This was an easy one. By far, Herchel Walker was the best college running back of all time. He gained over 5200 yards rushing in 3 years. If he had come back for his senior year, he would have been pushing the 7000 yard mark. That's unbelievable. That record may have never been broken.
In no way is it "by far". It very easy to make a case for Sanders being a better back in college. He just had the misfortune of playing behind Thurman Thomas his first 2 years. Sanders rushed for over 2,600 yds with 37 TDs wgile averaging over 7.5. Yds a carry. Let that sink in. In 11 games, he compiled those numbers. Herschel was great, but he wasn't Sanders.
@@josephjohnroe3678 We are judging by what happened and not "would have" happened. Sanders was great in college but by the numbers he was not as good as Herschel over his whole career. I feel bad for Sanders as he got drafted by the Lions. He was a MUCH better runner than Emmitt but had the misfortune of being drafted by a bottom of the barrel team that only reached the playoffs once in his tenor.
+Ethan Knowles This is from such a long time ago, but combining is USFL and NFL yardage, he's #1 in all purpose. I guess people just say his pro years weren't as good because he's always considered the greatest college RB ever, they just expected more from him
As a fellow teammate and friend of sanders son and someone who knows the family very well, I can tell you this even barry admitted the greatest college running back ever was herschel walker.
From a lifelong Bama fan-Hershel IS the greatest ever. I lived in Peachtree City Ga. during his playing days so I got a good first hand look. Hershel carried the Dawgs on his back for three years against top flight competition. If he had of played his senior year his records would never be broken.
Pure freak of nature. Read a book about his life. Never lifted a weight in middle or high school and could dunk a basketball. One of the few that was just as good on the field as off. Great, great guy.
hershall walker is my hero. i really hope the people that vote for the hall of fame understand the hand hershall was delt, and that he couldve been the best running back in the history of football if he didnt play for two losing teams. although hershall did help out dallas with those picks we got we built that 90s team. thank you hershall for being such a team player and never complaining!
6 років тому+2
Defenses in the SEC could not manage Walkers physicality because he would pound on them all afternoon. Eventually they would wilt.
Sanders only started 1 year. He was behind the great thurman thomas his first two. In that one year (including his bowl game) he accumulated 2850 rush yards, 44 tds, 106 rec yards, and 515 return yards. None of Herschel Walkers seasons come close to that. Both are the Best college RBs ever.
It's not even close. No freshman ever dominated the game so completely, leading the Dawgs to an undisputed national championship and 3 SEC titles in 3 years, 33-3 overall record. Had he played his senior year his records would be untouchable with over 7,000 career rushing yards, etc. No other back comes close to his dominance. He changed the definition of the tailback position like none other.
If we compare All college running backs careers with Walker, he tops them all.His Freshmen, Soph and Jr year's were all stellar . As great as Barry was he sat basically the first year at Oakaloma State then when Thurman thomas left the next year he was the starter and basically had the greatest season ever by a college football player. Walker has pro football all time rushing yards in a season with 2400+ with Houston in the USFL.
Ay man....you certainly have alot of football knoledge to recognize that. People sleep on Herschel. Bo is my favorite back and tha only one who was close to him was Herschal Walker..meaning similarities. So you have my respect.
Barry sanders has NCAA record for most rush and all purpose yards and another 1 or 2 NCCA records. He has 39 all purpose touchdowns (37 rush,1 punt return,1 kick return.) He was the best college runningback
@TopCatDaStoryTella I believe that you're referring to Napoleon McCallum who played for the Naval Academy and then for the Raiders. In a Monday Night game against the 49ers, his knee was bent the wrong way tearing his calf and hamstring from the bone. Then no more football.
Walker was the man. I like him mostly because he was a former Minnesota Viking more than anything else...even though the means in which they got him sucked. He did his thing in college. He was no Ron Dayne (Dayne dominated everybody and I was fortunate enough to see him a lot living here in Milwaukee), but ol' Hersch' was the best Georgia Bulldog ever in my opinion.
