College football is an ever-evolving landscape. Large fluctuations in the college talent pool occur year after year. Powerhouses in college football continue to churn out promising prospects. It is vital to identify players at under-the-radar programs, as well. Another art in prospect evaluation is to identify overrated or underrated prospects in college football. This article is by no means a comprehensive or all-encompassing summary of every prospect for each team. Instead, I hope to provide a broad overview of college football and the fantasy prospects that will eventually influence our NFL fantasy teams.
At the running back position, I may be an eternal optimist, but I see the future as less bleak than many of my fellow Devy fantasy analysts.
The Best of the RB Future
I would like to start with the obvious. Jeremiyah Love is a versatile stud. He is explosive, a receiving threat, and a capable modern NFL back. I may be biased, as I roster him in half of my C2C leagues, but Jeremiyah Love should have a bright future. After him, there’s undoubtedly some uncertainty, though excuse my oxymoron.
I am still optimistic about several other running backs panning out in the NFL. Very solid backs should declare over the next two years, including Justice Haynes, Jonah Coleman, Isaac Brown, Ahmad Hardy, Daylan Smothers, and Jadarian Price, to name a few. I listed Price last, not as a reflection of his talent, as he would be much more costly (pricey, ba dum tss) to acquire if he had the backfield to himself at Notre Dame. The “next man up” at Michigan should be Jordan Marshall, who has been standing out with opportunity in 2025.
The Second Tier
There are some electric running backs out there, some of whom have had an underwhelming season, but still possess the talent to become big-time players. I already mentioned Isaac Brown at Louisville, who is extremely electric when healthy. I should also mention a high-end athlete in Caden Durham at LSU, who certainly has the talent to make a name for himself and bounce back from team mediocrity and a sophomore slump.
Solid and reliable Mark Fletcher, Jadan Baugh, Emmett Johnson, Bryson Washington, Kaytron Allen, Antwan Raymond, and Fluff Bothwell all have positive things going their way. I promise Fluff belongs here, and isn’t listed just for his name… but his name is a phenomenal bonus.
I would like to include Darius Taylor as “solid and reliable”, but he is the antonym of reliable with his soft tissue injury history. He does have a good amount of talent, however. I would also like to recognize Demond Claiborne as an explosive back who has been stuck in an offense that holds back his efficiency and abilities.
The Freshmen
As usual, it is too early to have definitive takeaways from this year’s freshman running back group. There is reason for excitement, however. #FreeOusmaneKromah should catch on one of these days. We should get a hashtag going for Gideon Davidson, who is finally starting to make some noise, as well. Bo Jackson at Ohio State is a beast and could become the face of the running back position in college after this season.
Nate Sheppard at Duke has been a stud. Dierre Hill (lightning) and his teammate Jordan Davison (thunder) have been impressive at Oregon. Caleb Hawkins at North Texas is dynamic and exceptional, and is a transfer-up candidate or may be so good that it doesn’t matter what level he is playing at.
Tory Blaylock at Oklahoma has flashed, though he has been disappointing of late, and Demon June at UNC has popped a little thus far. Freshman running backs who are still relatively unknown and have generated intrigue are Akylin Dear at Alabama and Marquise Davis at Missouri.
The Fallen Warriors
Disappointments with immense talent should start with Nick Singleton. No one has fallen off further and harder than Nick Singleton this year. I have no answers for this, but I do recognize an athlete of that caliber could rebound in the future. Jam Miller disappoints every year, though I still have hope for him every season. Jordan Lyle and Quinton Martin are talented backs, with forgettable seasons thus far, but still have the talent to intrigue in the future.
That will wrap up the state of the running backs. It’s not all doom and gloom out there, folks! Be happy, get outside, and take a walk. Enjoy your day. Things are going to be okay. Go back and check out the chaotic look at the QB landscape, and stay tuned as we move on to the wide receivers (and tight ends, I guess) next time!
-Aaron Wilcox
