A look back at the careers of the 2017 RB class

Dec 19, 2019, 11:37 AM

Cordarrian Richardson decommitted from us and signed with UCF, opening up a RB spot late in our class. We filled it with a quick recruiting of a guy named Travis Etienne from Jennings, Louisiana.

Let's look at the top 15 backs and see if 247 got it right by having Travis last among them:

#1 Najee Harris, Alabama

Career: 363-2241-18 rushing, 37-356-7 receiving. 6.2 YPC

Harris won a Natty as a freshman, playing behind a lot of talented guys. Workload has steadily increased to be one of the better backs in SEC in 2019. But top back in the class? Hard to say he's lived up to that, especially since it took him three years to get the starting job.

#2 Cam Akers, FSU

Career: 586-2875-27 rushing, 69-486-7 receiving. 4.9 YPC

Cam came right in and started for the school that produced Dalvin Cook; no small feat. He's had a very good career and always runs very hard. His efficiency would be a little higher if not for putrid O-line play, but we won't hold that against him. He's deserving of his high class ranking.

#3 Stephen Carr, USC

Career: 213-1119-9 rushing, 44-351-1 receiving. 5.3 YPC

Injuries have nagged Carr, as he's only played nine games each of his three seasons at the real USC. A quick and explosive back, but his production is low even considering his injuries. He never really came in and took over; proven by his being third on his team in rushing the past two years. 247 got this one wrong.

#4 D'Andre Swift, UGA

Career: 439-2883-20 rushing, 73-667-5 receiving. 6.6 YPC

A successful career at an absolute running back FACTORY. Played behind two NFL backs his frosh year then led the team in rushing the next two. Runs hard, has breakaway speed, catches the ball well. Even Jake Fromm State Farm, the ultimate bus driver of the bad UGA 2019 offense couldn't slow his production down. 247 came close here but I'd have Swift higher.

#5 Ty Chandler, Tennessee

Career: 309-1555-9 rushing, 39-330-3 receiving. 5.0 YPC. One return TD.

Not much to see here. A good player on a bad team; has run more efficiently than other backs with more carries on his own team. Not a huge workload, not great production, not much to write home about. Should have been MUCH lower than #5.

#6 Eno Benjamin, ASU

Career: 576-2867-27 rushing, 82-625-4 receiving. 5.0 YPC. One return TD.

Started his sophomore year and did extremely well that year with a 5.5 YPC and 18 TDs. A real weapon in the receiving game, very productive in the red zone. Hasn't had much help from backup RBs, giving him a large workload, which he's handled well. Great player for ASU and deserving to be even higher in the RB rankings.

#7 ZaQuandre White, FSU

Career: @FSU 0-0-0 rushing, 0-0-0 receiving. 22 total tackles, 0 TFL, 0 sacks.
@ Iowa Western 137-876-10 rushing, 13-72-1 receiving.

Never carried the ball for FSU; switch to LB in 2018. Transferred to Iowa Western and has been mediocre in 2019. 247 couldn't have been more wrong about ranking him in the top 10.

#8 Brian Robinson, Alabama

Career: 180-862-9 rushing, 11-124-0 receiving. 4.8 YPC.

Hasn't logged 100 carries in a season yet; needs 7 in the Citrus Bowl (lol) to accomplish that for 2019. A career backup behind Harris and others. Not even close to the #8 back in this class.

#9 Cordarrian Richardson, UCF

Career: @UCF 45-161-2 rushing, 1-3-0 receiving.
@ TA&M 25-232-4 rushing, 1-17-1 receiving.

Richardson is a mess. Decommits from Clemson, signs with UCF, transfers to Texas A&M one bad year later. Sits out 2018 and is fifth in carries for the Aggies in 2019. Not even close, 247.

#10 Toneil Carter, Texas

Career: at Texas 53-252-3 rushing, 6-31-1 receiving
at Sam Houston State 26-150-3 rushing, 2-18-1 receiving

Look familiar? A career path similar to Richardson's, but worse. Couldn't get anything going at Texas and getting buried in the depth chart sent him packing to Sam Houston State (WHO?!?!?). AGAIN, not even close, 247.

#11 Devan Barrett, Auburn

Career: 14-79-0 rushing, 10-33-1 receiving. 4 tackles.