Nobody has ever had a season like barry sanders, not even close, barry went pro the following year as a first round draft pick! How in the world can you do better then that? Thats like a players dream!
Watch the 81 National Championship when he got hurt. He was never the same after that. Maybe I should have specified, no one compares to Freshmen Herschel Walker. We see a single event hurt athlete's careers a good bit whether its an injury or personal. Remember Terrel Davis, a former Dawg?
@GaDawgs15818 Yes he was part of the most investigations because he was such a freak of nature. There's not many guys that play in the league like him. So because of his unsual talent, he was questioned the use of steriods rather than give him credit for his unique abilities. Bo was just blessed!!
Herschel may not have had the most yards as the other great backs, but remember he played only 3 yrs of college football. IMHO, Walker impacted a football game more than any NCAA rb than I'v ever seen. Coaches entire defensive gameplan was based on stopping #34 and they still couldn't.
@Wayneman117 ya think so? let me bring up some stats for ya. College career rushing stats: Herschel: 5,259 in 3 years, Bo: 4,303 in 4 years. Average rushing yards per year: Herschel: 1763, Bo: (subtracting his horrible 1984 year of 475 yards) 1276 yards. Herschel holds the record for the top two rushing seasons, Bo's best year is at #15. Herschel has more yards in 3 years than anyone in SEC history had in 4 years. Herschel is the only player to finish top 3 for the Heisman every year
I'm a Tech fan and I despise Georgia... but Herschel Walker is the greatest college football player ever. Any guy that can make SEC defenders look like a bunch of 5th graders at a pee-wee game is just unparalleled to any other athlete ever
I agree Sims was great. This list is almost impossible to do. So many great running backs! Sims, Dayne, Ricky, Dorsett, and so on. Not a bad list though.
@118Combination Barry Sanders 3 years of college rushing stats: total yards: 3797, attempts: 558, avg: 5.9 per carry Walkers 3 years of college rushing stats: total yards: 5259, attempts: 994, avg: 5.3 per carry Sanders was a better NFL running back, but his stats dont justify him as a better college running back.
just saw the 30 for 30 special on marcus dupree, and the first name that came to mind was herschel Walker. Same type of player. Big, fast and strong. the mistake dupree made that herschel didn't, is that marcus left the state of miss. It's a fine line between being great like walker and being misled like Dupree.
@@garypulliam3740 Herschel fell into a similar trap of mismanagement himself when the usfl tricked him into leaving georgia early. He wouldve been a first over all pick to new england in the nfl, and couldve taken them over the top in the superbowl. He'd have a gold jacket, an extra two pro bowls, & be in the 2,000 yard club in the nfl.
Rule Changes? If Im correct, The I formation is how alot of the greats got there yards even after 78. Your right about this though, good back, expectations to high.
@KevinDurant206 had he not signed to the USFL for 2 years and stayed his senior year with the Bulldogs and then got drafted to the cowboys i think that wouldve made a hell of a difference, i think he might have gotten off to a better start in the NFL
I don't think his path to the NFL hurt him, at all. It diidn't help that he had to share the backfield with Tony Dorsett, but after that, the Vikings and Eagles didn't use him properly. They both tried to get cute with him and play him at 'H' back and have him running pass routes the like. The idea was to get him in space, but the reality was, he could create his own space. As Vince Dooley said, the 4th qtr belonged to Walker. Dot the i with him, and give him the ball 30 times.
Im the biggest Barry Sanders Fan. but he only really dominated one season after Thurman Thomas Left. Nevertheless that was the best season for any college player ever. O.J. was great but not better than Hershel. Ricky Williams is someone no one talks about. he was great his whole career at Texas. Even Ron Dayne when he played for Wisconsin, had a pretty good career.
Herschel is awesome, but elusiveness is the most important attribute of a halfback, (not just bowling people over). Barry Sanders should with out question be number one.
