Fansided

Best college football running back from every state

By Nicholas Ian Allen

LOUISIANA, NO - JANUARY 1: Running back Herschel Walker #34 of the University of Georgia Bull Dogs carries the ball against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the Sugar Bowl game January 1, 1981 at the Louisiana Superbowl in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Bull Dogs won the game 17-10. Walker played at the University of Georgia from 1980-1983, and won the Heisman Trophy in 1982. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
LOUISIANA, NO - JANUARY 1: Running back Herschel Walker #34 of the University of Georgia Bull Dogs carries the ball against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the Sugar Bowl game January 1, 1981 at the Louisiana Superbowl in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Bull Dogs won the game 17-10. Walker played at the University of Georgia from 1980-1983, and won the Heisman Trophy in 1982. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) /
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LOUISIANA, NO – JANUARY 1: Running back Herschel Walker
LOUISIANA, NO – JANUARY 1: Running back Herschel Walker /

Georgia

Herschel Walker, Georgia Bulldogs

“…He’s running over people! Oh, you Herschel Walker! My God almighty he ran right through two men. Herschel ran right over two men – they had him dead away inside the nine. Herschel Walker went 16 yards. He drove right over orange shirts, just driving and running with those big thighs. My God, a freshman.”

National Signing Day wasn’t nearly as publicized across the country in 1980 as it is today. So, when Herschel Walker signed with the Georgia Bulldogs out of tiny Wrightsville, he was hardly a household name. Therefore, when legendary Georgia broadcaster Larry Munson described Walker’s first touchdown run in the 1980 season opener against Tennessee, when Walker famously ran through a Bill Bates tackle to get to the end zone, it might have been the first time some college football fans heard of him.

By the time he left Athens, however, Herschel was known far and wide. The 1982 Heisman Trophy winner led Georgia to the national championship as a freshman, and won both the SEC Player of the Year Award and consensus All-American honors in all three seasons with the Bulldogs. Walker averaged 159.4 rushing yards per game and his 5,259 career rushing yards still rank No. 13 on the all-time FBS leaderboard, and are still the most by a player that spent just three years in college.

The state of Georgia has produced many great running backs, including 1980 Heisman Trophy winner George Rogers and the legendary Jim Brown, but no one put together a greater three years in college than Herschel.

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