CFF Burning Questions For 2025: Running Backs
As we approach spring camps across the college football landscape, Purple Reign has looked at schools across the country and identified 42 Burning Questions at the running back position for the upcoming season. These are situations that need to be monitored throughout the college football offseason. As answers develop to these questions the College Fantasy Football world will begin to have the tools to refine their expectations for this year’s fantasy drafts.
Check out all the articles in this CFF Burning Questions For 2025 series here:
Air Force – Can Dylan Carson pick up where he left off in 2024?
After a slow start to the 2024 season Dylan Carson woke up in the last four games of the year. During that stretch he averaged 24.2 carries for 111.7 yards and 1.2 TDs per game. This is what we expected from Carson at the start of last season but an undisclosed injury slowed him from being showcased as the workhorse RB. For him to keep up the pace that he ended 2024 on, he’ll need to be healthy. I’ll be watching for any news of his old injury limiting him in spring camp.
Alabama – Can Jam Miller get 200 carries?
The departures of Jalen Milroe and Justice Haynes opens up 246 carries from last season. Jam Miller totaled 145 carries in 2024 and two things will come into play to see if Miller can reach the 200 carry landmark in 2025. The running game will need to feature less designed QB runs, so I’ll be watching to the coaches talking about that in the spring. The other thing that must happen is that Dre’lyn Washington and Richard Young will need to be “not ready for prime time” players. The only time head coach Kalen DeBoer had a 200 carry rusher was in 2023 at Washington when the RB2 was lost for the season due to injury and the other back-ups weren’t ready for a larger workload.
Arizona – Is it possible for Ismail Mahdi to put up Kairee Robinson numbers?
In two seasons at San Jose State, Kairee Robinson averaged 163.5 carries for 973 yards and 14 TDs per season for head coach Brent Brennan. In 2024 and 2021 his RB1’s averaged 158.5 carries for 750.5 yards and 7.5 TDs. Ismail Mahdi had a great 2023 season for Texas State but regressed last season. Is Mahdi a special enough back to command a higher workload like Robinson had? I’ll be watching for news out of spring camp to see if Mahdi is head and shoulders above the rest of the RB room.
Arizona State – Will Kanye Udo be overvalued in fantasy drafts?
Last season Cameron Skattebo had an amazing season scoring 404.6 fantasy points. This performance will surely garner lots of attention to the Arizona State RB1 position in fantasy drafts. Just the year prior, Skattebo only scored 187.9 fantasy points, and Darrell Henderson at Memphis in 2018 is the only other RB to score over 200 fantasy points for head coach Kenny Dillingham. Receiving usage is a huge part of fantasy success in this offense and Kanye Udoh only caught one pass at Army last season so we don’t know what type of a receiving threat he is. Add in the fact that Kyson Brown is better than some people think and could eat into Udoh’s workload.
Baylor – Can Bryson Washington be a top 10 CFF RB?
Bryson Washington had a phenomenal freshman season, racking up 213 fantasy points. This is the second highest fantasy total for head coach Jake Spavital’s RBs. The best was Jayden Ott in 2023 at California. Ott put up 274 more yards and the same amount of touchdowns as Washington last year, but he needed 69 more carries to do it. Washington has the efficiency stats edge over Ott, and if Washington can get 35 more carries than last year he would bring his fantasy point total up to 246 points with no change in his receiving number. I’ll be watching for quotes from spring camp about Washington’s role in the offense expanding.
Boise State – How early is too early to draft a Boise State RB?
This will be one of the biggest burning questions at RB this offseason. Ashton Jeanty is gone for the NFL and he leaves 374 carries up for grabs. Boise State has two future stars returning in Jambres Dubar and Sire Gaines but both spent much of 2024 injured. Malik Sherrod transfers in from Fresno State and brings a game experience factor that both Dubar and Gaines lack. We’ll first need to monitor news out of spring camp to see if any of these three are pulling away in the RB competition. If we don’t hear that, you’ll likely need to handcuff this position. I also expect the workload distribution to change between these players as the season progresses. Its too early to say where the right spot is to draft any of these guys, but I would want to have at least three RBs on my roster before taking a stab at one of these guys.