I'm a UGA fan but the Dawgs have been snake bit this off-season. The first AND second-string fullbacks are now going to miss at least until mid-September, a starting defensive end (Lomax) is probably going to be dismissed from the team, and the best offensive lineman (Boling) will definitely be suspended early in the season and may be dismissed as well. In other words, I don't see Moreno lighting it up without Southerland and Boling in front of him. Other guys need to step up.
Oh he's only in the Top 10 for All-Purpose Yardage....I'm sure nobody special makes that list, i.e. Barry Sanders, Marcus Allen, Thurman Thomas, Jerry Rice to name a few.
Almost UNPARALLED athletic resume: 10th degree black belt in karate, Heisman winner, all pro NFL RB, 100 Meter track and field Olympic alternate, featured in professional ballet productions, Olympic bobsled competitor, professional MMA fighter, 1000 push-ups, 1000 dips, 2500 sit ups/day, eats one meal a day. MODERN DAY JIM THORPE.
To all you people who think Barry Sanders stats are so great, which they are but the big 12 is all offense no defense. SEC is premiere in both sides of the ball. End of conversation. Herschel is number 1
Honestly Walker was good but all UGA did was give him the ball he averaged around 30 attempts per game. Bo Jackson had about 20.... No doubt the best runningback pound for pound and attempts per game was Warrick Dunn... He only got the ball 15 times per game and had 3 consecutive 1,000 yard rushing seasons... If u ask me thats greatness
this is a good video and he is #2 in my book. barry sanders is #1 however. nobody will ever have the season he had in 1988 ever again. almost 3000 yards rushing and 39tds in 12 games. and his first 2 seasons he backed up thurman thomas and still managed to make his presence felt. regardless herschel was top 3 of all time so i guess its personal opinion
so hard to say who the best is becauase of different styles. i would take bo jackson or tony dorsett myself but only cause they are my favs..herschel is just as good if not better.
i was lucky enough to be present at all home games he played at uga.. i will never forget him.. amazing fast and tough as hell.. walker my dawg...
This was an easy one. By far, Herchel Walker was the best college running back of all time. He gained over 5200 yards rushing in 3 years. If he had come back for his senior year, he would have been pushing the 7000 yard mark. That's unbelievable. That record may have never been broken.
In no way is it "by far". It very easy to make a case for Sanders being a better back in college. He just had the misfortune of playing behind Thurman Thomas his first 2 years. Sanders rushed for over 2,600 yds with 37 TDs wgile averaging over 7.5. Yds a carry. Let that sink in. In 11 games, he compiled those numbers. Herschel was great, but he wasn't Sanders.
@@josephjohnroe3678 We are judging by what happened and not "would have" happened. Sanders was great in college but by the numbers he was not as good as Herschel over his whole career. I feel bad for Sanders as he got drafted by the Lions. He was a MUCH better runner than Emmitt but had the misfortune of being drafted by a bottom of the barrel team that only reached the playoffs once in his tenor.
Herschels track photo on the cover of sports illustrated is all you need to see to know how powerful he was...
People call him a terrible pro but he's like 3rd all time in all purpose yards
+Ethan Knowles And also I think it was the vikings that traded half the team to get him, so he didn't have a line to block for him.
+Ethan Knowles This is from such a long time ago, but combining is USFL and NFL yardage, he's #1 in all purpose.
I guess people just say his pro years weren't as good because he's always considered the greatest college RB ever, they just expected more from him
The Vikings coach also misused Herschel in order to get back at the GM for making the trade.
I agree. I am old and have seen them all. Walker was the greatest. And this from an old "northern boy"!!
One of the best college backs of all time. Imagine if he would have stayed all 4 yrs?
As a fellow teammate and friend of sanders son and someone who knows the family very well, I can tell you this even barry admitted the greatest college running back ever was herschel walker.
From a lifelong Bama fan-Hershel IS the greatest ever. I lived in Peachtree City Ga. during his playing days so I got a good first hand look. Hershel carried the Dawgs on his back for three years against top flight competition. If he had of played his senior year his records would never be broken.
Just a beast. So big and so fast.
