I think Yahoo is a great company, with great assets.

– Jack Ma, businessman

Hello, I have published an article on Campus2Canton.com. You can find it by clicking on the link on ‘article’ above.

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VP

The name is Major Victory—remember it when they're filling out your report.

- Justice, Marvel Superhero

Justice, born Vance Astrovik, is one of Marvel’s most storied telekinetic heroes. A powerful mutant, he first rose to prominence under the codename Marvel Boy as a founding member of the New Warriors before later securing a place among the Avengers.

His journey to becoming Justice, however, was anything but linear. Vance initially adopted the name Marvel Boy, inspired by his alternate-future counterpart, Vance Astro, who would eventually become a founding member of the Guardians of the Galaxy.

But his early life was marred by tragedy. After enduring years of abuse at the hands of his father, Vance accidentally killed him when his telekinetic powers manifested. Convicted and imprisoned for the incident, he later emerged determined to rebuild his life, adopting the name Justice as a symbol of redemption and his commitment to protecting others.

Justice “Marvel Boy” Haynes, as far as I know, does not have any telekinetic powers, but he does have many other desirable abilities—particularly for collegiate RBs.

Furthermore, like the Marvel character, rebuilding and redemption have also been a big part of Haynes’ journey thus far. The UGA legacy (his father, Verron Haynes, was also a RB) began his career seeking to chart his own path with a commitment to Alabama, where he spent two seasons before reimagining his path with a move to Michigan.

The second commitment proved to be a better move for the former five star. In 2025, he emerged as the Wolverines’ RB1, and was an early Heisman contender. Unfortunately for both him and the Wolverines, Haynes later sustained an injury that ended his campaign midway through the fall.

And now it is rinse and repeat for Haynes with another move—this time bringing him back home—to Georgia Tech on a deal reportedly worth up to $2M US dollars.

It goes without saying that if the rumoured amount is true, then the plan is probably to feature “Marvel Boy” heavily this upcoming fall. There was a lingering injury concern from his time in Michigan, but it sounds like he has returned to full form and is ready for fall camp.

CFF prognosticators are right to feel conflicted about where to rank Haynes, though, considering the infrastructure around him. Let’s first take a look at the staff.

COACHING & SYSTEM

RB1 PPG AVERAGE — HC: 14 — OC: NA (PPR)

Georgia Tech loses both its offensive wizard, OC Buster Faulker, and its lynchpin, QB Haynes King this offseason. The man replacing Faulker is George Godsey, who has been serving as the TEs coach of the Baltimore Ravens since 2022.

Prior to that he was the TEs coach with the Miami Dolphins, as well as the co-OC for one season in 2021. The only other play calling role from his career so far came in 2015-16 with the Houston Texans. As far as I can tell, he has no play calling experience at the collegiate level.

In fact, the only time he’s spent as a coach in college was from 2005 to 2010 with UCF, where he occupied the roles of QBs and RBs coach during various different periods in that span.

Brent Key’s background is defence, and he has only been a head coach at Georgia Tech starting in 2023. Thus, he only has one RB1 under him from the last three seasons, and you can find his stats per season below:

Indiana transfer Alberto Mendoza is expected to be the favourite to replace King at QB, but the Hornets will also be seeking to replace their starting RB (Jamal Haynes), and top receivers from a year ago. Justice is the obvious reinforcement to plug in for Haynes, but he’s not the only relevant name in the RB room.

Presumably backing up Haynes will be Malachi Hosley, who was the RB2 this past season after transferring from the FCS level. Hosley was a 1000+ yard rusher at UPenn in 2024, and despite a low workload in 2025 (98 carries), he was extremely efficient, rushing for 697 yards (7.1 YPC).

It would be odd if Hosley took a step back in touches given his efficiency the previous season, but one area where there could be a drastic reduction is in the QB run. Haynes King was famously a willing runner, and the play callers at GT utilized this attribute of his game to the fullest. Mendoza is not the same athlete and should not be expected to run with the same frequency.

That being said, he has displayed enough of a running attribute that he cannot be classified as a pocket passer or ‘statue’ QB. So we should expect to see designed QB runs and scrambles out of the pocket continue with the Gold and White into 2026.

Without an inventory of play calling data to comb through, it’s impossible to say what to expect from new OC George Godsey’s offence. I took a brief look at the one year he spent as ‘OC’ in the NFL, the 2015 season with the Texans, and the top RB Alfred Blue received only 183 carries through 16 games (which is about an average of 11 per appearance). WR DeAndre Hopkins saw 192 targets in 16 games, but this is not all that illuminating for what Godsey will do with GT in my opinion.

Key may also play a factor in the shaping of the offence. Under his watch, GT has run a committee every season. But it’s hard to imagine that happening here with a $2M priced RB on the roster, isn’t it? I view the cash investment as an augur of future volume in this case…

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The difference between involvement and commitment is like ham and eggs. The chicken is involved; the pig is committed.

Injury & Suspension News

• Texas Tech QB Brenden Sorsby will not be playing college football in 2026.

• Former WCU QB Taron Dickens de-commited from UNC and signed with NIU.

• Former BYU WR Parker Kingston’s charge has been dismissed in court. He is eligible to play in 2026, but not with BYU.

• Arkansas WR Jalen Brown (not injury related) entered the transfer portal.

• Texas Tech RB Quinten Joyner (knee) is probable for Texas Tech’s season opener Sept. 5 against Abilene Christian, Jarrett Ramirez of On3.com reports.

• UCF QB Alonza Barnett (undisclosed) will be a “full go” in Central Florida’s fall camp, Matt Murschel of the Orlando Sentinel reports.

• Texas Tech QB Will Hammond (knee) may start Week 1 of Texas Tech’s 2026 season, Pete Thamel of ESPN reports.

• The coaching staff of North Texas is confident that Jaheim White (knee) will be ready for the 2026 season, Brett Vito of the Denton Record-Chronicle (via the G5 Hive podcast) reports.

• Nebraska RB Mekhi Nelson was arrested Monday on a battery charge, Husker Online reports.

• Wyoming RB Diore Hubbard is still recovering from an ACL tear he suffered last season, per Ryan Thorburn of WMA.

• Louisville WR Tre Richardson (foot) is healthy for Louisville’s 2026 season, Matt McGavic of Sports Illustrated reports.

• Tulane RB Jamauri McClure (shoulder) is expected to be full-go in fall camp, Patrick Harkness of TheKneaux.com reports.

• Fresno RB Brandon Ramirez (undisclosed) is battling an injury this offseason, per Jackson Moore of 247Sports via the G5 Hive Podcast.

• Clemson WR Tristan Smith (ankle) is eligible for Clemson’s 2026 season, Andrea Adelson of ESPN.com reports.

• App State Ja’Marion Burnette (undisclosed) logged a rushing attempt during Appalachian State’s spring game and did not return, according to David Ware of App State Mania via the G5 Hive podcast.

• Southern Alabama WR Anthony Eager missed all of South Alabama’s spring camp because of a broken hand, according to Creg Stephenson of AL.com via the G5 Hive podcast.

• CSU TE and former UGA Bulldog Pearce Spurlin has been medically cleared for football, Kevin Lytle of The Coloradoan via the G5 Hive podcast reports.

• CSU RB Durrell Robinson (undisclosed) was not a full participant in Colorado State’s spring practice, The G5 Hive reports.

• App State RB Kanye Roberts (knee) was limited in spring ball and continues to recover from last season’s torn ACL, David Ware of App State Mania (via the G5 Hive Podcast) reports.

• VT WR Cameron Sparks is no longer with Virginia Tech’s football program, per Andy Bitter of TechSideline.com.

• Sac St. QB Cardell Williams has committed to joining Maryland ahead of the 2026 season, 247Sports.com announced.

• Former PSU RB Tikey Hayes transferred to Nebraska.

Spring Camp News

• An LSU beat writer on 247 Sports reported what he has seen entering fall camp. Sam Leavitt and Dilin Jones are the starters at QB and RB, with first team receivers being Winston Watkins, Jayce Brown, and Jackson Harris. Tre Green at TE1.

• LSU head coach Lane Kiffen on RB Dilin Jones:

  "I think Dilin Jones, the running back who came here from Wisconsin. We haven't done any tackling yet, so there's still a lot that goes into it," Kiffin said in June on "In The Bayou With Tyrann Mathieu when asked which “underrated” player can make an impact.

  "But really good feet and body control and a really smooth runner. He started but got hurt [at Wisconsin] last year so not a big stat guy coming in. We've got a lot of portal guys that were highly ranked but I think Dilin's got a real chance."

  “He looks really good. Has come in and been good in protection, been good in his vision, his feet, running the ball, and has been really a bright spot. Like I said, offensively, we’ve struggled to find those and again the tackling part is a difference in that position specifically,” Kiffin said of Jones during Spring Camp.

  “For a guy that wasn’t a headliner, he’s played like it. And that’s really critical because that spot, it’s extremely critical to have somebody or a number of people that, again, just like the quarterback spot, makes the plays when everybody’s not blocked up and makes the significant plays. He’s done that.”

• LSU head coach Lane Kiffin on QB Sam Leavitt’s progress returning from injury:

  “He’s doing well, he’s been out there pretty much full strength now,” Kiffin said. “Really good arm. Really smart, and he’s just in there grinding all the time on stuff. NFL mindset quarterback from a preparation standpoint, and now we’ve just got to put everything together in Year 1.

  “Little bit late because he’s just finally cleared now with a lot of new pieces around, but it’s going to be a big summer and fall camp.”

• KSU TE Lincoln Cure was one of the most improved players on Kansas State’s roster this offseason and is primed for a bigger role this year, Derek Young of On3 Sports reports.

• Memphis QB Air Noland is competing against Marcus Stokes to be Memphis’ starting quarterback, according to Jonah Dylan of The Commercial Appeal via the G5 Hive podcast.

• Clemson QB Chris Denson has shifted into more of a hybrid role featuring snaps from the running back and wide receiver positions, Chapel Fowler of The Columbia State reports.

• FSU RB Ousmane Kromah is down nine pounds this offseason, Brendan Sonnone of 247Sports.com reports.

• Utah QB Devon Dampier was very limited by an injury for over half of the 2025 season, Utah head coach Morgan Scalley said Wednesday, according to Steve Helwick of Underdog Dynasty.

• UNCC RB Jarel Cobb is competing for a bigger workload this upcoming season, according to Tre Holland of Niner Times.

• Fresno QB Jayden Mandal is battling with Khristian Martin for the starting quarterback role for the 2026 season, according to Jackson Moore of 247Sports (via the G5 Hive podcast).

• Cincinnati QB JC French separated him from the pack during Cincinnati’s spring camp, Steve Helwick of SB Nation reports.

• Houston QB Kisean Henderson is

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A muddy field hides the strongest hoof.

- Anonymous

Hello,

I have released an article on Campus2Canton.com featuring four late-round RBs who have the potential to be highly productive bellcows this upcoming fall. Click on the link highlighted above to read the full contents.

Cheers

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I run the streets all night and day

- Slim Thug, musician

While lost in thought the other day, I found myself wondering which of the 137 current FBS programs had yet to have a single player featured in this publication. To my surprise, the list was longer than I expected, thanks in part to the wave of programs that have joined the FBS over the past three seasons.

One program that stood out was UTSA. Despite being an established FBS member since 2013, the Roadrunners have somehow gone unrepresented on this publication. That was hard to believe, considering how many CFF-relevant players they've produced since 2023, when I first started writing here.

I suppose I've always included UTSA players in my position rankings, but I've never come across one I liked enough—or found intriguing enough—to dedicate an entire write-up to.

That changes today.

Indeed, I couldn’t help but notice when looking across the industry that UTSA’s Will “I RUN” Henderson, though highly rated by all, has not really been discussed much this offseason. I suppose that is partly my fault.

In fact, I may be the president of the Hendo fan club. At the moment, I believe I’m the only analyst with him ranked inside my top eight running backs.

To be clear, I share some of the same concerns as everyone else—and we’ll get to those shortly. But what Henderson put on tape last season impressed me, and he’s now paired with a head coach who has a proven track record of producing highly productive fantasy running backs.

With that in mind, let’s start by taking a closer look at the coaching staff.

COACHING & SYSTEM

RB1 PPG AVERAGE — HC: 13.6 — OC: 9.6 (full ppr)

Head coach Jeff Traylor has a unique background in that he took on his first play calling role in his current position during the COVID season of 2020. Prior to that he spent time as the associate head coach and RBs coach at Arkansas (2018-19), SMU (2017), and the special teams coordinator and TEs coach at Texas (2015-16).

His OC, Rick Bowie, is a recent promotion to the FBS. Prior to joining UTSA this offseason, he was the OC at WKU for a year (2025), following three successful seasons as an OC at the FCS level (Valdosta State, 2022-23, Abilene Christian, 2024). He previously served stints with Houston (WRs coach), and WVU (grad assistant).

I’ll note that Valdosta State’s Jamar Thompkins also caught 13 passes for 158 yards and a score in 2022, bringing his total touches to 148 over 11 games, which is just shy of 14 touches per game.

2023 Valdosta State was basically a two-headed backfield — Isaiah Flowers (417 net yards) narrowly edged Eric Watts (416 net yards), so that "RB1" title is razor-thin.

Sam Hicks in 2024 is the lone bright spot within Bowie’s inventory of former RB1s thus far. His work in his first season at the FBS level with WKU left much to be desired within the context of this article.

Head coach Traylor is more so the star of the show here as far as we’re concerned regarding Henderson.

His first two seasons with Sincere McCormick were very strong, with back-to-back 22 carry/game averages and over 240 carries sent to his RB1 per season.

