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College football is one of the greatest pleasures from the world of sports I have been blessed to take part in for the last thirty-plus seasons. During that time there has been several great running backs to grace the stadiums and television screens of college football fans across the country.

The first back that comes to my mind is the great Herschel Walker, who was a fabulously talented young man who blessed the SEC with his talent accumulating yards between the hedges in Athens, Georgia with the Bulldogs. Walker was a bigger back than some of the others that will follow in this article, but he had a gorgeous style that made him a joy to watch. He was the type of back that had the "take it to the house" ability, meaning he could score on any play.

Another back to remember was the great Marcus Allen. I can remember his senior season in 1981 when he rushed for 2,342 yards and led the USC Trojans to the National Championship over the Oklahoma Sooners. Every game he was at 200 yards rushing or more. To accumulate that many yards passing takes less physical effort, which I believe proves a running back's worth in that they can control a game by being an effective weapon.

Of course we cannot leave out the likes of Barry Sanders in this discussion. While at Oklahoma State he had perhaps the most amazing season any back will ever experience when he chewed up over 2,600 yard and scored just short of 40 TD's. This sort of production is the filter through which each of these backs can pass to be mentioned as some of the greatest.

Eric Dickerson, LaDanian Tomlinson, Tony Dorsett, Bo Jackson, Archie Griffin and more also have a place in this discussion. One thing is for sure, good running backs are a requirement of a winning football team. If you disagree, go back and look at the game Green Bay lost to the Giants on Sunday. sixty to seventy more rushing yard in key situations and we wouldn't be hearing about "Little Manning goes to the Big Show!"

One thing all of these men but Jackson have in common is fabulous NFL Careers. Allen, Dorsett,Dickerson and Sanders are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton Ohio, proving their talent as purveyors of pigskin prowess was not a college only fluke. If Tomlinson can stay healthy, he will most likely accumulate the necessary resume to join his predecessors on that sun bathed stage one early August Saturday in the next couple of decades.

This is by no means a definitive list, because Thurman Thomas, Emmitt Smith, Mike Rozier and others dazzled us on Saturdays as they knifed, juked and flat out just bull-dozed opponents on their way to stellar careers in the NCAA. I personally look forward to the other young men who will find their way into this discussion by causing our HD televisions to cause us to stare at the wonder of their talent.

Learn more about this author, Joe Owens.
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