Elite NCAA RBs and UM's Lack of Them for Decades
As we enter the long off season and soft whispers of how Onwenu is going to be so much better as a 2nd year player than Kalis was as a 5th, or O'Korn is so much better than Speight due to film at Houston (oh wait, that was last winter), I thought I'd take a look at the long Michigan drought of elite RBs.
As I sat there with jaw agape as they flashed Dalvin Cook's 6.5 yard per carry CAREER average my heart grew envious at the parade of elite RBs that seem to happen to other universities but seemingly not mine anymore. The 5 stars don't hit, the 4 stars don't turn into surprise stars, only the Hart stars happen and even that has been nearly a decade ago.
The one upside of age is you have memories. Memories of sheer athleticism rarely seen in the game in the form of Ty Wheatley- Bo Jackson like. Memories of singular amazingly games in the form of Timmmmmmmy Biakabutuka.... days when UM regularly beat those heathens to the south (insert deep sigh here). Mike Hart was a great RB, one of the all time leaders in rushing yards in NCAA history. Upon research, in historical context he was almost a clone to Thurman Thomas and Marcus Allen - great college RBs. But it's truly been 3 decades when we enjoyed the type of RB that FSU employed last night ... and Indiana has enjoyed multiple times.. and Wisconsin... and OSU... and Georgia... and well you get the point.
Since I like data I thought I'd break it down. Who have been the great RBs in college football since the Wheatley/Tim era. And was my age making me romanticize those 2? (short answer - no, they were among all time greats in YPA).
First, for context - here are all of UM's all time leaders by YPA at 5.0+ and at least 2500 yds - Tim and Ty at the top and by large margin. The only similar era was Butch and Jaime back ending the 80s; the time this boy fell in love with UM football.
| Ave | Total | |
| Ty Wheatley | 6.1 | 4,178 |
| Tim Biakabutuka | 6.1 | 2,810 |
| Rob Lytle | 5.9 | 3,307 |
| Gordon Bell | 5.4 | 2,902 |
| Butch Woolfolk | 5.4 | 3,850 |
| Jamie Morris | 5.4 | 4,392 |
| Harlan Huckleby | 5.2 | 2,624 |
| Lawrence Ricks | 5.1 | 2,651 |
| Mike Hart | 5.0 | 5,040 |
Comments:
- Some of these guys were before my time so it helps appreciate where they are in the context of the game. Honestly I've never heard of Gordon Bell or Lawrence Ricks. Sorry WD. Rob Lytle was sort of a bad man... I didn't realize how bad.
Now we go to the broader world. Let us remember, different eras - different workloads, different offenses, different defenses (or in the modern Pac 12 world, almost none outside of Stanford and Utah). But still averaging 6.0 PER carry puts you in elite territory. So below is a list of all NCAA runners from 1990 forward who played in a P5 conference who (a) averaged at least 6.0 YPA (b) had at least 2500 yards in a career - an arbitrary number I chose which signaled at least some longetivity and (c) had at least one 1000 yard season signifying he was "the man" at least for 1 season. I also threw in some "legend" types from pre 1990 so you can get an idea of where they ranked.
I put these in 3 categories: (I) Alba - i.e. video game numbers >=7.0 YPA (II) Kelly - i.e. damn son, 6.5-6.9 (III) JLH, 6.0-6.4 . I also created a Beckinsale section at the end for context of some of the legends who didn't quite make the cut, some who surprised me ala Herschel Walker. I also did it because... Beckinsale.
7.0+ Video Game #s, You've been Alba'd
| Ave | Total | ||
| Melvin Gordon | 7.8 | 4,915 | Wisc |
| Felix Jones | 7.7 | 2,956 | Ark |
| Jahvid Best | 7.3 | 2,668 | Cal |
| Reggie Bush | 7.3 | 3,169 | USC |
| Ki-Jana Carter | 7.2 | 2,829 | PSU |
| Mike Rozier | 7.2 | 4,780 | Neb |
| Tevin Coleman | 7.1 | 3,219 | Indiana |
| Billy Sims | 7.0 | 3,820 | OU |
| Boom Williams** | 7.0 | 2,478 | UK ('14-'16) |
| Henry Josey | 7.0 | 2,771 | Missouri ('10-'13) |
Comments:
- Melvin Gordon was unreal. I think we lacked appreciation as that was the era Wisconsin might as well have been playing in the Big 12 as we barely saw them here at Michigan.
