Top 5 running backs in college football for 2019

#5 Travis Etienne, Clemson

In only his sophomore season, this kid set new Clemson records with 1,658 rushing yards and 24 touchdowns on just over 200 carries, giving him a crazy average of 8.1 yards per attempt. He converted 77 of his 204 carries into first downs or touchdowns in 2018 and averaged a ridiculous 8.1 yards with 24 touchdowns.

Etienne does a nice job hesitating to let the blocking get set up and then exploding through the opening, and you really have to watch out once he clears the first wave of defenders, because he absolutely has the long speed to consistently finish big runs in the opposing end-zone.

The Tiger back has the burst to get the edge on defenses, keeps his legs churning constantly and is just tough to slow down, leading to 52 missed tackles forced and gaining 884 yards after contact. However, he doesn’t really make defenders miss and his hands aren’t very trustworthy, as he only caught 12 passes all of last season.

I felt like I had to put Etienne on here simply because of the stupid numbers he put up last season and the fact he will probably not be too far off in 2019, plus he is a really good pure inside/outside zone and power runner. With that being said, I just don’t think he quite has the individual ability of these other four guys.

Just outside: J.K. Dobbins (Ohio State), A.J. Dillon (Boston College), Trey Sermon and Kennedy Brooks (Oklahoma) and Najee Harris (Alabama)

Edited by Raunak J