Boston College – Can Jordan McDonald get 190 carries in 2025?
Obviously Jordan McDonald needs to win the starting job for this question to be relevant. Last season Kye Robichaux carried the ball 175 times but wasn’t featured as the lead back until November. Head coach Bill O’Brien handed out 271 carries to Brian Robinson at Alabama in 2021. That makes the 190 carry mark look to be very achievable if McDonald isn’t splitting reps at the start of the season. I’ll be watching for news about his play in the spring to see if he is a lock for 190+ carries.
Buffalo – Will AL-Jay Henderson be undervalued in fantasy drafts?
AL-Jay Henderson made a name for himself last season with a 201 fantasy point performance. That doesn’t sound like much but his role in the offense didn’t solidify until October 12th. In six of the last seven games of the season Henderson scored 20+ fantasy points, and had over 20 carries in his last four games. Its likely his fantasy point total from last year may keep his name off the radar for more casual CFF owners. For the CFF owners who read websites like this or who watch/listen to CFF podcasts, its likely that the buzz behind Henderson will grow as the summer progresses. I’m not going to assume that Henderson will be available at a value in fantasy drafts this summer.
BYU – Can LJ Martin get through the 2025 season healthy?
Over his two seasons at BYU LJ Martin has not made it through an entire season without missing time due to recurring shoulder and ankle injuries. The shoulder injury that nagged him in 2023 made a surprise reappearance at the start of fall camp in 2024. Could the same thing happen again this fall with last season’s ankle injury? I have my reservations that it very well could. I’m going to be watching news of how active he is in spring and fall camp before I raise my expectations that he his playing time won’t be impacted.
California – Does Jaydn Ott go back to being a bellcow back or continue to split time with Javian Thomas?
Jayden Ott was hampered in 2024 with a lower body injury that opened the door for Javian Thomas to split time in the backfield. Ott only had 116 carries in 2024 compared to the 244 carries he had the previous season. Back in 2022 in Ott’s first year as the starter he accumulated 170 carries. The key to Ott returning to a 200+ carry workload will be his health, so I will be closely watching reports from spring camp. Bryan Harsin starts his first season as offensive coordinator so I will also be watching for comments out of the spring about how he intends to use Thomas in the offense.
Charlotte – Can Donald Chaney hit 200 carries this season?
During stops at Miami, FL and Louisville, Donald Chaney was never able to establish himself at the Power 4 level. He’s now moved down to the Group of 5 and looks to stand out from the rest of the running back room at Charlotte. Head coach Tim Albin has a history of producing good fantasy RBs. His RBs either score over 200 fantasy points, or in the 150 fantasy point range. All three of his 200+ fantasy point performance backs since 2018 featured RBs that received 200+ carries. Before we can mark Chaney down as a bellcow for Albin, we need some confirmation that he is heads and shoulders better than every other RB in spring camp.
Florida State – Is the RB fantasy production bound to become a committee situation?
Gus Malzahn has taken over the offensive coordinator position. In his last three years he has featured a workhorse RB1 that received 200+ carries each season. This is what many people are expecting at Florida State this fall. If you go back to 2021-2018 his RB1’s only received an average of 155 carries a season. This should not be overlooked. Florida State has way too many guys in that RB room that can all play and there’s a good chance that several players could shoulder the load. I will be watching very closely for quotes from the spring that there is a RB or two that stands above the rest of the pack.
Fresno State – Is the Fresno State running game a fantasy jackpot waiting to happen?