Incredible speed, power and balance...killer combo! Herschel, Earl, then Bo.
Walker was the best no doubt about it
Pure freak of nature. Read a book about his life. Never lifted a weight in middle or high school and could dunk a basketball.
One of the few that was just as good on the field as off. Great, great guy.
I'm a lifelong Gator, and must say, THE best CFB RB of all time.
hershall walker is my hero. i really hope the people that vote for the hall of fame understand the hand hershall was delt, and that he couldve been the best running back in the history of football if he didnt play for two losing teams. although hershall did help out dallas with those picks we got we built that 90s team. thank you hershall for being such a team player and never complaining!
Defenses in the SEC could not manage Walkers physicality because he would pound on them all afternoon. Eventually they would wilt.
Sanders only started 1 year. He was behind the great thurman thomas his first two.
In that one year (including his bowl game) he accumulated 2850 rush yards, 44 tds, 106 rec yards, and 515 return yards. None of Herschel Walkers seasons come close to that. Both are the Best college RBs ever.
It's not even close. No freshman ever dominated the game so completely, leading the Dawgs to an undisputed national championship and 3 SEC titles in 3 years, 33-3 overall record. Had he played his senior year his records would be untouchable with over 7,000 career rushing yards, etc. No other back comes close to his dominance. He changed the definition of the tailback position like none other.
If we compare All college running backs careers with Walker, he tops them all.His Freshmen, Soph and Jr year's were all stellar . As great as Barry was he sat basically the first year at Oakaloma State then when Thurman thomas left the next year he was the starter and basically had the greatest season ever by a college football player. Walker has pro football all time rushing yards in a season with 2400+ with Houston in the USFL.
no, Herschel Walker was hands down the best in college. There is no doubt. the numbers dont lie and he has them all.
Ay man....you certainly have alot of football knoledge to recognize that. People sleep on Herschel. Bo is my favorite back and tha only one who was close to him was Herschal Walker..meaning similarities. So you have my respect.
Barry sanders has NCAA record for most rush and all purpose yards and another 1 or 2 NCCA records. He has 39 all purpose touchdowns (37 rush,1 punt return,1 kick return.) He was the best college runningback
Good selection. Herschel was the greatest ever.
@TopCatDaStoryTella I believe that you're referring to Napoleon McCallum who played for the Naval Academy and then for the Raiders. In a Monday Night game against the 49ers, his knee was bent the wrong way tearing his calf and hamstring from the bone. Then no more football.
Walker was the man. I like him mostly because he was a former Minnesota Viking more than anything else...even though the means in which they got him sucked. He did his thing in college. He was no Ron Dayne (Dayne dominated everybody and I was fortunate enough to see him a lot living here in Milwaukee), but ol' Hersch' was the best Georgia Bulldog ever in my opinion.
Happy 50th Herschel 03-03-12
God bless Herschel Walker!!
Nobody has ever had a season like barry sanders, not even close, barry went pro the following year as a first round draft pick! How in the world can you do better then that? Thats like a players dream!
Watch the 81 National Championship when he got hurt. He was never the same after that. Maybe I should have specified, no one compares to Freshmen Herschel Walker. We see a single event hurt athlete's careers a good bit whether its an injury or personal. Remember Terrel Davis, a former Dawg?
He wasn't a quitter , he wasn't well coach that's all too much pressure on this poor young man
Herschel is Nuts. Fucking Love It
@GaDawgs15818 Yes he was part of the most investigations because he was such a freak of nature. There's not many guys that play in the league like him. So because of his unsual talent, he was questioned the use of steriods rather than give him credit for his unique abilities. Bo was just blessed!!
Herschel was defiantly the best running back ever. He literally ran over people.
Herschel may not have had the most yards as the other great backs, but remember he played only 3 yrs of college football. IMHO, Walker impacted a football game more than any NCAA rb than I'v ever seen. Coaches entire defensive gameplan was based on stopping #34 and they still couldn't.