- Mike Rozier was just as I was a young lad learning about football; knew he was good - didn't realize he was quite *THIS* level.
- Tevin Coleman - again in the class of "really, THAT good?"
- I looked up the last 2 guys - Boom Williams is a "change of pace" back at UK that I snuck in as he is barely under 2500 yds. I would have never guessed he would be on this list.
- Confession - I've never heard of Henry Josey who apparently played at Mizzou not long ago. Mr. Josey - I apologize.
6.5-6.9 Damn Son, Minka'd!
| Ave | Total | ||
| Warrick Dunn | 6.9 | 3,959 | FSU |
| Levron Williams | 6.8 | 3,095 | Indiana ('98-'01) |
| Barry Sanders | 6.8 | 3,556 | OK St |
| Eddie Lacy** | 6.8 | 2,402 | Bama |
| Ahman Green | 6.8 | 3,880 | Neb |
| Zeke Elliott | 6.7 | 3,961 | OSU |
| Duke Johnson | 6.7 | 3,519 | Miami FL |
| JJ Arrington | 6.6 | 2,625 | Cal |
| Bo Jackson | 6.6 | 4,303 | Auburn |
| Marshawn Lynch | 6.6 | 3,230 | Cal |
| LaMichael James | 6.6 | 5,082 | Oregon |
| Rashard Mendenhall | 6.5 | 2,539 | Illinois |
| Trung Canidate | 6.5 | 3,626 | Zona |
| Ronald Jones* | 6.5 | 2,014 | USC ('15-Now) |
| Gale Sayers | 6.5 | 2,675 | Kansas |
| Dalvin Cook | 6.5 | 4,319 | FSU |
Comments:
- I vaguely remember Levron Williams. I would have never thought Levron Williams basically put up Barry Sanders career #s (granted Barry was very heavily weighted into 1 year). That puts 2 Indiana guys in the top 12. Is the world still flat?
- I'm familiar with Duke Johnson - he was wasted away on some bad Miami teams.
- LaMichael James - had a hell of a career.
- Truny Canidate - one of my all time fav NCAA names.
- I included Ronald Jones as he is 2 years into his career and already at 2K yards, well on his way to 3K+ - again I had no idea how great he was doing.
6.0-6.4 Super Impressive, JLH'd.
| Ave | Total | ||
| Todd Gurley | 6.4 | 3,285 | GA |
| D'Onta Foreman | 6.4 | 2,774 | TX ('14-Now) |
| Larry Johnson | 6.4 | 2,953 | PSU |
| Nick Chubb | 6.3 | 3,282 | GA |
| Rashaan Salaam | 6.3 | 3,057 | Colo |
| James White | 6.2 | 4,015 | Wisc |
| Jamaal Charles | 6.2 | 3,328 | TX |
| Leonard Fournette | 6.2 | 3,830 | LSU |
| Ricky Williams | 6.2 | 6,279 | TX |
| Kenjon Barner | 6.2 | 3,623 | Oregon ('09-'12) |
| Christian McCaffrey | 6.2 | 3,915 | Stanford |
| Lawrence Phillips | 6.2 | 2,777 | Neb |
| Carlos Hyde | 6.1 | 3,198 | OSU |
| Darren Sproles | 6.1 | 4,979 | KSU |
| Archie Griffin | 6.1 | 5,589 | OSU |
| Samaje Perine | 6.1 | 4,036 | OK |
Comments:
- D'Onta Foreman is (most likely) headed to the first round along with Fournette and Cook. It's a golden era for RBs all the sudden with Perine out there too.
- James White ..Wiscy. Again, just a tip of the hat to the Wisconsin assembly line. It's one thing to get 4000 yds at 4.8 yards per carry but these are massive chunks per run at 6+.
- Ricky Williams - bad a$$.
- I didn't appreciate Kenjon Barner that's for sure.
Other Assorted Bad Asses, Legends Section - Kate!
| Ave | Total | ||
| Ron Dayne | 5.8 | 7,125 | Wisc |
| Tony Dorsett | 5.6 | 6,526 | Pitt |
| LaDainian Tomlinson* | 5.7 | 5,387 | TCU |
| Herschel Walker | 5.3 | 5,259 | GA |
| Marcus Allen | 5.2 | 4,810 | USC |
| Thurman Thomas | 5.1 | 4,847 | Ok St |
Comments:
- Until you see it like this you don't realize JUST how much of a machine Wisconsin RBs have been.