Another position change. Barrett has played three positions (RB, WR and DB) for Auburn, not contributing at any of them. Yet another awful miss by the 247 crowd. Athletes ranked this high should be contributing by their second year.

#12 Trey Sermon, Oklahoma

Career: 339-2076-22 rushing, 36-391-3 receiving. 6.1 YPC.

Finally, another player that's actually done something. I'd say 247 had Sermon way too low; he's been a major contributor in the high-powered Oklahoma offense. Highly productive despite only playing 9 games in 2019 before losing the season to injury. Led the team in rushing TDs last year in a playoff season when his QB won the Heisman. Very impressive. Should have been ranked 4-6 range.

#13 Sione Lund, Stanford

Career: at Utah 6 total tackles, 1 TFL

Very sad story in Lund. Struggled heavily with mental health issues and alcohol early in his college career before getting help, which involved transferring to Utah and switching to defense. Kudos for the kid getting his life back on track. We'll simply exclude him from the rankings. Say prayers and cheer for this guy!

#14 Kylin Hill, Miss St

Career: 430-2474-16 rushing, 43-388-5 receiving. 5.8 YPC.

Very solid player for Mississippi State. Became the starter in his sophomore year and has run very well in the SEC West. Great efficiency and involvement in the passing game. College career is over as he's declared for the NFL draft already. Definitely should have been higher than #14.

#15 Travis Etienne, Clemson

Career: 493-3924-54 rushing, 46-433-4 receiving. 8.0 YPC.

If you've read this far, you'll immediately see how wrong 247 was having Travis so low. No one else in this list can even hold a candle to him. The two-time ACC Player of the Year broke James Connor's record for total ACC career touchdowns in 2019 (Connor currently starts for the Pittsburgh Steelers). Etienne's efficiency is beyond impressive, currently sitting at 8.2 YPC for 2019 and 8.0 for his career. That 8.0 YPC is good for third ALL-TIME IN NCAA HISTORY, by the way. There simply isn't enough that can be said for Travis. He's a once in a generation kind of player that deserves to be in the Collegiate and Clemson Hall of Fames.

So let's re-rank these top 15 guys. First off all, only 10 of the 15 have even become meaningful RBs so that's a bad hit rate off the bat for 247. But re-ranking using a simple fantasy football point system we get:

#1 Etienne - 830 (was #15)
#2 Benjamin - 617 (was #6)
#3 Akers - 609 (was #2)
#4 Swift - 578 (was #4)
#5 Hill - 455 (was #14)
#6 Harris - 447 (was #1)
#7 Sermon - 433 (was #12)
#8 Chandler - 300 (was #5)
#9 Carr - 251 (was #3)
#10 Robinson - 164 (was #8)

Moral of the story? Don't always trust the rankings. Only three of the fifteen wound up within three spots of their original ranking. Get the guys you want, coach them up. Stars don't matter; football matters. Go Tigers!

flag link

military_tech

thumb_down

thumb_up

We are so blessed to have been able to witness the greatness of T. Etienne. Thank Heaven he choose Clemson.

This perfectly illustrates to me how it's not always a slam dunk if you get a 5 star guy. If you were to look at LB or DE or WR from the same class there would be shockers! Or rather guys you never heard of who were "all world" coming out.

You have to pick kids who show work ethic in H.S. Many of these kids are just "naturally" bigger/faster/stronger than most kids in H.S. So they stick out. But, what about when they get to college where a RS Fr has been lifting for an entire year and in a nutrition program! And has evened the table - if a kid isn't willing to go beyond their natural ability they will end up being a bust.

I think the CU staff has done a great job of finding kids who have good internal motivation!

A look back at the careers of the 2017 RB class

I think most of that is fair, but Najee Harris is a dang

He also shared carries with Damien Harris***

Shared?

That's fair. He's a great player. ***

Re: A look back at the careers of the 2017 RB class

Excellent breakdown!

Re: A look back at the careers of the 2017 RB class

Re: A look back at the careers of the 2017 RB class

Re: A look back at the careers of the 2017 RB class

Re: A look back at the careers of the 2017 RB class

Re: A look back at the careers of the 2017 RB class

10 out of 15 hits is actually really good

Re: A look back at the careers of the 2017 RB class

Re: A look back at the careers of the 2017 RB class

TigerBoard POTD