@Wayneman117 ya think so? let me bring up some stats for ya. College career rushing stats: Herschel: 5,259 in 3 years, Bo: 4,303 in 4 years. Average rushing yards per year: Herschel: 1763, Bo: (subtracting his horrible 1984 year of 475 yards) 1276 yards. Herschel holds the record for the top two rushing seasons, Bo's best year is at #15. Herschel has more yards in 3 years than anyone in SEC history had in 4 years. Herschel is the only player to finish top 3 for the Heisman every year
I work in Wrightsville. my parents company put the a/c unit on his mothers house. he wasnt home at the time though :( met him later tho :)
you know what i never got he doesnt spread his legs out that much when he runs and he just looks slow but this guy has some serious speed
I'm a Tech fan and I despise Georgia... but Herschel Walker is the greatest college football player ever. Any guy that can make SEC defenders look like a bunch of 5th graders at a pee-wee game is just unparalleled to any other athlete ever
Absolutely
I agree Sims was great. This list is almost impossible to do. So many great running backs! Sims, Dayne, Ricky, Dorsett, and so on. Not a bad list though.
@118Combination
Barry Sanders 3 years of college rushing stats:
total yards: 3797, attempts: 558, avg: 5.9 per carry
Walkers 3 years of college rushing stats:
total yards: 5259, attempts: 994, avg: 5.3 per carry
Sanders was a better NFL running back, but his stats dont justify him as a better college running back.
Man its a shame how the coaches in the NFL didnt use Herschel in the correct brain trust. He was a freak of nature. Just like Bo Jackson.
Humble Herschel! Go DAWGS!!!!
Great video. Check out Jordan Canzeri's JV vid. He's comming strong and will be a college highlight some day.
just saw the 30 for 30 special on marcus dupree, and the first name that came to mind was herschel Walker. Same type of player. Big, fast and strong. the mistake dupree made that herschel didn't, is that marcus left the state of miss. It's a fine line between being great like walker and being misled like Dupree.
Correct ... as much as I love Herschel Walker, Marcus Dupree would have been the best ever if his career wouldn't have been mismanaged.
@@garypulliam3740 Herschel fell into a similar trap of mismanagement himself when the usfl tricked him into leaving georgia early. He wouldve been a first over all pick to new england in the nfl, and couldve taken them over the top in the superbowl. He'd have a gold jacket, an extra two pro bowls, & be in the 2,000 yard club in the nfl.
Rule Changes? If Im correct, The I formation is how alot of the greats got there yards even after 78. Your right about this though, good back, expectations to high.
I got a picture with him and got his autograph :)
@KevinDurant206 had he not signed to the USFL for 2 years and stayed his senior year with the Bulldogs and then got drafted to the cowboys i think that wouldve made a hell of a difference, i think he might have gotten off to a better start in the NFL
The BEST college running back of all time!
Greatest Athlete of Alltime
i remember watchin this on tv lol
I don't think his path to the NFL hurt him, at all. It diidn't help that he had to share the backfield with Tony Dorsett, but after that, the Vikings and Eagles didn't use him properly. They both tried to get cute with him and play him at 'H' back and have him running pass routes the like. The idea was to get him in space, but the reality was, he could create his own space. As Vince Dooley said, the 4th qtr belonged to Walker. Dot the i with him, and give him the ball 30 times.
He was the greatest
MY RIGHT EAR IS LONELY
The exclusion of Ron Dayne from that list is nothing short of criminal.
No it was not. Ron Dayne is forgotten. He was over rated.
How does Barry Sanders not get #1? The only season he played he demolished nearly every record he could, some that may never be broken.
@ 0:00 before we named the best college RB of all time let's look back at the competition.
Go Dawgs..........Herschel Walker and his many personalities are still the best lol.
no one can dominate the bulldogs and hershel walker
the title of this vid says it all.
He could still play.
Man where did all that speed go when he got to the NFL? He always looked 15 pds heavier and a little slower..
back when sanders played he played in the big 8. the big 12 wasn't founded until 1996.
