2018 Running Backs

[Deceptive Speed]

Patrick Laird (SR) 6'0 205 California. Broke out last season after being an after thought walk-on his first couple of seasons. Had 1127 yards on 191 carries for 8 TD's, adding 45 receptions for 322 yards thru the air in 2017. One of the top RB's in the country going into 2018! Has been named a pre-season candidate for the Doak Walker award.


Mike Epstein (SO) 6'0 200 Illinois.. Started as a true Freshman with 57 carries for 346 yards for 3 TD's thru week 5, before ending his season early with an injury. Will be shocked if he doesnt earn all Big-Ten honors in 2018.


Garrett Groshek (SO) 5'11 218 Wisconsin. As a Freshman emerged as a rotational back posting 61 carries for 297 yards and 2 TD's in 2017. Former walk-on ofcourse, he was a pleasant surprise last season. Yet still currently behind 2 affletes on the depth chart. Should eventually emerge as Wisconsons top RB.

 

[dolphins15]

AJ Ouellette (SR) 5'9" 205 Ohio. After sustaining a season ending injury in 2016 he came back to rush for 1,006 yards and 7 TD's in 2017. He has 2,523 career rushing yards and 20 TD's. Hopefully he can have another big year and get a shot at the NFL.

Cade Carney (JR) 5'11" 215 Wake Forest. After a great freshman year he was limited by injuries last season. Unfortunately his injuries gave another back the opportunity and he has fallen back to second string. But when healthy he can be a beast. Has rushed for 808 yards and 7 TD's in his career.

Ian Eriksen (SR) 5'10" 207 Eastern Michigan. Started 7 games last season and led the team in rushing with 810 yards and 8 TD's.

Dominick Bragalone (SR) 5'11 230 Lehigh. He was a First Team All American and led the FCS in rushing with 1,388 yards and rushing TD's with 18. He has rushed for over 1,000 yards each season of his career and should be in for a big senior year.

 

[Rocky B]

Here’s my list I had going....

I forgot a couple of Ga Tech guys..Weimerskirsh and Cottrell are slated as 2nd/3rd string guys, but GT is a good program.....You never know, they may get some significant carries


Patrick Laird-Cal
Mike Epstein-Illinois
AJ Ouellette-Ohio
Zane Dudek-Yale (he’s badass enough to list here)
Andy Davidson-Army....May end up as a second stringer again
Josh Hokit-Fresno....backup
Beau Bisharat-Colorado.....hopeful starter
Ian Eriksen-Eastern Michigan
Cade Carney-Wake Forest....started as a freshman, probably second string this year
Austin Kafentzis-BYU....talked about moving to defense, if injuries occur....????
Garrett Groshek-Wisconsin....Priority backup, last year looked great
Sam Brodner-Wisconsin....healthy this year, but will be buried in the depth chart
Cole Gest-Indiana.....2nd string, should get a bunch of carries
Zach Abey-Navy.....2nd string qb, or fullback??...must be on the field
Jake Funk....Maryland....backup, hopefully more carries this year
Nolan Eriksen-Air Force...brother of Ian, taking over for McVay??
Sean McGrew-Washington
The WSU kid that is compared to McCaffrey, also

There are a few more we can dig up....

 

[Deceptive Speed]

Here’s my list I had going....

I forgot a couple of Ga Tech guys..Weimerskirsh and Cottrell are slated as 2nd/3rd string guys, but GT is a good program.....You never know, they may get some significant carries


Patrick Laird-Cal
Mike Epstein-Illinois
AJ Ouellette-Ohio
Zane Dudek-Yale (he’s badass enough to list here)
Andy Davidson-Army....May end up as a second stringer again
Josh Hokit-Fresno....backup
Beau Bisharat-Colorado.....hopeful starter
Ian Eriksen-Eastern Michigan
Cade Carney-Wake Forest....started as a freshman, probably second string this year
Austin Kafentzis-BYU....talked about moving to defense, if injuries occur....????
Garrett Groshek-Wisconsin....Priority backup, last year looked great
Sam Brodner-Wisconsin....healthy this year, but will be buried in the depth chart
Cole Gest-Indiana.....2nd string, should get a bunch of carries
Zach Abey-Navy.....2nd string qb, or fullback??...must be on the field
Jake Funk....Maryland....backup, hopefully more carries this year
Nolan Eriksen-Air Force...brother of Ian, taking over for McVay??
Sean McGrew-Washington
The WSU kid that is compared to McCaffrey

There are a few more we can dig up....

