Who are the 10 best running backs in the Pac-12 going into the 2022 season?
When we look at individual positions in the game of football, it is always the quarterbacks that come up first. After that, though, it’s hard to look past the players who line up next to them toting the rock.
While we’ve looked at where the QBs in the Pac-12 rank going into the season based on career production, we wanted to do so with the next position group in line, running back.
This is where a disclaimer needs to be made, though. In this ranking, we use career production — what the players have done in the past. For fans of the Oregon Ducks, it may be a humbling list. While Byron Cardwell, Sean Dollars and Noah Whittington may be a tantalizing backfield and could finish as one of the best in the conference, it’s hard to rank any of them among the top 10 players based on past production.
So with a small eye on the future but a strong emphasis on the past, here are our rankings of the 10 best running backs in the Pac-12 for the 2022 season:
Mar'keise Irving (Oregon)
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It feels weird that the last player added to the Oregon Ducks backfield this offseason is the only Duck on this list, but what Mar’keise Irving did in his freshman season with the Minnesota Gophers was impressive. With 772 yards and 4 touchdowns, Irving also proved a valuable kickoff return specialist. He will add a real presence in Oregon’s backfield, alongside Byron Cardwell, Sean Dollars and Noah Whittington — all of whom are great players but don’t have the production to crack this list.
Alex Fontenot (Colorado)
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While the Colorado Buffaloes were ravaged by the transfer portal this past offseason, they have a handful of really good players coming back in 2022. Fontenot is one of them. He rushed for more than 1,440 yards and 12 touchdowns in four years with the Buffs. He may not be the highest-rated Buffalo on this list, but Colorado should feel happy to have him for one more season.
Deshaun Fenwick (Oregon State)
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The Oregon State Beavers were a really solid offensive team in 2021, and some of that was due to South Carolina transfer Deshaun Fenwick. After rushing for just over 500 yards and 2 touchdowns in two seasons with the Gamecocks, Fenwick fit right in with the Beavers and totaled more than 400 yards and 4 touchdowns last season. The arrow is pointing up in Corvallis, and we can expect another solid season from this star in the backfield.
Ramon Jefferson (Colorado)
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We already gave our props to Alex Fontenot, but the Buffaloes added another star to the backfield through the transfer portal, getting Ramon Jefferson from the Sam Houston Bearkats. There is, of course, the question of whether or not Jefferson’s skills will translate to the Football Bowl Subdivision level, but the veteran RB had 1,155 yards and 13 touchdowns in three years before coming to Colorado. With him and Fontenot in the backfield, the Buffaloes could find some success in the running game.
Wayne Taulapapa (Washington)
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Earlier in the offseason, we wrote an article about running backs we wanted the Ducks to look at in the transfer portal. Wayne Taulapapa was on that list. After an impressive four years at Virginia, where he ran for more than 1,300 yards and 20 total touchdowns, Taulapapa is looking for one last great year to boost his draft stock before leaving school. He found a potentially interesting offense in Washington and could help the Huskies find success in 2022.
Austin Jones (USC)
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This is our first example of the USC Trojans seeing great players at other Pac-12 teams and wanting them for themselves. Austin Jones was a good running back for the Stanford Cardinal, with whom he put up 1,686 yards and 13 touchdowns in three years in Palo Alto. He entered the transfer portal and chose to take his talents to Los Angeles. Now USC will add him to the backfield — along with one other high-profile RB that Oregon fans are familiar with — and look to stack the deck at the skill positions. It could be dangerous, as long as that offensive line holds up.
Xazavian Valladay (Arizona State)
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When it comes to putting up sheer numbers, you will not find many players in the Pac-12 who have done it better than Xazavian Valladay. Of course, he did so in the Mountain West, playing four seasons with the Wyoming Cowboys. Still, a trio of 1,000-yard seasons with 21 total touchdowns is nothing to raise your nose at, and Arizona State clearly gained a dynamic piece in the backfield through the transfer portal going into 2022.
Tavion Thomas (Utah)
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Tavion Thomas may not have the yardage total of someone such as Valladay, but what he did in the 2021 season is almost enough to put him at the top of this list. In his first season with the Utes — Thomas played two seasons with Cincinnati prior to that — he rushed for 1,108 yards and 21 touchdowns. In his college career, he has 1,804 yards and 28 touchdowns. He has proved he is among the best RBs not only in the Pac-12, but potentially the nation.
Zach Charbonnet (UCLA)
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
When you’re looking at the 2023 NFL draft and trying to predict which running back might go off the board first, Zach Charbonnet has to be mentioned. After a strong two seasons with the Michigan Wolverines, Charbonnet landed with the Bruins in 2021 and rushed for over 1,100 yards and 13 touchdowns. He has the prototypical frame for a bruising back — 6-foot-1, 220 pounds — and has proven what he can do on the field. This could be a big season for both Charbonnet and the Bruins.
Travis Dye (USC)
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It feels fitting that Travis Dye, one of the best RBs to play at the University of Oregon, is listed at the top of these rankings. With almost 4,000 career yards and 29 touchdowns to his name, Dye will blow just about any other college player out of the water when it comes to production and longevity. Dye left the Ducks ranking No. 4 on their career rushing list. He set up shop closer to home in Southern California, where he will finish his college career. Here is to wishing him the best, as long as he’s not playing against the Ducks.
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