Storm Johnson

As we continue to examine the top up-and-coming college football teams to look out for this fall in our “College Football Countdown Team Spotlight” series, the crew at NextGenSports.net will bring you information on the top freshmen to look out for not only this year, but throughout their college careers.

The series will be broken down into positions, and for our second edition, Edgar Walker will discuss the top 10 running backs in the incoming class. Remember that these are the 10 players who will make the most impact over their college careers, not necessarily a ranking of how good they are. Multiple RBs are unfortunate enough to be behind other top recruits or already-established backs on their team’s depth charts.

#10: Malcolm Jones, UCLA – Jones is this low on the list for one reason, and this is Jordon James (see below in Best of the Rest). Jones, a 6-foot-1, 217 pound back from California is ranked in the top 5 of many recruiting services’ rankings, but he’ll have to share time during his four years as a Bruin. He was the Gatorade Player of the Year last season and arrives in Westwood being one of California’s most prolific high school rushers of all-time. Look for him and James to be an incredible duo for four years at UCLA.

#9: Anthony Wilkerson, Stanford - Anthony Wilkerson has a tough job on his hands. He gets to follow in the footsteps of stud running back Toby Gerhart, now a Minnesota Vikings rookie. Wilkerson is not ranked in the top 10 on many recruiting websites, but he’s a sure bet to be an impact player in Palo Alto for four years. An even 6 feet, Wilkerson runs a forty in 4.47 seconds, and has great strength going downhill to compliment his speed. His freshman year may be a big one, with defenses focusing on the passing skills of Andrew Luck instead of Stanford’s running game. Wilkerson will team up with QB Brett Nottingham after Luck leaves. Remember that Nottingham was ranked #5 in our rankings of the incoming QB class. With those two guys, Jim Harbaugh is undoubtedly drooling about his offenses’ potential over the next four years. Read More→