The Top Five Running Back Rooms in College Football

With the transfer portal and NIL deals becoming more prevalent in college football, building a superstar team is easier than ever. Today, we’re going to take a look at which teams have the best running back rooms in all of college football.

#5. The Alabama Red Tide

Alabama has produced running backs as good as any in decades. The Crimson Tide room this year remains hot. Under new head coach Kalen DeBoer, it will be interesting to see how much these running backs are used, but when they are, they are almost guaranteed to put up good numbers. Starting with last season’s junior Jam Miller, we recorded just over 200 yards and a touchdown. While his numbers aren’t the flashiest, Miller has always found a way to get you that extra yard. Next up is Justice Haynes, a sophomore running back who gave Alabama 168 yards on two touchdowns in 2023. Rounding out this trio for the Crimson Tide is Richard Young, a player who should break out in 2024. Behind a solid Alabama offensive line, Young had just one touchdown last year, on just nine attempts. With experience under his belt, Young will be excellent on the run game, but will give quarterback Jalen Milroe another star option in the passing game.

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#4. Georgia Bulldogs

Georgia, like Alabama, usually has one or two stars in its backfield. Georgia got one of the biggest transfer targets this season in Trevor Etienne from Florida and behind a good offensive line like Georgia always has, Etienne is primed for success. As a Gator, Etienne rushed for just over 750 yards and eight touchdowns on 131 carries. The Bulldogs return sophomore Roderick Robinson II who gave Georgia nearly 200 yards and two touchdowns on less than 25 attempts.

#3. UCF Knights

UCF brought back its Doak Walker Award finalist in RJ Harvey this offseason and he’s sure to make a splash in the Big 12 once again. Harvey rushed for 1,416 yards last season while racking up 16 touchdowns. As for a replacement, the Knights have Johnny Richardson, a senior who rushed for just 573 yards and a single touchdown during the 2023 campaign. But, as mentioned, the transfer portal can play a huge role, and the Knights brought in Penny Boone this offseason. Boone is coming to his fourth university after stints at Maryland, Toledo and Louisville before UCF. Boone rushed for 1,400 yards last year and 15 touchdowns. The Knights also stole Myles Montgomery from the Cincinnati Bearcats. Montgomery rushed for 428 yards and just three touchdowns as a Bearcat last season.

#2. University of Pennsylvania Nittany Lions

Last year, coach James Franklin’s running backs room was one of the most talked about all year. They had stars at every position and it wasn’t easy to defend them. Guys like Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen, who are both future NFL running backs. In most running backs rooms, you have a number one and a number two. With these guys, it’s 1A and 1B. Both stars, Singleton rushed for 752 yards while finding the end zone eight times. Allen only scored six times but rushed for 902 yards last season. These two guys, with two years of experience already, are going to be a dynamic duo next season.

#1. Ohio State Buckeyes

The offseason/transfer portal champions are the No. 1 running back room so far. The Buckeyes already had a star-studded room with guys like TreVeyon Henderson, Miyan Williams, Dallan Hayden, Evan Pryor and others. But they lost three of them with Williams to the NFL Draft, Hayden and Pryor to the transfer portal. But Ryan Day and the Buckeyes took the bad with the good. They used the portal to add the No. 1 running back in the portal and one of the most sought-after offensive talents in the transfer portal this offseason in Quinshon Judkins. We talked about the power of Penn State’s Singleton-Allen duo, just wait until you see the back-to-back games TreVeyon Henderson plays against Quimshon Judkins. Judkins rushed for 1,158 yards and 15 touchdowns as a Rebel out of Ole Miss last season. Pairing those two experienced backs with newcomers James Peoples and Sam Williams-Dixon simply creates a recipe for success for the Buckeyes.