By Stephen Vilardo, SuperWest Sports
Last year, the best back in the nation hailed from the West, with Ashton Jeanty putting together a historic season.
This year, there are a few stars for sure, but the depth at the RB position in the SuperWest coverage area is remarkable.
Today, as we move closer to the start of the 2025 college football season, we look at the region’s best running backs.
1. Makhi Hughes, Oregon
To say that Oregon is loaded at running back this season is a severe understatement. And at the top of that competitive depth chart is Hughes.
A workhorse at Tulane last season, he carried the pill 265 times for 1,201 yards. With the depth the Ducks have at RB, his touches should go down, but he may prove to be even more productive as he stays fresh.
Hughes has been one of the best backs in the nation for the last two seasons. With the Green Wave, he was the focal point in every play. This season, with the weapons the Ducks have, he will not be the center of defensive attention, and his production could jump.
2. Jonah Coleman, Washington
Coleman is stout and difficult to bring down. The Big Ten is loaded with good running backs this season, and Coleman will certainly be among those garnering All-Conference recognition in December.
If Demond Williams can progress for the Huskies like they hope, UW could have a formidable one-two punch in the backfield.
Coleman would certainly welcome that, as the lack of weapons around him in Seattle has limited his production a bit; he still posted a 1,000-yard season going for 5.5 per carry in 2024.
3. LJ Martin, BYU
Martin averaged 5.24 yards per carry in 2024 and led the Cougars in rushing with 718 yards on the ground.
A big back at 6-foot-2 and 225 pounds, Martin is a load to bring down and will battle for the tough yards. Last season, 468 of his rushing yards were collected after contact, which amounted to 65.2% of his 718 on the year.
The BYU offense should be explosive this fall, and the weapons around him will allow the junior to find some space to run.
4. Eli Sanders, USC
Sanders has made his way to Southern California after starting his career at Iowa State with a stop at New Mexico last fall.
He ran for 1,063 yards for the Lobos in 2024 and did so on just 147 carries for an average of 7.2 yards per tote. An explosive back, Sanders is a danger to bust off a long run every time he touches the ball.
Last season, his nine runs of 30+ yards were the fifth most in the nation and the fourth most by a running back.
5. Jai’Den Thomas, UNLV
With Dan Mullen taking over in Las Vegas, one thing is certain: The head coach will want to have a potent offense, and the most explosive piece of that unit in year one under Mullen is going to be Jet Thomas.
Thomas has 1,421 yards and 19 touchdowns through two seasons with the Rebels and was the leading rusher for the team last season with 918 yards.
He averaged 5.6 yards per carry last season and had five games with double-digit carries with an average of 6+ yards per carry.
6. Kanye Udoh, Arizona State
Udoh is a big back who racked up a ton of yards with Army last season, picking up 1,117 yards with 10 touchdowns as a sophomore while averaging 6.2 yards per carry.
Filling Cam Skattebo’s shoes from last year will not be easy, and Udoh will not be tasked with equaling those numbers on his own.
The Sun Devils have a crop of good running backs, but if they want to defend their surprise finish from last fall, they will need Udoh to step up.
7. Wayshawn Parker, Utah
Utah struggled to mount a consistent running game last season, and it showed; as a team, the Utes only averaged 3.88 yards per carry.
Parker was productive for Washington State last season, going for 5.36 yards per carry and running for 735 yards in his debut collegiate campaign.
He will be operating behind a good line in this offense and should be able to make plays.
8. Anthony Hankerson, Oregon State
Anthony Hankerson put up good numbers for the Beavers in 2024 and was a workhorse for the Beavs last fall.
He ran the ball 232 times and added another 27 receptions; that was a ton of touches on offense. OSU may not be able to rely as heavily on him this season, but the hope is Maalik Murphy will take some of the pressure to perform off of Hankerson.
Hankerson averaged 4.7 yards per carry and found the endzone 15 times. He’s a shifty back who can read the gaps and is tough to bring down in space.
9. Noah Whittington, Oregon
Last season, the Ducks relied heavily on Jordan James. This season, Makhi Hughes should be the featured back, but look for an increased role for Whittingham.
Ohio State, the defending National Champs and UO’s Big Ten rival, featured two top-notch RBs in 2024. The Ducks should follow suit this season.
Whittingham is speedy and a dangerous weapon in the passing game as well.
10. Dallan Hayden, Colorado
The hole left in Colorado’s backfield by Isaiah Augustave, who led the Buffs last season and has moved on to Virginia, will be filled jointly by Dallan Hayden and Micah Welch.
I think Hayden will get the bulk of the carries this fall.
Colorado struggled to mount much on the ground last season, but the Buffs should have a solid option in the backfield during their first post-Shedeur Sanders campaign in Hayden.
11. Scottre Humphrey, New Mexico
The Lobos ran the ball really well in 2024, and Scott Humphry will be stepping into the starting role for New Mexico in 2025.
At Montana State last season, he was an FCS All-American, and his 1,86 rushing yards were the seventh most in the FCS division. He has the speed to bust one open and the power to churn out yardage at the line.
Humphry’s yards per carry of 6.96 was third in the nation among FCS players, and he found the end zone 16 times last season.
12. Jalen Berger, UCLA
UCLA struggled on offense at times last season. The blocking was not great; in fact, far from it.
TJ Harden is gone, and the Bruins will rely on Jalen Berger to step up. The line should perform better, and Nico Iamaleava should help open things up for the backs.
Berger could have a breakout season in 2025.
Other Notables
• Kyson Brown, Arizona State
• Dylan Carson, Air Force
• Ismail Mahdi, Arizona
• Malik Sherrod, Boise State
• Sire Gaines, Boise State
• Micah Ford, Stanford
writes about various topics for SuperWest sports, including stats and records, college sports, and motorsports. He also founded and runs the Sports and Entertainment Research Center (SERC).
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