Ranking College Football RB Rooms: Does Notre Dame boast the best running backs or do Big Ten and SEC powers reign supreme?
The 2025 College Football season is just around the corner. What better way to celebrate than by arguing over which program has the best running back room in the nation?College Football did just lose some incredible running back talent to the NFL this offseason (12 RBs off the board in the first 126 picks of […]
The 2025 College Football season is just around the corner. What better way to celebrate than by arguing over which program has the best running back room in the nation?
College Football did just lose some incredible running back talent to the NFL this offseason (12 RBs off the board in the first 126 picks of the 2025 NFL Draft), but a handful of teams are still absolutely stacked at the position. Our A to Z Sports college football crew decided to break down the best. We pooled our rankings, defended our positions, and came up with the following "Top 5 RB Rooms in College Football" list as the season approaches. Enjoy!
[And make sure to complain to Travis May @FF_TravisM on X if we got anything wrong.]
1. Penn State Nittany Lions
Projected RB Depth Chart for 2025
1a – Nick Singleton
1b – Kaytron Allen
3 – Quinton Martin
4 – Corey Smith
Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen were both eligible for the 2025 NFL Draft. They were certainly good enough to declare and see early NFL Draft capital already, but decided they wanted to come back for one more season to push for a national championship with Penn State.
And behind them they have another duo of high pedigree elite talents as well. There could seriously be four (or more) future draft picks in this backfield. They're so good in fact, even our Ohio State Buckeyes writer, Brandon Little, had to talk them up. No wonder our team ranked them as the best running back room in the nation:
Penn State has the luxury of returning two 1,000-yard running backs in 2025—and both have a real chance to reach that milestone again. Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen weren’t satisfied with how the 2024 season ended, so they joined an incredibly strong group of Nittany Lions who chose to return for another run. Penn State is expected to pound the ball on the ground and play physical defense in 2025, even with an upgraded arsenal of wide receivers.
The Nittany Lions will get one more season from their lead backfield duo, while Quinton Martin is set to fill the No. 3 running back role. Martin, who appeared in six games as a freshman last year, was a former top-10 back in the 2024 class and is a strong candidate to take over as the lead runner following the 2025 season. – Brandon Little, A to Z Sports Ohio State Buckeyes
2. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Projected RB Depth Chart for 2025
1 – Jeremiyah Love
2 – Jadarian Price
3 – Aneyas Williams
4 – Kedren Young
Jeremiyah Love is now a household name following his phenomenal 1400 yards from scrimmage and nearly 20 touchdowns last season. His 98-yard run in the playoff win against Indiana and his unbelievably determined touchdown against Penn State in last year's College Football Playoff capped off a season that made him the best returning talent at running back in the country.
Notre Dame has much more than just Jeremiyah Love too. Our New Orleans Saints and LSU Tigers writer, Adam Holt, is pumped for the Fighting Irish backfield:
My ranking for Notre Dame’s rushing attack has plenty to do with Jeremiyah Love–no surprise there. He is arguably the most gifted RB in college football. Love was banged up at times a season ago, but the healthy version of him is among the elite. First-round potential in next year’s NFL Draft.
Behind him though, Jadarian Price has the skill set to start at most schools around the country. He can help keep Love fresh too. That duo is what truly sets the Fighting Irish apart for me because most teams do not boast that sort of tandem out of the backfield. – Adam Holt, A to Z Sports Saints and LSU Tigers
3. Texas Longhorns
Projected RB Depth Chart for 2025
1a – Tre Wisner
1b – CJ Baxter
3 – Jerrick Gibson
4 – Christian Clark
The Texas Longhorns suffered a handful of injuries last year at the running back position but the "next man up" kept showing up against tough SEC competition all year.
Tre Wisner racked up over 1300 yards from scrimmage. Freshman Jerrick Gibson impressed in his first season on his over 80 touches. Both of them are back. CJ Baxter and Christian Clark were both injured to start the 2024 season, but would surely have produced when called upon. Baxter, a former five star stud who was already looking special back in 2023, was what seemed to push Texas over the top for our Florida Gators writer, Tyler Forness, as he ranked the Longhorns' RB room second in the country:
When I was taking a look at who has the best running back room, it wasn't about who has the best player, but rather the best collection of players. Jeremiyah Love is the best player at the position in the country, but the Texas Longhorns have a 1-2 punch that is the best in the nation.
