The ACC lost some very good running backs from a year ago. Damian Martinez (Miami) , Omarion Hampton (North Carolina), Brashard Smith (SMU), LeQuint Allen Jr (Syracuse) and Byayshul Tuten (Virginia Tech). FSU's own Lawrance Toafili exhausted his eligibility. There are still some very good backs coming back in to 2025. Here is our breakdown of the running back room.
1) Miami Hurricanes - They return Mark Fletcher who averaged 5.4 yards per carry, 607 yards and 9 touchdowns. They also have Jordan Lyle the gifted freshman running back that contributed another 400 yards, averaged over 7.0 yards per carry and had four touchdowns. Miami loss of Damian Martinez is big but they return one of the best backfields in the nation. Look out for Elijah Lofton who is a big, bruising running back/h-back.
2) Louisville Cardinals- Freshman running back ran for 1,174 yards and an 11 touchdowns last year. Most teams would be happy with Brown. Louisville also returns Duke Watson who rushed for close to 600 yards and 7 touchdowns. The third freshman for Louisville to get touches was Keyjuan Brown. He had close to 250 yards and 3 touchdowns. One of the three may enter the portal after the spring and get a big pay day.
3) Georgia Tech - with Jamal Haynes (944 yards rushing/9 touchdowns) and quarterback Haynes King (587 yards rushing and a 11 touchdowns), the Ramblin Wreck should once again have one of the best rushing attacks in the ACC. This duo was tough to stop. Another year in the same system and Tech should be very good running the football.
4) Cal Bears- With Javian Thomas (626 yards - 6.3 Average - 7 Touchdowns) coming back along with Jaydn Ott, the Bears should have a very good rushing attack. Ott ran for 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns as a sophomore. He is an elite back that just needs to be healthy. These two should have very good seasons in the ACC.
5) Pitt Panthers - Desmond Reid was one of the big reasons why Pitt ran the ball successfully in 2024. He rushed for over 960 yards, averaged over 5.0 yards per carry and had five touchdowns. He also recorded 579 yards receiving and 4 touchdowns. With him coming back Pitt should once again be very good at running the football. Look for Freshman Julian Dugger (6'3-210) pounds to be the hammer to Reid. He is a bigger, more powerful back.
6) NC State - Hollywood Smothers ran 15 times for 139 yards in NC State's bowl game against ECU. He had over 80 yards and 2 touchdowns against Rival UNC. He is a powerful back that also gives you some speed out of the backfield. I expect him to have a big season for the Wolfpack. Kendrick Raphael (Naples, FL) was only a sophomore a year ago. He rushed 78 times for 425 yards and 3 touchdowns.
7) Clemson Tigers - The Tigers lose a big piece of their offense from last year (Phil Mafah). Clemson will rely on sophomore Jay Haynes who had 295 yards, 6.9 average and 3 touchdowns last year. Keith Adams Jr will also be part of the backfield. You add in quarterback Kade Klubnik and this backfield could move up this list quickly in 2025.
8) FSU Seminoles - FSU needs to be in the top 3-4 of this list in 2025 if there is going to be a turnaround this upcoming season. QB Thomas Castellanos needs to rush for over 500 yards and have 5-6 touchdowns. We expect freshman Ousmane Kromah is one of the most talented backs FSU has had since Cam Akers and Dalvin Cook. Add in sophomore Kam Davis, Jaylin Lucas, Sam Singleton and Roydell Williams and this backfield should be one of the best in the ACC. Right now it is all potential and not production. From a talent standpoint FSU has a top 2-3 backfield. From a production standpoint there are some questions that need to be answered.
9) Wake Forest - They lost their head coach from a year ago but junior Demond Claiborne returns. He rushed for over a 1,000 yards a year ago and 11 touchdowns. He also had over 250 yards receiving a 2 touchdowns. Tate Carney gives Wake a nice 1-2 punch. While they may struggle passing the ball, Wake should still be very productive on the ground.
10) SMU Mustangs- Last year SMU had one of the premier rushing attacks in the entire country. Head Coach Rhett Lashlee is a run first play caller. They lost Brashard Smith which is huge. We expect them to rely on Texas A&M transfer LJ Johnson and QB Kevin Jennings. I expect SMU to be much higher on this list but right now not many on the roster have proven themselves.
