Colleges’ best RBs
Love, Taylor lead 2018 class
College football is almost here. USA TODAY is getting you ready for the season by identifying the best players at each position in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
Next up: the running backs. This position touts one of the nation’s brightest stars in Stanford senior Bryce Love, who rushed for 2,000 yards and finished second in last year’s Heisman Trophy voting. As always, however, look for backs to explode out of relative anonymity.
From the Atlantic Coast Conference to the Pac-12 Conference and all points in between, here are the best running backs in college football for 2018.
1. Bryce Love, Stanford: Love’s 2017 campaign has the senior at the forefront of the Heisman race heading into September. His big-play ability alone places him in a different stratosphere than his peers in the FBS. But Love doesn’t get enough credit for his ability to wear down defenses as the engine behind Stanford’s physical offense. He averaged 8.52 yards per carry in the second half of games a season ago.
2. Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin: Taylor was one of college football’s great and unexpected success stories last fall. Once a largely overlooked recruit, Taylor set the FBS freshman rushing record in pacing Wisconsin’s second New Year’s Six bowl appearance in a row. The offensive line will be the nation’s best in 2018, so look for a healthy Taylor to again rank among the most productive backs in the country.
3. David Montgomery, Iowa State: Montgomery is beginning to be recognized for what he does best: routinely make defenders miss and churn out yardage as the centerpiece of Iowa State’s offense. What makes Montgom- ery’s 2017 season all the more impressive was how he gained 1,146 yards and scored 13 times despite the Cyclones’ hit-or-miss offensive front. There might be no better back at moving forward after contact.
4. J.K. Dobbins, Ohio State: An early-season injury to Mike Weber opened the door for Dobbins last September, and there were questions about how he’d perform and hold up after missing his senior season in high school because of injury. Dobbins delivered
1,403 yards on 7.23 yards per carry to help carry Ohio State’s occasionally inefficient offense. More will be expected in 2018. But Dobbins should take on an even larger role as the Buckeyes embrace a more traditional style in the running game.
5. Justice Hill, Oklahoma State: Maybe it’s because of Mason Rudolph and James Washington. Maybe it’s because few pay enough attention to Oklahoma State. But Hill has often been spectacular since grabbing the job one month into his freshman season. He’s also reliable: Hill gained at least 86 yards in every game but two last fall, ending up with a Big 12 Conference-best
1,467 yards and 15 touchdowns.
6. Rodney Anderson, Oklahoma: Anderson gained 82 yards on 22 carries through Oklahoma’s first six games of
2017. And then? Beginning with a win against Kansas State on Oct. 21 and ending with a Rose Bowl loss to Georgia, Anderson ran for 1,073 yards with 11 touchdowns on 6.5 yards per carry. For the second half of the year, Anderson was right with Love and Taylor among the best backs in the country. His numbers could take a step forward as Oklahoma moves toward a stronger emphasis on the running game.
7. Myles Gaskin, Washington: Gaskin’s first three seasons: 1,302 yards in
2015, 1,373 yards in 2016 and 1,380 yards a year ago. He’s even gone over 100 yards in each of three games against Stanford. (That seems more impressive.) No back in the country can match Gaskins’ consistency. Even as others land more national acclaim, he deserves to be recognized for delivering almost without fail for the front-runner in the
Pac-12.
8. Devin Singletary, Florida Atlantic: You had an idea Singletary could be special when he cracked 200 yards twice in November as a freshman in
2016. You still probably couldn’t have seen last year coming: Singletary finished fourth nationally in rushing with
1,920 yards and led the FBS by a wide margin with 32 rushing touchdowns. Singletary and Lane Kiffin have meshed well.
9. Cam Akers, Florida State: Akers is going to be the key piece in Willie Taggart’s offense at FSU, which means the sophomore should see more than 250 touches in 2018. That he ran for 1,000 yards as a true freshman last season didn’t make a huge national ripple due to the Seminoles’ 7-6 finish, but Akers is a strong start — if joined by a similarly strong start from his team — from being a player in the Heisman race.
10. D’Andre Swift, Georgia: Swift will be next in line for Georgia as the Bulldogs rebuild their backfield without Sony Michel and Nick Chubb. He was a devastating third option for UGA in 2017, rushing for 618 yards on 7.63 carries, but that he carried the ball just 81 times as a change-of-pace back doesn’t offer any hint as to whether Swift can handle the increased workload. But he has the size to succeed and the speed and agility to find open lanes in Southeastern Conference play.
Five just off the list: A.J. Dillon, Boston College; Damien Harris, Alabama; Darrell Henderson, Memphis; Benny Snell, Kentucky; Juwan Washington, San Diego State