The best quarterback/running back/wide receiver trios in college football in 2022

Today, we’re talking about triplets – specifically, the top 10 quarterback/running back/wide receiver trios in college football.

We’re not talking about the best quarterback, or the best wide receiver units, or the best quarterback/running back duo. Nor is it a simple measure of talent level. Instead, it’s a ranking of the quarterback/running back/wide receiver triumvirates we think will be extremely productive this fall.

We’re looking at offensive triplets today. Friday, we will look at top defensive triplets (lineman, linebacker and defensive back).

10. Kentucky

The trio: QB Will Levis, RB Chris Rodriguez Jr., WR Tayvion Robinson
The buzz: Levis, who began his career at Penn State, is getting a ton of preseason hype as a potential first-rounder in the 2023 NFL Draft. He certainly has the physical traits: He is 6 feet 4 and 230 pounds, possesses a big arm and can run. But he needs to increase his production: In eight SEC games last season, he threw for more than 179 yards once. And while he threw 24 TD passes, he also threw 13 interceptions. Still, he has a high ceiling and gives UK a quarterback it can count on. If he’s eligible, Rodriguez gives UK one of the best running backs in the nation. He rushed for 1,379 yards last season and is 1,134 yards from becoming the leading career rusher in school history. Rodriguez is a physical runner with a burst: He has averaged an impressive 6.6 yards per carry on his 417 career attempts. Robinson arrived from Virginia Tech via the transfer portal. He led the Hokies in receptions last season with 44; he could double that this season, as well as match his career TD catch total with the Hokies (nine).

9. Fresno State

The trio: QB Jake Haener, RB Jordan Mims, WR Jalen Cropper
The buzz: Haener, who began his career at Washington, was one of nine quarterbacks nationally to throw for 4,000 yards last season; in his two seasons with the Bulldogs, he’s averaging 321.9 yards per game with a 66.3 completion percentage. Haener also has thrown 47 TD passes in 19 games. Mims has shared time in his first four seasons with the Bulldogs (he has rushed for 1,918 yards) but will be the feature back this season. Mims, who led the team in rushing TDs last season, has big-play ability and is a good receiver. Cropper had 11 TD receptions last season and has 122 receptions in the past two seasons (covering 19 games).

8. Ole Miss

The trio: QB Jaxson Dart, RB Zach Evans, WR Jonathan Mingo
The buzz: This is going off potential and not necessarily on-field production. Dart and Evans arrived via the portal: Dart from USC and Evans from TCU. Mingo played in just six games in 2021 before suffering a season-ending injury. And there’s a new offensive coordinator, too: Charlie Weis Jr. Can Weis (and coach Lane Kiffin) make sure all the new pieces fit together? Dart started twice and played in six games for USC last season, showing off a good arm and mobility (but also questionable decision-making, with five picks) as a true freshman. Evans is immensely talented; he has good speed and can run between the tackles. But for various reasons, he played in just 15 games in two seasons with the Horned Frogs. Mingo should be 100 percent and is primed for a big season. If these three reach their potential, Ole Miss could have a top-five offense nationally. If they don’t? Ole Miss could have one of the top five offenses in the SEC.

7. Tennessee

The trio: QB Hendon Hooker, RB Jabari Small, WR Cedric Tillman
The buzz: The Vols’ offense really got cranked up in the second half of the season – once Hooker, who had transferred from Virginia Tech, got truly comfortable in coach Josh Heupel’s scheme. Hooker threw for 2,945 yards, 31 TDs and just three interceptions; he also ran for 613 yards and five TDs. Small opened the season as a reserve, but he, too, came on strong down the stretch; he has 1,000-yard, 12-TD potential. Tillman is a legit deep threat who had 12 TD receptions last season; 10 of those came in the final seven games. He ended the season with four consecutive 100-yard games and had five such outings in the final six games.

6. Oklahoma

The trio: QB Dillon Gabriel, RB Eric Gray, WR Marvin Mims
The buzz: Gabriel is a UCF transfer who led the nation in passing in 2020 (359.0 yards per game). He worked with new Oklahoma offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby in 2019 at UCF and their relationship should prove fruitful for the Sooners this season. Gray, who began his career at Tennessee, ascends to the feature back role this fall; he has 1,000-yard potential, and his receiving skills should make him a frequent target of Gabriel’s passes. The most frequent target, though, will be Mims. He has just 69 receptions in two seasons, but 14 have gone for TDs. It’s not a stretch to think he bypasses that receptions total this season, and double-digit TDs seems a given. Mims is a big-time deep threat, and Gabriel throws a really nice deep ball.

