With all this talk about conference expansion (or implosion) over the past two weeks, I thought I’d take some time and focus on the players rather than the universities they play for.
One of college football’s growing trends is versatile players, whether that’s a dual-threat quarterback, a running back who can also catch the ball well, or a wide receiver who may also play defense.
Out of all of those, I’ve decided to look at the most versatile running backs in college football today. These aren’t ranked in any specific order and there are always more guys who could make the list but didn’t. If you think there’s a player who should be on this list, be sure to list him in the comments section below.
Brandon Bolden (Ole Miss)
It will be extremely difficult for an Ole Miss running back to replace Dexter McCluster, but if anyone can do it, it would be Bolden.
Bolden is your prototypical running back at 5-foot-11, 220 pounds with the love for hitting people.
Backing up McCluster in 2009, Bolden ran for 614 yards and four scores with 209 yards and another touchdown on the receiving end of things.
Most likely he’ll be the Rebels’ every-down back in 2009, and chances are he’ll start running the Wildcat formation for Houston Nutt, which will bring a whole new element to Bolden’s versatility.
Charles Clay (Tulsa)
Not many fullbacks have had seasons where they had over 1,000 yards receiving on the season, but this Arkansas native has.
When talking about a true dual-threat out of the backfield, look no further than Clay. In his first three seasons with the Golden Hurricane, his rushing yards to receiving yards ratio has been 304:1,024 (freshman), 145:464 (sophomore), and 236:530 (junior).
Since he broke onto the scene at Skelley Stadium, I’ve always been in awe of what Clay could do. Look for him to keep tearing it up as a senior in 2010.
Jacquizz Rodgers (Oregon State)
After an outstanding freshman campaign in 2008 where he rushed for over 1,200 yards with nearly 250 receiving, Rodgers outdid himself on every level in 2009.
With 1,440 yards on the ground, Rodgers increased his YPC average from 4.8 in 2008 to 5.3 in 2009 and nearly doubled his touchdown total, going from 11 to 21 in his sophomore season.
Rodgers wasn’t settling for just performing on the ground as he had 522 yards receiving in 2009.
All of this without ever fumbling the football!
And don’t forget he threw a 14 yard touchdown pass against UCLA last year.
But perhaps my favorite thing about Rodgers is the fact he’s a little guy at only 5-foot-7. Sure, he may be a bruiser at 191 pounds, but his height is limited.
Brandon Stewart (Wyoming)
While he may be listed as a wide receiver, the Wyoming junior-to-be does it all.
At 5-foot-11, 193 pounds, Stewart rushed for 498 yards and two touchdowns along with 152 yards with two more scores receiving as a sophomore in 2009.
While these may look like only average numbers, Stewart’s game was more focused on the ground last season compared to his freshman campaign in 2008.
In 2008, he averaged 19.3 yards per catch, totaling 251 yards on the year. It’s still unknown what his concentration will be as a junior in 2010, but he’s definitely a player that Mountain West opponents can’t lose sight of.
DeMarco Murray (Oklahoma)
Murray is one of those player who you feel has been playing forever, mainly because he’s so good and you’re tired of him destroying your team.
He’s a running back who could easily be a wide receiver.
At 6-foot-1, 211 pounds, Murray has rushed for over 700 yards in each of his first three seasons and steadily increased in receiving yards over that same time from 60 (freshman), to 395 (sophomore), to 511 (junior).
Back for his senior season, Murray should easily roll to a first team All-Big 12 selection in 2010 and will likely be an All-American as well.
Nearly 600 yards rushing and 300 receiving isn’t too shabby for your first season at Navy.
Curry’s sophomore year in 2009 had him as the leading receiver for the Midshipmen, whose triple-option offensive scheme has Navy generally sticking to the ground game.
Curry averaged 28.7 yards per reception in 2009 with three touchdowns and another five scores rushing—all of this as Navy’s No. 2 running back.
Even though Ricky Dobbs will be back for his senior year, look out for Curry in 2010.
John Mosure (Colorado State)
Mosure split snaps with Leonard Mason at running back last year, but the main thing No. 7 had going for him was his versatility.
Mosure can return kicks, run the football, catch the football, and even throw the pigskin around the field pretty well.
In 2009, Mosure rushed for 650 yards and a team-high seven touchdowns, had 115 yards and one touchdown receiving, and threw an 11 yard touchdown strike. He also scored both touchdowns in Colorado State’s season-opening upset victory over rival Colorado in Boulder.
While he only returned three kickoffs in 2009, during the 2008 season Mosure was the team’s second leading kick returner with 318 yards and a touchdown, which he took back against the CU Buffaloes at INVESCO Field at Mile High on national television. It was the Rams’ first kickoff return for a score since 2001.
