Ranking the Pac-12’s best running backs heading into the 2023 season
We are just a few months away from what is expected to be one of the best seasons of college football in the Pac-12 in recent memory. This offseason, we’ve extensively covered the unprecedented talent out west and looked at the landscape of quarterbacks that are expected to lead their team to success in the 2023 season. We’ve also looked at the wide receivers that each QB is throwing to, and assessed which team is best set up for an entertaining season through the air.
Now we want to take a look at the players lining up in the backfield alongside those passers. Who are the best running backs in the conference heading into this season?
As with receivers, I looked at career TDs, career yards, average touchdowns per game, and average yards per game. Obviously, it’s too early to put any true or incoming freshmen on the list, so while guys like Oregon’s Dante Dowdell and USC’s Quinten Joyner could eventually find their way onto the list, they will have to prove it first.
While the metrics I used may be weighted a bit towards veteran players with more accumulated stats, the per-game averages allowed a handful of young guys to skyrocket up the list.
After looking at past production, and offseason changes — whether it be personnel or coaching, we’ve got a definitive ranking of the top RBs in the Pac-12.
Take a look.
Jordan James — Oregon Ducks
Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
Career Stats: 10 Games | 46 carries, 189 yards, 5 TD
Per Game Stats: 4.6 carries, 18.9 yards, 0.5 TD
Analysis: Relegated to mostly a goal-line role last year, Jordan James made the most of what he was working with, scoring a TD in half of his games. He is expected to have a breakout season with more of a role this year in Eugene.
Anthony Adkins — UCLA Bruins
Danny Wild-USA TODAY Sports
Career Stats: 23 Games | 136 carries, 693 yards, 10 TD
Per Game Stats: 5.91 carries, 30.13 yards, 0.43 TD
Analysis: Coming over from Army, Anthony Adkins adds to an already stacked backfield at UCLA. He has solid per-game yardage and TD numbers but will have to fight for reps behind Carson Steele and TJ Harden.
E.J. Smith — Stanford Cardinal
Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports
Career Stats: 11 Games | 56 carries, 339 yards, 4 TD
Per Game Stats: 5.09 carries, 30.18 yards, 0.36 TD
Analysis: In his first season at Stanford, taking over for Austin Brown, E.J. Smith looked good, and put up solid numbers. He will have more competition this year, and unfortunately, the game script doesn’t seem like it will favor the Cardinal running game.
Noah Whittington — Oregon Ducks
Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports
Career Stats: 34 Games | 156 carries, 1,435 yards, 7 TD
Per Game Stats: 4.45 carries, 42.20 yards, 0.20 TD
Analysis: Noah Whittington often gets painted as second-fiddle to Bucky Irving, and while his numbers may not be quite as high as Irving’s, Whittington is an integral part of Oreogn’s running game. We will see how big of a role he can carve out for himself in year 2 as a Duck.
TJ Harden — UCLA Bruins
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Career Stats: 6 Games | 44 carries, 325 yards, 2 TD
Per Game Stats: 7.33 carries, 54.17 yards, 0.33 TD
Analysis: TJ Harden is the only remaining UCLA running back from last year that was productive in 2022, and he should be able to find a bigger role this year if he is able to hold his own against Adkins and Carson Steele.
Cameron Davis — Washington Huskies
Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports
Career Stats: 27 Games | 209 carries, 903 yards, 15 TD
Per Game Stats: 7.74 carries, 33.44 yards, 0.56 TD
Analysis: While Washington’s receiving corps is incredible, the running backs are solid, but not as exciting. Cameron Davis is a really good veteran piece who you know what you’re getting from.
Kavosiey Smoke — Colorado Buffaloes
Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports
Career Stats: 45 Games | 291 carries, 1,583 yards, 13 TD
Per Game Stats: 6.47 carries, 35.18 yards, 0.29 TD
Analysis: In the transfer portal madness that took place at Colorado this offseason, the Buffs landed a couple of really good running backs. Kavosiey Smoke is one of them, who has had a great career at Kentucky and is looking to cap it off under Deion Sanders.
