Top 10 Returning College Football Running Backs for 2024 who could be early NFL Draft Prospects
The 2024 college football season may seem far away, but it really isn't. Spring football practices are already underway. Many recruits and transfers are already firmly entrenched in their new university homes. As spring games begin to take place and depth charts take shape, the spotlight intensifies on running backs who not only aim to […]
The 2024 college football season may seem far away, but it really isn't. Spring football practices are already underway. Many recruits and transfers are already firmly entrenched in their new university homes. As spring games begin to take place and depth charts take shape, the spotlight intensifies on running backs who not only aim to lead their teams this fall, but seek to prove they're worthy to play at the NFL level.
It's time take a look at the best returning college football quarterbacks for the 2024 season and talk through which ones have real potential to be early NFL Draft Prospects. This top 10 list features dynamic playmakers of all styles. From bruising big backs, to elite speed runners, to insane efficiency profiles, this group has it all. Let's dive in.
Top 10 Returning College Football Running Backs
1 – TreVeyon Henderson, RB Ohio State
There’s a great chance TreVeyon Henderson would have been the RB1 in the 2024 NFL Draft had he chosen to declare this year. A former five star, Henderson burst onto the college football scene with 1500 yards from scrimmage as a true freshman. He missed significant time as a sophomore due to a broken foot, and even when he played, didn’t look like himself.
Last fall he was back to his old self for four weeks, but then took a cheap shot from a defender that forced him to miss another handful of games. After he returned from injury, Henderson posted back to back 200+ yard games and looked like a future first round running back.
If Henderson stays healthy this year in new offensive coordinator Chip Kelly’s running back friendly system he should be a lock for top 40 NFL Draft capital next spring.
2 – Quinshon Judkins, RB Ohio State
Ohio State has the most stacked backfield in the nation now that Quinshon Judkins has joined TreVeyon Henderson on the Buckeyes, transferring from Ole Miss this off-season. Judkins already has over 3000 yards from scrimmage and 34 total touchdowns through just two seasons of destroying SEC competition.
Kelly just gave his top two running backs at UCLA more than 170 touches each last fall, so expect Judkins and Henderson to split the likely hyper-efficient workload fairly even in 2024 as they both seek to keep their legs fresh for the NFL.
Judkins was less effective in 2023 than 2022 once teams started keying in on stopping just him, but that won’t be an option with Ohio State’s elite receivers. If he any space to work with this year Judkins will easily be back in every conversation for the top 2025 eligible running back in the country. Expect more runs like this:
3 – CJ Baxter, RB Texas
It’s hard to live up to recent Texas running back expectations when you’re following Bijan Robinson, Roschon Johnson, and Jonathon Brooks, but Baxter seems up to the task. He was thrust into a larger role than perhaps originally planned last fall when Jonathon Brooks tore his ACL in November, and was immediately productive.
In his last six games without Brooks ahead of him Baxter racked up over 500 yards from scrimmage. At 6’1”, 220 pounds Baxter has feature back size, athleticism, five star pedigree, and receiving skills to dominate college football. He looks like a star running back ready for the NFL and he isn’t even draft eligible until 2026.
4 – Nick Singleton, RB Penn State
Nick Singleton is one of those running backs whose stats simply don’t do their talent justice. Through two seasons he does have over 2200 yards from scrimmage and 23 total touchdowns, but he averaged just 4.4 yards per carry last fall. Some college and NFL Draft analysts seem to be alarmed by this, but they shouldn’t be. The overall offensive efficiency for Penn State was quite underwhelming thanks to their lack of weapons on the perimeter. Opposing defenses committed to stopping the run (and Singleton specifically) as much as the possibly could.
What makes Singleton special regardless of his yards per carry is his on-field athleticism. He may need to work on his vision a bit, but when he decides to hit second and third gear in space Singleton is just gone. I’ve talked with multiple NFL staffers with access to his spatial tracking data and they cannot believe what he was doing athletically at age 18.
If you haven’t seen Singleton play, this run from the beginning of his true freshman season certainly suggests he may be a a star at the next level.
5 – Ollie Gordon, RB Oklahoma State
Once Oklahoma State got to the hard part of their schedule and began to lean on Ollie Gordon he was nearly unstoppable in 2023. For six straight weeks Gordon posted at least 130 yards from scrimmage in every single game. In fact, in that six-week span he racked up 1200 total yards and 11 touchdowns.
