
Louisiana
Marshall Faulk, San Diego State Aztecs
Leonard Fournette nearly took the title away from him by torching the SEC with 3,830 career rushing yards at in-state LSU, but Marshall Faulk held strong as the best running back in college football history born in Louisiana.
A New Orleans native like Fournette, the Tigers passed on recruiting Faulk as a tailback, as did everyone else in the southeast. Instead, most nearby programs saw Faulk as a defensive back. However, San Diego State offered the future College and Pro Football Hall of Famer an opportunity to compete for carries, and Faulk came through immediately.
As a true freshman in 1991, Faulk tallied 1,429 rushing yards and 21 TDs, and averaged 7.1 yards per attempt on 201 carries. He also broke the NCAA single-game rushing record with 386 yards in a game against now defunct Pacific – a feat that stood for eight years. Faulk also scored seven times against the Tigers.
Faulk earned consensus All-American recognition and WAC Offensive Player of the Year honors as a sophomore agter he posted a career-best 1,630 rushing yards, and also scored 15 times on the ground. He finished as the runner-up in the Heisman vote.
However, Faulk’s junior season was arguably his best. He gained 1,530 rushing yards and scored 21 times on the ground, but blossomed into a terrific receiver and added 644 receiving yards and three scores on 47 receptions out of the backfield. The performance was a glimpse of the greatness that awaited him in the NFL.
Fresh off a second All-American performance, and a third top-10 finish in the Heisman voting, Faulk declared for the NFL Draft. The Indianapolis Colts selected him second overall.