Byron Cardwell — California Golden Bears
Career Stats: 14 Games | 72 carries, 493 yards, 4 TD
Per Game Stats: 5.14 carries, 35.5 yards, 0.29 TD
Analysis: Oregon fans were frustrated when Byron Cardwell didn’t get playing time a season ago, but he now enters one of the best running back rooms in the conference down in Berkley. It will be fun to watch him run alongside Jaydn Ott and see how productive they can be.
Dillon Johnson — Washington Huskies
Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
Career Stats: 34 Games | 229 carries, 1,198 yards, 11 TD
Per Game Stats: 6.74 carries, 35.24 yards, 0.32 TD
Analysis: Dillon Johnson is one of the other RBs on Washington’s roster that is very serviceable and has shown his ability to produce in the past. The running game will always be overshadowed by the passing game in Seattle, but these players are not a group to sleep on.
Michael Wiley — Arizona Wildcats
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Career Stats: 37 Games | 266 carries, 1,401 yards, 13 TD
Per Game Stats: 7.19 carries, 37.86 yards, 0.35 TD
Analysis: Michael Wiley has carved out a really nice career at Arizona, where he has been a steady force on the ground for them. With as talented as the WRs in Arizona are, it sometimes overshadows the running game, but Wiley is always in the conversation as one of the really solid backs in the conference.
Deshaun Fenwick — Oregon State Beavers
Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
Career Stats: 34 Games | 289 carries, 1,524 yards, 13 TD
Per Game Stats: 8.5 carries, 44.82 yards, 0.38 TD
Analysis: Oregon State has a pair of really solid RBs, and Deshaun Fenwick showed how dangerous he can be against the Ducks last season. He is a veteran player who has seen it all in college; a perfect person to usher in one of the next great OSU running backs in Damien Martinez.
Nakia Watson — Washington State Cougars
Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
Career Stats: 34 Games | 307 carries, 1,405 yards, 14 TD
Per Game Stats: 9.03 carries, 41.32 yards, 0.41 TD
Analysis: Nakia Watson has been a staple in the Pac-12 over the past couple of years, also finding ways to be productive despite playing on a team that has struggled to see much success as of late. I expect another solid season from him going forward.
Austin Jones — USC Trojans
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Career Stats: 43 Games | 413 carries, 1,860 yards, 17 TD
Per Game Stats: 9.6 carries, 43.25 yards, 0.40 TD
Analysis: After starting his career at Stanford, Austin Jones went over to USC and found some production in 2022, and he is expected to continue to produce in 2023 despite some up-and-coming underclassmen and a really solid portal addition in MarShawn Lloyd.
Richard Newton — Washington Huskies
Daniel Dunn-USA TODAY Sports
Career Stats: 26 Games | 224 carries, 971 yards, 14 TD
Per Game Stats: 8.6 carries, 37.35 yards, 0.54 TD
Analysis: The third member of Washington’s RB trio, Richard Newton is a really good player who has found the endzone a ton over the past couple of years in Seattle.
Jaylon Glover — Utah Utes
Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Career Stats: 9 Games | 78 carries, 360 yards, 4 TD
Per Game Stats: 8.67 carries, 40.0 yards, 0.44 TD
Analysis: Utah’s Tavion Thomas overshadowed the rest of the RB room a year ago, but as a freshman Jaylon Glover proved to be a solid rusher and gave the impression that he can handle a much bigger workload going forward.
Ja'Quinden Jackson — Utah Utes
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Career Stats: 15 Games | 84 carries, 561 yards, 10 TD
Per Game Stats: 5.6 carries, 37.4 yards, 0.67 TD
Analysis: Much like Jaylon Glover, Ja’Quinden Jackson should benefit from the increased touches in Utah with Tavion Thomas now gone. This duo in Salt Lake City could be dangerous.