Things tailed off dramatically the following two seasons, where Kevorian Barnes (who eventually became somewhat of a pig at TCU this past season), saw considerably fewer carries than his predecessor, and the PPG average suffered accordingly.

Robert Henry’s time as RB1 with UTSA is a bit more complicated and demands some unpacking for the reader’s context. While he finished as the overall RB1 for 2024, he didn’t really take over in that role until mid-October. He finished the season with back-to-back 160+ yard and two TD performances, potentially hinting at a nuclear pig in waiting for 2025.

And if you were playing CFF last year, you know that in September it looked like Henry might finish as the literal CFF player one, or at least, the RB1 for 2025. Injuries behind the scenes apparently piled up and his performance dropped off starting in October.

So while the plan from the staff was clear and obvious this past season, the RB1 in this instance could not sustain the workload for the entire season.

Traylor typically deploys a balanced approach on offence, with a historical average of a 48/52 split in favour of run plays. His RB1 carry share was enormous with Sincere McCormick (over 50%), but has since dropped. Again, I believe if Henry stays healthy for most of 2026, he would have seen a similar total workload that McCormick saw in his two seasons.

WILL “Slim Thug” HENDERSON (5’10, 185)

2025 RUSHING STATS: 125-866-6 (12.8)

Given what we just discussed, you’re probably looking at his listed dimensions (as well as his build in the photos provided) and thinking: well if injury was a problem for Henry last year, it almost certainly is going to be a problem again for Hendo.

You would not be wrong in this skepticism. On an interview with the gents over at the G5 Hive, the UTSA writer stated that while Henderson looks to be the undisputed RB1, he doesn’t see him as a 20-carry per game player due to his build.

It would not surprise me if that ends up being the case. However, when we look at how Henderson finished the year (particularly when Henry was out with injury), we see games of 20 (UNCC), 21 (ECU) and 15 (FIU) total touches when combined with receiving usage. In those games he had 19, 19, and 14 carries, respectively.

It should be noted that the game against FIU was a bowl game and was a complete blowout, where Henderson scored three TDs (one of them a long catch and run) on only 15 touches.

Receiving usage is an important consideration with this player in my opinion, given that (I believe) he ran track for UTSA, he is a smaller player, and, from the limited action I saw, is probably one of the fastest RBs in CFB.

Even still, those carry numbers are nothing to sneeze at. In fact, a steady diet of that all year in 2026 would work just fine in the mind of this writer. The question will be: can he sustain that workload over a 12-game period?

The man himself mentioned in a post-spring interview that he is focused on eating more this offseason in order to bulk up. I’m not so sure I like his answer there, given that he mentioned that the method of choice in doing so was predominantly “snacks”, which sounds like it’d be bad weight being put on but what do I know.

Nonetheless, I don’t expect a 185 pound Hendo to suit up for UTSA in game one. I’d imagine he’ll be closer to 190-195 by game time this fall.

He is also a long and wiry looking player on the field, sort of Lamar Jackson-esque, which I’m not sure if that’ll be helpful or harmful with respect to his durability this upcoming fall.

Behind him are two main competitors for touches: Brandon High and former USC player A’Marion Peterson. Given what the writer on the G5 Hive interview mentioned, I would expect one or both of these players to see a lot of carries as well this fall. But given that neither is particularly explosive, or has demonstrated advanced receiving ability, I don’t see them challenging Henderson for the role he occupies within the offence.

The Roadrunners open up against a lower division opponent in week one, and play only one P4 opponent (Texas, week three), so they do have a favourable schedule this fall.

Those who know me intimately know that I’m not usually one to hitch myself to RBs who aren’t potential 20-carry per game gangsters, but Henderson’s explosiveness and speed gives me enough reason to believe he can be highly productive with a, shall we say, “pig-light” workload in 2026 as the UTSA writer predicted. ◾

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Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward...

- Leonardo da Vinci, polymath

*The scoring system I’m referring to is full PPR.

1. Jeremiah Smith (OSU) — It can be either Malachi Toney or Smith at the top spot as far as I’m concerned. Smith just feels that bit more locked in to have a good season compared to Toney because we have more data points on the former five star, but we’re talking marginal differences here. Interestingly, both players hail from high schools that are essentially a 20 minute drive from each other: Chaminade Madonna Prep for Smith, and American Heritage for Toney. It’s just different in Florida, what can I say?

2. Malachi Toney (MIA) — As mentioned above, Toney and Smith are interchangeable here. In Smith's case, there is an OC change, but we've also seen him dominate for two seasons straight, and this is his (likely) final year of collegiate football making it a consequential campaign. In Toney's case, he holds a historically lucrative position in Shannon Dawson's slot receiver role in the offence. Well, there isn't much to say that the audience doesn't already know. Both players are excellent options.

3. Easton Messer (FAU) — Similar to Dawson’s, we know Kittley’s offensive system is typically a lucrative one for the slot receiver. Messer is one of four WRs returning to the same team who averaged 20+ PPG last season. Two of the others are listed above, and the only other player who is returning to CFB but not to the same team is Danny Scudero, who we’ll talk about later. Again, there isn’t much to say about Messer at this point that the reader doesn’t already know.

4. Beau Sparks (TXST) — Sparks is the fourth of the aforementioned 20+ PPG WRs returning to the same team in 2026, so naturally I think this is an appropriate spot to rank him. Of course, we are ranking with the future in mind, not ranking players based on 2025, but at this juncture in the offseason it's probably a good idea to just default to who the highest scorers were a season ago, at least, at the top end. As future iterations of this article are released, there will be some shakeup.

5. Amare Thomas (HOU) — Originally, I wasn't high on Thomas' move to Houston given that he'd be participating in the typically anemic Willie Fritz/Slade Nagle WR system, but he bucked the trend in 2025 finishing the season at 18 PPG. Now, both he and his QB return for 2026, and so do both the play callers (HC & OC). They did bring in Trent Walker from Oregon State, so he might commandeer a significant role in the team target share, along with others. Thomas was a TD magnet in 2025, and that bolstered his numbers. Was it by design? Or just coincidence? Probably something in between. TD production becomes a concern when it doesn't have the matching input volume; in Amare's case, he had the corresponding target share in 2025, and he'll (probably) have it again in 2026.

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When I was sixteen I bought my first Mercedes-Benz, I must’ve fucked a thousand bitches and they girlfriends.

- Lil Wayne, musician

I wish I could go back in a time machine to college football in 2021. In hindsight, it feels to me like one of the last great seasons in the old, pre-NIL era of CFB. While NIL payments technically went live that summer, it was still a new mechanism that was in its infancy; furthermore, the transfer portal was also not as prominent in the sport.

Most teams were predominantly comprised of their high school recruits, with a few outliers like Ole Miss and Alabama filling in important gaps on their rosters with star players from elsewhere.

The season kicked off on a Thursday as usual, with the highlight of the weekend culminating in a top-five Saturday night showdown between Georgia and Clemson. This was a star-studded affair, particularly on the Georgia side, which, in hindsight, has an argument for being the most talented roster of all time based on NFL draft production.

The highest rated TE prospect ever in the modern recruiting era, Arik Gilbert, was one of three transfers brought in by UGA head coach Kirby Smart in the offseason. Much was expected of him on arrival, but he ended up stepping away from the team before the season kicked off.

Instead, it was a lesser-known four star, Brock Bowers, who had come in that offseason as a freshman from Napa Valley, California, who ended up stealing the show.

And sure, the game was largely a defensive affair (the final score was 10-3), but a freshman TE topping all receivers with six catches and leading UGA with 43 yards was impressive (especially against a Clemson defence) and indeed proved to be a harbinger of things to come throughout his career.

Bowers finished his days in college as perhaps the greatest collegiate TE of all time. Not surprising then that a future generation of TEs idolized him—class of 2026’s Mark Bowman was no exception.

Originally a C/O 2027 prospect, the five-star Bowman hailing from Southern California reclassified to 2026 and signed with the nearby Trojans. As a prep player, he was a star at Los Angeles powerhouse Mater Dei, where he donned the #19 jersey in honour of his idol. Those who have seen his highlights can confirm that the two players look quite similar. In fact, Bowman’s nickname in high school was “Baby Brock”.

While UGA was an early favourite for his services, Bowman ended up being one of the most highly contested recruits in the C/O 2026, reportedly resulting in a very lucrative bidding war between USC, Texas, and eventually with LSU making a late push on signing day to flip Bowman away from the Trojans.

There have been rumours reporting figures of $5-6.5 million across a three year period for Bowman’s NIL deal out of high school. Considering most of the high end QBs coming out of HS will receive meager deals of around $1-2M, Bowman’s deal is an unprecedented one, especially for TEs.

One can only imagine what a player like Bowers would have commanded in today’s NIL market, and it seems that USC is banking on Bowman’s resemblance to the former UGA great extending beyond his jersey number with his play on the field.

I suppose we’ll see how it works out for them. At the very least, the investment signals intent to want to feature this player if he lives up to the hype. My first question with respect to CFF analysis is: does Lincoln Riley’s have a good system for TE production?

COACHING & SYSTEM

TE1 PPG AVERAGE — HC: 6.0 (1PPR)

The short answer is no. However, ‘TE systems’ aren’t really a thing in CFB. There aren’t really many, if any, coaches who actually have a TE1 PPG average in double digits; thus, simply due to the fact that Riley has a TE in his repertoire who averaged 14.7 PPG (Mark Andrews, OU, 2017) makes him notable in my opinion.

There have been a few other solid performances like Andrews’ 2016 season (9.3 PPG), Austin Stogner averaging 7.8 in 2020 and Grant Calcaterra with ~7 PPG in 2018. You can find Riley’s full history of TEs each season that he’s been an OC or head coach below:

And while you might have expected Riley’s play calling skew to average towards the pass, his five year average is actually almost 50/50 run-pass. His offences are also not particularly quick with a 26 second per play average, or around 67 plays run per game.

What is working in our (and Bowman’s) favours here is that USC returns QB Jayden Maiva, but none of his top WRs from a year ago. That in conjunction with 2025’s starting TE moving on (Lake McRee) and there is an interesting recipe brewing here for a potential Mark Andrews/Brock Bowers 2.0 under Riley.

Hell, even if Bowman manages to win the starting role and finish the year with around a seven PPG average that would be notable in my mind, and it would likely result in him being one of the top TEs drafted in 2027 CFF leagues.

So how is it going so far for the true freshman? Here is an article back in April quoting his position coach, and covering the TE’s progression through spring ball:

Bowman’s position coach is a no-nonsense, detail-oriented guy. Chad Savage was as excited as anyone else to get the 6-foot-4, 235-pounder in cardinal and gold this spring. However, he made it clear he wanted to work Bowman into a complete ballplayer before the offseason was finished. Like most freshmen, there was certainly an onboarding process of adjustment as he got his first taste of college ball.

“Those weeks after spring break, we talked about the transition for guys,” Savage said. “When they come in, the Ys and the Hs, those tight ends, we put a lot on their plate mentally. Because the guys, whether they’re tight end or whether a guy that we’re flexing out, and he’s got the ability to do both, and so he’s got a lot on his plate. There were just times where he was thinking about maybe his alignment, his assignment, but once he could think less and play faster, he was being the Mark Bowman that we know he’s capable of [being].”

Bowman made it clear during the individual periods we were able to observe as well as during the one full practice we watched he’s going to make plays as a receiver. He may already have some of the best hands on the team, and he moves fluidly in and out of routes standing up as a receiver. Savage and Bowman zeroed in on the crucial skill he’s going to need to stay on the field as an all-down tight end once USC starts playing conference opponents.

“From that position, you got to require being a willing blocker,” Savage said. “So obviously you got to be physical at the point of attack, because you’re going to go against some of these d-ends in the Big Ten.”

"He did take tremendous strides," Savage said. "Obviously, he's got the natural gift of being a willing blocker, plays compact, ability to unlock his hips, but just investing the time, he did a great job working with [assistant offensive line coach] Chris Meyers, who would go with those tight ends when they were going down with the o-line, doing some pod work.

TEs are sort of like RBs where the key piece of the puzzle—and often the missing link keeping young players off of the field—is the blocking ability. Making plays with the ball in his hands at this level shouldn’t be a huge learning curve for Bowman, who I believe was actually rated a five star player on all three major recruiting services.

Part of what made Brock Bowers otherworldly was that he arrived on day one as both an elite receiver of the football and an elite blocker. That is sort of unheard of in collegiate football. Long story short, Bowman probably won’t be another Brock Bowers, but there’s a lot going for him as a potential true freshman contributor in 2026. I’m keeping him in mind for the back ends of re-draft leagues, and I advise you to do the same. ◾

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Hawaii’s the 50th state? I thought it was a suburb of Guam.

– Bobby Heenan, Wrestler

Last offseason the Hawaii Rainbows brought in what turned out to be one of the most underrated transfers of 2025. An unknown receiver who had a total of six catches in his first two years with Stanford was looking for a new home, and the Rainbows were in need of a playmaking partner to duo with Pofele Ashlock in the slot.

Understandably, a program like Hawaii doesn’t exactly get their first pick of who’s available. In this new world of collegiate football, NIL budgets reign supreme in determining the hierarchy of who gets matched up with whom in the transfer portal.

Which, in my opinion, makes following programs like Hawaii all the more interesting. Scouting and evaluating talent is still very much alive at the G5 level right now, basically by necessity in a sink-or-swim manner given that these organizations hemorrhage their top talent each offseason to the portal.

Long story short, you either identify players like Jackson Harris and swim, or you don’t and get fired.

Hence, here we are once again with another under-the-radar transfer headed to the islands this offseason. Former UW WR Audric Harris joins the program in a slightly better position than Jackson did—Audric has seven receptions over his first two years compared to Jackson’s six prior to last year. Similarly, Audric scored one TD in his first two seasons just like Jackson did with Stanford.

