While it is fun to say I am in on some high-ranked running backs in this upcoming season, the time is now to look beyond the top names. I can sit here and point out guys like Crowell, Savion Hiter, Caleb Hawkins, Nate Sheppard, and others, most everyone is aware of, but there isn’t much fun in that this offseason. Let me get ahead of the fun, and let’s talk about some names outside the standard top 25 names in Campus2Canton leagues.
Aneyas Williams, Notre Dame
I guess I should be blessed to get to talk about Aneyas Williams for a third offseason in a row. From the unranked freshman year to the 80s last year, we finally see a big jump up to just outside the top 25 this season. Aneyas suffered an elbow injury early in fall camp (surgery early this year to address it) and was relegated to third string behind the two older vets in Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price, who are both off to the NFL as first-round picks. His brief sparks were crazy efficient, and he was showing a serious role in 2024, even with the two vets, so now a large volume is available for a running back coach who will funnel all his snaps to the top two on the depth chart, just like he did in 2025 and with Penn State in 2024.
Williams offers the perfect mix of talent as a rusher and receiving option for the second year, CJ Carr, who prefers to stay in the pocket and distribute the ball instead of offering any rushing potential. The great thing is that he gets to operate in a strong system behind a solid OL, with an easy schedule that can lead to positive run-game scripts. The toughest slated games are Miami, BYU, and SMU, so we could be in for a treat on a team with an agenda to be top 12 this season.
Gideon Davidson, Clemson
I had high hopes for Davidson as a freshman, but they did not quite meet my expectations. I know Clemson prefers their veterans and even split reps between freshman Travis Etienne and Tavien Feaster, who is lower-talent than Adam Randall was in 2025. The exciting aspect was that Davidson jumped to second on the depth chart in his first year and is now the lead guy, with a year of experience under his belt and a clearer sense of what to expect. New OC Morris loves to work through the run game and has an incentive to establish it early under a new, inexperienced quarterback.
While the offensive line will still need to gel, the tempo being up and focused through the run game should get the best out of Davidson’s versatility. I expect some reps to go to Chris Johnson Jr. this year as well, but multiple sources, including 247’s Summer School episode, have made it clear that Davidson is the playmaker who can change the outlook of this offense, with established talent elsewhere for defenses to target.
Jamal Rule, Nebraska
Rule has been a huge riser this offseason with all the spring reports. I had hoped the name would go under the radar heading into supplemental drafts, but it is out of the bag. Jamal steps into an offense that can flourish for backs under Dana Holgorsen. I expect Mozee will step up as he transitioned from receiver to running back last fall, but Rule comes in as a clear talent.
QB Colandrea is a rushing option, which will help open up the offense somewhat; the offense has been solid upfront and looks to take another step with veteran experience. While we may not get 290+ opportunities just to Rule in Year 1, he should clear all five Year 1 Zero metrics and be over 600 all-purpose yards, which will attract value. Immediately producing freshmen RBs tends to make a great move up the ranks in Year 2, so the door is wide open for Rule.
Fluff Bothwell, Mississippi State
Bothwell is a great example of a solid Year 1 producer who used his opportunity to improve his standing. While Mississippi State was not the best offense in 2025, Bothwell still outproduced Davon Booth, who the year prior managed 900+ yards in the SEC. With a price tag around that of an RB6 on a roster, the upside of Bothwell as the main lead back, with only KaMario Taylor to take away rushes, could be great. The QB run game always helps open up defenses to stress who has the ball, so we may see some bigger gains from the big back, even if he loses a few TD opportunities, for Taylor keeps.
Xavier Gayten will have his share, but this is an offense on the rise under Year 3 of Coach Lebby. In the second year, we already saw the team make a leap from the bottom to the mid-ranks of the SEC, so 2026 can remain or even improve with Bothwell and Taylor leading the way. While the schedule will not be kind to the Bulldogs, it can force the team to lean on its strengths to keep pace in scoring or get some garbage-time snaps against easier defenses.
Jeffrey Overton Jr, Virginia Tech
Do not go searching for Overton Jr in most rankings cause he is almost non-existent to the masses. He transformed his body after missing most of last season due to a senior-year injury, but the limited snaps were crazy explosive and immediately encouraging to see. The team preserved his redshirt and now managed to get James Franklin and his run-focused OC to join the fray.
The recent 247 Summer School episode stressed that Overton had put on solid muscle to handle a heavier workload while still maintaining his crazy athleticism, with his name noted as the X-factor for the team. Overton will operate with returning producer Hawkins for Virginia, but the big play potential in all phases of the game means he could be the beneficiary of a team starting a fresh identity focused around the run game in the ACC, which is not known most years to be the strongest defenses, but needing to score points.
Dierre Hill Jr, Oregon
Dierre Hill and Jordan Davison pulled off a feat we do not often see among Oregon freshmen. Operating as RB3 for the team, we saw Hill gash defenses repeatedly with big gains. Whittington operated as the experienced RB1, with Davison getting a large share of snaps to do his work inside the trenches.
While people will point to the amount of TDs scored by Davison, I think we may need to give some credit to what Hill did in a trio split, as they now enter Year 2 working as a tandem, I believe, could operate similarly to what Texas Tech produced with Cameron Dickey and J’Koby Williams. Oregon often operates from positive game scripts, has a QB unlikely to run much, and knows how to distribute the ball quickly to his guys, including to Hill as a receiver.
Hill was well above his backfield mates in yards per attempt, had the most missed tackles forced, led the team in the most explosive rushes, and had the best production as a receiving option, and did all that on the lowest amount of snaps by 125 from Davison and even more to Whittington. The explosive nature that Hill offers can be a difference-maker without asking Davison to take much of a cut, too, thanks to the large share to fill from Whittington. Combine all that potential with a dedication to build some muscle and target his weak areas, and this spring could be showing us a name to know now instead of waiting to see.
