Introducing the CFB Saturdays College Football RB Rankings

Over the next few weeks we will be unveiling our College Football player rankings by position. Today we start with our College Football RB rankings. A few notes before we discuss the rankings themselves.

• The rankings will be updated throughout the season.
• Players who have not played college football are not eligible for the rankings.
• Players are graded on their college ability, not their pro potential.
• We are judging players on their film, production and physical tools.

You can view the College Football RB Rankings here.

Top of the CFB RB Rankings

Chuba Hubbard (Oklahoma State) comes in at number 1 after a tremendous season 2019 rushing for over 2,000 yards and 21 TD. “The Edmonton Express” is a breakaway threat every time he touches the ball, but it’s his vision, balance and power that let him put that breakaway speed to use. Hubbard looks very natural when he runs the ball and excels at finding the seam patiently then accelerating to top speed to break off long runs. He has the ability to break a tackle and get tough yards after contact. Hubbard is in line for another big year and we expect great things in 2020.

Coming in ranked second we have Travis Etienne (Clemson) who is an explosive player in his own right. Etienne may be the most explosive player in the country. His acceleration is second to none, and he never seems to stop accelerating. As soon as he begins to accelerate fans hold their collective breath because there’s a good chance he is going to the house. He may not be the most instinctual runner or the most powerful guy, but he runs with good fight and toughness and moving at the speed he does makes it tough for defenses to bring him down. With more experience he may have his best season yet.

If you built a RB in a lab he would look like Najee Harris (Alabama) who checks in at number 3 on our list. Harris has all the tools you look for, he is a big, strong, down hill runner with good speed and power. Defenders hate to tackle a guy that big and that fast in the first quarter, much less the fourth quarter. He has good feet for a guy that big and has some wiggle to his game. He is everything you expect an Alabama running back to be, and will continue the tradition of Tide RBs being drafted by the NFL. We would like to see Harris be a little more productive next year to bump him higher on this list.

We are probably higher than most on Jerrion Ealy (Mississippi) who we ranked 4th. He was a true freshman in 2019 and didn’t come on until the second half of the year, but he came on strong. Against LSU he ran 13 times for 141 yards in what was the best game of his freshman season. Ealy is an explosive back with great balance and feel for open space. He has a low center of gravity and accelerates to top speed well. It’s easy to see why he averaged almost 7 yards a carry in 2019. He’s going to need to prove he can perform on a regular basis like he did in shared duty but we love his upside. With new coach Lane Kiffin in town Ealy should be a major factor in the Rebels offense in 2020.

Kenneth Gainwell (Memphis) holds the 5th spot in the College Football RB Rankings. Gainwell is a big play machine and fit Memphis’ offense perfectly in 2019. He ran for over 1400 yards but also caught 51 passes for another 610 yards. His agility and speed are a nightmare for defenders in open space and the offensive gameplan put him in open space all the time. Gainwell isn’t just a perimeter runner though, he shows the ability to break arm tackles keep his balance and pick up yards in the middle of the field. His receiving prowess adds an element to the offense that few teams have. What he did as a freshmen has us very excited for his sophomore campaign.

The Next Level RBs

Our 6th ranked player is Kennedy Brooks (Oklahoma). Brooks isn’t the flashiest runner but his incredibly effective. He has good vision, balance and power. He runs with patience and is difficult to get to the ground. In 2019 he averaged 6.5 yards per carry and really came on later in the year when he became the starter. Brooks hasn’t been much of a threat out of the backfield yet but there is time for him to develop that part of his game. He is a natural running back who gets the most out of his ability and should grow into a more prominent role in 2020.

Checking in at number 9 we have Trey Sermon (Ohio State). Sermon transferred to Oho State this spring as a grad transfer after losing his job at Oklahoma to a knee injury and Kennedy Brooks. Before the injury Sermon was a complete running back with a good blend of size, speed, instincts and receiving ability. He averaged over 7 yards per carry before an injury cut his season short. Sermon has had a tough injury history that has never allowed him to reach his potential, but at Ohio State he will have a great opportunity to do that. JK Dobbins was phenomenal last year in the same offense and now Sermon will have a chance to make his own name.

We wanted to recognize Jaret Patterson (Buffalo) who is ranked 10th. He may not get the attention guys at the bigger schools do, but had the one time transfer rule gone into effect sooner he would likely be playing at one of those schools now. Patterson is an instinctual player with good balance and vision. He uses his vision and acceleration to chew up yardage in chunks over the course of the game. He fell one yard shy of 1,800 yards as a sophomore in 2019. He is an adequate pass catcher and can be an asset in the passing game as well. Buffalo will feature Patterson in 2020, the defenses in the MAC know this, but we don’t think they will be able to do much to stop him.

If Pooka Williams Jr. (Kansas) was bigger he would probably be higher than the 12th spot where we have him now. He is an explosive player that creates big plays regularly. Kansas doesn’t have a scary offense and number 1 on the defensive game plan is always Williams, but he still finds a way to make plays. He has a slender frame and we don’t think he will get much bigger which will always limit him some, but his ability to make people miss and accelerate away from defenders is special. There’s a little bit of all or nothing to his game but if the Jayhawks can put better players around him that may not be as much of a factor.

Potential Risers

Our 14th ranked player, Journey Brown (Penn State) was a tough one to rank. He has great long speed and is a big play waiting to happen but was never featured by the Nittany Lions’ offense until the season’s end. We like the tools we see on tape and we like the player, we just don’t love him yet. As Penn State features him more we can further evaluate his game which would likely move him up this list. We like the tools and the limited production sample is limited but impressive.

Teammates Javonte Williams and Michael Carter (North Carolina) appear side by side in the rankings at 18 and 19 respectively. Although they both have a different running style, they are equally effective as their 2019 production mirrors one another. Williams is more of a power player and Carter is more of a speed guy, but neither is a one trick pony. They wore down defenses in 2019 en route to over 1,900 yards between the two of them and look for more of the same going forward. With Quarterback Sam Howell leading the offense the tandem will have the Heels backfield in great shape in 2020.

At number 21 we have Breece Hall (Iowa State). Hall is a powerful runner with great vision. He has great feet and makes things happen even when nothing is there. He didn’t produce as well as we would have liked to see but the talent is evident on tape. He is a bit of a throw back, but he will move the chains all game long and be a cornerstone of Matt Campbell’s offense in Ames. We predict Hall’s numbers will improve drastically and he will move up this list in the fall.

Our 24th ranked player, Mohamed Ibrahim (Minnesota), is a player who was not the top back for his team most of the year in 2019. He got the most run in the Outback Bowl against a strong Auburn defense and really came through with 20 carries for 140 yards. Ibrahim is fun to watch, defenders just bounce off him in Tecmo Bowl like fashion. He runs with good leg drive and moves the pile with authority, adding hidden yards to every run. Ibrahim isn’t just a bruiser though, he has good acceleration and can break a big play when the opportunity presents itself.

We went back and reviewed the RBs in FBS and this is the current Top 25 of our College Football RB Rankings. Like all lists we’re sure everyone doesn’t agree and we welcome the debate. We will update the list once the season gets underway.

Click here for the complete Top 25 Rb Rankings.

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2011 Clemson Flags Image by Mike Burton is licensed under CC By-ND 2.0.