Nice list a couple of those guys ive never heard of like Hokit, and Dudek. Ill be sure to look out for them!

 

[Rocky B]

DS, Dudek is the kid from near Pittsburgh that crushed high level high school football but Pitt and Penn St shunned him.....Speed, stats, work ethic,etc.....He has it all but skin color.

 

[Rocky B]

Max Borghi is the kid Washington St recruited and have plans for him this year....
Lots of comparisons to Christian McCaffrey.....No redshirt for this guy.....

 

[dolphins15]

RB, Borghi chose Washington State over a late push from Stanford. He definitely turned heads this spring as he enrolled early and made an impression.

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2018/apr/12/early-enrollee-running-back-max-borghi-is-breaking/

Another true freshman I'm excited for is Coleton Beck. He can absolutely fly and has run a 10.37 100M. Remains to be seen if he picked the right school as he chose Virginia Tech. But I have read some articles saying he might get a chance to return kicks this season.

 

[Rocky B]

Unhappy to report that Quaide Weimerskirch has transferred to a division 2 school.
He had/has 2 years of eligibility left....Got buried in the depth chart....

 

[Rocky B]

Nolan Eriksen is listed on ourlads.com as the starting tail back for Air Force....
The exciting Tim McVey has graduated....,If he’s used like Tim was expect 10 carries for 65 yards per game..Lots of qb runs and fullback dives, but great to see his name at the top of the depth chart..

 

[Rocky B]

I see that Luke Langdon is the projected starting qb for Army.....Andy Davidson seems to be relegated to backup (along with Connor Slomka, the Wexford Sledgehammer) May a tailback surface during the year?????......Army is always a great team to root for.....No kneeling for these young men......

 

[TwentyTwo]

How many Patrick Laird's are on College campuses across the country just waiting for an opportunity? Prior last year's Break-out season the former walk-on ONLY had 11 carries! And it took an injury to open the door...

Would be pressing the "LIKE Button" for all these New 18' Threads

Hopefully dynamic playmaker Mike Epstein is fully healthy!
https://twitter.com/i/status/941082652672700416

Will Max Borghi be this season's newest break out player?
Ouelette & Eriksen cvan have 1,000 yard seasons .... hopefully Carney stays healthy....... Gest; Bisharat; Funk ; McGrew; etc are plenty capable....
Arizona State back up RB Nick Raulston is now projected starting MLB on defense. The Swiss-Army-Knife (QB/RB/DB) Kafentzis has the NFL pedigree!

Hopefully Coleton Beck & Coleman Fox(played well in limited role) can get the opportunity to make an Impact at Virginia Tech

FCS RB's Dudek(soph.) & Bragalone(Sr.) should be in NFL Camps if they are not Drafted...

Nathan Cottrell (Jr.) 5'-11" 193 Georgia Tech ...Still listed 2nd string on Depth Chart....speedster is a Big play threat! Averaged Team Best 8.2 yards per carry (33-271) as Soph...Had season high 6 carries for 79 vs. Tennessee. 3 carries for 83 yards (long of 69 yards) vs. Virginia Tech & 33 yard run vs. Georgia; also Kickoff Returner
http://www.espn.com/video/clip?id=21377428

 

[Rocky B]

New Mexico is where Colton Gerhart plays (backup qb)....Lots of talk last spring about him switching to running back.....Good chance that he’ll be a guy that just gets buried....With a last name like that, you’d think people would slobber over him.....No dice....only if his name was Mujumbo....

 

[Rocky B]

Anthony Gargiulo will start at fullback for Navy.....Lots of carries for Navy fullbacks.....
I hope the Zach Abey wide receiver thing goes away.....I’ve never seen someone who kicked as much ass as Abey get demoted and set aside.....He is a runner, and a tough runner at that... Moving him to a wideout position is wasting talent......

