Top 5 running backs in college football for 2018
After revealing my most intriguing storylines heading into the 2018 college football season, I wanted to release my top five positional rankings, like I did a year ago as well. To make the criteria clear – this list is about the actual college players, as a combination of what they showed me last season and what I expect them to be in 2018. So this is not a look forward to these young men as draft prospects in 2019. We'll kick things off with the running backs.
1. Bryce Love, Stanford
It was a big task for Love to replace Christian McCaffrey, but like former star for the Cardinal who is now suiting up for the Panthers, Love finished last season as the runner-up for the Heisman trophy, as well as earning the Doak Walker trophy and Consensus All-American honors, after a season in which he amassed 2218 yards and 19 TDs on the ground. Running behind a massive offensive line, Love is very patient only needs a crease to explode through and then has the sprinter speed to go the distance on any given play.
While he was the workhorse for a run-centric Stanford offense, Love had to work through a banged up ankle late in the season. However, he displayed a ton of toughness, fighting through that.