Two weeks later in 2008, on kickoff coverage, he returned a fumble for a touchdown on the final play of the game in which the UNLV Rebels attempted five laterals.
Vai Taua (Nevada)
In 2009, Nevada had, beyond doubt, one of the best rushing offenses in the country with three players who ran for over 1,000 yards on the season.
Taua, along with quarterback Colin Kaepernick and running back Luke Lippincott, reached the millennium mark and all reached the end zone at least nine times on the ground.
Though his receiving numbers in 2009 weren’t outstanding at 99 yards, they were way down from 2008 where Taua rushed for 1,521 yards and 15 touchdowns and caught for 243 and 3.
With Lippincott gone, expect even more receiving from Taua in 2010.
Brandon Saine (Ohio State)
One of the great things about Ohio State is how balanced they are on offense, especially with its ground game, where three players rushed for 600 yards or more.
Saine was the Buckeye’s second leading rusher in 2009, behind dual-threat quarterback Terrelle Pryor, and was the team’s third leading receiver.
He finished the 2009 season with 739 yards (5.1 YPC) on the ground with four touchdowns and 224 yards receiving with two more touchdowns in that category.
Lance Dunbar (North Texas)
Dunbar made a smooth transition from backup to starter for North Texas in 2009, rushing for 1,378 yards and 17 touchdowns and making a huge impact on the back end of Riley Dodge’s pass with 300 receiving yards and two end zone visits.
Compare this to his freshman campaign in 2008 when he only had 39 carries for 178 yards and 12 catches for 158 yards.
Though he hasn’t proven himself as a consistent kick returner, with only 57 yards on four attempts as a sophomore last season, Dunbar should be receiving a lot more attention from Sun Belt defenses in 2010.
Donald Buckram (UTEP)
One of college football’s best kept secrets is Buckram. If you want a guy who will give his 210 percent on every down, this is that running back.
In 2009, Buckram had nearly 1,600 yards rushing with 18 end zone visits on top of 453 receiving yards and three touchdowns.
He finished 2009 by setting UTEP’s single season rushing record, ranked as college football’s fourth leading rusher, and was a semifinalist for the Doak Walker Award, given to the best running back in college football.
Derrick Locke (Kentucky)
I’ve been a huge fan of Locke ever since he broke onto the scene at Kentucky as a true freshman in 2007.
While his yards per carry average has been slowly decreasing since his freshman season, his receiving yards have been rapidly increasing.
As a junior in 2009, Locke had 284 receiving yards and two touchdowns to add on top of his 907 yards and six touchdowns rushing. He also threw a 41 yard touchdown pass to Morgan Newton against Vanderbilt.
Locke also is a great kick returner, who ranked 14th nationally in average yards per return last year and third overall in the SEC.
Daniel Thomas (Kansas State)
Darren McFadden 2.0?
Maybe not quite, but close.
Thomas did an outstanding job at running back for the Wildcats as a junior in 2009, acquiring 1,265 yards rushing with 11 touchdowns and 257 yards receiving.
One of those rare combinations of pure speed and strength, this JUCO transfer completed 3 of 4 pass attempts for 50 yards and a touchdown last season for Bill Snyder.
This Doak Walker finalist will once again be a huge threat in the Big 12 Conference in the fall.
Mohamed Sanu (Rutgers)
Another player on this list officially listed as a wide receiver, I still feel Sanu should be in consideration for college football’s most versatile running backs.
At 6-foot-2, 215 pounds, Sanu ranked second for the Scarlet Knights in both rushing and receiving with 639 and 346 yards, respectively as a true freshman in 2009.
Out of his eight total touchdowns on the year, five came from the rushing game, though many of those were direct snaps. Is he a quarterback, a running back, a wide receiver? No one really knows beyond the fact he is a tremendous young talent who could easily be the Big East Player of the Year in 2010.
Ralph Bolden (Purdue)
Another young player who broke onto the scene, successfully making the transition to backup to starter in 2009 is Purdue’s Bolden.
The 5-foot-9, 194 pound running back from Folkston, Ga., carried the ball 200 times as a sophomore in 2009 for 935 yards and nine touchdowns along with 20 receptions for 261 yards and two more scores.
While he’s not the biggest back out there, he knows how to get the job done and does so in a finesse-like manner.
Shane Vereen (Cal)
With Jahvid Best in the backfield last year, most people expected him to be the guy who led the Cal Golden Bears in rushing, but that wasn’t the case.
Though he only started in four games, Vereen led the Bears in rushing with 952 yards and 12 touchdowns and was superb on the receiving end of things with 224 yards and two more scores.
On top of all that, Vereen was Cal’s best kick returner with 551 yards on 24 attempts.
Look out for this Cal Bear in 2010.
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