- Tony Dorsett - what a player; before my time in college but in my time as a Cowboy.
- I thought Walker would rank higher in yards per!
----------
* Tomlinson did NOT play for a P5 but being such a great player I decided to make an allowance
**Just missed the cut of 2500 but I included them
-----------
One day we will have a 6.0+ yard back again. I hope to be alive at that point.
December 31st, 2016 at 4:24 PM ^
seeing Gordy Bell on the field, in the early 70s (my Jr. High years). He generated Dalvin-like excitement among fans then.
Rob Lytle, why didn't you like him? From "A friend of a friend" who knew him, Rob was an exceptional nice guy (in addition to amazing player). Someone else I knew was in third grade when Rob went to their class to talk to the kids, sign autographs etc. Never heard anything bad about the guy and it's sad he died so young.
January 1st, 2017 at 10:30 AM ^
OP: Rob Lytle was sort of a bad man... I didn't realize how bad.
Please elaborate. Lytle is my favorite player of all time. #41 ... any time I've had the opportunity to pick a jersey number (bball, softball) it's always been #41.
OP: Honestly I've never heard of Gordon Bell
Smallish back (5'6 - 5'8" ?) ... quick as lightning, could changing direction on a dime. Bob Ufer liked to say, "Little Gordy Bell ... he could run 15 minutes in a phone booth and never touch the sides!" He'd run "Like a penguin with a hot herring in his cumberbund" (More Ufer). It was a beautiful thing to watch ... in a split second he'd dart through some tiny crease and would pick up 10 or 20 yards.
January 1st, 2017 at 8:16 PM ^
January 2nd, 2017 at 1:49 AM ^
Shut your mouth
December 31st, 2016 at 4:28 PM ^
December 31st, 2016 at 6:04 PM ^
@YouOnlyLiveTwice - LOL. I meant "BAD" in the Michael Jackson sense - you know "He's bad!"
@MoTownGoBlue - you picked a peak year for AT. He was 4.8 career. All the guys in this list that is career average. Which means they almosst had peak years that were better than average. So if I listed them by peak year you'd see quite a few 6.5s and near 7s. Which is why carrying a 6.0 or 5.7 through a career is impressive. Chris Perry was a 4.6 over career for example.
@Putingrad - a worthy debate.
@Lionsfan - it was completely necessary and indeed critical to the piece.
@MoGoStrength - Saquan Barkley put up 5.9 ypa behind one of the worst lines in the past 2 decades in the Big 10 in 2015. UM has not had ELITE lines constantly but sufficient for almost all of these years except for maybe 2013 and a year or two others. Has Indiana had peak OL every year? Cal? Illinois? Oregon? Who are the elite OL blocking for Dalvin Cook this year? I am sure we could go through everly school above and they were not sporting 2 AAs on the line constantly.
Even last night there were very few holes in 1st half created by OL - then in 2nd half there were some created, and you saw no burst or acceleration through them. If you put Cook behind UM's meh line last night do you think he would not have gotten 150? I think he would have been bottled up much of the first and gone hog wild in the second as I saw quite a few holes and then Smith take forever to get there. See Chris Evans few runs...
January 1st, 2017 at 2:39 PM ^
Very good analysis by all of you. There was a comment by Tom 78 about fullbacks teamed up with RBs. I am afraid that the FBs died with Carr. He recruited the nation's number 1 FB, Jon Ritchie out of PA and then proceeded to give him 12 carries in his first year (probably 6 against PSU), and then six the following year. Ritchie was smart enough to see the handwriting on the wall and transferred to Stanford where he was used much more productively. Then Ritchie was drafted quite high by the Oakland Raiders where he also played quite well. Just another example of wasted talent by the coaching staff. Hopefully Harbaugh will correct that (but cannot do that with D. Smith type RBs). For others, do not fall in love with this Harris kid out of California as he has shown nothing yet.