Ryan Butler — Stanford Cardinal
Career Stats: 10 Games | 128 carries, 484 yards, 11 TD
Per Game Stats: 12.8 carries, 48.4 yards, 1.1 TD
Analysis: There are a few running backs on this section of the list that are a bit hard to judge because they are transferring from a smaller school where they put up some big-time numbers. Coming over from Princeton, Ryan Buttler averaged over a TD per game and showed that he is a really talented runner. Will that continue in the Pac-12? We’ll have to wait and see.
Cameron Skattebo — Arizona State Sun Devils
Career Stats: 21 Games | 252 carries, 1,892 yards, 13 TD
Per Game Stats: 12.9 carries, 90.09 yards, 0.62 TD
Analysis: Much like Ryan Butler, Cameron Skattebo put up huge numbers for Sacramento State earlier in his career. However, it’s hard to know if that will directly translate to Pac-12 play or not.
Isaiah Ifanse — California Golden Bears
Career Stats: 40 Games | 631 carries, 3,774 yards, 25 TD
Per Game Stats: 15.76 carries, 94.35 yards, 0.63 TD
Analysis: Completing the trio of smaller school standouts, Isaia Ifanse had a great career at Montana State, where he had almost 100 yards per game and scored a TD in over half of his games. We’ll see if he can offer the same type of production to the Golden Bears.
MarShawn Lloyd — USC Trojans
Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports
Career Stats: 20 Games | 175 carries, 801 yards, 10 TD
Per Game Stats: 8.75 carries, 53.4 yards, 0.5 TD
Analysis: Lincoln Riley did it again, landing an elite offensive player out of the transfer portal. MarShawn Lloyd had some great production at South Carolina, and now he heads out west to the other USC to see if that can continue.
Bucky Irving — Oregon Ducks
(Photo by Ali Gradischer/Getty Images)
Career Stats: 25 Games | 289 carries, 1,757 yards, 9 TD
Per Game Stats: 11.56 carries, 70.28 yards, 0.36 TD
Analysis: Some people may look at Bucky Irving’s TD numbers and say that he is too high on this list, but when you consider the fact that QB Bo Nix vultured many of his attempts near the goal line, it’s understandable to see how Irving is an elite player who deserves to be in the top 5.
Alton McCaskill — Colorado Buffaloes
Matt Pendleton-USA TODAY Sports
Career Stats: 14 Games | 189 carries, 961 yards, 16 TD
Per Game Stats: 13.5 carries, 68.64 yards, 1.14 TD
Analysis: It feels like Alton McCaskill is a name that a lot of Pac-12 fans will be learning this season. After an electric season at Houston as a freshman where he scored over a TD per game, McCaskill now goes to Colorado to play under Deion Sanders. That should be fun.
Damien Martinez — Oregon State Beavers
Career Stats: 13 Games | 161 carries, 982 yards, 7 TD
Per Game Stats: 12.36 carries, 75.54 yards, 0.54 TD
Analysis: The top 3 backs on this list are in a group of their own. Damien Martinez leads us off after a really impressive freshman season for Oregon State that saw him lead the rushing attack and prove that he will be a force going forward.
Jaydn Ott — California Golden Bears
John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports
Career Stats: 12 Games | 170 carries, 897 yards, 8 TD
Per Game Stats: 14.17 carries, 74.75 yards, 0.67 TD
Analysis: Jaydn Ott showed as a freshman last year that he is an elite player, and will be among the best backs in the nation going forward if he can keep up this type of production. If Cal can find more production from their offense this season, Ott will be a part of it.
Carson Steele — UCLA Bruins
Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
Career Stats: 25 Games | 481 carries, 2,447 yards, 20 TD
Per Game Stats: 19.24 carries, 97.88 yards, 0.8 TD
Analysis: It’s sometimes rare that the No. 1 player on the list is a transfer guy from a smaller school, but if you look at the tape and the numbers for Carson Steele, it’s easy to see why he deserves it. Averaging almost 100 yards and 0.8 TD per game at Ball State, Steele now leads a UCLA backfield that should be incredibly fun to watch.