Audric is a near carbon copy frame-wise standing at 6 feet 1 inche tall and listed at 200 pounds. For reference, Jackson was listed at 6’2, 200.

So, on the face of things this move looks pretty uniform to the last one. The vision seems clear. We know Ashlock is good, but he’s never been great, and he appears to be better when he’s not the focal point of the offence.

Here is an excerpt from an article back in January when Audric committed to Hawaii:

Hawai’i added a big-play receiver threat to its offense with the addition of Harris. He played sparingly in 2025 for the Huskies. But when called upon, he had an immediate impact. Against Purdue, Harris had two catches for 90 yards, including a 61-yard touchdown reception. Harris finished his sophomore season with five catches for 99 yards and a score.

He was one of several talented receivers who had to fight for playing time in a deep receiver room at Washington. But at Hawai’i, he’ll have the opportunity to become a starter.

Harris will join his former high school quarterback Micah Alejado, who tossed 35 touchdowns his senior season at Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas). Harris hauled in 13 of those touchdowns with an average of 95.5 receiving yards per game during their final season.

His fit at Hawai’i is ideal. There’s already an established quarterback-receiver chemistry. And three of the team’s four leading receivers from last season will not be returning next season. Jackson Harris transferred to LSU with a team-high 963 yards and 12 touchdowns. Brandon White, the third-leading receiver, also entered the transfer portal. And Karsyn Pupunu is out of eligibility, but petitioning for an additional year due to a medical redshirt.

That leaves Pofele Ashlock, this year’s Hawaii Bowl MVP, who had eight touchdowns in 2025 with a team-high 79 catches. Harris will step foot on campus with a clear opportunity to reach the top of the depth chart for the Rainbow Warriors.

COACHING & SYSTEM: Run-N-Shoot

WR1 PPG AVERAGE — HC: 17.7

I’m going to reference an article I did last year on Hawaii’s offence, which is also referencing some info I included in an article I wrote back in 2023 focused on former Hawaii receiver Steven McBride and current player Pofele Ashlock:

Everybody’s probably heard of the ‘Run-N-Shoot’ offence, but few among us actually know what that means. I consulted a trusted source (wikipedia) and found this: The run and shoot offence (also known as Run N’ Shoot) is an offensive system which emphasizes receiver motion and on-the-fly adjustments of receivers’ routes in response to different defences.

That doesn’t seem that crazy, but it is an offence that is synonymous with Hawaii football. Current Hawaii Head coach Timmy Chang actually ran this system as a player in the mid 2000s, and it’s been employed by various Rainbow coaches over the last 25 years.

As a coach, Chang joined Hawaii last season (2022), after spending five seasons in various capacities with Nevada (WRs coach 2021, 2017; TEs coach 2018-2020). He had the opportunity to call plays in his system as the OC of Div. II program Emory and Henry in 2016. That year, the Wasps had three separate WRs receive over 450 yards and five or more TDs.

Before that he spent two seasons as the OC at Jackson State (2014-15). Unfortunately, I was unable to find reliable stats for these two seasons.

So that’s basically Chang’s coaching career summarized (he got his start as a GA at SMU in 2012). It’s safe to say — despite its notoriety — he hasn’t actually had much success with this system as a coach (yet).

The Run-N-Shoot system itself, however, has shown to be a successful formula in the past for WR production in particular.

In Chang’s last season as the QB of Hawaii (2004), Chad “Mighty Mouse” Owens led the team with 102 receptions for 1290 yards and 17 TDs. The WR2 finished with a solid stat line as well, receiving over 970 yards on 80 catches and seven TDs. An interesting nugget: Owens had four TDs in a single game on two different occasions in 2004, and both times were vs. B1G opponents Northwestern and Michigan State.

In Chang’s sophomore season (2001), WR Ashley Lelie had the greatest year ever for a UH receiver, grabbing 84 receptions for 1,713 yards and 19 TDs. He set a school record for average receiving yards per game (142.8).

While former NFL’er Davone Bess was there (2005-07), he went over 1000 yards receiving in three straight seasons. I assume the Rainbows were running the same offence or something similar during these years.

There are more notable seasons but I think the point has been made. Clearly this system has been a good one as far as WR production is concerned.

I wish I could tell you which of those early/mid 2000s WRs played where in the offence, but this was before my time as a fan. Bess is a smaller player (5’10”), so I assume he operated from the slot. So is Chad Owens—who is listed at 5’8”; he more so than Bess most likely operated from the slot.

So it would appear, at least from a cursory look back, that the slot position in this offence has been the primary read in years past.

And now I can add some commentary on top of the previous commentary and include what happened in 2025. This is fun… I suppose in 2027 we’ll do this all over again…

Obviously, by now you probably know that Jackson Harris had a good year with Hawaii. He finished as the WR1 in fact, averaging over 20 PPR PPG, while appearing in 10 games.

That season in conjunction with the previous two produces a WR1 PPG average of 17.7 for Timmy Chang since joining as Hawaii’s head coach. Pretty good stuff. This is definitely a system worth prioritizing if you’re a prospecting CFF manager.

AUDRIC HARRIS (6’1, 200)

2025 RECEIVING STATS: 5-99-1 (3.5 PPG)

There is not much to say about Harris at this point. As mentioned in the linked article in the intro he played high school football in Nevada with current Hawaii QB Micah Alejado at powerhouse program Bishop Gorman.

I’ve linked Harris’ only TD of his career thus far here for those interested:

This will actually be Harris’ third team in as many seasons, first beginning his career at Arizona as a former three star recruit from Bishop Gorman high school where he played with QB Micah Alejado.

It will also interest the reader to know that Harris scored 13 TDs as a senior in high school off of the arm of Alejado, so there’s already some chemistry here.

Here is a snippet from an interview done on the G5Hive where the writer speaks about Audric Harris and how he’s looked thus far on the big island:

Overall, there’s a lot to like here and the fit feels pretty snug with Jackson Harris moving on.

We should be cautious not to expect another Jackson Harris season from Audric, however, but it seems reasonable that he’ll win one of the starting jobs and therefore will at least be a viable CFF asset in 2026. On the off chance that he can replicate something resembling Jackson Harris’ 2025 season, or Steven McBride’s 2023, Audric is a great player to target late in drafts right now. He currently has an ADP of 201 according to Campus2Canton. ◾

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Good luck is the result of hard work and preparation.

- Anonymous

Good morning, good afternoon, good evening—whenever it is I'm greeting you. It brings me great pleasure to inform you that the long awaited and internationally anticipated Q2 rankings drop is here for the RB position group.

If there’s anything we learned last season, it’s that a lot of shit happens at RB. Virtually the entire first round of RBs last year by ADP failed to complete the season due to injury, and of the remaining few that made it through unscathed, most ended up disappointing. Primary lesson? Volume is key, as always.

Given that this is the second iteration, I have indicated in bold “[NEW]” or “[+/-]” where some of the notable updates are. Of course, every time there is a player moving around there is some shuffling around him, so I reserved the [+/-] notation for large increases or decreases in ranking. As usual, if you have questions feel free to post them below. Cheers.

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The mountains are calling and I must go.

- John Muir, naturalist

One of my favourite articles ever written when I started this publication was a write-up on Colorado State Ram Tight End Dallin Holker. That was in the Jay Norvel-era of the CSU Rams program. TEs were a focus area in his system given what he had done at his previous stop, Nevada, namely with Cole Turner.

Well, that era is over and in comes Jim L. Mora from UConn, previously of UCLA and the NFL. Mora doesn’t have the same track record at TE, or really any position for that matter that Norvell had at WR/TE when he joined CSU.

However, Mora’s RB1 last year, Cam Edwards, had a phenomenal year in CFF and with that comes a renewed focus on who Mora’s RB1 might be this upcoming season.

Thankfully for us as CFF managers, some early clarity was provided on the matter. Those of you who were following along with the spring game updates will recall this snippet:

Mel Brown, running back

Brown may be the front-runner from spring to be CSU’s No. 1 back. He’s not a big back (listed at 5-foot-9 at UConn) but quick, strong and versatile.

He looks like a quick and powerful runner but also an able kick returner. Brown should be a fun player for CSU.

Brown had a couple big plays in the spring game that showed his potential.

“That’s who Mel is and that’s why I’m happy he’s here with us,” Mora said.

That snippet isn’t a massive endorsement, but it is something at least, especially when many were expecting former UConn/Auburn player Durrell Robinson to be the de facto RB1 coming into 2026.

In addition to the question of who will actually win RB1 status, the more salient question in my mind is: how much does this even matter? To answer that we should look to the historical track record of the system, rather than concentrating on one year (2025).

COACHING & SYSTEM

RB1 PPG AVERAGE (excluding 2025) — HC: 12.6 — OC: NA

To say Mora’s RB1 system at UConn was nothing special is not an understatement. Outside of last season, his runners never saw 15 or more carries per game, and never averaged more than 15 PPG.

Overall carry share tells most of the story as to why that was, only one runner in the three seasons leading up to 2025 saw more than 30% of the team carry share. To put it another way: committees were the vibe this staff was on at UConn prior to last season with Edwards.

A deeper dive tells a bit of a different story, however. When Mora was last a head coach in college (UCLA, 2012-2017), there are two notable names. The first is Jonathan Franklin, who saw 282 carries in 2012, rushing for 1734 yards and 13 scores, with an additional 300+ receiving yards on 33 receptions and two more scores.

That was just one season though. The next name, Paul Perkins, was a repeat offender within the context of volume piggery. Perk handled the rock 251 times in 2014, rushing for over 1500 yards. He then handled 237 carries the following season, accumulating over 1300 rushing yards. He added 200 yards in receiving in both of those seasons as well.

So, I would not classify Mora as a committee coach; rather he seems pretty flexible and is agnostic about individual carry share. What’s more important is whether there is a player who is head and shoulders above the rest in his backfield. If the answer is yes, that player will receive a lot of work.

Other characteristics of Mora’s system include: a 57% historical skew towards the run, a slow pace of play calling at around 28 seconds per play, and an outside zone run scheme that is typically deployed.

I won’t go into involved detail about what an outside zone run scheme means, but the relevance of it in trying to assess which RBs might be effective here under Mora is that the system requires a player who can make a quick upfield cut when the defence over pursues on the outside. The idea is to try to lull them to sleep with repeated outside runs to eventually set up a big cut back upfield for (hopefully) a long TD.

In fact, the mantra of the scheme is defined by this quote: “The more you run it, the more effective it becomes!”

This requires a lot of patience, good vision, and a runner who can turn upfield quickly and preferably with some considerable speed.

So, in saying that, a player like Mel Brown who is a bit smaller, but very quick and decisive can absolutely run this system effectively. Whether the others behind him can also do so effectively will probably be what determines whether Brown (or someone else), can be a #VolumePig in 2026.

Mel Brown (5’9, 180)

2025 RUSHING STATS (five games): 32-262-2 (8.7 PPG)

Brown is definitely on the smaller side weight-wise but he doesn’t have an alarming profile for a G5 RB in my opinion. We’ve seen players like this perform exceptionally well at that level before.

He started his career at the FCS level—Gardner Webb—in 2022. During his freshman season, he took 76 carries for 459 yards and six TDs, which is a pretty successful frosh campaign in my view.

In his second year he carried the ball 113 times for 629 yards and five scores, before transferring up to the FBS in 2024 to play with Mora at UConn. Statistically, his first season with the Huskies was very similar to his last in the FCS—he rushed 118 times for 673 yards and two scores.

In 2025, due to injury he only appeared in five games and his stats were fairly forgettable behind RB1 Cam Edwards.

In terms of what he can do as a receiver, his best season on this front was in 2023 with Gardner Webb. He caught 18 passes for 253 yards and five(!) scores. If you’re keeping track at home, that means in 2023 our man scored 10 TDs on essentially 130 touches. That is a very efficient season. Clearly this guy has a nose for the end zone. Or at least he did at the FCS level.

This will be Brown’s final year of eligibility and by all accounts from spring coverage, he is putting his best foot forward to have a good year. Here is what one writer who saw the spring game said:

The longest rush of the game belonged to UConn transfer running back Mel Brown, who showed the breakaway ability he looks to add to the position. Brown was limited to only four games in 2025 with the Huskies but averaged 8.2 yards per carry before getting injured. This will be his final year of college eligibility after starting his college career with two seasons at Gardner-Webb.

Though, the running back room goes deeper than just Brown.

“I like the depth of that room,” Mora said. “They’re all a little bit different kinds of runners; they give us a little different flavor.”

Here is what another article included after the spring game:

Brown, who came with Mora from UConn, leads the group, but the depth should be an advantage in the fall. Every member of the room possesses different skills and qualities.

“I like the depth of that room,” Mora said. “As I said, we have several guys that were out, but I love the depth in that room. I think they’re all a little bit different types of runners. They give us a little bit of a different flavor.

“I think they’re very smart. I think they’re very well coached. They can pass protect and they’re tough kids. And they know how to find the end zone.”

On the face of it, I’m not getting the vibe that this is going to be a 250+ carry year for Mora’s RB1, no matter who that ends up being.

It’s good that Brown seems to be viewed as the frontrunner at this stage, though, and if we look at Cam Edwards’ 2024 season—a year in which he averaged around 13 PPG—we see that, despite filling in more as a RB1A, he had individual highs of 19, 20, 16, 14, 19, 13, and 27 points in the 13 games he played. That’s not bad at all, especially in deeper leagues. And even more so in deeper, bestball leagues where you didn’t have to anticipate when those performances would come.