After top recruit CJ Baxter tore his ACL ahead of the 2024 season, Tre Wisner took advantage and had himself a season worth of being the starter. With Arch Manning set to be the starter going into the year for the first time, having a duo like Baxter and Wisner is going to make a major difference in the College Football Playoff discussion. – Tyler Forness, A to Z Sports Florida Gators
4. Oregon Ducks
Projected RB Depth Chart for 2025
1 – Makhi Hughes
2 – Noah Whittington
3a – Da'Juan Riggs
3b – Jayden Limar
Makhi Hughes is fresh off two impeccable seasons of running back play at Tulane. He's racked up over 3000 yards from scrimmage and 24 touchdowns in just two collegiate seasons already. Now with Oregon, this juiced up beast of a physical running back looks ready to dominate the Big Ten.
Behind him Noah Whittington returns as a sixth-year veteran who should be a nice change of pace to Hughes. However, it's not just those two backs teams need to worry about.
When I spoke with several Oregon Ducks at the NFL Combine this spring, many of them mentioned Da'Juan Riggs (Dink, as they call him) as an impressive freshman ready to break out. Dan Lanning has spoken highly of Jayden Limar this spring as well. The Ducks should have an amazing running back room this year.
5. Oklahoma Sooners
Projected RB Depth Chart for 2025
1 – Jaydn Ott
2 – Jovantae Barnes
3 – Taylor Tatum
4 – Xavier Robinson
The Oklahoma Sooners looked like they already had a decent group at running back returning for 2025, but when California RB Jaydn Ott joined the fold as a grad transfer late this spring that set the bar quite high for this group.
Ott fought through injury for much of last season so his efficiency disappeared, but prior to 2024 he posted back to back seasons with well over 1200 yards from scrimmage and double-digit touchdowns. If his health holds up the Sooners should have a solid rushing attack. However, our national college football writer Ian Valentino has questions beyond the new transfer addition:
I love Jaydn Ott, and he was obviously limited throughout 2024 as he dealt with a nagging ankle injury. His incredible 2023 season can't be forgotten, but the nature of time and injuries doesn't guarantee he'll simply be that superstar as soon as he hits the field in Norman. He's a massive upgrade over anyone on Oklahoma's roster, including incumbent starter Jovantae Barnes.
The Sooners didn't block well for anyone last year, and Ott is an incredible upgrade at creating after contact. But there's the rub that I don't want to bank on. Putting that much pressure on Ott to create on his own is a problem itself, and if Ott can't handle 300 carries, then the Sooners won't have the production of an elite backfield. – Ian Valentino, National College Football Writer
Honorable Mention RB Rooms
There were several schools who almost made our top five running back rooms list.
Georgia returns an elite young sophomore in Nate Frazier and a bruising 240-pound monster transfer from Illinois in Josh McCray.
Our Texas Longhorns writer, Zach Berry, was the lowest on the Florida Gators RB room, but even he had to give some respect to their returning trio:
This one is a bit of a flier if you will, but I think a lot of Florida's possible lack of rushing success could be due to DJ Lagway shouldering a lot of responsibility. Last year, the Gators averaged over five yards per carry and bring back Jadan Baugh and Ja'Kobi Jackson. Treyaun Webb returns from a season-ending injury in 2024 but is still relatively unproven. This one hinges on just how good Lagway can be and defenses are kept honest. – Zach Berry, A to Z Sports Texas Longhorns
Texas A&M, Minnesota, and Louisville all three averaged a ranking of 10th or better across our A to Z Sports staff as well. This 2025 college football season looks like it has stacked running back groups all around the nation. We'll find out here soon just how good they really are.
We'll be back with more College Football coverage here at A to Z Sports soon! Follow me (@FF_TravisM) and A to Z Sports (@AtoZSportsNFL) on X for all the latest football news!
If you want to see why Penn State got the edge over Notre Dame in the A to Z Sports College Football RB Room Rankings just check out some of Nick Singleton's highlights in the video below!