11) Boston College: Head coach Tom Obrien likes to run the football. He loses his top two rushers from a year ago. Senior Jordan McDonald (53 rushes -361 yards and 3 touchdowns) will be counted on to carry the load this year. He also averaged over 6.5 yards per carry. Freshman Turbo Richard also returns. These two will be counted on to give BC some balance on offense.
12) North Carolina: Not many teams lost a better RB in college football. You can name the teams on one hand (Ohio State, Boise State). Davion Cause from Hollywood Chaminade will be counted on to be the man in 2025. He is not real big or explosive. He does run with some power and will pick up the tough yards. He will do well in coach Bill B offense. Senior Caleb Hood will also be relied upon. UNC is going to be a run first team.
13) Syracuse Orangemen-The loss of Allen is huge for Syracuse as he recorded about 95 percent of the workload for his offense. He rushed the ball 228 times last year for 1,021 yards. Yasin Willis should be one of their top backs returning this season. He only had a 130 yards rushing a year ago. Will Nixon is a transfer from Nebraska. He should provide some depth for the Cuse in 25.
14)Virginia Tech-With quarterback Kyron Drones coming back VT will be able to run the ball. They need to keep him healthy because if Drones goes down, so does their entire season. They are relying on three transfer backs (Terion Stewart, Marcellous Hawkins and Brayton Bennett). This is a big season for the VT coach. If they don't win this year the Hokies could be looking for a new coach.
15) Virginia- If there is a program that just does not seem to be heading in the right direction it is UVA. They do return Xavier Brown but he only had a little over 400 yards last year. They just are not very good running the ball. Look for UVA to be one of the worst rushing teams in the ACC this season.
16) Duke- The Blue Devils were another team hit hard by graduation at running back. They return senior Jaquez Moore. Junior back Peyton Jones will also be good. This team just won't be as good with the loss of their QB who ran the ball very well and Star Thomas.
17) Stanford- I do believe in their head coach. That being said Stanford does not have a Christian McCaffrey in their backfield. This team is devoid of talent and especially in the backfield. Their leading rusher a year ago was their QB and he left. Stanford is in for some growing pains the next year or two.
1) Miami Hurricanes - They return Mark Fletcher who averaged 5.4 yards per carry, 607 yards and 9 touchdowns. They also have Jordan Lyle the gifted freshman running back that contributed another 400 yards, averaged over 7.0 yards per carry and had four touchdowns. Miami loss of Damian Martinez is big but they return one of the best backfields in the nation. Look out for Elijah Lofton who is a big, bruising running back/h-back.
2) Louisville Cardinals- Freshman running back ran for 1,174 yards and an 11 touchdowns last year. Most teams would be happy with Brown. Louisville also returns Duke Watson who rushed for close to 600 yards and 7 touchdowns. The third freshman for Louisville to get touches was Keyjuan Brown. He had close to 250 yards and 3 touchdowns. One of the three may enter the portal after the spring and get a big pay day.
3) Georgia Tech - with Jamal Haynes (944 yards rushing/9 touchdowns) and quarterback Haynes King (587 yards rushing and a 11 touchdowns), the Ramblin Wreck should once again have one of the best rushing attacks in the ACC. This duo was tough to stop. Another year in the same system and Tech should be very good running the football.
4) Cal Bears- With Javian Thomas (626 yards - 6.3 Average - 7 Touchdowns) coming back along with Jaydn Ott, the Bears should have a very good rushing attack. Ott ran for 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns as a sophomore. He is an elite back that just needs to be healthy. These two should have very good seasons in the ACC.
5) Pitt Panthers - Desmond Reid was one of the big reasons why Pitt ran the ball successfully in 2024. He rushed for over 960 yards, averaged over 5.0 yards per carry and had five touchdowns. He also recorded 579 yards receiving and 4 touchdowns. With him coming back Pitt should once again be very good at running the football. Look for Freshman Julian Dugger (6'3-210) pounds to be the hammer to Reid. He is a bigger, more powerful back.