With that in mind, I think something resembling Cam Edwards’ 2024 campaign is the goal here for Mr. Mel Brown. If he can achieve that, it would be a success from a CFF standpoint and I do think it’s a realistic outcome.

A few concerns would be that it seems like either QB who is competing to start will be a runner too, and the repeated mentions of “depth” from head coach Jim Mora probably foretells a healthier rotation of backs over one runner who gets leaned on. An RB1A role seems like the best outcome to hope for with regards to Brown’s CFF stock. ◾

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Well, it's very tempting, Bebe, but I'm very happy here in Seattle.

- Fraser Crane, Frasier (TV, Goodnight Seattle)

It seems like nearly every offseason I’m writing about yet another promising up-and-coming Washington Husky wide receiver. Several years ago it was Rome Odunze, then it was his predecessor Denzel “King Kong Ain’t Got Shit On Me!” Boston in 2024, and now here we are again with another UW player—redshirt junior Rashid “Space Needle” Williams.

In similar fashion to those articles, I’m going to let the spring quotes carry this one and add my commentary on top of it. Hey, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it, am I right?

So, with that in mind, here is a snippet from UW’s spring camp this past April:

Rashid Williams has been waiting for an opportunity to show Washington Huskies fans what he’s capable of.

A composite four-star recruit in the 2023 class, Williams has only caught 18 passes for 222 yards and 1 touchdown in 17 games across three seasons. There have been good reasons for that lack of production - Williams had five future NFL players in front of him during a redshirt year in 2023, then watched as Denzel Boston took a jump into 2024. Collarbone and hand injuries as a redshirt sophomore in 2025 then limited Williams to only two games when he was expected to be the team’s No. 2 receiver behind Boston.

Williams has stayed the course, however, never entering the transfer portal or questioning his future with the Huskies. Even with breakout freshman Dezmen Roebuck returning and high-upside players like Chris Lawson, Jordan Clay, and Trez Davis joining the fray, Williams has been the one who has looked steadiest during spring practice for Washington.

He parlayed that strong spring into a strong spring game on Friday night, leading all receivers with 65 yards and scoring on a 43-yard post route thrown by starting quarterback Demond Williams Jr. in the second quarter to tie the game at 10.

The fact that it was a post is notable - that’s been a staple route concept and big play generator for head coach Jedd Fisch in his time at Washington and has been one of Williams’ best routes as a passer since he arrived on campus.

Williams’ chemistry with the returning quarterback has been one of the major storylines of the spring. Demond Williams’ bond with Roebuck is to be expected, considering the two have run in the same circles since middle school. But Lawson, Clay, and transfers Christian Moss and Bodpegn Miller all missed time at various points this spring, losing a handful of practices that Washington hoped would build their chemistry with Williams. Instead, the junior signal-caller has primarily looked towards the receiver who shares his last name, with chemistry that has evidently not faded from additional practice time when Williams was healthy in 2024 and 2025.

“Rashid’s had a great spring. This is the first spring since he’s been here that he’s stayed healthy all spring,” Fisch told the media after the game Friday night. “To be able to see him take on more of a leadership role and make some big plays tonight was cool to see. Obviously, the big touchdown was great. The toe-tap was cool.”

Williams [Rashid] didn’t just catch passes from Williams [Demond], however. He stayed in the game on Friday for a few drives with third-string quarterback Kini McMillan at the helm, pulling in a 13-yard reception on the sideline and another 7-yard catch on the left side before exiting for the night.

With Boston - who was in attendance on Friday - off to the Cleveland Browns, the Huskies need a player who can step up in that room the same way Boston did in 2024 if they are going to reach the heights their players and coaches continue to tell the media they intend to. Friday showed that Williams may be closer to that jump than some may have thought to end the 2025 season.

Some pretty notable commentary there if you ask me. We know the upcoming sophomore Dezmen Roebuck is penciled in already as a starter, but he’s more of a slot receiver.

Certainly, as the writer above notes, UW are in need of a Denzel Boston replacement on the outside entering 2026. Rashid Williams, at least in spring, is looking the part.

This also calls into question whether CFFers are currently drafting the right UW WR. Obviously, Roebuck is returning as a safer/known commodity and that is what pushed his ADP up to where it is currently (May ADP of 121 according to Campus2Canton.com).

In contrast, Williams has an ADP of almost double Roebuck (254 according to C2C).

The gap in player performance is unlikely to reflect the same way once fall rolls around, in my opinion. Indeed, we have seen a two-man duo of a boundary and slot receiver both eat in head coach Jedd Fisch’s system before (think Tetairoa McMillan Jacob Cowing, or Giles Jackson and Boston in 2024).

That is looking increasingly likely with Roebuck and now Williams emerging as potentially key target men in the offence.

Coaching & System

PPG AVERAGE — WR1: 14 — WR2: 11 (half ppr)

Luckily for me, since I’m always writing about the receivers in this program I can recycle some of the text from my last article (in 2024) on Boston, when covering head coach Jed Fisch’s system:

Luckily for me there’s no need to specify which coach’s averages are being used above because both the head coach and offensive coordinator have been attached at the hip during the sample of data these numbers are pulling from. New UW head coach Jedd Fisch and his OC Brennan Carroll both come over from Arizona after spending three seasons in Tucson.

Historically, Fisch’s WR1 is a hot commodity in CFF. Looking at the target share numbers, it’s not hard to see why. The lowest target share Fisch’s WR1 has seen over the last three seasons is 26.3%, and they all averaged over 10 targets per game. Boston is probably going to be that player for UW in 2024.

The staff has spent most of their coaching years in the NFL, so the patterns beyond what you see in the table above are more difficult to trust. The last CFB program Fisch was at was UCLA in 2017 where he served as the OC before being promoted to interim HC. That season Jordan Lasley led the Bruins with 69 catches for 1264 yards and nine TDs.

Before UCLA he was at Michigan (QB/WR/PGC 2015-16), where the Wolverines did not have a 1000-yard receiver in either season. Neither did his two seasons spent as OC at Miami (2011-12).

In terms of team pace, Fisch’s programs are typically average. In 2023, the Wildcats ranked 60th in the FBS with 25.8 seconds per play run, and 27.7 and 26.8 seconds per play during the two previous seasons, respectively. Ideally you’d like to see a fast moving system with an ironclad track record of 1000-yard receivers. Fisch’s system is still pretty good due to the historical target share that the WR1 sees.

On the note of historical target share, I should say that in both 2024 and 2025 the WR1 saw 25 or higher percent target share as well. So no departure from the trend there.

And I should specify that while the outside receiver has been the WR1 under Fisch each of the last three seasons (T. McMillan in 2023, Boston in 2024 and 2025), the precedent has been set for a slot receiver to lead the offence (which is a point in favour of Roebuck considering he’s the leading returner).

Another thing to keep in mind is that UW is losing Jonah Coleman at RB, who was a runner who saw a lot of receiving targets as well (31-354-2 in 2025). I don’t know if UW has another player in the backfield who will replicate that currently. They are also set to play a (slightly) easier schedule this year compared to last (imo).

RASHID WILLIAMS (6’1, 200)

2025 RECEIVING STATS: 5-54-0 (5.2 PPG)

My man certainly looks the part of a star boundary receiver standing at 6’1 and 200 pounds. It is a bit alarming that he has less than 250 receiving yards over his first three years, but then again, there have been some good players ahead of him too.

Here is a section from a 2024 spring article previewing what the future could look like with a Demond-Rashid Williams connection:

They’re not brothers or cousins, not related in any way, but someday when the time is right, Rashid Williams and Demond Williams Jr. could form a rather catchy passing combination for the University of Washington football team.

Williams to Williams. No. 2 to No. 3.

For now, Demond Williams Jr., the freshman quarterback, is prepared to serve as the Husky back-up to Will Rogers Jr., while Rashid Williams, the redshirt freshman wide receiver, probably has to play behind a bunch of veteran pass-catchers this coming season and take snaps when he can get them.

Oh, but the potential for this Williams duo to make things happen on game day for the Huskies certainly is intriguing enough just thinking about it. Each player is fairly confident in his actions, smooth in his movements and just plain fast.

Williams was recruited in the class of 2023 as a four star receiver from Pittsburgh, California. He held offers from all over the country including Ole Miss, Miami and Oregon, in addition to UW. Fisch and his staff actually offered Williams as well while they were at Arizona.

Here’s what 247’s Brandon Huffman had to say about Williams coming out of high school:

Williams is a long receiver with good height to allow him to win jump balls and 50-50 balls. Does a good job shedding press coverage and can box out corners he has the size advantage against. Shows good yard after catch ability and can take on contact and bounce off. Does a good job adjusting to throws, with good body control, soft hands and can sink in to the routes then burst out.

Indeed, Williams’ profile definitely gives a lot of Denzel Boston vibes from a few years ago. In both of Boston’s top seasons with UW, he failed to reach 1000 receiving yards, but his CFF stock remained strong due to his penchant for end zone touches. Boston scored nine and 11 TDs in 13 and 12 games, respectively during 2024 and 2025. In both seasons he averaged over 15 PPG in PPR formats.

I could easily see Williams’ 2026 campaign playing out in a similar fashion. 1000 receiving yards may not be in order, but averaging over 15 PPG via a combination of receptions and TDs feels plausible given the skillset.

Roebuck will definitely be the chain mover and the safety blanket, but when UW throws downfield, it sounds (key word: sounds) like Williams may be one of the more targeted players for that.

Given the track record of boundary players before him, I think R. Williams is a player who should probably be more popular in CFF circles currently. If not, I’ll happily take him at 254 ADP each draft.◾

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六月掘土最深的猪，秋来得谷最丰

(The pig that digs deepest into the earth in June receives the richest grain harvest when autumn arrives.)

— Ancient Chinese Proverb, anonymous

You can expect depth chart orderings and notes on all 137 FBS programs for the RB position in this document.

You can find the player’s stats and profile information by clicking on their names. The ordering of the charts are determined using a variety of sources, including beat reports and third party services such as Rotowire and . In the absence of concrete information, a best guess is made based on last year’s rotation (it’ll be clearly indicated if this is the case in the ‘note’ section).

The recruiting ranking of each player is derived from ON3 or 247Sports.

Note on injury designations:

• Probable — Player suffered an injury but is practicing or expected to return soon.

• Questionable — Player suffered an injury and is expected to miss significant time in spring/fall camp and/or has yet to return from injury.

• Out/OFS — Player is out indefinitely.

PPG: I have provided with each program the head coach’s and OC’s PPG average for their RB1s (half PPR). This average pulls from a sample of data between 2018 and 2024, so keep in mind that for some coaches who only have one year in that sample, the numbers could skew very high or low. Data is provided by Joe from .

OL: Measure of returning snaps on the offensive line. These figures are provided by CFBWinningEdge.

The PPG and OL numbers relate to the OL and coaching staff who coached the team in 2025. These numbers will be updated later in July.***

Alabama

(HC / OC) PPG: 15.3 / 16.6 — OL: 65%

Daniel Hill | 2024 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | MS
Kevin Riley | 2024 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | AL

Note: Alabama struggled to run the ball in 2025, in part due to a problematic OL, but also lack of playmakers at RB. Notes out of the spring game were not encouraging on either fronts. Crowell missed the spring game with a soft tissue injury in his foot but reportedly is expected to be fully healthy to start the year and is a likely candidate to take over as the starter at some point.

Ezavier Crowell PROB | 2026 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | AL
Akylin Dear | 2025 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | MS
Traeshawn Brown | 2026 | ⭐⭐⭐ | TX
Khalifa Keith | 2023 | ⭐⭐⭐ | AL

Key departures:

• Richard Young | 2023 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | FL

• Jamorian Miller QUES | 2022 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | TX

• Dre’lyn Washington | 2021 | ⭐⭐⭐ | TX

Air Force

(HC / OC) PPG: 14.5 / 14.5 — OL: 55%

Owen Allen | 2023 | TX
Gage LaDue (FB) | 2024 | TN

Note: AF runs a triple-option offence that utilizes both a RB and a FB. It’s typically the FB position that dominates the rushing production in this offence. Service academies are particularly challenging to track eligibility and should have more info as offseason continues. 2026 Spring roster shows most of the 2025 room cleared out, excluding Owen Allen and Travis Wood. Kemper Hodges is still on the team but listed a QB. Players listed with (FB) are designated fullbacks on the roster.

Travis Wood (FB) | 2024 | ⭐⭐ | CA
Rocco Conti | 2023 | OH
Jalen Rashad Turner | 2023 | GA
Omar Elias (FB) | 2024 | KS
Jacob Doyle (FB) | 2025 | IA
Cade Palmer (FB) | 2025 | CO
Oswaldo Morales | 2025 | TX
Luke Ruah (FB) | 2024 | OK
Price Davis (FB) | 2025 | TN

Key departures:

• Dylan Carson | 2022 | ⭐⭐⭐ | WA

• Kade Frew | 2022 | ⭐⭐⭐ | FL

• Kemper Hodges | 2023 | FL

• Terrence Gist | 2021 | SC

• Kaden Cloud | 2021 | AZ

• Connor Mathews | 2025 | ⭐⭐⭐ | FL

Akron

(HC / OC) PPG: 14.3 / NA — OL: 36%

Jordan Gant | 2022 | FL
Sean Patrick | 2024 | ⭐⭐⭐ | OH

Note: Sean Patrick started the year as the RB1, but Tennessee State transfer Jordan Gant took over when he was injured and never looked back. Gant is Akron’s first 1000 yard rusher since 2008, and (as of writing this) is still on Akron’s roster for 2026. Curry looks to have preserved his redshirt.