Josh Davis moves up from FCS South Dakota to take over as offensive coordinator. My sample size on his stats is limited to the 2024 season but the stats are amazing for RBs. During 14 games his RB1 scored 298 fantasy points and his RB2 scored 261 fantasy points. Fresno State has three RBs that could all legitimately earn playing time this fall. Elijiah Gilliam and Bryson Donelson return from last year’s team, and Rayshon Luke transfers in from Arizona. I will have my eye on news about this position battle coming out of spring camp.
Houston – Will Dean Connors score 250+ fantasy points?
Dean Connors scored 221 fantasy points last season at Rice and transfers into a Houston offense that could do NOTHING last season. The two prior seasons for head coach Willie Fritz saw his RB1 run for 258 and 229 carries. Is it crazy to think Connors could reach 250 carries in 2025? It very well could be since I never like to project a player for stats that are at the ceiling for a coach’s offensive system. But I think this season at Houston could be an exemption due to the fact Connor will be the most reliable offensive weapon on the team.
Iowa – Does Kamari Moulton have what it takes to be the next workhorse at Iowa?
Last season Kaleb Johnson racked up 240 carries on his way to scoring 321 fantasy points. There was not much production behind him, but freshman Kamari Moulton logged the next most carries last season. Moulton was primarily recruited by Group of 5 and FCS schools out of his school due to being viewed as “a little small and slow” at the time. While short at 5’9” he did weigh in at 197 pounds in 2024. With a few more pounds from an offseason in the weight room he looks to have a build that could take a large share of carries. We will have to wait for news from spring camp to see if he is consistently running with the first offense.
Jacksonville State – Will Cam Cook put it all together and be a fantasy stud?
Cam Cook had plenty of buzz going into last season and fantasy owners anticipating him excelling as TCU’s starting RB. As the season progressed he struggled to find consistent fantasy production. He was rated as a four star recruit out of high school but some analysts believe he lacks elite burst athleticism for the Power 4 level. Now he moves into offensive coordinator Clint Trickett’s system which has a great history for heavy volume RBs. 2024 was the only season that Trickett’s RB1 received less than 210 carries in a season, which was affected by injuries. I will be monitoring reports of how Cook is doing in spring camp, and if Andrew Paul is giving him a run for his money.
Kansas – Will Daniel Hishaw return from his family leave and participate in spring camp?
Last November Daniel Hishaw stepped away from the team to attend to a personal family matter. There has been no news about an update to Hishaw’s situation, and Kansas is yet to release a 2025 spring roster. Unless Hishaw has told the team he is 100% not returning, the odds are that he will be listed on the 2025 spring roster even if his future is still uncertain. Because of how little information there has been on this situation I will be looking for ANYTHING coming out of the news on this one.
Kansas State – Can Dylan Edwards’ small frame hold up with a 200+ carry workload?
Dylan Edwards stepped into the starting RB role for Kansas State’s 2024 bowl game and ran the ball 18 times for 196 yards and 2 TDs. This was the only time last season that Edwards recorded double digit carries. He enters spring camp as the favorite to win the starting job for 2025. Standing a mere 5’9” and 167 pounds, can his body hold up to a larger workload through an entire season? While he did play in 12 games at Colorado in 2023, he logged the same general amount of carries he had in 2024 as a back up. Its going to be a tall task for him to go from 75 carries a season to 180+ carries. I want to look for any comments by the coaching staff in the spring where they are talking about a second RB helping shoulder the load for Edwards.
Louisville – Is Isaac Brown worthy of a preseason CFF RB1 ranking?
During mid-October of last season Isaac Brown was elevated to the starting RB position and he never looked back. He went on to score 219 fantasy points, over 1100 yards rushing, and 11 TDs. 2025 will be his first year where he is the starter for the entire season. Head coach Jeff Brohm has never had a RB1 reach 200 carries going back to 2018, but Devin Mockobee came close in 2022 at Purdue with 195 carries. I would not be surprised if Brown can log 225 carries this fall, but can he be productive enough to be considered the RB1 in early preseason rankings? The coaches could tip their hat to us with quotes from spring camp about having the offense flow through Brown.