 

[Rocky B]

Skyler Seibold.....Boise.....Switching to running back this year......
I’m not saying he could be this years Laird, but I’m making a list of sleepers and I ran into this.....

 

[Rocky B]

Here’s a small list of sleepers I have so far.....Lots of these guys are walk ons, preferred walk ons, etc......
Chuck Turfe Akron
Zach Kahn Miami Oh
Jake Neatherton-Ohio
David Burroughs-Ohio
Kade Remsberg-Air Force
Parker Wilson (had some carries behind McVey last year) Air Force
Skyler Seibold-Boise...mentioned above...4th string??
Daniel Grzesiak-Nevada
Alex Dowds-Cincy
Michael Kopaygorodsky-Cincy
Andrew Zuckerman-Tulane
Reed Martin-Tulane
Brandon Workman-Tulsa

I’ll get more

 

[Deceptive Speed]

As some of us know Alabama actually recruited a white RB this year. In 4-star apb
Slade Bolden (FR) 5'11 200 out of West Monroe, Louisiana. The jury's out if he'll actually play running back for Alabama, as he's projected to play at WR right away. Where he'll be used on end-around plays from the slot, and likely take over punt return duties.
I think he'll eventually get a chance at RB (likely via injuries), but history tells us he'll have to transfer to get a fair shot at RB.

 

[Leonardfan]

Former Kansas St. FB Winston Dimel has transferred to UTEP for his senior season. He has been a TD machine during his career - he currently has 22 rushing TDs. His father was named the head coach for UTEP this offseason so it would be nice to see Dimel get some real carries this year rather than being used as a battering ram/short yardage/goal line back.

 

[Rocky B]

Some of these guys could be a factor, some will never get one carry.....More sleepers

John Fadule-BC
Peter Stehr-BC
Andrew Strader-BC
Ryan Maclain-Clemson
Griffin Carter-Duke
Keegan Hemingway-GaTech
Mark Rew-GaTech
Josh Blancato-GaTech
Joseph Macrina-GaTech
Austin Nash-GaTech.....GT lightening up a lot
Harry Trotter-Louisville
Brady Bodine-NC St
Otto Zaccardo-Syracuse
Jack Guida-Syracuse
Luke Erikson-Syracuse
Will Drawdy-Wake Forest
Dwyer Bucey-Baylor
Jared Rus-Iowa St
Ryan Haymaker-Ok St
Tim Yoder-TX
Henry Howard-Tex Tech (210 lbs, listed as FB)
Brady Watson-WVU

These are all guys listed as running back, not fullback unless noted.
180lbs-210lbs give or take
Again, some of these guys will never sniff the field, but some will...
Some are young and we will be talking about them in the future......

 

[Bucky]

Former Kansas St. FB Winston Dimel has transferred to UTEP for his senior season. He has been a TD machine during his career - he currently has 22 rushing TDs. His father was named the head coach for UTEP this offseason so it would be nice to see Dimel get some real carries this year rather than being used as a battering ram/short yardage/goal line back.

Wow wasn't expecting that! Best of luck to Dimel in the desert that is El Paso. Should have his way out there if given the carries we expect! Helluva player for KST, should open door for another pale face at FB there.

Bit of bad news here. Looks like Wisconsin RB Sam Brodner is no longer on the team.. He was left off of Badger's 105 man roster. He blew out his knee last year, was wearing a knee brace during a solid showing in spring practice this season and it's looking like he may have aggravated the injury once again. He was buried on the depth chart. Badger's still have Groshek who is battling for 3rd string and Hunter Johnson a Sophomore and Former Walk-on at RB.

Hopefully he winds up somewhere else and this isn't end of his career.

Golden Thread by the way!!

 

[Rocky B]

Wow wasn't expecting that! Best of luck to Dimel in the desert that is El Paso. Should have his way out there if given the carries we expect! Helluva player for KST, should open door for another pale face at FB there.

