San Diego State running back Donnel Pumphrey set the FBS career rushing record against the Houston Cougars in the Las Vegas Bowl on Saturday.
While the entire college football world has been awestruck with the likes of Leonard Fournette, Dalvin Cook and others over recent years, there’s been a small running back making big noise out west. San Diego State Aztecs running back Donnel Pumphrey has quietly been chasing down history.
Pumphrey has put together some incredible seasons and now he can say he holds the record. Heading into the Las Vegas Bowl on Saturday, Pumphrey needed just 108 yards to break the FBS career rushing yards record. He broke the record with a 15-yard run in the fourth quarter.
Ron Dayne held the record with 6,397 yards during his time in college football and Pumphrey was able to pass him bye to grab sole possession of the record. Coming into the game, the star running back had 2,018 yards on the season.
His staggering statistics were a reminder to everyone just how successful the Aztecs were this season as they won the Mountain West. While Pumphrey doesn’t get as much attention as the bigger schools, his play certainly is worthy of praise.
As a smaller back, it will be interesting to see how his skill set translates to the NFL. He plays with plenty of heart and passion for the game and some team will take a chance on him. You can’t match heart and Pumphrey has plenty of it. He wouldn’t be the new FBS career rushing yards leader without it.