Best RB to ever play college football?

#28
#28
I'd have t o lean toward Brown and Walker. Bo knows how to quit. 1985--Vols 38, Auburn-20. He checked himself out of that game because he was getting hammered. I never watched him play another down.
 
#30
#30
VolFan4Life87 said:
Watch espn's "you don't know Bo" then tell us who's the best

I'll save you from the suspense, it's Bo Jackson
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You mean the 30 for 30 special that covered Bo's collegiate and professional football/baseball career? I watched it, and Herschel Walker is still the best college football player to ever play RB.

Bo was a better overall athlete, but Herschel was the better RB in college.
 
#31
#31
I've got Herschel, Bo, JB, Allen, with the nod going to Herschel. Tough call really. All top tier backs.
 
#36
#36
Scotty, If you look back at post no. 8, you will find that I provided the following information:

Again, based on what specific criteria? Barry Sanders' college career, for example, is an anomaly. He was a backup to Thurman Thomas at Oklahoma State for his freshman and sophomore seasons. In his junior (and final) year, he had what remains to this day unquestionably the most impressive single season that any Division 1-A running back has ever achieved.

In 1988, Sanders "led the nation by averaging 7.6 yards per carry and over 200 yards per game, including rushing for over 300 yards in four games. Despite his massive workload of 344 carries, Sanders was still used as the team's punt and kickoff returner, adding another 516 yards on special teams. He set college football season records with 2,628 yards rushing, 3,248 total yards, 234 points, 39 touchdowns, 37 rushing touchdowns, 5 consecutive 200 yard games, scored at least 2 touchdowns in 11 consecutive games, and 9 times he scored at least 3 touchdowns. Sanders also ran for 222 yards and scored 5 touchdowns in his three quarters of action in the Holiday Bowl - a game that was not included with his season statistics" (Barry Sanders - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia).

A huge caveat must, of course, be offered: He did not achieve these mindboggling numbers against SEC defenses.
 
#40
#40
Lawrence Wright said:
You mean the 30 for 30 special that covered Bo's collegiate and professional football/baseball career? I watched it, and Herschel Walker is still the best college football player to ever play RB.

Bo was a better overall athlete, but Herschel was the better RB in college.
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Yes that's it and I can't disagree with your assessment at all, in hindsight.
 
#41
#41
Volosaurus rex said:
Scotty, If you look back at post no. 8, you will find that I provided the following information:

Again, based on what specific criteria? Barry Sanders' college career, for example, is an anomaly. He was a backup to Thurman Thomas at Oklahoma State for his freshman and sophomore seasons. In his junior (and final) year, he had what remains to this day unquestionably the most impressive single season that any Division 1-A running back has ever achieved.

In 1988, Sanders "led the nation by averaging 7.6 yards per carry and over 200 yards per game, including rushing for over 300 yards in four games. Despite his massive workload of 344 carries, Sanders was still used as the team's punt and kickoff returner, adding another 516 yards on special teams. He set college football season records with 2,628 yards rushing, 3,248 total yards, 234 points, 39 touchdowns, 37 rushing touchdowns, 5 consecutive 200 yard games, scored at least 2 touchdowns in 11 consecutive games, and 9 times he scored at least 3 touchdowns. Sanders also ran for 222 yards and scored 5 touchdowns in his three quarters of action in the Holiday Bowl - a game that was not included with his season statistics" (Barry Sanders - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia).

A huge caveat must, of course, be offered: He did not achieve these mindboggling numbers against SEC defenses.
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Oh sorry man. I completely overlooked it. Finally someone with sense! Haha
 
#42
#42
865dude said:
The best one that I'm old enough to remember was Ricky Williams.
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He was terrific. Terrific in the NFL too. Never got his due do his anxiety disorders and the green leaf. But such an impressive talent he was. To be honest, and I know it will be frowned upon but there isn't a whole lot of separation between him and Bo and to a lesser extent even H Walker.
 
#43
#43
Volosaurus rex said:
Again, based on what specific criteria? Barry Sanders' college career, for example, is an anomaly. He was a backup to Thurman Thomas at Oklahoma State for his freshman and sophomore seasons. In his junior (and final) year, he had what remains to this day unquestionably the most impressive single season that any Division 1-A running back has ever achieved.

In 1988, Sanders "led the nation by averaging 7.6 yards per carry and over 200 yards per game, including rushing for over 300 yards in four games. Despite his massive workload of 344 carries, Sanders was still used as the team's punt and kickoff returner, adding another 516 yards on special teams. He set college football season records with 2,628 yards rushing, 3,248 total yards, 234 points, 39 touchdowns, 37 rushing touchdowns, 5 consecutive 200 yard games, scored at least 2 touchdowns in 11 consecutive games, and 9 times he scored at least 3 touchdowns. Sanders also ran for 222 yards and scored 5 touchdowns in his three quarters of action in the Holiday Bowl - a game that was not included with his season statistics" (Barry Sanders - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia).