Bit of bad news here. Looks like Wisconsin RB Sam Brodner is no longer on the team.. He was left off of Badger's 105 man roster. He blew out his knee last year, was wearing a knee brace during a solid showing in spring practice this season and it's looking like he may have aggravated the injury once again. He was buried on the depth chart. Badger's still have Groshek who is battling for 3rd string and Hunter Johnson a Sophomore and Former Walk-on at RB.

Hopefully he winds up somewhere else and this isn't end of his career.

Golden Thread by the way!!

Hate to hear that about Brodner.....Hopefully he transfers somewhere where he can play and do well.....I just finished combing through the entire Big 10....Noting that half of Wisconsin’s tailbacks are white (4, now 3 of 8 listed)...Including Mark Saari, who’s buried on the depth chart....Groshek will have a good season and hopefully Johnson will too

 

[Bucky]

Hate to hear that about Brodner.....Hopefully he transfers somewhere where he can play and do well.....I just finished combing through the entire Big 10....Noting that half of Wisconsin’s tailbacks are white (4, now 3 of 8 listed)...Including Mark Saari, who’s buried on the depth chart....Groshek will have a good season and hopefully Johnson will too

Agreed sad to see injuries derail his career, but I feel he'll resurface! Yup pretty unreal in this day and age, Honestly never thought I'd see a white RB again at Wisconsin. Excited for Groshek to build upon whay hes done. Shaw is injured at RB and Deal is a bum, he should have 3rd string locked down. I'll predict 500yds or so. Johnson is up to 216 after stellar prep career. They also recruited Athlete Brady Schipper an in state walk on RB but he ended up at WR!

 

[Rocky B]

Running back sleepers part three......
Who could be the next Laird?

Mitch McNutt-Illinois
Connor Thomas-Indiana
Monte Pottebaum-Iowa
Kordell Stillmunkes-Iowa
Joe Hewlett-Michigan
Jared Char-Michigan
Noah Sargent-Mich St
Preston Jelen-Minn
Wyatt Mazour (mentioned before here) Neb
Brody Belt-Neb
Austin Hemphill-Neb
Connor Ruth-Neb
Alex Bousky-NW
Nick Eury-Penn St
Christopher Welde-PSU
Alexander Horvath-Purdue
(I’m going to get an update on Jack Wegher) he left Purdue, I believe
Max Anthony-Rutgers (move to FB?)
Hunter Johnson-Wisc
Mark Saari-Wisc. Both Wisc backs mentioned before.....
(We’ll keep an eye on Brodner)

As the season moves on I’ll check the box scores for all of these teams to see
If any of these guys are getting any carries worth noting....


More to come. 4-5 more conferences to comb through....

 

[dolphins15]

Jack Wegher has transferred to FCS Northern Iowa.

 

[Rocky B]

Someone noticed this before, I’m sure, but Samson Evans of Iowa is listed at WR....
Slade Bolden at DB.....Both could be RB sleepers over the next few years.........

 

[Rocky B]

More potential running back sleepers......

Brady Schipper-Wisc
Nick Kopczak-Marshall
Hayden Doggett-N Texas
Matt Geiger-Old Dom
Dominic DiStefano-Army
Zach Boobas-Army
Brayden El-Bakri BYU
Josh Foley-New Mex St...seems like someone to watch out for
Mick Assaf-Notre Dame
Brandon Leon-Arizona
Alex Netherda (and Biagio Ali Walch) Cal
Hunter Mattson-Oregon St
Cole Kinder-UCLA
Joey Wood-Utah
Austin Regis-Wash St
Chase Cramer-Auburn
Jake Vanrinzelan-Ole Miss
Slade Carroll-USC
Parker Henry-Tenn
Chip Omer-Tenn
Reed Tyler-Ark St. Move to TE
Chase Walker-Ga Southern
Tanner Blatt-Troy

I didn’t dig into FCS football too much, after Dudek and Bragalone there’s Joe Protheroe of Cal Poly we’ve mentioned before....He was injured last year and has another year of eligibility......
Keep an eye on Tucker Yinger of Dayton.....