Marquese Williams PROB | 2023 | ⭐⭐⭐ | PA
Taven Curry | 2022 | ⭐⭐⭐ | AL
Chris Gee QUES | 2023 | TX
Luke Reed | 2025 | OH

Key departures:

Appalachian State

(HC / OC) PPG: 13.8 / NA — OL: 26%

Jaquari Lewis | 2025 | ⭐⭐⭐ | FL
Kanye Roberts QUES | 2022 | ⭐⭐⭐ | NC

Note: True freshman Jaq Lewis took over as the bellcow late in the year and enters ‘26 as the expected starter. Roberts missed 2025 with an ACL injury and will return in 2026.

Treyaun Webb | 2023 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | FL
J’Marion Burnette | 2024 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | AL
Max Guest | 2025 | ⭐⭐⭐ | NC

Key departures:

• Rashod Dubinion | 2022 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | GA

• Khalifa Keith | 2023 | ⭐⭐⭐ | AL

• Jaylon Calhoun | 2023 | GA

• Khamani Alexander | 2024 | ⭐⭐⭐ | FL

Arkansas

(HC / OC) PPG: 12.8 / 10.5 — OL: 56%

Braylen Russell | 2024 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | AR
Sutton Smith | 2022 | ⭐⭐⭐ | GA

Note: Sutton Smith followed new head coach Ryan Silverfield from Memphis. Russell is now full go in practice (as of April, 2026). Sutton Smith was seen catching passes from QB AJ Hill in spring practice. Silverfield recently said this about him: “Sutton is someone our staff is very familiar with. He’s a dynamic runner.” Russell has also reportedly had a great spring and has re-shaped his physique, apparently down to around 225-230 pounds.

Jasper Parker | 2025 | ⭐⭐⭐ | MI
Markeylin Batton | 2025 | ⭐⭐⭐ | TX
Cam Settles | 2025 | ⭐⭐⭐ | AR
TJ Hodges | 2026 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | AR

Key departures:

• Mike Washington | 2021 | ⭐⭐ | NY

• Rodney Hill | 2022 | ⭐⭐⭐ | GA

• AJ Green | 2018 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | OK

Arkansas State

(HC / OC) PPG: 10.1 / 10.8 — OL: 55%

Kenyon Clay | 2022 | ⭐⭐⭐ | MS
Devin Spencer | 2024 | ⭐⭐⭐ | FL

Note: Cross suffered a season ending knee injury in 2025, and is now in the portal. Clay was interviewed with the head coach earlier in April as part of spring ball updates. Sounds like he and Spencer will split most of the work.

Corey Reddick | 2022 | FL
Ezell Jolly | 2023 | ⭐⭐⭐ | TX
Nasir Allen | 2025 | ⭐⭐⭐ | FL
Damon Sisa | 2024 | TN
Solomon Baggett | 2026 | ⭐⭐⭐ | MS

Key departures:

• Ja’Quez Cross QUES | 2021 | ⭐⭐⭐ | AR

• Tyler Williams | 2022 | AR

• Cedric Hawkins QUES | 2023 | ⭐⭐⭐ | AR

Arizona

(HC / OC) PPG: 14.8 / 13.2 — OL: 50%

Kedrick Reescano PROB | 2023 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | TX
Quincy Craig PROB | 2022 | ⭐⭐⭐ | CA

Note: Reescano and Craig were both recently interviewed as an update on spring ball. This is a good indicator that they are expected to be the starters. Each have recently been upgraded to PROB from QUES, so I’d expect each will be ready for fall camp.

Wesley Yarbrough | 2025 | ⭐⭐⭐ | TX
Cornelius Warren | 2025 | ⭐⭐⭐ | TX
Mike Mitchell QUES | 2023 | ⭐⭐⭐ | FL
Antwan Roberts | 2023 | TN

Key departures:

• Ismail Mahdi | 2023 | TX

Arizona State

(HC / OC) PPG: 20.4 / 18.9 — OL: 67%

Kyson Brown | 2023 | ⭐⭐⭐ | TX
Marquis Gillis | 2022 | DE

Note: Kyson Brown opened the year as the starter but fell to injury. Raleek Brown took over, but has since transferred to Texas. Avit and Gillis are promotions from lower divisions. Gillis has apparently been impressive in spring camp, as has freshman Cardae Mack.

Cardae Mack | 2026 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | TX
David Avit | 2024 | MD
Demarius Robinson | 2025 | ⭐⭐⭐ | OK
Jason Brown | 2024 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | WA

Key departures:

• Kanye Udoh | 2023 | ⭐⭐⭐ | NJ

• Raleek Brown | 2022 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | CA

Army

(HC / OC) PPG: 10 / 13.2 — OL: 43%

Godspower Nwawuihe* | 2025 | TX
Jake Rendina | 2023 | MT

Note: Service academies roster a lot of ‘RBs’ and are the most difficult to track beyond the top two or three starters. Nwawuihe does not currently have RB eligibility on Fantrax (listed as QB). He had a big bowl game as a runner. I’m tentatively listing him here for now, but it is not clear what position eligibility he’ll get. Army rosters RBs and ‘SBs’ that also operate as runners out of the backfield.

Carson Smith | 2024 | MD
Briggs Bartosh QUES | 2023 | MO
Demani Stewart | 2025 | TX
Jayden Walker (SB) | 2024 | TX
Brady Mott (SB) | 2023 | CA
Lloyd Benson (SB) | 2023 | LA
BJ Alleyne (SB) | 2025 | DE
Chase Knox (SB) | 2024 | DE

Key departures:

• Noah Short | 2021 | ⭐⭐ | CA

• Hayden Reed | 2022 | ⭐⭐⭐ | FL

• Jack Kayser | 2024 | TX

• Trey Morris | 2024 | OH

• Trey Tremba | 2024 | PA

Auburn

(HC / OC) PPG: 13.9 / 16.5 — OL: 88%

Jeremiah Cobb | 2023 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | AL
Bryson Washington | 2023 | ⭐⭐⭐ | TX

Note: Cobb returns after playing the starting role in 2025. Davenport transferred from USF. B. Washington was a star at Baylor, and will form what is likely to be a committee with Cobb, Davenport and Mabsen in ‘26.

Nykahi Davenport | 2024 | ⭐⭐⭐ | GA
Omar Mabsen | 2025 | ⭐⭐⭐ | AL
Tae Meadows | 2023 | ⭐⭐⭐ | AL
Alvin Henderson | 2025 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | AL
Justin Jones | 2021 | AL

Key departures:

• Damari Alston PROB | 2022 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | GA

• Durell Robinson | 2023 | ⭐⭐⭐ | MD

Ball State

(HC / OC) PPG: 10.9 / NA — OL: 17%

Jalen Bonds | 2025 | ⭐⭐ | IN
TJ Horton QUES | 2023 | ⭐⭐⭐ | KY

Note: Thompson transferred from Kansas. Starter Q. Ashley remains in the portal as of April 15.

Johnny Thompson Jr. | 2024 | ⭐⭐⭐ | CA
Elijah Jackson | 2022 | IN
Jalen Alexander | 2024 | IN
DJ Williams | 2024 | ⭐⭐⭐ | OH

Key departures:

• Qua Ashley | 2022 | GA

Baylor

(HC / OC) PPG: 15.9 / 14.0 — OL: 76%

Dawson Pendergrass | 2023 | ⭐⭐⭐ | TX
Caden Knighten | 2025 | ⭐⭐⭐ | OK

Note: Watson converted from WR to RB. Sounds like all of the injured RBs (Knighton, Turner, Pendergrass) are back full go now. The RBs coach spoke about each of the RBs here. Pendergrass is expected to lead a platoon with the two behind him.

Micheal Turner | 2025 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | TX
Jacorey Watson | 2025 | ⭐⭐⭐ | TX
Ryelan Morris | 2026 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | TX
HD Davis | 2026 | ⭐⭐⭐ | TX

Key departures:

• Bryson Washington | 2023 | ⭐⭐⭐ | TX

• Joseph Dodds | 2024 | ⭐⭐⭐ | TX

Boise State

(HC / OC) PPG: 35.1 / 31.2 — OL: 79%

Dylan Riley | 2024 | ⭐⭐⭐ | CA
Sire Gaines | 2024 | ⭐⭐⭐ | CA

Note: The PPG average is skewed by one season of data and does not incorporate 2025 yet. Goff joins from Pitt, Stewart from Kansas. Spring reports suggest both Riley and Gaines will share RB1 duties this offseason.

Juelz Goff | 2024 | ⭐⭐⭐ | PA
Harry Stewart | 2024 | ⭐⭐⭐ | TX
Keilan Chavies | 2026 | ⭐⭐⭐ | TX
Ethan Mikita Ques | 2022 | ID
Mariyon Sloan | 2026 | ⭐⭐⭐ | CA

Key departures:

• Malik Sherrod | 2020 | ⭐⭐⭐ | CA

• Jambres Dubar PROB | 2023 | ⭐⭐⭐ | TX

• Greg Ard | 2025 | ⭐⭐⭐ | TX

Boston College

(HC / OC) PPG: 16.8 / 11.9 — OL: 52%

Evan Dickens | 2023 | ⭐⭐⭐ | GA
Nolan Ray | 2023 | ⭐⭐⭐ | MI

Note: Dickens transferred from Liberty after a very productive season. Ray from Maryland. Star RB Turbo Richard transferred to IU.

Jordan McDonald | 2022 | ⭐⭐⭐ | GA
Bo MacCormack | 2025 | ⭐⭐⭐ | MA
Mekhi Dodd | 2025 | ⭐⭐⭐ | MA
Sedric Addison | 2026 | ⭐⭐⭐ | GA

Key departures:

• Turbo Richard | 2024 | ⭐⭐⭐ | SC

• Vaughn Pemberton | 2022 | ⭐⭐ | IL

• Alex Broome Ques | 2022 | ⭐⭐⭐ | TN

Bowling Green

(HC / OC) PPG: NA / NA — OL: 74%

Austyn Dendy | 2024 | ⭐⭐⭐ | AR
Nakai Amachree QUES | 2024 | ⭐⭐⭐ | MI

Note: Dendy became the bellcow in November.

Leo Kemp | 2023 | CA
PaSean Wimberly PROB | 2020 | OH
Tristin Blackmon | 2026 | ⭐⭐⭐ | AL

Key Departures:

• Cameron Pettaway | 2024 | MI

• Mar’kel Porter | 2024 | ⭐⭐⭐ | TX

• Kaderris Roberts | 2021 | FL

• Chris McMillian | 2022 | GA

Buffalo

(HC / OC) PPG: 14.8 / 15.0 — OL: 60%

Terrance Shelton | 2024 | ⭐⭐⭐ | WI
Messiah Burch | 2023 | NY

Note: Henderson is out of eligibility. Not a lot of updates out of UB camp yet.

James McNeil Jr. | 2024 | NY
Nino Hill | 2025 | ⭐⭐⭐ | OH
Devare Mathis | 2022 | NY
Chase Enlow | 2026 | ⭐⭐⭐ | NJ

Key Departures:

• Al-Jay Henderson | 2021 | ⭐⭐⭐ | NJ

• Lamar Sperling | 2023 | ⭐⭐⭐ | OH

BYU

(HC / OC) PPG: 13.6 / 15.6 — OL: 54%

LJ Martin PROB | 2023 | ⭐⭐⭐ | TX
Sione I Moa | 2024 | CA

Note: Star RB LJ Martin is still recovering from shoulder surgery in 2025, not participating in early spring drills, but has been upgraded to PROB from QUES. Sione Moa is back full go.

Jovesa Damuni QUES | 2023 | UT
Preston Rex | 2022 | CA
Pokaiaua Haunga | 2024 | UT
Cale Breslin | 2025 | ⭐⭐⭐ | NV
Kingston Keanaaina | 2025 | ⭐⭐⭐ | CA
Devaughn Eka | 2026 | ⭐⭐⭐ | UT

Key Departures:

California

(HC / OC) PPG: 14.9 / 16.5 — OL: 20%

Adam Mohammed | 2024 | ⭐⭐⭐ | AZ
Ashten Emory | 2024 | ⭐⭐⭐ | TX

Note: A lot of turnover in this room. Mohammed joins from UW and is early betting favourite to assume RB1 role. Emory came from UTEP. Mohammed was recently singled out by QB JKS in an interview.

Carter Vargas | 2024 | ⭐⭐⭐ | CA
Dean-Taylor Chapman | 2023 | CA
Anthony League | 2025 | ⭐⭐⭐ | CA
Jayden Parker QUES | 2024 | CA
Victor Santino | 2026 | ⭐⭐⭐ | FL

Key Departures:

• Kendrick Raphael | 2023 | ⭐⭐⭐ | FL

• Brandon High | 2023 | ⭐⭐⭐ | TX

• LJ Johnson QUES | 2021 |⭐⭐⭐⭐ | TX

• Jamaal Wiley | 2024 | ⭐⭐⭐ | TX

Central Florida (UCF)

(HC / OC) PPG: 14.1 / NA — OL: 25%

Duke Watson | 2024 | ⭐⭐⭐ | GA
Tavion Swint | 2025 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | FL

Note: Chambers promoted from FCS. Watson, and Swint are the top two players mentioned post spring ball.

