In 2016, the running back position might be the strongest it has been in years. Heisman winner Derrick Henry may have gone to the NFL, but left in his wake are plenty of backs that could be competing for this year's edition of the award.
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Without further ado, here are the running backs that I expect to be at the top of college football for the 2016 season.
5. Elijah Hood, North Carolina
2015 stats: 14 G, 219 rush attempts, 1,463 yards (6.68 ypc), 17 TDs
Hood emerged as a strong starting running back last season for the Tar Heels, as he was a great complement to quarterback Marquise Williams as an offensive weapon. Williams is gone, though, so North Carolina will need to feature the now junior Hood more in the offense, and there is no reason to believe that he can't live up to those lifted expectations.
Hood is a speedy running back who can make a big play, but at 6-foot, 220 pounds, he can pound the ball for the Tar Heels if they absolutely need him to. And they should let him pound the ball in certain situations, because there is no reason for him to be off the field in important situations like he was early on last season.
4. Royce Freeman, Oregon
2015 stats: 13 G, 283 rush attempts, 1,836 yards (6.50 ypc), 17 TDs
Ladies and gentlemen, so hello to the most underrated running back in the country. Freeman was fantastic last season, but he didn't get a ton of press for two reason: Oregon losing three games early in the season, and Vernon Adams soaking up more of the spotlight than Freeman was.
Oregon is definitely going to need Freeman to be even better than last year if they want to compete this year. The Ducks are still trying to figure out their quarterback battle, which is something that could definitely spill over into the season. Luckily for Oregon, Freeman should be a great cornerstone on offense that allows them to figure out the quarterback situation.
3. Dalvin Cook, Florida State
2015 stats: 12 G, 229 rush attempts, 1,691 yards (7.38 ypc), 19 TDs
If Dalvin Cook can stay completely healthy, then he has more than an opportunity to be the best running back in college football this season. He is a dynamic runner that reminds me a lot of former Clemson running back C.J. Spiller: both big play running backs that can just absolutely destroy you with their speed on the outside. Cook led the Power 5 conferences last season with six rushes for more than 50 yards, four of which went over 70 yards.
If you are looking for a potential Heisman winner outside of McCaffrey, Fournette, and Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson, Cook might be your best bet. He is going to have the stats to back him up if he is healthy, and he could be a part of an undefeated or one-loss Florida State team. That is going to be hard for the voters to ignore if it comes down to that.
2. Christian McCaffrey, Stanford
2015 stats: 14 G, 337 rush attempts, 2,019 yards (5.99 ypc), 8 TDs
McCaffrey is ridiculous. In addition to his rushing stats, he also had 645 receiving yards, five receiving touchdowns, and two more touchdowns in the return games. He can do whatever Stanford asks him to do, and that will likely be more important this season with the steady Kevin Hogan no longer at quarterback.
It will actually be interesting to see if Stanford reduces McCaffrey's all-purpose role at all this season. His role as the team's premier running back is definitely the most important part of what he does, so it may be a good idea to take him off kickoff duty at the very least. No need for him to suffer an injury because he is taking on too many responsibilities.
1. Leonard Fournette, LSU
2015 stats: 12 G, 300 rush attempts, 1,953 yards, (6.51 ypc), 22 TDs
I had a strong internal debate on who should be No. 1 on this list: Fournette or McCaffrey? Fournette is the more talented runner, but McCaffrey just does so much for Stanford that it's hard to ignore.
In the end, though, I am picking Fournette. While McCaffrey may have been a great running, receiving, and returning option for Stanford, Fournette gets the leg up because he was practically the only offensive option for LSU last season... and he still dominated nearly every game.
The big hope for LSU is that Brandon Harris improves enough at quarterback to force opposing teams to stop stacking the box so much. What made Fournette so impressive last year is that teams knew what was coming: they would put nine guys in the box accordingly and they still couldn't stop Fournette. If Harris can give Fournette just a little more room to operate, then things could get scary in the SEC West.
Players to watch:
The players mentioned here are all coming off of some sort of injury. They could easily be Top 5 running backs this season, and all three were actually mentioned in my Top 5 list from last preseason. 2014 season stats will be used for these players since they missed significant time in 2015.
Nick Chubb, Georgia
2014 stats*: 13 G, 219 rush attempts, 1,547 rush yards (7.06 ypc), 14 TDs
I can already feel the heat from the Georgia fans that aren't happy about Chubb not being in the Top 5. Don't worry, though; I'm not underestimating Chubb at all, and I actually had him at No. 1 heading into last season.
What I do want to see from Chubb is how he returns from the knee injury, and if Kirby Smart splits up time between him and Sony Michel in the backfield. Michel is a more than capable runner, and it may be wise to keep Chubb from taking too many carries early on in the season.
Chubb could easily end up as the top back in the nation this year, but I want to see how and and the Bulldogs react to last season's knee injury before putting him there.
James Conner, Pittsburgh
2014 stats*: 13 G, 298 attempts, 1,765 rushing yards (5.92 ypc), 26 touchdowns
Conner had the worst luck of all time last season. The 2014 ACC Player of the Year opened the 2015 season with an MCL injury that would cost him the year. If that wasn't bad enough, he was later diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, which put his entire football career in jeopardy.
The good news, though: Conner was announced to be cancer-free in May, and he has since returned to conditioning to be ready for Pitt's opener against Villanova on September 3. Hopefully he will be ready, because at full-strength, Conner is one of the best running backs in college football.
Corey Clement, Wisconsin
2014 stats*: 14 G, 147 attempts, 947 yards (6.46 ypc), 9 TDs
Clement was poised for a big season in 2015. Star running back Melvin Gordon had declared for the NFL Draft, leaving Clement — who had almost 1,000 yards on less than 150 carries — as the team's lead running back. Groin and hernia injuries derailed his season, though, limiting him to just four games of playing time.
Assuming Clement is completely healthy, he still has that poise to be one of college football's top backs. Wisconsin could really use him, too, as none of their other backs had a ton of success after Clement went down.
Honorable mentions: Semaje Perine, Oklahoma; Wayne Gallman, Clemson; James Butler, Nevada; Jalen Hurd, Tennessee; Deandre Washington, Texas Tech
