Top 10 College Football Running Backs: Jeremiyah Love of Notre Dame headlines underrated 2026 NFL Draft class
The 2025 college football season is already fast approaching. Yes, it's still months away, but it's never too early to break down the best returning running backs for this upcoming year.While rising sophomores like Caden Durham (LSU), Nate Frazier (Georgia), and Isaac Brown (Louisville) are certainly among the best running backs in the country after […]
The 2025 college football season is already fast approaching. Yes, it's still months away, but it's never too early to break down the best returning running backs for this upcoming year.
While rising sophomores like Caden Durham (LSU), Nate Frazier (Georgia), and Isaac Brown (Louisville) are certainly among the best running backs in the country after impressive first seasons, today we'll just be diving into the top running backs eligible for the 2026 NFL Draft.
Some are on new teams. Others are returning from injury. All of them are extremely talented, but who are the best? Let's dive in.
2026 NFL Draft Top 10 Running Backs
1. Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame
Jeremiyah Love had more scrimmage yards and touchdowns than any other first or second year college football running back in the nation last season (1,362 total yards, 19 touchdowns). Love averaged over seven yards per touch. He is efficient, explosive, balanced, and fast. Love should be considered the best running back in the country heading into the 2025 season regardless of future draft class. First round NFL Draft capital incoming for this Notre Dame Fighting Irish product.
2. Nicholas Singleton, Penn State
Nicholas Singleton has posted three straight seasons over 1,000 yards from scrimmage for Penn State and boasts one of the most impressive athletic profiles in the nation at the position. He struggled with consistency in 2023–shooting for home run plays that weren't there at times–but looked like one of the most complete running backs in the country last season. When things are blocked well ahead of him Singleton can take any touch to the end zone (like on the play below from last year's playoff).
3. Justice Haynes, Michigan
Michigan landed the best running back in the Transfer Portal this year with Justice Haynes. After losing both Kalel Mullings and Donovan Edwards to the NFL Draft the Michigan Wolverines needed a new running back talent and Haynes should be an immediate upgrade over both. He was by far the better running back talent for Alabama last season (compared to Jam Miller), averaging over a half yard extra after contact, a higher down to down success rate, and a full yard more per carry.
Somehow Alabama was foolish enough to keep him off the field far too often a year ago. Michigan won't make the same mistake. Haynes is a former five star talent who's played like it just about every time he touches the ball in college so far. He already flashed some special skills in the Michigan spring game. Expect much more where that came from this fall.
4. Makhi Hughes, Oregon
Makhi Hughes has already put up over 3000 yards from scrimmage over the last two seasons as one of the best running backs in all of college football. Now he gets to take his talents to the Oregon Ducks where his speed should be properly unleashed. The Ducks were missing explosive runs a year ago. They won't be anymore. Hughes has 75 runs of 10 yards or more in just the last two seasons alone. That kind of burst and explosion should get him selected early in the 2026 NFL Draft.
5. Darius Taylor, Minnesota
Darius Taylor may not be the explosive athlete some running backs on this list are, but he makes up for it with his vision, patience, decisive cuts, and balance to add yards after contact. Taylor has put up nearly 1800 rushing yards in just 18 games while also proving to be one of the best receiving backs in the game too. There isn't a bunch of early round hype for Taylor just yet, but there will be with one more phenomenal season with Minnesota.
6. Kaytron Allen, Penn State
Kaytron Allen is going to be a favorite for many NFL Draft analysts and scouts because he's just so consistently sound in his execution and fundamentals. Allen, although he's not nearly the athlete that his backfield mate Nicholas Singleton is, found a way to earn just as much work because he's good at everything. He doesn't bring much explosiveness to his game (low breakaway rate), Allen will make defenders miss to add value on every carry and punish defenders without hesitation.
7. CJ Baxter, Texas
CJ Baxter unfortunately had to miss all last season with an injury, but he looked extremely special as a true freshman for the Texas Longhorns, putting up over 800 yards from scrimmage in his first year there. He'll likely be splitting carries with Tre Wisner and Jerrick Gibson, but Baxter has the highest upside of the Texas trio. A former five star, Baxter looks like a complete feature running back if he can get back to his usual self following a year off in recovery.
8. Quinten Joyner, Texas Tech
Texas Tech went out and grabbed one of the best running backs in the Transfer Portal in Quinten Joyner. For those unfamiliar, Joyner has been one of the most underrated running backs in the country for four years now. He posted back to back 2000-yard seasons to finish up his high school career, yet still wasn't ranked highly among four star recruits.
Then he forced his way onto the field despite veteran competition ahead of him as one of the most efficient runners in the country as a freshman and sophomore at USC. Now he should get a three-down opportunity to show off the skills that have yielded him 7.5 yards per touch throughout his career so far. The Red Raiders just got 1700 yards out of Tahj Brooks last year. Expect the same or even more from Joyner, and with more burst and speed.
9. Jaydn Ott, Oklahoma
Jaydn Ott was one of the best running backs in all of college football in both 2022 and 2023 (2700 yards and 25 TDs across those two years), but played absolutely terrible football last season as he fought through an ankle injury all year. If the Oklahoma Sooners can get more out of their quarterback play (with John Mateer) and keep wide receivers healthy there should be plenty of running room for Ott, who could rise quickly up this rankings list as the season progresses given his balanced feature back skill set.
10. Jonah Coleman, Washington
Jonah Coleman was one of the few star players who followed Jedd Fisch from Arizona to Washington and he picked up immediately where he left off. Coleman put together a strong 2023 campaign with over 1100 yards from scrimmage, then followed that up with more than 1200 yards and ten scores last season.
Coleman is an angry bowling ball of a runner who flattens defenders with his 230-pound size and wins the leverage battle in tight spaces as he's a bit on the shorter side with a powerful lower half. He may not be the most naturally elusive, but his balance and strength will make him one of the best runners in the country yet again this season and beyond.
RB Honorable Mentions
Bryson Washington, Baylor
Demond Claiborne, Wake Forest
Tre Wisner, Texas
Le'Veon Moss, Texas A&M
Jamal Haynes, Georgia Tech
Jam Miller, Alabama
Desmond Reid, Pittsburgh
LJ Martin, BYU
There are plenty of talent running backs returning to college football. The 2026 NFL Draft won't likely be quite as stacked with early to mid-round running back talents, but the class certainly looks like it may be a bit underrated.
We'll be back with more NFL Draft 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!
And if you want to see why Jeremiyah Love is the best running back in the nation just check out some of his highlight plays from last season in the video below.