Landen Chambers | 2023 | ⭐⭐⭐ | TX
Agyeman Addae | 2025 | ⭐⭐⭐ | FL
Kaj Baker | 2026 | ⭐⭐⭐ | FL
Arthur Lewis | 2026 | ⭐⭐⭐ | FL

Key Departures:

• Jaden Nixon | 2021 | ⭐⭐⭐ | TX

• Stacy Gage | 2024 | ⭐⭐⭐ | FL

• Myles Montgomery | 2021 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | FL

Central Michigan

(HC / OC) PPG: 5.8 / NA — OL: 53%

Vaughn Blue | 2023 | SC
Brock Townsend | 2024 | ⭐⭐⭐ | MI

Jakivion Calip QUES | 2023 | ⭐⭐⭐ | OH
Germanuel Tanelus | 2022 | FL
Nahree Biggins QUES | 2020 | NJ
Mekhi Jenkins | 2023 | ⭐⭐⭐ | MI
Jayel Harris | 2025 | ⭐⭐⭐ | OH
Traverse Moore | 2026 | ⭐⭐⭐ | MI

Key departures:

• Trey Cornist | 2024 | ⭐⭐⭐ | OH

Charlotte

(HC / OC) PPG: 15.4 / 15.9 — OL: 23%

Jariel Cobb QUES | 2025 | ⭐⭐⭐ | NC
Henry Rutledge QUES| 2021 | NC

Note: Gainey transferred to LSU. Perteet is a late transfer from CCO. In 2024, he ran for 1223 yards and 13 scores on 5.3 yards-per-carry (230 touches) in JuCo.

Khamani Alexander | 2024 | ⭐⭐⭐ | FL
D’Mariun Perteet | 2023 | MS
Tre McLeod | 2024 | ⭐⭐⭐ | PA
Chance Williams | 2022 | LA

Key departures:

• Rod Gainey | 2024 | ⭐⭐⭐ | FL

• CJ Stokes | 2022 | ⭐⭐⭐ | SC

Cincinnati

(HC / OC) PPG: 12.5 / 13.7 — OL: 36%

Zion Johnson | 2025 | ⭐⭐⭐ | GA
Zylan Perry | 2022 | LA

Note: Satterfield indicated that Zion Johnson will open spring as the starter. Another writer said that in his opinion, the most likely to start is Perry.

Cole Tabb | 2024 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | FL
Gi’Bran Payne | 2022 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | OH
Cade Wolford | 2024 | ⭐⭐ | OH
Jayzon Thompson | 2026 | ⭐⭐⭐ | TN

Key departures:

• Tawee Walker | 2022 | NV

• Evan Pryor QUES | 2021 |⭐⭐⭐⭐ | NC

• Chance Williams | 2022 | LA

• JaKorion Coffey | 2024 | ⭐⭐⭐ | OH

• Manny Covey | 2023 | ⭐⭐⭐ | FL

Clemson

(HC / OC) PPG: 18.7 / 15.5 — OL: 82%

Gideon Davidson | 2025 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | VA
Chris Johnson | 2023 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | FL

Note: HC Dabo Swinney recently stated that SMU transfer Chris Johnson has gained around 10 pounds since joining the team. He praised his work ethic in the weight room after arriving to the program looking “like a guy that ain’t been serious about being great.” I’d (VP) still give the odds to Davidson to be RB1, with CJ as a change of pace option behind him as things currently stand.

David Eziomume | 2024 | ⭐⭐⭐ | GA
Jay Haynes QUES | 2023 | ⭐⭐⭐ | AL
Jarvis Green QUES | 2023 | ⭐⭐⭐ | SC

Key departures:

• Adam Randall QUES | 2021 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | SC

• Keith Adams | 2022 | ⭐⭐⭐ | UT

Coastal Carolina

(HC / OC) PPG: 11.3 / 9.0 — OL: 72%

Daelen Alexander | 2023 | TX
Jaden Allen-Hendrix | 2024 | ⭐⭐⭐ | SC

Note: Alexander joins from Rice. ARK transfer Rodney Hill no longer on the spring roster.

Dominic Knicely | 2025 | VA
Jevon Edwards | 2025 | ⭐⭐⭐ | SC

Key departures:

• Matt Pack | 2021 | SC

• Ja’Vin Simpkins QUES | 2023 | ⭐⭐⭐ | FL

• Jalen John | 2020 | ⭐⭐⭐ | OR

• Rodney Hill | 2022 | ⭐⭐⭐ | GA

• D’Mariun Perteet | 2023 | MS

Colorado

(HC / OC) PPG: 13.0 / 6.6 — OL: 49%

Damian Henderson | 2023 | ⭐⭐⭐ | CA
Micah Welch | 2024 | ⭐⭐⭐ | GA

Note: Henderson, the former CSU/Sacramento St. RB led the team in rushing during the spring game.

Richard Young | 2023 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | FL
DeKalon Taylor | 2022 | TX
Jaquail Smith | 2025 ] CA
Cam Newton | 2026 | ⭐⭐⭐ | TX

Key departures:

• Dallan Hayden | 2022 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | TN

• Simeon Price | 2021 | ⭐⭐⭐ | FL

Colorado State

(HC / OC) PPG: 11.6 / 11.6 — OL: 44%

Mel Brown | 2022 | GA
Durell Robinson | 2023 | ⭐⭐⭐ | MD

Note: Mel Brown was praised by the head coach Jim Mora during the spring game. Sounds like he’s in poll position for RB1 duties.

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I want you to put the word out there that we back up.

- Stringer, the Wire

It was a sad day in college football when well known degenerate and KDPF license holder, Clint “Pig Master” Trickett, accepted the QBs coach job at Arkansas, thereby removing himself from the play calling ranks of CFB. He had previously been serving as the OC at Jacksonville State (which is located in Alabama, by the way).

Indeed, a collective cry from pigs all over planet Earth could be heard far and wide when the announcement was made public. But thankfully, cooler heads prevailed when Maryland offered their OC job to the newly hired Trickett, who wasted no time in accepting the position.

As a refresher for the audience, in case you’re new here, or just forgot, but this crazy bastard we know as Clint Trickett has a trail of volume pigs everywhere he’s been. Now, to be fair, that list of stops is not lengthy. He was the OC at Marshall for two seasons, and then this past year at Jacksonville State.

So while he is batting 100% in this denomination, the sample remains small. He technically has another year in his inventory as he spent 2020 co-OCing FAU. The problem with that is that since he was the co-OC, it’s hard to know retroactively how much influence he really had on shaping the offence. For the reader’s context—that backfield was a committee.

Maryland as a program has not had an elite CFF asset at RB in quite some time. In fact, the last time the Terps had a 1000-yard rusher was in 2018, remarkably coming from a RB who only saw 131(!) carries. How the hell did that happen? That must be close to a record for fewest carries taken to produce 1000 yards.

And you won’t believe this stat but it’s true: Maryland hasn’t had a 200+ carry runner since 2008! Disgraceful behaviour in my opinion and I told Coach Locksley as much in my year-end address to all FBS coaches. You see, I send a letter to each at the end of the season, and let’s just say the one sent to Maryland was NOT full of holiday cheer.

Clearly it hit home with Coach as he immediately pivoted to steal Pig Master Trickett away from Arkansas at the last minute. A good move in my opinion—his talents would have been wasted as a QBs coach.

COACHING & SYSTEM: PIG MASTER TRICKETT

RB1 PPG AVERAGE — HC: 13 — OC: 20

I vaguely remember watching Trickett on the Netflix show “Last Chance U” several years ago. He was (unsuccessfully) attempting to resuscitate FSU drop out Malik Henry’s stock at the JuCo Independence Community College in Kansas.

Trickett was a former QB himself, who actually played at FSU as well, but is better known from his time at WVU as far as I know. He was eventually forced to retire from playing the sport entirely after sustaining five concussions in a 14-month span.

So I suppose it’s no wonder then that he has little reservation about handing the ball off to his lead back 300+ times in a collegiate football season.

Over his three seasons spent as the full OC, Trickett’s RB1 averaged 1437 yards and 15.7 rushing TDs.

During the two seasons that Trickett OC’d Marshall, the RB1 saw 50 and 47% team carry share, in other words, half or nearly half of all carries were funnelled through one runner. Delicious.

I don’t have the exact carry share number for Jacksonville State this past season, but it’s safe to assume it was the same if not higher.

The highest carry share at Maryland under Locksley was 40% in 2022, when Roman Hemby averaged 14 carries per game and around 16 PPR PPG. Outside of that, most of his runners see 30% or less of the team carry share.

Furthermore, while Locksley has averaged a near 50/50 split in offensive play calling, Trickett averages closer to a 57% run rate. Both coaches average a quick offensive play rate at 24-25 seconds per play.

DeJuan Williams (5’11, 215)

2025 RUSHING STATS: 128-501-3 (13.3 PPG)

While I've included only Williams’ rushing stats above for consistent formatting with previous articles, a lot of his value last year came via the air. I must admit that I was really not expecting this: he almost had more receiving yards than rushing in 2025.

Yes, it’s true. Williams caught 45 of 65(!) targets for 426 yards and another score. That’s astronomical receiving usage for a RB, especially in a non-Mike Leach/Air-Raid offence.

And he really doesn’t look like the type, am I right? He has the appearance of a rugged, bruising back who is a sledgehammer between the tackles à la Mo Ibrahim from a few years ago.

But it turns out our man also has a pair of soft hands and a knack for getting open on scramble drills:

We love to see it.

Williams is a local kid who grew up in Baltimore and was rated as a four star prospect by 247 Sports. He was a member of the powerhouse program St. Francis Academy and held multiple P4 offers including from Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State.

In terms of how the marriage between Willians and Trickett may play out, it’s true that Trickett’s RB1s are typically workhorses on the ground, but two out of his three backs have also finished with over 200 receiving yards (Cam Cook had 286 in 2025).

So, suffice it to say that there should be no concern there, and frankly, it would be odd behaviour for Trickett not to utilize Williams in such a fashion after what he demonstrated in 2025.

And while Maryland may end up being a poor performing club once again in 2026, receiving usage from a RB helps make him match-up proof.

It also helps our confidence in Williams that he is returning as Maryland’s RB1 from a season ago. That isn’t a guarantee that he will start again, of course, but it is a good indicator.

He apparently won one of Maryland’s spring ball awards according to a 247 Sports article:

DeJuan Williams took home the Ernest Torain Offensive Back Award. He's expected to return to the starting lineup at running back, with USC transfer Harry Dalton also heavily involved.

Though I will say that personally, I was hoping to read some more glowing reports regarding how Williams looks this offseason. For example, here is one thing a writer at 247 Sports said:

Running back remains status quo. Maryland might not have a star there, but Dejuan Williams and USC transfer Harry Dalton could be a solid 1-2 punch if the offensive line improves its run blocking. Williams took an option 70 yards to the endzone during one recent practice.

I feel like my enthusiasm for Williams based on his profile and what the writers are reporting are completely mismatched. I mean this guy had nearly 1000 total yards last year in a bad offence. No star here? NO STAR??

Alright. I get that the offensive line is a problem spot that will present some challenges to Williams’ CFF profile, but the astronomical receiving usage sort of offsets this, and assuming he receives more carries (128 in 13 games is frankly unacceptable and I would be shocked if the Pig Master let’s that happen again), there should be a budding star here (yes I’m going to say it even if these Terp writers won’t).

I’m also a fan of Harry Dalton, and I suspect that asshole Mike Locksley will make sure to temper Trickett’s preference for funnelling almost every carry to Williams. So, I don’t doubt that a healthier split between the top two running backs is coming relative to what we’ve become accustomed to with Trickett. Even still, there’s a lot of room for growth here. Just get me to 170-180 carries with another 45-50 receptions (plus a couple more tuddies) and we’re cooking.

Williams is not quite in the range that I saw Trickett’s former RB1, Cam Cook, being taken late in the offseason last year, but he seems to keep climbing. His last recorded ADP is from April, and is being selected in the eight/ninth round range according to Campus2Canton.

That feels fair but I fear he will continue to be selected earlier and earlier as the offseason progresses. I think the main risk factors are: Mike Locksley, bad offence (especially the OL), and I suppose Harry Dalton (USC transfer) who people around the program seem to like. ◾

If you enjoyed this content and would like to read more, I recommend joining the Pigpen, a community of thousands of degenerate college football fans:

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Turn the power up.

- Twisted Sister, band

TURN IT DOWN YOU SAY. But all I got to say to you is time and time again I say no! No, no, no… I’m bringing the funk once again with an FCS transfer that simply must not go undrafted in any regular CFF1 league right now.

Prairie View A&M’s Jyzaiah (Jay) “Twisted Sister” Rockwell was the fourth leading receiver in the FCS last year with a mouth-watering 72 receptions, 1132 yards and seven scores in 14 games. Against the one FBS program PV played, Rice, Rockwell secured six receptions for 92 yards. That’s definitely encouraging, particularly after Rockwell’s first two years spent at Sam Houston, where he only caught a total of 13 passes.

Even more intriguing is his landing spot. The Western Kentucky program has made a living in the 2020s off of FCS transfers, particularly at the WR position. We need only think of the likes of Jerreth Sterns, Kisean Johnson, and most recently, Matthew Henry, who each led the Hilltoppers in receiving in 2021, 2024, and 2025, respectively.

Rockwell appears reasonably well positioned to be the next in line. There are several other cooks in the kitchen—yes—but no other receiver on the roster currently has the level of production Rockwell comes in with, albeit at a lower level.

He’s also a bigger player who is more likely to play on the boundary, whereas some of the most productive players in the past were slot receivers. Though we’ve seen the occasional boundary player fill in as WR1, and if we count Mitchell Tinsley in 2021, there have been three of these types that finished with a season of over 900 receiving yards (Lucky Jackson in ‘19, Tinsley in ‘21, Johnson in ‘24).

Do you know there is actually a place called ROCKWALL in Texas, which is only a 45 minute drive from Rockwell’s birthplace of McKinney? We were so close with the names there to make this a neat fun fact. And I'm irrationally frustrated by the near connection.

I’m actually going to be visiting Texas for the first time in my life in August—Austin to be specific—for one of the Scottfish Tadpole drafts with a bunch of other CFF nerds.

I’m really hoping to get some authentic Texas BBQ… I think that’s the thing I’m looking forward to the most. Hopefully I don’t get shot along the way.