Despite every other piece of Oklahoma State’s offense being utterly useless Gordon still found consistent success, easily locking him in as one of the best returning running backs in college football for the 2024 season.
6 – Trevor Etienne, RB Georgia
Yes, Trevor Etienne’s brother is the current starting running back for the Jacksonville Jaguars. He must be overrated because of that right? Nope. Etienne has the fourth best returning running back efficiency profile in the nation in terms of first downs per carry, breakaway run rate, and yards after contact per carry (all per PFF). Now slated to be Georgia’ lead running back, Etienne just has to stop making poor decisions off the field and he should easily be an early NFL Draft selection.
7 – Donovan Edwards, RB Michigan
Let’s be honest, Donovan Edwards had a pretty horrible season in 2023 outside of his performance in the national championship game. Edwards went the entire season without breaking off a forty-yard run and then did it twice in a row for long scores, setting up the blowout victory for the Michigan Wolverines over Washington, as you can see in the post below.
Prior to last year he was averaging nearly eight yards per touch, showing explosiveness as a runner and elusiveness in the receiving game. Then in 2023 he barely averaged four yards per carry, unable to get anything going. So, why did Edwards play so poorly last season? What happened?
Edwards reportedly was playing with a partially torn patellar tendon and a broken hand for much of the 2022 season, but still performed well. Last off-season he had surgery to repair the patellar tendon, but it took the majority of last season for him to get back to his usual self. Now he’s in line to step in as the feature back for Michigan in 2024. Expect to see the old Edwards as he shows he’s still one of the best running backs in the game.
8 – Justice Haynes, RB Alabama
Nick Saban doesn’t typically spend significant time pumping up incoming freshman, but he made an exception for Justice Haynes last spring and summer. However, despite the promise Haynes showed, he wasn’t given a ton of carries. When Haynes did make it onto the field he was obviously the most explosive runner the Crimson Tide had last year, as he averaged nearly seven yards per touch.
Haynes should slide in as the team’s feature back in new head coach Kalen DeBoer’s system now that Jase McClellan and Roydell Williams are gone. Jam Miller also likely sees real work alongside Haynes, but he’s nowhere near as talented. Expect Haynes to be the next great Alabama running back to grace the NFL.
9 – Omarion Hampton, RB North Carolina
North Carolina decided to opt for a frustratingly ineffective committee backfield in 2022 when Omarion Hampton was a true freshman. He did manage about 100 touches and showed star potential against a couple weak opponents early, but then last season Hampton exploded.
Not only did he tally over 1700 yards from scrimmage, he also averaged over 4.2 yards after contact per rush attempt, showing elite play strength and balance. There may be questions about his wiggle, but he has long speed and feature back size made for Sundays.
10 – Jordan James, RB Oregon
When Dan Lanning got the head coaching job at Oregon, leaving Georgia behind, the only incoming recruit to decommit from the Bulldogs and follow him 2500 miles across the country was Jordan James. Lanning rewarded that loyalty with an immediate true freshman role for James in 2022, and we got to see some of his future pro potential early. Then last fall James took his game to another level, reaching nearly 900 yards from scrimmage on just 120 touches, finding the end zone 12 times in an impressive sophomore showing.
James has the second best returning running back efficiency profile among all players with over 100 carries in 2023 and is now in-line to be the lead back for Oregon, one of the best offenses in the country. Expect a huge breakout 2024 season that inevitably leads to early round NFL Draft capital for James.
Honorable Mention Returning College Football Running Backs
Jaydn Ott, RB California – Back to back hugely productive years for a bad California team, yet doesn’t get the credit for it he deserves.
Ashton Jeanty, RB Boise State – Perhaps the most impressive blend of volume and efficiency in the country, but it came against incredibly soft competition.
Kaytron Allen, RB Penn State – The 1b to Nick Singleton for Penn State. He’s not as insanely athletic, but his production is nearly as impressive.
Devin Neal, RB Kansas – Consistent running back with 10 touchdowns in his last six games of 2023.
Damien Martinez, RB Oregon State – 6’0”, 230-pound bruiser with better agility and burst than he should possess.
And there you have it. The top 10 returning college football running backs for the 2024 season. It remains to be seen how many of them will take the next big step, proving they're worthy of early NFL Draft capital, but all 10 of these running backs certainly look the part.
Be looking for more College Football and NFL Draft coverage here at A to Z Sports all year long! Be sure to follow me (@FF_TravisM) and A to Z Sports (@AtoZSportsNFL) on X for all the latest football news!