My alltime Top 5 RBs since the Bo era: 1) Rob Lytle (go back and see how he destroyed MSU with just 10 carries and 180 yards in a game) and finsihed in the tope 5 for the Heisman in his senior year, 2) Touchdown Tim (that 313 yard game against No #1 ranked OSU was something else) ; 3) LeRoy Hoard who shared most of the season with another terrici RB Tony Boles who blew out his knee late in the season against a weak B1G team (out of Louisiana?) [focus on his last two games against OSU in Columbus and vs USC in the Rose Bowl - that is playing big in big games]; Mike Hart who never fumbled but once in his very last game (I believe) and always kept his legs churning; and 5) Russell Davis who always had to share the spotlight with Lytle and Harlan Huckabee, but did rip off several long touchdowns and I believe never had a negative yardage run in his career (compare to D, Smith in the Orange Bowl) - as an aside I think he was the West Virginia high jump champion as a FB clearing 6 ' 9". Those were the days my friends, we thought they'd never end ...
Sorry about the typos, but my vision is not what it used to be (sort of like young Maurice Hurst's vision who lined up offsides consistently against FSU the other night and was thus penalized 3 times for off sides in the last 20 minutes of the game - ouch!).
January 7th, 2017 at 10:57 AM ^
Love me some Leroy Hoard. Violent runner.
December 31st, 2016 at 4:59 PM ^
December 31st, 2016 at 5:11 PM ^
December 31st, 2016 at 6:02 PM ^
December 31st, 2016 at 5:38 PM ^
It's also been a while since we've had a good o-line, just saying. But, this has been a problem all across the offensive side of the ball. No WR playmakers, no great throwing QBs, no great RBs, etc. I think our recruiting is there to change this, but it will take a few years, especially for the o-line to develop.
December 31st, 2016 at 10:27 PM ^
That the OL is the bigger problem.
I actually think we have good RB's right now. The OL is just barely average and that is the problem with the running game. Smith is a bruiser and Evans just has amazing speed change ability. With an above avg OL we would of been better in both QB play (as Speight HAS to set his feet to throw a good football ... period) and RB in yds per gain.
I think help is on the way and we will make an improvement in 2017.
December 31st, 2016 at 5:44 PM ^
Can't believe there is only one Bama RB on that list. Goes to show that good teams always have several options.
December 31st, 2016 at 6:13 PM ^
Bama is hurt a bit like the Miami guys in that they have a stable of backs and wait their turn. TJ Yeldon at UM probably would have had 4500 yds - he had to wait his turn at Bama.
Also, again I stopped at 6.1. There are a lot of great backs in the 5.7-6.0 range.
- Derrick Henry 6.0 ave, 3400 yds
- TJ Yeldon 5.8 ave, 3300 yds
- Mark Ingram, 5.7 ave, 3200 yds
- Trent Richardon, 5.8 ave, 3130 yds
That's a machine!!
Lacy was the best of them at a whopping 6.8 ave, listed above.
Damien Harris averaged 7.4 (!!!) this year, and in his 2 years has a 6.4 average.
Of course some will claim anyone could have run for 5.5 ave behind their OL.
December 31st, 2016 at 6:21 PM ^
December 31st, 2016 at 6:47 PM ^
Well then the solution is simple. Just go after every runningback that Wiscy does every year. Game set and match. UM needs Harris bad. If they don't get him, they need Samuels to be something special or Walker to be a game changer because Evans just isn't that. He is quick and fast but he'll get beat up. He needs about 20 to 30 lbs. of upper body strengh and core. He says he wants to add 5 lbs. A 210 pounder isn't going to get it done the next couple years if you want to win against these upcoming schedules. Even Kareem Walker looks like it'll be Jehu Chesson in the backfield.
December 31st, 2016 at 7:24 PM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
December 31st, 2016 at 8:30 PM ^
alumni96: very good analysis. However, I have to point out a fact that you may have not realized about Michigan's lack of elite RBs for approximately 20 years. That is, M has recruited several elite RBs, namely the number 1 RBs out of HS, but sadly, they did not develop. As a matter of fact they were flops. So perhaps the problem is that M cannot seem to develop these 5 star top RBs. Cases in point: Derrick Green was the top RB several years ago (he was the #3 or #4 overall recruit), but he literally did nothing and transferred. As bad as Da'veon Smith has been, Smith beat out Green who had an inclination for falling down at the slighest contact. Prior to Green, M had Kevin Grady out of East Grand Rapids. Annointed the top RB coming out of his class, Grady had the bad habit of fumbling in the red zone (within 5 yards of the goal line, as a matter of fact). Then there was the USA Today HS Player of the Year, a RB by the name of Justin Fargas out of Sherman Oaks, CA. He had an OK FR year, but then tore up his knee vs NW toward the end of the season. (I think) after one more unproductive year at M, he transferred to USC. He proceeded to have a very good senior year at USC, boke or came close to break the Rose Bowl record for rushing yardage in a game (Wheatley's record by the way), and was a first round NFL selection. In the early 1990s, M recruited the best RB in the country, Ricky Powers, of Barberton, OH. Powers had a very productive freshman year and then regressed during the next 3 years. The #2 RB from HS in the same year had a steller career at Notre Dame. His name was Jerome Bettis. There was another RB, who was one of the 3 highest in his class, if not the highest, who was also a bust at Michigan. I believe that his name was David Underwood out of Texas. In other words, M has secured the cream of the running backs over the years, but the truth is they have not panned out. It remains to be seen what happens to the top RB from last year's class, Kareem Walker, out of NJ. So far zilch.