Back to the topic at hand, let’s dive deeper into the WKU system under Helton & co., which oddly enough, I don’t think I’ve covered in an article before. At least, not that I can remember. This is strange considering how coveted the players from this program have been in recent years within the CFF community.

COACHING & SYSTEM

WR1 PPG AVERAGE (2018-2024) — HC: 17 — OC: 14 (half ppr)

While there have been some notable OCs who have come through the ‘Hill and morphed the offence in their image, this is really head coach Tyson Helton’s system at this point. There is a new OC, Bodie Reeder, who is joining from MTSU, and a co-OC who was promoted from offensive line coach this spring.

Helton joined the program in 2019 after spending the 2018 season as the OC of the Tennessee Volunteers. The stats from this season are not included in the table below, but Tennessee’s WR1 that season only caught 37 passes for 592 yards and two scores. Helton has also spent time as the passing game coordinator and QBs coach at USC (2016-17), and was previously the OC at WKU in 2014 and 2015.

Helton’s time as OC at the program is outside the scope of the table, so I’ll include the details of each season’s WR1 here for your convenience:

• Taiwan Taylor (2015) 86-1467-17

• Jared Dangerfield (2014) 69-825-11

The OC, Bodie Reeder, is joining after two seasons spent at MTSU. His time with the Blue Raiders is not overwhelmingly encouraging. In his first season, it was TE/slot receiver Holden Willis who led the squad in receiving. In his second season, Myles Butler only produced 518 yards and two scores.

But presumably if he’s joining this esteemed program that we know as the WKU Hilltoppers then he will acquiesce to Helton’s mode of operation when it comes to WR1 production.

The one bright spot of Reeder’s track record as OC is that he was the play caller at North Texas during 2019 when Jaelon Darden had a 25% target share (nine per game) and averaged over 15 PPG in PPR formats.

At QB, there are not a lot of options on the roster. Rodney Tisdale returns after starting in (from what I can tell) five games last season. The fact that he is currently engaged in a battle for QB1 duties after getting his shot last year tells us all we need to know here—clearly Helton wanted to see something better from his pivot and thus here we are.

Tisdale is competing with FSU transfer Brock Glenn, who similarly struggled when given his opportunities over the last three years. Furthermore, Glenn did not participate in the spring game due to an undisclosed injury.

It goes without saying that many times the success of the WRs is predicated on the success of the QB position. Though there are plenty of examples throughout the history of CFF of poor QB play that still supported elite WR production. Sometimes it can be a good thing if the QB just locks onto his go-to guy.

And who will the go-to guy be this year? Like I said earlier—a lot of cooks in the kitchen over there, so picking one out and definitely declaring them as the guy to draft right now would be silly, but Rockwell is probably a name worth taking a shot on and I don’t see why he isn’t being drafted more.

Jay Rockwell (6’2, 215)

2025 RECIEVING STATS: 72-1132-7 (FCS)

Rockwell began his career at Sam Houston during the 2022 season. He was actually a big get for SMHU at the time, given that he was rated a three-star prospect by 247 Sports and held offers from P4 programs like Kansas, Nebraska, and Illinois. In addition to those offers, G5 programs like UTSA, North Texas and Arkansas State also wanted Rockwell’s signature.

In the end, then-FCS program SMHU won out, but ultimately Rockwell would fail to make a noticeable impact with the Houston-based program during his three seasons there.

He redshirted his first year after enrolling in the spring of 2022. In 2023, he appeared in 10 games, catching seven of his 19 targets for 42 yards and one score.

In the following season he must have picked up an injury because he apparently only played in seven games, catching six of seven targets for 50 yards.

The 2025 campaign with FCS program Prairie View is where our man finally found his footing. And while it is concerning that he failed to make a mark during the two seasons he played in the FBS previously, I would guess that he has developed into a different player in 2026 coming off a career year in 2025.

Other names to consider on this roster include K.D. Hutchinson, who returns as one of the lead receivers from a year ago and is likely to occupy one of the slot positions. Former Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket Zion Taylor is transferring down a level and joining WKU. Another former SMHU Bearkat—Qua’Vez Humphreys—also makes his way over to Western Kentucky. There are others to consider as well.

I’m not so worried about Hutchinson given his presumed role, but a player like Humphreys probably presents the biggest obstacle to Rockwell’s ascension as the target master in this offence.

And maybe this is one of those years where there just won’t be a notable CFF asset at WR from this program? Never say never, even if every full season Helton’s been here produced at least a viable CFF asset at WR. Every streak comes to an end eventually.

Either way, I would be targeting Rockwell as an end-of-draft Hail Mary that has a decent shot of becoming a WR1 in what has been a coveted offence for CFFers during Helton’s tenure. ◾

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The difference between involvement and commitment is like ham and eggs. The chicken is involved; the pig is committed.

Injury & Suspension News

• Texas Tech's request for reinstatement of eligibility for Brenden Sorsby has been denied by the NCAA, per ESPN. However, Sorsby was granted a temporary preliminary injunction on June. 8. The NCAA will appeal the decision. As things stand, Sorsby is to serve a two game suspension to open the season.

• Iowa State Salahadin Allah won't play in 2026 due to a torn achilles tendon, per Eugene Rapay of the Des Moines Register.

• Mizzou RB Ahmad Hardy is beginning rehabilitation in Columbia after undergoing surgery for a gunshot wound to his leg, per a team video message.

• Syracuse QB Steve Angeli, who is recovering from an Achilles injury, reportedly hit 19 miles per hour on the treadmill last week according to head coach Fran Brown during ACC spring meetings, per David Hale of ESPN.

• LSU QB Sam Leavitt is expected to be fully cleared from his foot injury this summer, according to Lane Kiffin via On3.

• Texas WR Kalil Lockett (lower leg) was limited in Texas' spring practice period but is still expected to return to action in the summer, per Zach Dimmitt of Texas on SI.

• Washington RB Jordan Washington (undisclosed) was carted off the field in Washington's spring practice period and his head coach Jedd Fisch is reportedly targeting a late-July return for the tailback, per Huskies Wire.

• UCF QB Alonza Barnett (undisclosed) will “be back by summer,” he said in his first media availability since January, per the Daytona Beach News-Journal.

• ND RB Aneyas Williams (elbow) is healthy following Notre Dame’s spring game, WNDU.com reports.

• UTSA QB Owen McCown (undisclosed) sat out spring practice and the spring game as a precaution, but he could’ve played and is expected to be ready to roll for fall camp, per the San Antonio Express-News.

• UCLA RB Wayne Knight (undisclosed) is expected to have a role in the offense once healthy for fall camp, Jack Savage of 247Sports.com reports.

Spring Camp News

• Utah QB Devon Dampier was praised by offensive coordinator Kevin McGiven due to the growth he’s shown in the last few months, according to Sammy Mora of On3.com.

  “The command that he’s developed over the last couple of practices has been really impressive to see. His application of concept, making decisions pre snap, post snap, and with some of the new concepts that we’re running, that he’s been exposed to for the first time, I think he’s doing a really good job with starting to display a pretty high comfort level with with a lot of things, and just trying to continue to build chemistry with the with the pieces around him,” McGiven said.

• A note out of camp on FSU QB Ashton Daniels per CBS sports:

  "I think he's going to play a lot better than people think he will," a source said. "He's really smart. He really has a workman attitude to everything. He's not prima-donnish. Everything he's gone through in his career, you can tell it keeps him humble and keeps him focused on the right things. I think he can feel the confidence that people in the program have in him. And he's also got enough playmakers around him that I think his talent will show up."

• One source from Pitt said on QB Mason Heintschel “He’s gone to another level,” per CBS sports.

• Georgia Tech QB Alberto Mendoza is widely expected to be Georgia Tech's starting quarterback, per Andy Staples of On3.

• UTEP QB EJ Colson has won the starting job at quarterback, Pete Thamel of ESPN.com reports.

• Per ON3, a note on Michigan’s expected WR rotation:

  Four-star sophomore Andrew Marsh (6-0, 190), sophomore, three-star sophomore JJ Buchanan (6-3, 225), four-star freshman Salesi Moa (6-2, 175). These guys are young, but all are talented, and Marsh and Buchanan have already exceeded their rankings early at Michigan and Utah. They’re future pros. Moa is already turning heads.

• Michigan WR JJ Buchanan no longer has TE eligibility on Fantrax. Per ON3, Hogan Hansen is the expected starter for 2026:

  Four-star junior Hogan Hansen (6-5, 240). Injuries have derailed him, but he has the talent. He was No. 327 overall in the Rivals industry rankings, but most believe he has the potential to be much better than that … if he can stay healthy

• Update on Duke’s QB competition per 247 Sports:

  The Blue Devils were put in an unenviable position with their quarterback room following the sudden departure of Darian Mensah to the transfer portal on the day of its closing. There weren’t many options available to Duke. But the Blue Devils did land an experienced passer in San Jose State’s Walker Eget, who threw for 3,051 yards last season. Eget wasn’t cleared by the NCAA for a sixth season until February, and he wasn’t 100% healthy during spring practice, per a source, after he suffered a leg injury in November.

  Eget did take some limited reps, however, and was around the team. He’s in a battle with redshirt freshman Dan Mahan for the starting job. Duke is optimistic about Mahan’s future but Eget certainly has the experience edge.

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I just like beaches in the summer, man.

- Rob Gronkowski, former NFL player

Bill Belichick’s New England Patriots were one of the early adopters of heavily utilizing their TEs as offensive weapons in the NFL. In fact, at times they deployed two pass-catching TEs on the field at the same time.

The most dominant player under Belichick was Rob Gronkowski, who enjoyed multiple thousand-yard seasons and all-pro honours at the position. The late Aaron Hernandez was another player who was heavily featured. In fact, he had a season-high of 113 targets in only 14 games in 2011 despite being the ‘second’ TE.

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"The camera adds 10 pounds"

- Anonymous

Hello all, I’ve recently been spending a lot of time on the CTN podcast with Jared and Chris (plus special guests) previewing conferences via live drafts. So far, we have completed the B1G, SEC and BIG12 previews. The links to the videos are provided below:

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BIG12:

SEC

B1G

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There is something quite lethal about a painting.

- Dorian Gray, Picture of Dorian Gray (1945)

In the 2009 NFL season, a second year player and former ECU Pirate torched the league to the tune of 2006 rushing yards in 16 games. That player’s name was Chris Johnson, who has henceforth been referred to as “CJ2K”.

A few seasons earlier, CJ2K led the Pirates in rushing with 1423 yards, and 1951 total scrimmage yards including his receiving work. Not quite 2000 total yards in college, but in his defence, he did this in only 13 games.

Admittedly, I wasn’t sure what to expect this offseason when the 2026 version of ECU brought in several transfers at the RB position. One of those players followed the new OC, Jordan Davis (not to be confused with the DT from UGA), from North Texas: Ashton Gray.

Gray is coming off a career game in UNT’s bowl matchup vs. SDSU where he ran 16 times for 152 yards and two scores (~29 CFF points). Pretty gangster if you ask me.

Obviously, he was behind CFF darling Caleb Hawkins last season, so his overall season stats are not impressive. The second year player finished 2025 with 58 rush attempts, 377 yards and five scores total.

Speaking of Jordan Davis—again, not to be confused with my dawg, JD, who plays for the Eagles—he is in his first season OCing the Pirates after three seasons spent in Denton, TX, with the Mean Green.

His three seasons under Eric Morris at North Texas comprise his sole play calling experience thus far in his career. Prior to UNT, he was an analyst or WRs coach at Washington State, Incarnate Word (FCS), and Texas Tech. So, clearly he has an Air-Raid background, but what is his history at RB?

The short answer is it isn’t very impressive. Last year notwithstanding, the North Texas RB1 under Davis and Morris was not a CFF asset during the other two seasons:

But 2025 did happen, and I think it at least shows that Davis will consolidate touches through one player at RB if he has one that’s head and shoulders above the rest.

Is Gray one such player? He has apparently been an impressive newcomer in spring, and the RBs coach, Julian Griffin, seems to like him:

The primary competition if I had to guess would be Marshall transfer Michael Allen, and TJ Engleman (injured). Allen was good in spurts last year for the Thundering Herd, and Engleman had similar numbers to Gray in 2025 with ECU.

Each of the three played some during ECU’s spring showcase, with one beat writer mentioning this:

There was also this note from the same 247 sports writer regarding Gray’s performance over the course of spring:

That’s a lot of positive buzz for our man Mr. Gray. And in case you’re still wondering about the strange title, I’ve gone ahead and taken the liberty of bestowing the nickname “AG-1.5K” onto Ashton Gray. I’ll level with you, even if everything goes according to plan here, it’s still unlikely he’ll reach 2K total yards. But 1.5K feels a bit more reasonable, hence, “AG-1.5K”.

FINAL CONSIDERATIONS

The head coach of ECU is a defensive specialist and presumably will not be very influential in shaping the offence. I could be wrong about that but I don’t think I am.

ECU also brought in three key transfers at OL this offseason so they will be retooling in that group too. We also don’t even know who the starter will be at QB. If it turns out to be Emory Jones, the QB could be stealing a few (or many) redzone scores from the RBs. Not ideal, but not a dealbreaker either.

Michael Turner is another name that lurks within the room. He briefly became a hot name on waiver wires last year during his dalliance as RB1 at Marshall. He’s someone who gives me some pause regarding Gray, but the quotes above seem pretty emphatic that AG looks different.

I’m not a huge fan of the staff/system but again, we know some players can transcend the system (literally Caleb Hawkins last year under this OC), so it’s good to keep an open mind at all times.