LSU – Will Caden Durham hit 175 carries this season?
As a true freshman in 2024 Caden Durham worked his way up the depth chart to finish the season as the RB1 for LSU. Offensive coordinator Joe Sloan implemented a committee approach to the backfield where Durham had 139 carries and RB2 Josh Williams had 117 carries. Both Durham and Williams return in 2025. I only have one other season of history for Sloan in my database, and in 2021 at Louisiana Tech Marcus Williams did rush for 194 carries. He did not have a competent RB behind him so it was easy for him to dominate the rush load. Durham does have a competent RB behind him, but he only needs an additional 36 carries to hit this mark. Unless Sloan decides to get “cute” with too many shared carries or too much of an emphasis on the passing game, 175 carries looks obtainable.
Memphis – How high is too high to draft a Memphis RB?
Offensive coordinator Tim Cramsey has been churning out fantasy studs at the RB position going back to Brenden Knox at Marshall in 2019. Last Season at Memphis, Mario Anderson scored 319 fantasy points and fantasy owners will be looking for his replacement this offseason. The biggest issue this year comes down to the position battle at RB which I won’t dive into except to say there appears to be a logjam of three worthy candidates. So how do you approach drafting this position? Watch news out of spring camp to see if any one RB is separating himself form the others. If that occurs you could reach for a guy as your RB3 in fantasy drafts. If not, then I think drafting one of these RBs higher than your RB6 is drafting them too high.
Michigan – Who will be calling the plays this year, Sherrone Moore or Chip Lindsey?
Head coach Sherrone Moore has a strong history of great fantasy RBs going back to 2021. This offseason he hired Chip Lindsey to take over as the offensive coordinator. Lindsey also had fantasy success at the RB position from 2024-2023 at North Carolina, but does not have a 1000 yard rusher outside of those years in his history going back to 2018. I want to know how much involvement Moore will have in shaping the direction of the offense. If Lindsey is left to run the offense his way, I doubt we will see the RB1 with around 150 carries like Lindsey had from 2021-2018, but we may not see the 250+ carries that we’re all hoping for.
Minnesota – Can Darius Taylor reach the 250 carry barrier?
Fantasy owners are well aware that targeting the RB1 from head coach P.J. Fleck’s offense has a proven track record for fantasy success. How many times do you think he’s had a RB1 reach 250 carries going back to 2018? It was only done once in 2022 by Mohamed Ibrahim. The next closest carry amounts in Fleck’s history are 228, 205 (Taylor in 2024), and 202. The biggest factor that’s kept RBs from hitting 250 carries is that they all get banged up and lose playing time during the season. I’m going to be watching for the coaching staff in the spring to make comments about lightening the workload for Taylor so he can remain healthy as I see this as a natural progression for this coaching staff to try and keep their RB1 healthy for a full season.
Mississippi – Should you avoid Mississippi RBs in fantasy drafts?
Head coach Lane Kiffin has an even mixture of workhorse RB1’s and split carry backfields in his history going back to 2018. This offseason he brough in transfer running backs Jordon Simmons and Kewan Lacy to build depth in the backfield. Neither one of these players stands out over the other in my eyes. I was surprised to see that graduates Logan Diggs and Domonique Thomas are listed on the 2025 spring roster. Diggs appears to be the only player that has the ability level to separate from the pack and command a good workload, but a knee injury in 2024 kept him out of action for the season. There’s a very strong chance this could become a committee backfield in the fall and unless I hear a steady drumbeat of good news about one of these RBs I’ll probably stay away from all of them in fantasy drafts.
Missouri – Is Ahmad Hardy capable of receiving 225 carries in 2025?