6) NC State - Hollywood Smothers ran 15 times for 139 yards in NC State's bowl game against ECU. He had over 80 yards and 2 touchdowns against Rival UNC. He is a powerful back that also gives you some speed out of the backfield. I expect him to have a big season for the Wolfpack. Kendrick Raphael (Naples, FL) was only a sophomore a year ago. He rushed 78 times for 425 yards and 3 touchdowns.
7) Clemson Tigers - The Tigers lose a big piece of their offense from last year (Phil Mafah). Clemson will rely on sophomore Jay Haynes who had 295 yards, 6.9 average and 3 touchdowns last year. Keith Adams Jr will also be part of the backfield. You add in quarterback Kade Klubnik and this backfield could move up this list quickly in 2025.
8) FSU Seminoles - FSU needs to be in the top 3-4 of this list in 2025 if there is going to be a turnaround this upcoming season. QB Thomas Castellanos needs to rush for over 500 yards and have 5-6 touchdowns. We expect freshman Ousmane Kromah is one of the most talented backs FSU has had since Cam Akers and Dalvin Cook. Add in sophomore Kam Davis, Jaylin Lucas, Sam Singleton and Roydell Williams and this backfield should be one of the best in the ACC. Right now it is all potential and not production. From a talent standpoint FSU has a top 2-3 backfield. From a production standpoint there are some questions that need to be answered.
9) Wake Forest - They lost their head coach from a year ago but junior Demond Claiborne returns. He rushed for over a 1,000 yards a year ago and 11 touchdowns. He also had over 250 yards receiving a 2 touchdowns. Tate Carney gives Wake a nice 1-2 punch. While they may struggle passing the ball, Wake should still be very productive on the ground.
10) SMU Mustangs- Last year SMU had one of the premier rushing attacks in the entire country. Head Coach Rhett Lashlee is a run first play caller. They lost Brashard Smith which is huge. We expect them to rely on Texas A&M transfer LJ Johnson and QB Kevin Jennings. I expect SMU to be much higher on this list but right now not many on the roster have proven themselves.
11) Boston College: Head coach Tom Obrien likes to run the football. He loses his top two rushers from a year ago. Senior Jordan McDonald (53 rushes -361 yards and 3 touchdowns) will be counted on to carry the load this year. He also averaged over 6.5 yards per carry. Freshman Turbo Richard also returns. These two will be counted on to give BC some balance on offense.
12) North Carolina: Not many teams lost a better RB in college football. You can name the teams on one hand (Ohio State, Boise State). Davion Cause from Hollywood Chaminade will be counted on to be the man in 2025. He is not real big or explosive. He does run with some power and will pick up the tough yards. He will do well in coach Bill B offense. Senior Caleb Hood will also be relied upon. UNC is going to be a run first team.
13) Syracuse Orangemen-The loss of Allen is huge for Syracuse as he recorded about 95 percent of the workload for his offense. He rushed the ball 228 times last year for 1,021 yards. Yasin Willis should be one of their top backs returning this season. He only had a 130 yards rushing a year ago. Will Nixon is a transfer from Nebraska. He should provide some depth for the Cuse in 25.
14)Virginia Tech-With quarterback Kyron Drones coming back VT will be able to run the ball. They need to keep him healthy because if Drones goes down, so does their entire season. They are relying on three transfer backs (Terion Stewart, Marcellous Hawkins and Brayton Bennett). This is a big season for the VT coach. If they don't win this year the Hokies could be looking for a new coach.
15) Virginia- If there is a program that just does not seem to be heading in the right direction it is UVA. They do return Xavier Brown but he only had a little over 400 yards last year. They just are not very good running the ball. Look for UVA to be one of the worst rushing teams in the ACC this season.
16) Duke- The Blue Devils were another team hit hard by graduation at running back. They return senior Jaquez Moore. Junior back Peyton Jones will also be good. This team just won't be as good with the loss of their QB who ran the ball very well and Star Thomas.
17) Stanford- I do believe in their head coach. That being said Stanford does not have a Christian McCaffrey in their backfield. This team is devoid of talent and especially in the backfield. Their leading rusher a year ago was their QB and he left. Stanford is in for some growing pains the next year or two.
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