Im the biggest Barry Sanders Fan. but he only really dominated one season after Thurman Thomas Left. Nevertheless that was the best season for any college player ever. O.J. was great but not better than Hershel. Ricky Williams is someone no one talks about. he was great his whole career at Texas. Even Ron Dayne when he played for Wisconsin, had a pretty good career.
I don't know how I forgot about Herschel
Herschel is awesome, but elusiveness is the most important attribute of a halfback, (not just bowling people over).
Barry Sanders should with out question be number one.
I'm a UGA fan but the Dawgs have been snake bit this off-season. The first AND second-string fullbacks are now going to miss at least until mid-September, a starting defensive end (Lomax) is probably going to be dismissed from the team, and the best offensive lineman (Boling) will definitely be suspended early in the season and may be dismissed as well. In other words, I don't see Moreno lighting it up without Southerland and Boling in front of him. Other guys need to step up.
Oh he's only in the Top 10 for All-Purpose Yardage....I'm sure nobody special makes that list, i.e. Barry Sanders, Marcus Allen, Thurman Thomas, Jerry Rice to name a few.
Almost UNPARALLED athletic resume: 10th degree black belt in karate, Heisman winner, all pro NFL RB, 100 Meter track and field Olympic alternate, featured in professional ballet productions, Olympic bobsled competitor, professional MMA fighter, 1000 push-ups, 1000 dips, 2500 sit ups/day, eats one meal a day. MODERN DAY JIM THORPE.
Barry, Bo, and Reggie might have something to say about that.
Herschel Walker and Bo Jackson were the fucking best runningbacks in college football history!!!!
wow espn finally got it right this time
my cousin😎
The best
jynupe i was just wondering that and im a uga fan my dad was the last person to tackle tony dorsett in college football history
To all you people who think Barry Sanders stats are so great, which they are but the big 12 is all offense no defense. SEC is premiere in both sides of the ball. End of conversation. Herschel is number 1
Tony Dorsett should most certainly be on this list
He was the Bruce Lee of college football!
Walker is the best in college
people who say barry or bo they didn't dominate for 3 yrs like walker barry sat bench for 2 yrs and so did bo
Honestly Walker was good but all UGA did was give him the ball he averaged around 30 attempts per game. Bo Jackson had about 20.... No doubt the best runningback pound for pound and attempts per game was Warrick Dunn... He only got the ball 15 times per game and had 3 consecutive 1,000 yard rushing seasons... If u ask me thats greatness
well some teams in the WAC play 13 regular season game I dont know why though
tough decision to make who was a better college running back between barry sanders and herschel walker
this is a good video and he is #2 in my book. barry sanders is #1 however. nobody will ever have the season he had in 1988 ever again. almost 3000 yards rushing and 39tds in 12 games. and his first 2 seasons he backed up thurman thomas and still managed to make his presence felt. regardless herschel was top 3 of all time so i guess its personal opinion
Where's Marcus Dupree?
so hard to say who the best is becauase of different styles. i would take bo jackson or tony dorsett myself but only cause they are my favs..herschel is just as good if not better.
Johnson County, right up the road from me, heh. Too bad I never got to see Herschel. Nobody compares to him, not even in the pros.
be interesting If Marcus Dupree finished his career at Okla.
Pound 4 pound Hersh and Bo were fastest players in sports period
He could not change direction very well...he was a straight runner...but VERY fast
4:02...That only happens in Madden; unless you are HERSCHEL WALKER...
he never lifted weights either. simply did it the hard way with pushups and situps.
my name is herschel ayyayayaa
go dawgs!!!!!!!!!!!!
You know it. Never lost an SEC game...
reggie had to sare ball with matt linert lendale white steve smith and dwayne jarret and still put up numbers
How in the world does Tony Dorsett not make this list?
All D1 teams play 12 games now...regardless of conference
and jim brown and brian westbrook and walter payton and shaun alexander
i agree but elabudi3 said he shouldn't be on the list
Well hershel got the ball a LOT more than dupree ever did so those stats arent even comparable