After an amazing true freshman season at Louisiana-Monroe, Hardy transfers to Missouri. Offensive coordinator Kirby Moore has shown that he is willing to showcase a feature RB as he did with Cody Schrader at Missouri in 2023 and Jordan Sims at Fresno State in 2022. Last season was an anomaly, as Missouri brought in two transfers from Group of 5 schools and neither could cut it to be a feature back. This leaves several questions for 2025. Is Hardy good enough to be successful in the SEC? Does Missouri bring in another transfer RB in the spring transfer portal? Does QB Beau Pribula syphon off too many rushing opportunities? These are all items that I will be monitoring spring camp news updates for.
Northern Illinois – How well will Quinn Sanders’ ground attack fare at the FBS level?
Quinn Sanders takes over as offensive coordinator after leading Division-II Charleston (WV). With only 2024 stats to go off of, I’m always going to be skeptical if these stats are the norm or the exception for this offensive system. Having said that, what did Sanders’ RB1 do last season? Chavon Wright “only” scored 472.7 fantasy points on 355 carries for 2235 yards and 38 TDs. Yes, you read that right. The potential fantasy ceiling for this offense is absolutely worth taking a shot on. The RB position battle between Gavin Williams and Telly Johnson will need to be monitored, but even if this becomes a split backfield there might be enough carries to go around that each guy can be fantasy relevant.
Notre Dame – Is Jeremiyah Love headed for TD regression?
Jeremiyah Love returns for his second year as a starter, after scoring 17 rushing TDs in 2024. Last season QB Riley Leonard managed to put the ball in the endzone on the ground 17 times also. Leonard is gone, and things look like redshirt freshman CJ Carr should win the QB position battle. Carr is athletic but he uses his ability more to scramble his way into a throw rather than as a runner. Will the coaches still use the same designed QB run scheme as last season? Will the coaches lean into the passing game at a much higher rate due to the arm talent that Carr has compared to what Leonard brought to the table? Both of these questions will determine how many rushing opportunities Love will get. This doesn’t even cover how these questions will affect the redzone play calling which is another facet to this issue.
Ohio – Will the return of Sieh Bangura bring a return to his 2022 stats?
The last two years have not been kind for Sieh Bangura. In 2022 Bangura was the RB1 for then offensive coordinator Brian Smith at Ohio. Bangura had a great season scoring 234 fantasy points. 2023 he returned as the starter but his production was hampered as the entire offense struggled. He transferred to Minnesota in 2024 to only play in three games and receive four carries. Ouch. Now he reunites with Smith who has been promoted to head coach. I want to watch for quotes coming out of spring camp pertaining to Bangura being healthy first and foremost. The roster is pretty bare at RB so unless an unknow name is playing lights-out in the spring, Bangura should have no issues being the offense’s bellcow.
Oklahoma State – Is Trent Howland good enough to shine in Mike Gundy’s offense?
Head coach Mike Gundy has produced three RBs that have scored 220+ fantasy points since 2018. These RBs had the athletic skill to stand out from the rest of the RB room and demand a workload of 200+ carries, with these RBs averaging 5.7 yards per carry. Trent Howland was last season’s RB2 that only received 42 carries, but he averaged 5.6 yards per carry. While yards per carry typically drops as workload increases, we can see that Howland does have decent athletic ability that could give him a chance at earning those 200+ carries in 2025. Obviously watching spring camp reports of how he is doing compared to the rest of the RB field will be vital in determining this one.
Oregon State – Is Anthony Hankerson in line for 250 carries?
First and foremost I have to state that offensive coordinator Ryan Gunderson does not have good coaching history statistics to try and pull any insights from for this topic. Last season Anthony Hankerson was the clear RB1 in the Beavers backfield, scoring 226 fantasy points on 232 carries. The passing game was pretty poor last season, forcing the coaches to lean on the running game. This offseason the coaches brought in transfer QB Maalik Murphy in an effort to correct the passing game woes. A more efficient passing game could skew the run/pass ratio away from Hankerson, but at the same time it could force defenses to honor the pass and keep an extra defender out of the box. I think there’s just as good a chance that Hankerson exceeds 250 carries as there is that he settles around 225 carries.
Sam Houston State – Can Elijah Green be the first RB to rush for 200 carries in Phil Lungo’s offense?
