Top 5 running backs in college football right now
Now a month into the 2022 college football season, I decided it was time to rank the five best players for each position at this very moment. For clarification, these lists are based on where these young men are today as college players. I’m in the business of projecting forward and evaluating them as draft prospects. However, for this exercise, I tried to isolate them from their team and purely judge them on who can win games at the college football level right now.
Here are the the running backs:
#1. Bijan Robinson, Texas
The running back group might not be as star-studded and recognized by the general NFL fans as the quarterbacks. However, there’s one truly special talent and some really good depth beyond that in college football presently. Bijan Robinson takes that top spot because he’s the most spectacular player in the position since Saquon Barkley was at Penn State. He has the complete package – good size at six foot and 215 pounds, power, balance, crazy elusiveness and break-away speed.
Bijan Robinson's "negatives" section is gonna be difficult to write https://t.co/7QY6IjoU73
His ability to string together moves in the open field with some dramatic head- and foot-fakes is second to none. He can create big plays in space as a pass-catcher and he forced 87 missed tackles on 221 touches this past season. After racking up over 1,400 yards and 15 TDs on those, he’s currently at 568 yards and eight scores on 75 touches, increasing his per number to 7.6 yards.
#2. Sean Tucker, Syracuse
I think the debate for number two in college football might be where you’d hear the most names thrown out. I believe Sean Tucker is absolutely worthy of that title right now. Syracuse quarterback Garrett Shrader has made some big plays for the 4-0 Orange, but their running back has been the driving force for them since the start of the 2021 season.
Syracuse running back Sean Tucker runs hard, he puts massive effort in every single one of his runs.
Reminds me of Nick Chubb from a style standpoint. Rare athlete too.
https://t.co/OyuwNUGWk0
He had 1,750 yards and 14 touchdowns on 6.1 yards a carry last year. While his per-carry number is all the way down to 3.6 (due to his team being ahead in games and opponents focusing on him), he’s only three receptions away from matching his total from a year ago (17 versus 20). There is very little wasted movement and Tucker displays natural tempo and excellent vision between the tackles, quickly processing information. He then has the burst to get out to the edges and the long-speed to rip off huge plays – which I’m sure are on their way.
#3. Blake Corum, Michigan
Michigan fans loved what Hassan Haskins did for the team last season, especially down the stretch, as they beat Ohio State for the first time in a decade and made the College Football Playoff. However, while you the pure strength and pass-protection skills were top-tier with Haskins, people quickly realized that Blake Corum is the greater talent. Already as a first-year player, I thought his vision, feet and body-control were all pretty darn impressive.
He shows a great feel for setting up his blockers and leading second-level defenders to the wrong spots, while being able to cut down his stride length and use sudden bursts to slice through the creases. Corum can really set up defenders in the open field for a variety of moves, and if he can’t anymore, he makes sure to consistently fall forward. In 2021, he forced 49 missed tackles on 144 rushing attempts (34% of carries) and finished with 944 yards. And he’s already up to nearly 500 yards and nine TDs on 7.5 yards per carry.
#4. Mohamed Ibrahim, Minnesota
Mohamed Ibrahim is one of my favorite stories in college football. He’s been one of the best pure runners in the nation since he was a 19-year-old true freshman back in 2018. Already with a couple of 1,000-yard rushing seasons in the books, Ibrahim was off to a phenomenal start this past season. He racked up 163 yards and two TDs on 30 carries in the opener against Ohio State, before tearing his ACL and being lost for the year. He’s 100% back to that form, with 600 yards and eight TDs on 93 touches through four weeks already.
This guy is built low to the ground and consistently runs with his pads over his knees, allowing him to bounce off defenders frequently. In terms of pacing and understanding angles, he’s a very efficient runner, along with recognizing the leverage of defenders as he gets to the second level. With the age and injuries, a lack of top-end speed and receiving production may not make him as attractive to pro scouts, but he’s a phenomenal college back.
#5. Deuce Vaughn, Kansas State
And finally, having talked about more of a bruiser, Deuce Vaughn is probably the most fun guy to watch from the group not named Bijan Robinson. It’s hard to not make the comparison to another former K-State standout in Darren Sproles with this 5’6” running back, but Deuce has been such a dynamic all-purpose weapon. He has nearly 3,500 yards and 34 touchdowns on 531 touches across 27 career games.
deuce vaughn. ridiculous. #KStateFB https://t.co/nnEckT2dqq
He certainly has the speed to get around the corner on wide zone concepts and can hide behind that big O-lin. For a small back, he understands how to give his blockers a little bit of extra time and then explodes through the crease. Once he gets to the open field, his start-stop quickness and ability to beat pursuit defenders when he hits the jets makes him one of the toughest guys to corral in college football.
Honorable mentions: Jahmyr Gibbs (Alabama), TreVeyon Henderson (Ohio State), Tank Bigsby (Auburn), Zach Charbonnet (UCLA), Devon Achane (Texas A&M), Mohamed Ibrahim (Minnesota), Braelon Allen (Wisconsin), Raheim Sanders (Arkansas) & Travis Dye (USC)
You can check out all my other positional rankings here or as one piece on my page halilsrealfootballtalk.com