With the elite RB talent leaving the Big 12 for the NFL, who will emerge as the league’s next super star at the position?
The Big 12 was the cradle of dominant running backs in 2024 with elite RBs scattered across the league, including five of the nation’s top 20 rushers. 2025 will be a season of transition at the position for the conference as superstars of the sport have now made their way to the professional ranks. With the departure of premier names like Cam Skattebo, RJ Harvey, DJ Giddens, Tahj Brooks, Devin Neal, Ollie Gordon, Micah Bernard, and Corey Kiner it’s time for a new era of RBs to step into the spotlight. Who will be the next star to emerge at the position? This is how the units rank headed into the 2025 season.
TIER 5 – Camp Battles
The programs at the bottom of the Big 12 rushing charts are looking for answers, for any sign of life, for that spark of a breakout to get the ground game back on track after a horrific 2024.
- Colorado Buffaloes – Dallan Hayden, Micah Welch, DeKalon Taylor: After finishing dead last in the Big 12 rush yards per game and losing top rusher Isaiah Augustave to South Carolina in the portal, Coach Prime’s big additions to the backfield were Incarnate Word senior RB DeKalon Taylor and Pro Football Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk to coach the unit. Taylor rushed for 909 yards and 9 touchdowns last season at the FCS level after doing little in his first two seasons with the Cardinals. The Buffs return Dallan Hayden, who showed flashes as a freshman at Ohio State before doing nothing in Boulder in 2024, and Micah Welch who scored 4 TDs and averaged 4.3 yards per carry last season.
- TCU Horned Frogs – Jeremy Payne, Nate Palmer, Kevorian Barnes, Trent Battle, Jon Denman: With big expectations put on Cam Cook last season, the TCU run game was abysmal, averaging just 3.7 yards per carry as a team and frequently putting the offense behind the sticks. Perhaps one of these guys breaks free as a clear RB1 or perhaps the committee approach gets multiple guys rolling, but whatever the solution, the unit must improve in 2025. Payne is the presumptive front runner to be atop the depth chart after earning 54 carries in his true freshman season, but don’t be surprised if anyone from the roster ends up as the leading rusher. Trent Battle has the experience in Fort Worth, now in his fifth year with the Frogs; Barnes was a standout at UTSA with 1,797 career rushing yards; Denman is a true freshman but has shown flashes already in camp.
TIER 4 – Big Shoes to Fill
The top five rushers from the Big 12 last season are now in the NFL, leaving the league with a sudden lack of star power at the position as these teams each look to replace generational RBs.
- UCF Knights – Myles Montgomery, Jaden Nixon: RJ Harvey was dominant for the Knights, rushing for 1,577 yards and 22 TDs in 2024 with the next-best RB being Myles Montgomery with less than 300 yards on the ground. Montgomery enters his fifth collegiate season with 841 total career rushing yards. Jaden Nixon is the newcomer to the Knights’ RB room, another fifth-year senior having previously spent three seasons buried on the OK State depth chart before a productive career rejuvenation stint in the MAC at Western Michigan where he put up 919 rushing yards and 10 TDs in 2024. It will be a challenge for new coach Scott Frost to re-create Harvey’s production in the aggregate in 2025.
- Oklahoma State Cowboys – Rodney Fields, Trent Howland, Freddie Brock, Kalib Hicks: 2024 was a nightmare in all ways for the Pokes, but especially so for RB Ollie Gordon. Following a season as a unanimous All-American and Doak Walker Award Winner, Gordon was on top of the world. Then he was arrested for an alleged DUI, ran for 852 fewer yards in 2024, and fell all the way to the 6th Round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Despite the lost season in Stillwater, replacing a player of Gordon’s pedigree is nearly impossible. Howland & Fields were on the roster last season, but look out for Georgia State transfer Brock to push for RB1 workload and OU transfer Hicks to earn carries as well.
- Kansas Jayhawks – Daniel Hishaw, Leshon Williams: Daniel Hishaw has been the consummate teammate in Lawrence, now entering his fifth season with the Jayhawks it his time to shine with the opportunity to be the lead back now that Devin Neal is in the NFL. Kansas also brought over Leshon Williams from Iowa, another fifth-year senior looking for his shot to be the top dog. Expect Lance Leipold to deploy this backfield effectively, joining a healthy Jalon Daniels at QB to deliver another productive rushing attack.
- Texas Tech Red Raiders – Quinten Joyner, J’Koby Williams: Tahj Brooks was a super workhorse for Texas Tech, surpassing 1,500 yards each of the last two seasons. The Red Raiders have deployed some of its treasure trove of NIL funds to backfill the backfield, bringing Joyner over from USC. A former high four-star, top-100 overall prospect, Joyner rushed for 600 yards on 7.4 yards per carry during his two years with the Trojans. Williams was a solid contributor as a true freshman with 300 scrimmage yards, 300 kick return yards and three total TDs. As a speed demon, WIlliams has the potential to breakout and provide a lightning strike for this offense.
- Arizona State Sun Devils – Kanye Udoh, Kyson Brown, Raleek Brown: Cam Skattebo was a phenom leading the Sun Devils to the top of the league in 2024. While the ASU offense may revolve more around star QB Sam Leavitt this season, the run game still has opportunity for another monster season. Udoh comes over having been the head of Army’s productive rushing attack, going over 1,600 yards over the last two seasons. The Browns both return from last season looking for an expanded role; Kyson now in his third year in Tempe and Raleek an elite recruit now in his second year with ASU after transferring from USC.