Head coach Phil Longo has only had one RB score 200 fantasy points in a season, and the most carries for a Longo RB has been 190 going back to 2018. Why do I think that Indiana transfer Elijah Green could be the guy that potentially breaks the 200 carry barrier? Green played for Longo at North Carolina and was Longo’s RB1 in 2022. He knows this offensive system well and there appears to be nobody else on the roster who has a similar talent level. Green is battle tested with 33 games appearances under his belt, the second most on the team behind John Genty’s 44 game appearances. If Green is going to be the centerpiece of this backfield then we will absolutely see a steady drumbeat of praise coming from Longo through spring camp.
San Diego State – Is the RB1 in Sean Lewis’ offense no longer fantasy relevant now that Marquez Cooper is gone?
There is a clear distinction in RB fantasy performance within head coach Sean Lewis’ history between when Marquez Cooper is his RB1 and when he is not. When Cooper is the RB1 he averaged 220 fantasy points off of 272 carries, and without Cooper the RB1 has averaged 144 fantasy points off of 108 carries. Cooper has played for Lewis in three of the last four season. The only year during that stretch without Cooper was at Colorado in 2023 and the running game played second fiddle to the passing game. With Lewis being able to build an offensive in the mold he desires, does he continue to look to provide his RB1 200+ carries? He does have two good backs fighting for the starting job in Christian Washington and Cam Davis.
South Alabama – Does Kentrel Bullock break through the 180 carry barrier this season?
Head coach Major Applewhite has only had two RBs carry the ball more than 180 times over his history dating back to 2018. Last season Kentrel Bullock lead the team in carries with 152, but Fluff Bothwell lead with 176 fantasy points and 13 TDs. There’s a lot of production opened up by Bothwell’s departure to Mississippi State but how much of it will Bullock see come his way? You’ll need to monitor news about the other RBs in spring camp to see if there is someone else that might eat into Bullock’s workload.
Tennessee – Is the 2025 ground game destined to return to a committee approach?
Dylan Sampson is the best RB that head coach Josh Heupel has had going back to 2018. Last season Sampson racked up 258 carries on his way to scoring 305 fantasy points. One thing that fantasy owners must remember is that this is not the norm for Heupel RBs. From 2023-2018 no RB1 has received 160 carries, and they’ve had an average of 136 carries per season. Only twice during that time frame has one of these backs rushed for 1000 yards or 10+ TDs in a season. Maybe there’s a RB on this year’s squad that stand above the rest of the pack to garner a larger workload, but Heupel’s history shows the odd’s are against it.
Texas – How healthy will CJ Baxter be in spring camp?
At the start of 2024 fall camp CJ Baxter tore both his ACL and PCL. He underwent successful surgery in late August and has been rehabbing since. The odds are against Baxter doing any type of group or team drills in spring camp, but I will be watching to see if he does any activity and if his participation level increases as camp progresses. While we all want to get an idea of how Baxter might match-up with Tre Wisner for the RB1 position we will need to remain patient for real news that will emerge from fall camp.
Texas State – Is the eventual RB1 bound to get less than 200 carries?
In 2023 Ismail Mahdi caught the fantasy world’s attention when he ran the ball 223 times in his 236 fantasy point performance in head coach G.J. Kinne’s offense. That season would be the only time that Kinne has fielded a 200 carry RB. Last season Mahdi only accounted for 183 carries, and in 2021 at UCF Isaiah Bowser had 159 carries. While there is fluctuation in these numbers, Kinne’s RB2 has been extremely consistent with 94, 90, and 104 carries. This indicates to me that there is a workload balance between the two RBs that he does prefer. Considering that over the last two season at Texas State Kinne’s RB1 has averaged 203 carries, some might think this landmark should be met. I have a feeling that the 180 carry mark might be the real number that becomes the standard.
Texas Tech – How high is Quinten Joyner’s fantasy ceiling?
