By the time Alabama and LSU concluded their sloppy, boring, and one-sided excuse of a BCS championship game, I could not wait for Miami’s battle against Carolina in hoops. Well about halfway through that disaster, I was longing for college football yet again. Since signing day is still three weeks away, and because I got such tremendous feedback on my all time QB list(mostly negative I might add), here are my Top 5 UM running backs of all time:

#5 Melvin Bratton.  If not for a devastating knee injury in the Orange Bowl that shortened Bratton’s career in 1988, he may be higher on the list, perhaps even # 1.  Bratton was a force in the red zone as well as an outstanding receiver. At the time Bratton left UM he held the all time Hurricane touchdown record with 33.

Melvin Bratton skied over Seminole defenders in 1987.

#4 Frank Gore. Like Bratton, Gore’s potential was cut short by injuries. Nonetheless Gore finished his UM career with 1,975 yards (a 5.7 rushing average) and seventeen touchdowns. Gore was an especially explosive force during his 2001 freshman campaign when he averaged a whopping 9.1 yards per carry. Gore also makes the list for the inspirational way he returned not once but twice from major knee surgery during his stay with the ‘Canes.

#3 Clinton Portis. Portis was a key cog in Miami’s 2001 National Championship team rushing for 1,200 yards and 10 touchdowns on 220 carries (5.5 avg.). Portis was shifty, had great vision, and ran with power when needed. He also was a dangerous check down for Ken Dorsey and displayed great hands out of the backfield.

#2 Willis McGahee.  McGahee was only a starter for one year at UM, but what a year!!  In 2002, he demolished school season records, carrying the ball 282 times for 1,753 yards (6.2 yards avg.) and 28 TDs. Perhaps the best combination of speed and power to ever carry the ball at UM, McGahee was in my opinion easily the best player in all of college football in 02′.

#1 Edgerrin James.  Edge is the only running back in UM’s history to post two consecutive seasons with 1,000-plus rushing yards, and he ranks first in school history with the most 100-plus rushing games (14).  What made James so good? He ran just as well between the tackles as on the perimeter, he picked up blitzes exceptionally well, and had sure hands receiving. In a nutshell Edge was the epitome of a complete back.

Here is some of the best of James, Gore, McGahee, and Portis:

Perhaps a much much more difficult list is my all time greatest NFL RBs. This is a list that definitely needs to be longer. Here is my all time Top 10:

#10 Ladainian Tomlinson. In 2003 he became the first player in NFL history to rush for 1,000 yards and record 100 receptions in the same season.  Not to mention the all-time NFL record for single season touchdowns (31) in 2006. Tomlinson was deadly in the red zone, and a great receiver, blocker, runner, and occasional passer.

#9 Marcus Allen. The Super Bowl XVIII  MVP finished his career with 145 TDs. Allen used long graceful strides to pick up most of his 12,243 rushing yards, but Allen was also surprisingly powerful. My lasting memory of # 32 will always be his signature reverse of direction run against the Redskins in the Super Bowl.

#8 Earl Campbell. Campbell finished his career with 9,407 yards in 7 highly productive years. More than anything Big Earl makes my list because he freakishly fast and big at 5-11, 244-pound frame, coupled with 4.5 speed.

Earl Campbell was a big bad dude!

#7 Marshall Faulk. Perhaps most impressive about Faulk are his 6,875 career receiving yards to go along with 12,279 rushing yards. Marshall Faulk may be the best all-purpose threat the NFL has ever seen.

#6 Eric Dickerson. In just his second season in 1984 ED assaulted the record book on his way to an NFL record 2,105 yards. Dickerson was a workhorse between the tackles, but once he got into the secondary no one was catching him. Dickerson may have had the best straight line speed of any RB ever.

#5 Gayle Sayers.  Sayers’ career was cut dramatically short by devastating knee injuries, or he may have been even higher on the list. During his 4 years he racked up a lifetimes worth of highlight reel runs. Sayers scored a remarkable 22 TDs as a rookie in 1965 and was a threat to take it all the way as a return man as well.

#4 Emmitt Smith. Smith is the NFL’s all time leading rusher with 18,355 yards. You can find his name all over the record book, but my lasting memory of him is his inspirational one-armed performance against the Giants in 1993 when he rushed for 170 yards and caught 10 passes with a separated shoulder. It remains the gutsiest and one of the most clutch performances I have ever seen in football.

Emmitt Smith played through the pain.

#3 Barry Sanders. Words can’t describe # 20.  Maybe video can?

 #2 Jim Brown. Many will argue Brown is not only the greatest RB of all time but the best football player to ever step on a field, period. No doubt #32 was as tough as they come. A tremendous athlete who was also an All-American in Lacrosse at Syracuse, legend has it Brown never stepped out-of-bounds on his way to 12,312 yards in just 9 seasons.

Many call Jim Brown the best of all time.

#1 Walter Payton. To me “Sweetness” is the best there ever was. No one ran harder, not even Brown or Campbell. Payton rushed for 16,726 yards and also caught 492 passes, passed for 8 TDs,  and kicked extra points (just kidding, though he probably could have).  Check out some of # 34′s best work here:

Please feel free to leave plenty of feedback.