5. Wake Forest

The trio: QB Sam Hartman, RB Justice Ellison, WR A.T. Perry
The buzz: Hartman accounted for 50 TDs last season (39 TD passes, 11 TD runs), when he threw for 4,228 yards. He needs 36 TD passes this season to set the ACC career record (the current record is 107 by Tajh Boyd). Perry is a big-timer: He had 71 receptions for 1,293 yards (18.2 per catch) and 15 touchdowns last season, when he had seven 100-yard outings. Ellison seems likely to start in a share-the-wealth backfield, and he’ll run behind a line that includes four starters who are in at least their fifth season on campus. Ellison will share carries with Christian Turner and, most likely, four-star true freshman Demond Claiborne. Wake had three running backs with at least 500 yards last season (Ellison and Turner were two of them) and could again this season.

4. Texas

The trio: QB Quinn Ewers, RB Bijan Robinson, WR Xavier Worthy
The buzz: Ewers was one of the most celebrated transfers during the offseason, and he certainly has the surrounding skill-position talent to put up big numbers. Ewers is one of two quarterbacks on this list without a college track record (Dart is the other – and Dart is a seasoned 10-year NFL vet compared to Ewers). Ewers saw action on two plays last season for Ohio State – handoffs in a rout of Michigan State. But Robinson certainly has a track record. He ran for 1,127 yards and 11 TDs before missing the final two games with an injury. Robinson had six 100-yard games and also proved to be an effective receiver last season. Worthy, meanwhile, became a star as a true freshman, finishing with 62 receptions for 981 yards and 12 TDs. He should be even better this season in his second year in the offense and working with a better passer at quarterback.

3. USC

The trio: QB Caleb Williams, RB Travis Dye, WR Jordan Addison
The buzz: All three are talented, but they’ve never played together. Each arrived via the transfer portal – Williams from Oklahoma, Dye from Oregon and Addison from Pitt (and he arrived after spring practice). Williams followed coach Lincoln Riley to L.A. and obviously knows the offense. Williams threw for 1,912 yards and 21 TDs and also rushed for 435 yards and six scores last season; in the seven games he started, he showed off a special playmaking ability and a ton of sheer athletic talent, especially for a quarterback. Dye has rushed for 3,111 career yards, fifth in Oregon history and the second-most among current players. When he was at Oklahoma, Riley routinely had 1,000-yard rushers, and Dye already has shown he can be successful against Pac-12 defense. He also is a good receiver. Addison won the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s top receiver last season, when he had 100 receptions for 1,593 yards and 17 TDs. While USC has a deep receiving group, it didn’t have a true No. 1 receiver until Addison came aboard in May.

2. Alabama

The trio: QB Bryce Young, RB Jahmyr Gibbs, WR Jermaine Burton
The buzz: Young is trying to become just the second player to win two Heismans. He threw for 4,872 yards and 47 TDs last season, his first working with OC Bill O’Brien. To reach those numbers again, he’ll need two transfers to come through. Gibbs arrives from Georgia Tech, Burton from Georgia. Both should put up much bigger numbers with the Tide than they did with their old teams. Gibbs rushed for a combined 1,206 yards and eight touchdowns in his two seasons at Tech; those totals are eminently reachable this season alone with the Tide. Gibbs has good speed and is an above-average receiver, and O’Brien can do more things with Gibbs than he could with Brian Robinson, last season’s feature back. Burton was underutilized with the Bulldogs, with just 53 receptions in two seasons despite being an integral part of the passing attack. As with Gibbs, it’s legitimate to think Burton will blow past that total this season. His ability to get deep (he averaged 19.2 yards on his 26 receptions last season) likely makes Young (and O’Brien) smile broadly.

1. Ohio State

The trio: QB C.J. Stroud, RB TreVeyon Henderson, WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba
The buzz: All three are proven talents coming off big seasons. Stroud threw for 4,435 yards, with 44 touchdowns and six picks. While his receiving corps won’t be as good this season, it certainly won’t hamper him. Smith-Njigba led the Buckeyes with 95 catches last season, for 1,606 yards and nine TDs; he’ll be the unquestioned go-to guy this season with Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson now in the NFL. Smith-Njigba had seven 100-yard games last season, including an epic 347-yard performance in the Rose Bowl. Henderson was the No. 2 true freshman rusher in the nation last season, behind only Wisconsin’s Braelon Allen, with 1,255 yards; Henderson also had 15 rushing TDs. He added four receiving touchdowns in 2021, and that facet of his game should be even better this season.