New offensive coordinator Mack Leftwich spent the last two seasons as the OC at Texas State. I reviewed the workload distribution in the burning question above which would apply here as well. Fantasy owners are going to have to ignore what Tahj Brooks did the last two seasons as Texas Tech. That was a different offensive system that fed Brooks an average of 320 touches per season compared to Leftwich’s system which fed Ismail Mahdi an average of 230 touches per season. If there is any hope for Joyner to match the type of stats Madhi put up in 2023 he will need to stand out as one of the very best weapons in this offense. If that is the case we will hear coaches and players complimenting his play repeatedly throughout the course of spring camp.
Toledo – Can Chip Trayanum find a way to put it all together and become fantasy relevant?
Chip Trayanum came out of high school as a four-star recruit. Over the course of five years he played at Arizona State, Ohio State, and Kentucky; and could only put together a grand total of 1257 rushing yards (251.4 yards/season). Its become apparent he doesn’t have what it takes at the Power 4 level to be fantasy relevant. Trayanum has transferred again but now down to the Group of 5 level. This probably is the best move for him since he has failed to create success at the Power 4 level. While we see the “big fish small pond” advantage that Trayanum should have on this roster, we need to actually see it in spring practice reports before getting too excited.
USC – Can Eli Sanders be a factor in the Big Ten after moving up from New Mexico?
Fantasy owners understand that head coach Lincoln Riley had a history of producing fantasy worthy RBs. The USC RB room was left pretty bare heading into 2025 and Riley made the move to bring in Eli Sanders through the transfer portal. I remember reading about that move and thinking, “This is a pretty big leap in competition for a Group of 5 RB.” In 2024 at New Mexico Sanders averaged 7.2 yards per carry showing a high level of explosiveness in his rushing. From 2023-2021 at Iowa State he averaged 4.4 yards per carry. I want to watch spring camp quotes from the coaches as they talk about his running ability from an athletic standpoint.
Virginia Tech – Should you avoid the Virginia Tech RBs or handcuff them?
Virginia Tech brought in Neal Brown to be the new offensive coordinator. Going back to 2018, Brown has held the RB1 to under 175 carries in four of those six years. The last two seasons at West Virginia did prove to have fantasy value in both the RB1 and RB2. Coming into 2025 the Hokies brought in THREE transfer running backs in Braydon Bennet (Coastal Carolina), Terion Stewart (Bowling Green), and Cameron Seldon (Tennessee). There a lot of mouths to feed in this backfield and as of now it seems unlikely that one guy can command a large workload. We’ll have to wait for news from spring camp to see if someone emerges from the pack, or if this becomes a two or three headed monster of a backfield.
Washington State – Is Kirby Vorhees a “must target” late round sleeper?
New offensive coordinator Danny Freund comes in from South Dakota State and he brings three of his RBs with him. Kirby Vorhees had the most production of these three last season. There’s no guarantee he will beat out the other two South Dakota State RBs, or Leo Pulalasi and Djouvensky Schlenbaker who return from last year’s team. The RB1 last season for Freund scored 250 fantasy points, and if Vorhees becomes that guy at Washington State there is definitely fantasy value. Until we get word he is consistently working with the first team offense in the spring, I would hold off before targeting him as a sleeper.
West Virginia – Should you draft Jahiem White as your RB1 in fantasy drafts?
Jahiem White stands at just 5’7”, but possess great athletic ability and weights a solid 195 pounds. He has spent the last two seasons splitting carries with CJ Donaldson who left for Ohio State. New head coach Rich Rodriquez comes to town and last season his RB1 carried the ball 279 times enroute to a 351 fantasy point performance. In the four seasons prior to that, Rodriquez’s RB1 averaged just 125 carries for 134 fantasy points. If White is going to get 200+ carries he needs to establish himself as “THE MAN” in this backfield. I’m going to hold off on making him my RB1 in fantasy drafts until I see news in spring camp that he is running away with this position battle.