College football rankings: 10 best running backs for the 2022 season
There's no question that the running back position has dropped in value over recent years, both in college football and in the NFL.
As the game embraces a more wide-open, pass-oriented strategy, it's become common for coaches to perhaps overlook the position.
That was certainly true in this year's NFL Draft, when the first running back wasn't chosen until the second day.
But this year's crop of backs could make the NFL think again, with a good group of talented ball carriers coming up in the college ranks for the 2022 season.
Ranking college football's 10 best running backs this season
Honorable Mention: Chris Rodriguez
Where he plays: Kentucky
2021 stats: 225 rush, 1,379 yards, 9 TD
Ordinarily, Rodriguez is a cinch for the top 10 in this category, but off-field issues may intervene and keep him from the field this season.
Still, he's one of the top players in the SEC at any position, building off a breakout sophomore campaign in 2020, in which he ranked sixth in the SEC with 6.6 yards per attempt. That's despite missing two games.
He was named first-team All SEC by the AP for a 2021 season which included nine 100-yard rushing games, including five straight to end the season. UK won all but one game in which Rodriguez eclipsed 100 yards on the ground.
Rodriguez, who comes into this season as the reigning rushing leader in the SEC, figures to play a vital role for Kentucky's offense this fall, if he can make it.
10. Tank Bigsby
Where he plays: Auburn
2021 stats: 223 rush, 1,099 yards, 10 TD
For a moment this offseason, it looked like Tank was about to be another transfer departure from Auburn, but he was convinced to stay on. Good for Auburn, who badly needs a difference-maker in the backfield to support this offense.
Coming off a strong 2020 campaign, some analysts projected Bigsby would be the best back in college football. Auburn's slipshod protection put a dent in those hopes as its offensive line failed to adequately give him running lanes to work with.
Still, he was able to carve out over a thousand yards on the ground and 10 scores, but four of those TDs came in two early games, and he didn't score in six appearances.
A physical, agile ball carrier with a ton of unearthed potential, Bigsby has All-American potential, provided Auburn puts him in position to show it.
9. Zach Evans
Where he plays: Ole Miss
2021 stats: 92 rush, 648 yards, 5 TD
Ole Miss ranked in the top 10 of total offense in college football a year ago, but lost a ton of that production to the NFL Draft. But adding Evans in the portal from TCU goes a long way in recovering that lost production.
Evans emerged as a potential star as a freshman, amassing 415 yards with four touchdowns off 54 carries, and he led TCU in rushing last fall. Now the featured back in Lane Kiffin's fast-paced offense, there's nothing keeping Evans from emerging as a thousand-yard rusher in 2022.
8. Zach Charbonnet
Where he plays: UCLA
2021 stats: 202 rush, 1,137 yards, 13 TD
Transferring out of Michigan and heading west ahead of the 2021 college football season was a good career move for the California native.
He made an immediate impact for the Bruins, running just six times in his first game, but scoring three times and surpassing 100 yards off the bat.
UCLA won every single game in which Charbonnet ran for over 100 yards and lost two of the three in which he didn't. A physical ball carrier who can get yards after contact, he's also one of the most secure: Charbonnet was one of just four backs in the Power 5 last fall to carry at least 200 times and not fumble once.
7. Blake Corum
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Where he plays: Michigan
2021 stats: 144 rush, 952 yards, 11 TD
With all the blue-chip talent that left Michigan via the draft in the offseason, Corum has emerged as one of the most important players left on this roster.
Last season, he was one of just four backs with at least 100 carries who averaged at least 6.5 yards per attempt, and was one of just six who carried for 50-plus yards at least four times.
After contact, Corum accounted for 553 total yards, ranking in the top 20 among backs in that category, while 47 percent of his yardage mark coming on designed runs of 15-plus yards, according to Pro Football Focus.
6. Braelon Allen
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Where he plays: Wisconsin
2021 stats: 186 rush, 1,268 yards, 12 TD
A good, old-fashioned tailback who actually arrived at Wisconsin a year early with designs on playing defense. Ultimately, the 4-star recruit chose running back, and good for the Badgers that he did.
An injury to Chez Mellusi and Jalen Berger's departure, along with three transfers, opened up a spot for Allen, who at just 17 set a Wisconsin record with seven straight 100 yard rushing games and led the Big Ten with 6.8 yards per carry. UW won every game in which Allen ran for over 100 yards and lost the two that he didn't.
5. Deuce Vaughn
Where he plays: Kansas State
2021 stats: 235 rush, 1,404 yards, 18 TD
The 5-foot-6, 170-pound cannonball is must-see TV every week as he snakes through and runs past defenders in the Big 12 and elsewhere. Vaughn accounted for 1,872 total yards from scrimmage a year ago and scored 22 total touchdowns.
He surpassed 100 yards in nine games and over 120 yards in eight games, and led Power 5 college football backs with 59 plays that went over 10 yards from scrimmage. Elusive, consistent, and determined, Vaughn is one of the most electrifying players in the game at any position.
4. Devon Achane
Where he plays: Texas A&M
2021 stats: 130 rush, 910 yards, 9 TD
An explosive, dynamic player with home run potential on every play, Achane will get a more prominent billing for the Aggies after Isaiah Spiller left for the NFL.
Already a track star in his own right, Achane brings a combination of straight line speed and agility. A year ago, he ran for 10-plus yards on almost 21 percent of his carries and nearly 38 percent of them for a first down or TD, per PFF.
Those numbers are good for No. 2 and No. 4 overall among Power 5 college football ball carriers.
3. Jahmyr Gibbs
Where he plays: Alabama
2021 stats: 143 rush, 746 yards, 4 TD
A second-team All-American and first-team All-ACC player a year ago, Gibbs is a triple threat who can damage a defense running, receiving, or returning.
In two seasons, he has 1,206 yards and eight TDs, 768 receiving yards with five scores, and 794 return yards with a 25.6 average and another score.
Physical, versatile, and dynamic, Gibbs has already made a major impression with the Crimson Tide before even taking a rep in game action.
2. TreVeyon Henderson
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Where he plays: Ohio State
2021 stats: 183 rush, 1,248 yards, 15 TD
You could be forgiven for overlooking Henderson last season given the other skill players Ohio State had on the field.
Look a little closer, and you'll see one of the premier athletes in the nation: the former No. 1 ranked back in last year's class and a near consensus 5-star, Henderson ran past Big Ten defenders with ease, averaging almost 7 ypc and nearly 12 yards per catch.
And he can go the distance on any play, carrying for 10-plus yards on almost 19 percent of attempts and placing second in college football with five 20-plus yard TD runs.
1. Bijan Robinson
Where he plays: Texas
2021 stats: 195 rush, 1,127 yds, 11 TD
Robinson led Texas with over 1,100 yards rushing despite not even playing a full season, appearing in 10 games for the Longhorns. He also finished third on the team with 295 receiving yards and four additional touchdowns while averaging over 11 yards per catch.
And while leading college football with 10.7 yards after the catch. As a freshman in 2020, Robinson averaged more than 8 yards per carry as the nation's breakout player at the position.
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