TIER 3 – Transfer Talent Injection
A roster can quickly flip via the transfer portal and these squads are looking for an infusion of effectiveness to its run game, bringing in highly productive pieces from across college football to boost a middling run game.
- Arizona Wildcats – Ismail Mahdi, Kedrick Reescano: Mahdi heads to Tucson after two outstanding statistical seasons at Texas State, accumulating 2,792 scrimmage yards and 17 touchdowns with the Bobcats. Reescano saw limited action for Arizona last season after transferring in from Ole Miss, but was an elite four-star prospect in the Class of 2023. The pair of transfers could present a thunder & lightning combo to challenge defenses across the league.
- Cincinnati Bearcats – Tawee Walker, Evan Pryor: Walker has taken a winding road to join the Bearcats, making the leap from Juco ranks to the Oklahoma Sooners for a couple seasons before moving on the Big Ten and another power rushing powerhouse at Wisconsin where he scored 10 TDs and ran for 864 yards in 2024. An elite four-star prospect in the Class of 2021, Evan Pryor spent a few seasons buried on the depth chart at Ohio State before serving in a timeshare with Corey Kiner in Cinci last season, running for 7.5 yards per carry.
- Houston Cougars – Dean Connors, Re’Shaun Sanford:A productive bell cow for three seasons at Rice, Connors transfers across town to the Cougars for his final year of college eligibility after putting up nearly 2,500 scrimmage yards and 21 TDs in the last two years for the Owls. As an all-purpose weapon, Connors should fit terrifically in the Willie Fritz offense that has made stars out of guys like Tyjae Speas and Makhi Hughes. Sanford returns after a solid freshman campaign with the Cougars where he led the team in rushing and should again prove a solid contributor from the backfield.
- Utah Utes – Wayshawn Parker, NaQuari Rogers: Ranked as the No. 4 running back transfer prospect this offseason, Parker heads to Salt Lake City after a season at Washington State where he put up 735 yards and 4 TDs. Running behind what should be one of the nation’s top offensive lines, the expectations are sky high for Parker and the Utes to have a monster bounce back season in the Big 12. Rogers joins QB Devon Dampier & OC Jason Beck in transferring up from New Mexico where he thundered his way into the endzone five times last season. Rogers can be counted on to be a hammer for the Utes in 2025.
TIER 2 – All Conference
- BYU Cougars – LJ Martin, Sione Moa: Martin is the Big 12’s No. 2 returning rusher after finishing 2024 with 72.3 yards per game. His season was capped off with a stellar performance vs. Colorado in the Alamo Bowl where he earned MVP honors with 121 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns. He was a work horse for the Cougars much of the season, with double-digit carries in eight games. Moa was a solid contributor as a freshman last year, including a big time game as the lead back in the win over Kansas State.
- Iowa State Cyclones – Abu Sama, Carson Hansen: With two of the top ten returning rushers, ISU is set to deliver a devastating one-two punch out of the backfield in 2025. Sama was the lead dog in 2023, going for 614 yards on 7.3 yards per carry and six TDs before ceding some of the workload to Hanson in 2024 who went for 752 yards and 13 TDs to lead the way for the Cyclones last season.
- Kansas State Wildcats – Dylan Edwards, Joe Jackson: Edwards is one of the league’s most dangerous weapons out of the backfield, now with the RB1 role standing with QB Avery Johnson to create a lethal combo to create matchup nightmares behind a stout Wildcats offensive line. Even as the change of pace to DJ Giddens in 2024, Edwards still earned 679 scrimmage yards and 7 TDs. The question remains whether Edwards can shoulder the load of a true workhorse, but K-State will be able to comfortable give him relief and make defenses mad, real mad, Joe Jackson. Earning solid reps in his redshirt freshman campaign, Jackson capped his season with 87 scrimmage yards and a receiving TD in the Rate Bowl win over Rutgers.
TIER 1 – All Americans
- West Virginia Mountaineers – Jaheim White, Jaylon Knighton: White has been a consistent grinder during his two seasons in Morgantown, accumulating 1,686 yards (6.6 yards per carry) while in a timeshare with CJ Donaldson. With Donaldson now at Ohio State, White earns top billing as the lead back and set for a breakout campaign under new head coach Rich Rodriguez. Last season Rodriguez’s Jacksonville State squad had the top two rushers in Conference USA with Tre Stewart & Tyler Huff combining for an insane 2,982 yards, both ranking in the top-13 nationally. Knighton is one of the remaining elder statesmen of the sport, entering his sixth season of college football, a former elite four-star prospect out of high school. Though not yet hitting the ceiling imagined with his recruiting pedigree, Knighton has remained productive with Miami & SMU and will surely be an asset for the Mountaineers as a supplement to White.
- Baylor Bears – Bryson Washington, Dawson Pendergrass: The Bears backfield features two of the top-five returning rushers in the Big 12. Bryson Washington broke out as a national star in 2024 and is on every list among the best running backs in the nation after a Freshman All-American campaign where he rushed for 1,028 yards including six games surpassing the century mark on the ground. He absolutely shredded the TCU run defense for four touchdowns with 196 rushing yards to deliver the Bears its first win over the Frogs in Waco since 2014. While Washington garners the headlines, Pendergrass is no mere powerless Robin, he has over 1,000 career rushing yards through two seasons with a highlight game of 142 yards vs. Oklahoma State on only six carries.