December 31st, 2016 at 8:53 PM ^
When have we had an elite offensive line? A running back can't be elite unless he has a good offensive line. We can call him elite if he plays above that average or good offensive line.
January 1st, 2017 at 10:34 AM ^
So FSU has an elite OL? Or Cook isn't an elite RB? Which is it?
January 1st, 2017 at 9:15 PM ^
December 31st, 2016 at 11:47 PM ^
January 1st, 2017 at 1:13 PM ^
We used to have 2 or three backs better than anyone we've had in the last 8 yrs. they'd even be in the backfield together because someone who would be a tailback now would play fulllback back then.
We had Russel Davis and Rob Lytle in the same backfield and Harlan Huckleby on the bench. Poor Roosevelt Smith was next and he never got the chance to start, but even he was probably better than recent three year starter Tip Toe Toussaint.
Or there was the time Allen Jefferson looked like a star, and got hurt. So Tony Boles came in and led the conference in rushing, with Leroy Hoard in the same backfield, at fullback.
Michigan was known for having a stockpile of great backs. It's been a long drought. And it was by far the number 1 problem in the Rodriguez/Hoke dark days; couldn't run the ball. It's better now but we still lack the stud(s) at RB.
January 1st, 2017 at 10:59 PM ^
January 2nd, 2017 at 12:10 PM ^
Does the offensive line make the running back or does the running back make the offensive line? Some people seem to view this as a "chicken or egg" question. It seems to me that it works both ways. A great OL can make a RB look great and a great RB can make an OL look better. But there are other factors. Fournette is clearly an amazing RB. But when their QB just could not throw a pass, Fournette got stopped. Cook has been terrific for FSU, even without their OL being great. As others have pointed out, what was the team's offensive scheme like? I think it makes a huge difference. Anyway, it seems to me that elite RB's would help Michigan's offensive line look a lot better and an elite offensive line would help Michigan's current RB's look a lot better.
And I am old enough to remember these guys. Rob Lytle was my favorite player, by a mile, until Anthony Carter came along. The game was so different back then. When Dr. Sap posted the 1976 Orange Bowl footage recently and people were talking about how Leach couldn't pass, they're forgetting that almost no one could pass like they did 20 years later. Holding was called very differently, so they couldn't block the same. So it's very difficult to compare across eras. But it does seem that Michigan had a wealth of RB's in my youth compared to what they have had in recent years.
January 3rd, 2017 at 6:21 PM ^
this came up especially during our 3 losses down the stretch, in which deveon smith was our leading rusher with 124 yards on 49 carries - a staggerlingly low 2.53 yards/carry. on the season, he was at a more solid 4.7 ypc, but it really feels like the overall season numbers mask how poorly we ran the ball in those 3 games. question is, did smiths output in those games put us in historical low territory? or is it just impossible to strip out subsets of games for the purposes of this analysis (i suspect that it would be, especially going back so many years)?
January 7th, 2017 at 10:50 AM ^
With what I see happening with our o-line and especially the interior I think we are going to be quite good at running the football. Ruiz...onwenu..bredeson...spanellis and stueber are monsters also. Filiaga!!!!. Michigan will have the biggest o-line it has ever had in it's history and for sure the biggest team overall. Missing on wilson hurt this year, but the next two classes I see things setting up very nice along the o-line.
January 7th, 2017 at 11:26 AM ^
January 7th, 2017 at 7:59 PM ^
With 700+ attempts, 4400+ yards and 6.2 YPA, ya gotta add him for in, geez he'd top the list
January 10th, 2017 at 2:13 AM ^
Comments