Phil Steele ranks top 10 running back units in college football

One of the great offseason traditions for many college football fans is to pick up Phil Steele’s magazine previewing the upcoming season. It’s made him a well-respected analyst and prognosticator for the sport.

One position that Steele broke down is the running back. Despite how NFL teams tend to pay running backs, they’re still incredibly important to an offense’s success and producing a balanced attack. Typically, teams even rely on multiple running backs to produce in a single game. So, Steele ranked this position by their units as a whole, rather than by individual players.

So, here are the 10 best running back units in the country, according to Phil Steele:

1. Michigan Wolverines

Phil Steele really didn’t go out on a limb with his first overall running back unit. Most people in the country look at Michigan as the best running back unit in the country. The Wolverines are led by the same two-headed monster that they were led by last season, Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards.

The biggest question for Michigan’s running back room is the health of Blake Corum. In November of last season, he suffered a knee injury that required surgery. He says he’s healthy now but he still hasn’t played a game since surgery. Before surgery, he was phenomenal, though, rushing for 1,463 yards and 18 touchdowns last season. For his part, Edwards rushed for 991 yards and seven touchdowns. That makes it easy on the passing game.

2. Ohio State Buckeyes

Michigan’s biggest rival isn’t too shabby on the offensive side of the ball, basically ever. Coming into the 2023 season, Steele expects them to bring in an incredible running back unit. That’s a unit led by TreVeyon Henderson.

Henderson isn’t alone, though. The Buckeyes reload with talent every season and develop talent well. Miyan Williams is an experienced player who is going to contribute in 2023. A younger player, Dallan Hayden, is now a sophomore but looks like he could contribute as well. This gives the Buckeyes a ton of depth at the position.

3. Penn State Nittany Lions

The third team on Phil Steele’s list of running back units is also the third Big Ten East team to make the list. It’s also not a huge surprise to see Penn State here, as the Nittany Lions are considered by many a darkhorse contender to win the Big Ten in 2023. The young and talented running back unit is a huge reason for that.

The Nittany Lions have two sophomore running backs who are already certified stars in the sport, Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen. Singleton rushed for 1,061 yards as a freshman. Allen added 867 yards of his own as a freshman. Together they combined for 22 touchdowns on the ground. Both are expected to take strides forward in 2023.

4. Arkansas Razorbacks

The Arkansas Razorbacks are going through an offensive coordinator change, which is going to change the team’s philosophy on the offensive side of the ball. At the same time, the Razorbacks have one of the most experienced backfields in the SEC and it’s led by a talented running back room.

Raheim “Rocket” Sanders is the headlining act of that running back room after having one of the best individual seasons of any running back in the country last season. He rushed for 1,443 yards and 10 touchdowns. On top of that, 28 receptions and two touchdowns through the air. He’s not alone, though, and players like AJ Green and Rashod Dubinion round out the unit.

5. Wisconsin Badgers

Wisconsin is in a similar situation to Arkansas. Thanks to the head coaching change, there is also an offensive coordinator change. This is also, likely, to lead to a massive shift in offensive identity as new coordinator Phil Longo is known for his explosive offenses. At the same time, Wisconsin returns an incredibly talented running back in Braelon Allen.

In 2022, Allen rushed for 1,242 yards and 11 touchdowns. He should still be effective in a new system too. He’s certainly talented enough. Players like Chez Mellusi will round out the running back unit and take some of the pressure off of Allen.

6. Georgia Bulldogs

There has been a lot of focus on the quarterback situation at Georgia, as the Bulldogs transition out of the Stetson Bennett era. However, there should probably be more attention given to the running back room in Athens. After all, it’s an incredibly talented unit.

Steele knew this when he ranked the Bulldogs so highly this season. There are several running backs who will likely contribute for Georgia this year. Among them are Kendall Milton, Daijun Edwards, and Branson Robinson. Robinson was one of Bruce Feldman’s freaks for the 2023 season.

7. Ole Miss Rebels

Last season, Ole Miss had one of the best running back rooms in the country. This year, that unit will need to replace Zach Evans, who moved onto the NFL. However, Ole Miss does return Quinshon Judkins. A true freshman in 2022, Judkins became a breakout star with 1,567 yards rushing and 16 touchdowns.

Judkins is expected to make a big leap forward in 2023, potentially becoming the best individual running back in the entire country. He’s not alone in the backfield, though. Players like Ulysses Bentley, Jam Griffin, and Kedrick Reescano all could make their presence felt.

8. Clemson Tigers

Going into the 2023 season, there is a lot of pressure on quarterback Cade Klubnik to revitalize the Clemson Tigers offense. Luckily, Steele thinks that the Tigers have an excellent running back room. That room should be able to take pressure off of Klubnik this year.

When talking about the Clemson running back room, it’s best to start with Will Shipley. Last season, he rushed for 1,182 yards and 15 touchdowns. Other running backs like Phil Mafah will round out the running back unit and make for an impressive rushing attack.

9. USC Trojans

As a coach, Lincoln Riley is known for developing incredible quarterbacks. Because of that reputation, it’s sometimes overlooked how many great running backs Riley has produced but he’s found a ton of success there too. In 2023, USC’s running backs are looking to have a huge season, especially as defenses try and stop the passing attack first.

Austin Jones is expecting to play a key role in the backfield. He’s not alone, though, and transfer running back MarShawn Lloyd, Darwin Barlow, and Quinten Joyner are all looking to compete for playing time in the upcoming season.

10. Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Under offensive coordinator Tommy Rees, Notre Dame became known for its smash-mouth mentality. He’s off to Alabama now, but the Irish still have the tough and deep running back room that likes to run down opposing defenses’ throats.

Even after Logan Diggs transferred to LSU, the running back unit is deep for Notre Dame. Chris Tyree rushed for 444 yards last season while also serving as a pass catching threat, snagging 24 receptions in each of the last two seasons. Then, Audric Estime will provide Notre Dame with a bruising option. He had 11 touchdowns and averaged 5.9 yards per carry last season at 215 lbs.

The running back position is still an incredibly important one in football. It provides balance and a good running attack opens up the entire field for the wide receivers. However, it takes a team effort to block for those running backs. So, it’s likely no surprise that so many top tier teams have the best running attacks.