I already know that some of you assholes are going to start drafting Gray way too high this offseason and that’ll kill the value here. Let’s try to keep him as a mid-to-late round workhorse if possible. Though I fear that in the end, this player is going to have a similar trajectory to former JSU runner Cam Cook last offseason, where he gradually increases in ADP and settles comfortably within the top 10. And look, if he has a similar season to Cook then it’ll work out for you.

But surely someone responsible should inform the reader that we’re talking about a player who has largely done nothing in his career thus far and who his playing under an OC who has deployed a committee in two out of three of his play calling seasons. Spring camp quotes are encouraging but these are not gospel. We’ve been here before with many other players. ◾

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We're not like them, or they're not like us, either one…

- Drake, musician

First of all, I want to give a shoutout to long-time subscriber and Golden Pig competitor Steve Jackson. That’s my dawg. And it just goes to show how the great game of CFF can bring us all together when you consider that my man is a Michigan fan and I, like many CFB fans, have grown to loathe these characters up in Ann Arbor during recent years.

In all seriousness, he recently started his own Substack, and in one of his first entries into the writing game, he decided to release a funny rebuttal to an article I recently posted about Antwan Raymond. Here is his reply:

CFF Jacko

VolumeTurtle: Why Antwan Raymond is ‘Not Like Us’

I love VP, but I had to break away from my plans for this brand new blog to respond to his most recent take on the Rutgers RB…

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2 months ago · 1 like · 2 comments · Steve Jackson

I have to say, I love the parallel to the Drake vs. Kendrick beef we have brewing here. This is kind of cool in my opinion and so I’m going to keep it going but also because I think this maybe needs to be explained in further detail (even though I think I’ve explained this many times before). Well, it never hurts to repeat ourselves for clarity, right?

When it comes to identifying a 1.01 of CFF, the way I get there likely differs from most. Ultimately, what does the 1.01 mean for each individual? It probably differs. I would assert that it is a fool’s errand to try to predict the literal highest scorer at a position, so I don’t waste much time with that because whichever player I land on and subsequently tell you about wouldn’t really mean anything if the likelihood is close to zero that I could accurately predict this ahead of time.

Instead, I want to find the RB who I believe is the safest to at least be ‘good’ in CFF, which, in the context of RB production, I would say is about 15 PPG. From that standpoint, we are really just grading how clean the profiles are and comparing them to each other, not so much thinking about who’s going to be the highest scorer.

Our friend Steve correctly points out that a lot of the value with Raymond was entrenched in the volume that he received. My reply to that is: I think this means I’m doing exactly what I should be doing here, no? I don’t care much for evaluating who’s good at football (and why should you care who I think is good anyway?), I believe the better approach is to hyper focus on who’s getting the ball, and let it all play out from there.

With that in mind, it doesn’t matter to me if Raymond is a ‘plodder’ as they say, because if he’s going to tote the rock 250 times next year against a schedule that includes Howard, UMass, BC, NW, Maryland, MSU and USC, then it doesn’t matter.

We’ve spoken in the past about the merits of volume and how that correlates to producing the highest scorers in CFB here:

Again, the long story short of it is that the players who have the most production are the guys who touch the ball the most. That has always been the credo of this publication, in fact.

Do I think Raymond has the highest ability of this year’s crop of RBs? No, I haven’t really thought about that because my assessment of it would likely be wrong anyways.

And for your own context, here are the list of players who I deemed as the 1.01 in years past:

• Rasheen Ali, Marshall (2023)

• Ollie Gordon, OKST (2024)

• Demond Claiborne, WF (2025)

To be fair, Gordon and Ashton Jeanty were pretty much tied in 2024—that was just a pick-em. And Gordon actually finished with over 15 PPG in PPR formats (~17 I believe).

Rasheen Ali did not finish as the RB1 in 2023, but he was pretty elite and I’m pretty pleased with the process that brought me to declaring him my 1.01 entering that year.

The process with Gordon was similar, and unfortunately he just didn’t look like the same guy after a ridiculous 2024 campaign. It is what it is.

I’m also pleased about Claiborne, who averaged 16 PPG in PPR formats, especially considering how almost all of the other first-round RBs performed last year. Injuries were a big thing in 2025, and Claiborne was part of the afflicted group, but he had a strong season nonetheless.

Part of the reason I provide the names from years past is to outline to the audience that a job well done here (in my mind) is if the player ends up having a solid season (15+ PPG). The exercise is simply to identify the player who I feel is safest to have a good season, and all three of those names above did.

Raymond should be no exception in my fourth year of doing this. Perhaps later in the offseason I will change my mind when we receive further information.

Players around Raymond include Ole Miss’ Kewan Lacy, Tennesee’s DeSean Bishop, and Oklahoma State’s Caleb Hawkins. Lacy and Hawkins have some obvious blemishes this offseason.

In Lacy’s case, Ole Miss brought in two former starters (including the FCS TD leader Josh Dye who had 28) via the transfer portal. Now, who knows what will actually happen but those moves signal an intent to move volume away from Lacy in my opinion. There’s also a new(ish) staff with a different OC calling plays now.

In Hawkins’ case he is transferring up a level from the G5 to the P4. This in itself makes it impossible for me to rate him as the 1.01/RB1. While I feel pretty optimistic that he’ll transition well, the hit rate of this profile has not been good so far.

DeSean Bishop is probably the next closest player who I could feasibly rate as my 1.01 given that he has a very safe and clean profile at RB. He returns the same staff (and basically the same OL), and only Tulane’s Javin Gordon was brought in around him. I like Gordon, and I think he could be good for Tennessee eventually, but I think he’ll probably need some time to develop (he was a true freshman last year).

If I’m picking which RB of that group has the highest chance to finish as RB1 by PPG or total points, then Caleb Hawkins would probably be the guy. But he also has the highest chance of being a bust out of that group too, so if I’m picking first overall I’m not going with him. That’s a function of the fact that I’m more risk averse in the first round. The first rounds of drafts are not the time to swing for upside, in my opinion. Other drafters will feel differently. ◾

BTW, I have been appearing on the CTN podcast as a guest to preview each conference (we’ve covered B1G & SEC so far and Big12 is coming Monday). Click the link to find the videos.

Also, another side note, I could see the shadow of the man himself on the CN tower from my condo during night when he was shooting this video a month or so ago:

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Pull up Maybach, beep-beep, baby.

- Drake, musician

Now you’re probably wondering about the title. It’s true that I am prone to occasionally choose some seemingly random titles for articles at this publication, but this is actually a reference to Tony Soprano from the HBO show “The Sopranos” telling his sister, Janice, to shut the f**k up, which also happens to be sampled in a song on Drake’s latest album “Iceman”, called… “Janice STFU”.

I’m going to assume that most have seen and/or are familiar with the Sopranos but in case you’re not, the show takes place in New Jersey, and one of the characters actually goes to nearby school Rutgers (or supposedly did) in seasons two and three.

I also wanted to write about RU star tailback Antwan “Iceman” Raymond in light of the recent events with Mizzou RB Ahmad Hardy and what it all means for my overall and RB rankings, so I guess you could say that the stars aligned for this one. Furthermore, given that Drizzy is a fellow Canadian, I felt it only appropriate to take this opportunity to feature Raymond, a product of Montreal (sacré bleu!).

In the Q1 rankings I released earlier this spring I had Raymond slotted in at RB3. I don’t want to give too much away and spoil the upcoming RB rankings (ETA June), but on further meditation, I think I’m going to have Raymond as my #1 ranked RB which means by default he’ll be my #1 overall player. That’s sort of my unwritten rule that I think I used to talk about more; just as a refresher—whoever is RB1 is player #1 for me for CFF rankings.

Obviously on pure ability there are other players who are better and Jeremiah Smith at WR is a worthy 1.01 player too, but I believe the best RB should always be valued as the best overall player for CFF rankings due to importance & scarcity of producers at the position, and due to the higher hit rate overall when it comes to RBs drafted early vs. WRs drafted early.

So why is Raymond of all players slotted at number one? Well a good place to start with these things is always the system around him. However, today I’m going to go into further detail than usual since we’re discussing a potential 1.01, which is a more involved exercise than the typical article feature.

COACHING & SYSTEM

RB1 PPG AVERAGE — HC: 12.2 — OC: 181 (half ppr)

The Rutgers offensive system for RB went into overdrive with the hiring of OC Kirk Ciarrocca in 2023 (see RB1 carry share pre and post 2023 in Table 1). Former RU pig Kyle Monangai carried the torch for Ciarrocca’s debut season and then again in 2024 to great success. The split in 2025 was murkier headed into the season. Former FSU/FAU runner CJ Campbell transferred into the program after a stellar 2024 campaign at the G5 level and was slated to compete with Antwan Raymond and others for starting snaps.

Week one played out that way, but Campbell suffered a season-ending injury in week two which cleared the way for Raymond’s initiation into #PIG mode. By season’s end, the Montrealer handled a total of 244 caries in 12 games (including a nasty 41 carry game in his third last appearance), along with 18 receptions.

Campbell has since transferred out of the program, and RU’s only replacement for him is Louisiana Tech transfer Clay Thevenin, who quite frankly is scaring nobody. Thus, it’s reasonable to infer that the plan will be to feature Raymond heavily once again, and potentially even more than he was last season when we consider RU’s upcoming schedule.

The Knights open the year with UMass and BC, before welcoming B1G opponent USC, and then back to an OOC opponent in Howard to round out September. The next four opponents in October are Indiana, Maryland, Northwestern, and Michigan, which could certainly be worse. Michigan and IU may be tough sledding but not matchups where Raymond will be a sit, I don’t think. Wisconsin, Nebraska, PSU and MSU round out November.

Considering that in 2025 Raymond had to face Iowa, Ohio State, Minnesota, Oregon, and a much more talented PSU compared to this year’s roster, and still managed to finish with ~20 PPG, I think the arrow is probably going up in 2026 with the above mentioned slate of games.

I used to go into really fine detail about what types of programs RBs need to play at to get to the 1.01 spot. The theory was that in ‘old’ college football (i.e. three years ago) the programs that were too big (e.g., Alabama, Ohio State, Georgia) were problematic in multiple ways: players are pulled early in the many blowouts they’re involved in, and sometimes there are simply too many elite players around for individuals to standout; with the small programs you had to deal with the player potentially getting crapped on early in the year via the OOC schedule.

Thus, the optimal spot were the mid-majors, whether that be a high-end G5 program like BSU, or mid-tier places in the P4 such as Iowa State or Minnesota, these were programs that offered a comfortable balance of not too big nor too small when it came to supporting and offering the maximum opportunities for elite RB production.

CFB is a little different now, but RU in its current form does fit the mid-major criteria. Last year I settled on WF’s Demond Claiborne as RB1 but the players ranked just behind him also fit the criteria via Pitt runner Desmond Reid and Minnesota’s Darius Taylor.

Within the program there are a few things to keep in mind. Primarily, there will be a new QB throwing passes for the Knights this fall. Alabama transfer Dylan Lonergan is expected to be that guy. Second, according to dawgstats.com, RU returns only the 117th most snaps along its OL from a year ago. As I always say, this is not necessarily a guarantee that the unit will not be good. It’s more like, if there are a lot of snaps returning this is a +1 to the profile, but if it's not I’m more so neutral on that. In fact, in limited instances a high percentage of returning OL snaps can be a negative if performance was poor the year prior (e.g., OU).

As far as play calling preferences, both Schiano and Ciarrocca skew heavy towards the run historically (58 and 62% respectively). This should not be surprising. And while both play callers have historically called slower moving offences, RU’s unit in 2025 actually ranked 1st in the B1G in plays run per game and 25th overall. This was probably aided in part by having a veteran QB return and a stellar WR core, so I’m not expecting this to continue in 2026 but if it does all the better.

Antwan Raymond (5’11, 205)

2025 RUSHING STATS: 244-1241-13 (20.9 PPG)

Originally from Montreal, Raymond transferred at some point in his high school career to Clearwater Academy in Florida. In his senior year he carried the ball 233 times for 1884 yards and 22 scores and received significant ACC interest along with being recruited by Rutgers, the school he eventually committed to.

For whatever reason, he was not rated highly by recruiting services, receiving only a three star grade in both 247’s internal and composite rankings.

As far as what he’s done in college so far, Raymond had a breakout year in his sophomore campaign this past season, rushing 244 times for 1241 yards and 13 scores (~20 PPG). His receiving usage is bolstered by two games in particular (~150 of his 225 yards came against UW and PSU), so this is certainly something he could improve on and hopefully will going into 2026.

In fact, what would probably be my biggest criticism of Raymond’s profile is the lower receiving volume. Ideally the targets would be higher, but in his defence he did hit double digit receiving yards in seven of his 12 games.

In fact, Raymond reminds me a lot of a former Kirk Ciarrocca RB1 in Mo Ibrahim. In each case, ‘protean’ is not the word most apt to describe these players. Both players are not used much as receivers despite heavy workloads on the ground. Neither player’s skill set really stands out in any way in terms of raw speed or size, but both are very effective with the ball in their hands nonetheless.

I won’t pretend to know intimately all of the intricacies of Ciarrocca’s run and blocking schemes, but clearly there is a premium placed on RBs who can hit the right hole each time based on the players that have received the bulk of carries under his tutelage.

RU is also replacing its long-time starting QB and losing over 200 targets from the 2025 WR room. Presumably new names will emerge at WR to help absorb that volume but it’s also plausible—especially with this staff—that RU reconfigures its offence into a more run-heavy approach. That would probably benefit Raymond more than anyone.

While other runners have a higher ceiling and output potential, I find it hard to argue at this stage in the season that there is any RB with a more polished and clean profile headed into 2026, and therefore Raymond is who I consider the #1 overall player at current juncture.

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