A huge caveat must, of course, be offered: He did not achieve these mindboggling numbers against SEC defenses.
Click to expand...

Barry Sanders didn't run behind an SEC o-line, either.

Amazing that Barry had to ride the bench at OK State and only had one year of glory there, then went to Detroit and wasted away some of the best runs in NFL history.

If Barry had played at Bama, Auburn or Tennessee in the late 80's and had played in Dallas instead of Detroit... wow. oh well.
 
#44
#44
Rasputin_Vol said:
Barry Sanders didn't run behind an SEC o-line, either.

Amazing that Barry had to ride the bench at OK State and only had one year of glory there, then went to Detroit and wasted away some of the best runs in NFL history.

If Barry had played at Bama, Auburn or Tennessee in the late 80's and had played in Dallas instead of Detroit... wow. oh well.
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Being from Flint he was easily my personal favorite. He'll never get his full due.. Jim Brown and Barry Sanders. Then everyone else.
 
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#45
#45
It struck me as strange that a back as talented as Sanders wound up at Oklahoma State, so I decided to research his high school career a bit more and discovered the following:

"A Wichita, Kansas native, Sanders attended Wichita North High School. Barry started at tailback his sophomore year, but took a back seat to his brother Byron the following year. Sanders did not become the starting running back until the fourth game of his senior year. He rushed for 1,417 in the final seven games of the season, which earned him all-state honors. During that seven game span Sanders averaged 10.2 yards per carry. He was, however, overlooked by most college recruiters because of his 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) size. Although he was a stellar athlete, Barry only had scholarships from Emporia State, Tulsa, and Oklahoma State" (Barry Sanders - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia).
 
#46
#46
Scotty's Flat Top said:
Being from Flint he was easily my personal favorite. He'll never get his full due.. Jim Brown and Barry Sanders. Then everyone else.
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Hey, I'm from Flint too and I love Barry but you got to give it up to Walker, there was no one better in NCAA football hands down.
 
#47
#47
my top 3 would be.

1. Walker

2. Sanders

3. Dorsett


For you young guys that may not know. Dorsett was the RB for Johnny Majors at Pittsburgh when they won the NC in 1976. He also won the Heisman in '76.
 
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#49
#49
I'm too young to have watched and/or remembered Hershel and Bo, and while I can watch college highlights of both of them, they are just that: highlights. The most devastating college running backs I have watched and remembered in my lifetime are Barry, Lawrence Phillips, Ricky, and Reggie Bush.
 
#50
#50
I'll bet Johnny would have a uniquely interesting perspective on this question. He was a contemporary of Jim Brown and considered him to have been the rightful winner of the 1956 Heisman Trophy. He coached Dorsett and described him as the best running back he'd ever coached. And, then, four years later he witnessed Herschel's debut. It would be interesting to hear his thoughts comparing Herschel and Tony, even though they were two fundamentally different kinds of running backs. They are in an extremely small fraternity, one identified in the NCAA record book as consisting of the following:

MOST SEASONS GAINING 1,500 YARDS OR MORE (Career):

3—Tony Dorsett, Pittsburgh, 1973, 1975-76; Herschel
Walker, Georgia, 1980-82; Travis Prentice, Miami (OH), 1997-99; Garrett Wolfe, Northern Ill., 2004-06; LaMichael James, Oregon, 2009-11.

As for Barry, here are a few more of the records he set in that extraordinary 1988 campaign:

MOST YARDS GAINED IN THREE, FOUR AND FIVE CONSECUTIVE GAMES:

3 Games: 937—Barry Sanders, Oklahoma St., 1988 (312 vs. Kansas, Nov. 12; 293 vs. Iowa St., Nov. 19; 332 vs. Texas Tech, Dec. 3).

4 Games: 1,152—Barry Sanders, Oklahoma St., 1988 (215 vs. Oklahoma, Nov. 5; 312 vs. Kansas, Nov. 12; 293 vs. Iowa St., Nov. 19; 332 vs. Texas Tech, Dec. 3).

5 Games: 1,472—Barry Sanders, Oklahoma St., 1988 (320 vs. Kansas St., Oct. 29; 215 vs. Oklahoma, Nov. 5; 312 vs. Kansas, Nov. 12; 293 vs. Iowa St., Nov. 19; 332 vs. Texas Tech, Dec. 3).
 
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