
• Ole Miss (Ulysses Bentley, Henry Parrish Jr., Jacorey Croskey-Merritt)
• Oregon (Jordan James, Noah Whittington)