Two SEC running backs named on NFL.com ‘top college workhorses’ list
By Adam Spencer
Published:
In the SEC, running the football is a way of life.
To hammer that point home, in 2015, Alabama RB Derrick Henry became the first running back since fellow Tide RB Mark Ingram in 2009 to win the Heisman Trophy.
This year, the SEC again boasts a number of strong running backs. In a recent NFL.com list of college football’s top five “workhorses,” two SEC runners were mentioned.
Checking in at No. 1 on the list, compiled by Bucky Brooks, was LSU star Leonard Fournette. Brooks credits Fournette’s versatility for making him the best back in college football:
Fournette displays a rare combination of strength, power, balance and body control with the ball in his hands, which is why defenders have such a tough time bringing him down between the tackles.
At No. 3 on the list is Georgia’s Nick Chubb, who Brooks predicts will bounce back in a big way from last season’s knee injury:
Whenever a running back reels off 13 straight 100-yard games, when a majority of those games were against SEC competition, NFL scouts take notice. That’s why Chubb is commanding a lot of attention from scouts heading into his junior year despite suffering a knee injury that prematurely ended his sophomore season.
Rounding out Brooks’s list were Florida State’s Dalvin Cook (No. 2), Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey (No. 4) and North Carolina’s Elijah Hood (No. 5).
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
