Donnel Pumphrey: NCAA’s most underrated running back
Donnel Pumphrey is among some of college football’s best returning backs, but he isn’t getting a lot of national attention.
San Diego State football has quietly become one of college football’s most consistent winners. Head coach Rocky Long and the Aztecs built their success on a dominant run game. Long used three highly productive backs since his arrival in 2011. Donnel Pumphrey is his most productive of the trio.
Prior to being one of the Broncos’ tailbacks, Ronnie Hillman and Adam Muema were the bellows for the Aztec offense. They combined for 4,666 rushing yards and 55 touchdowns in three seasons. Long continued this run-heavy offense in 2014 with Pumphrey.
Pumphrey had already seen time with Muema in 2013 when he was a freshman. He managed to rush for 752 yards and eight touchdowns that year. Long rewarded his play with the top running back spot in 2014. All he’s done since is run for 3,520 yards and score 37 touchdowns.
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He led the Aztecs to 11 wins, their best win total since they began, playing football in 1969. The most amazing part, Pumphrey is small back at 5-foot-9, 180-pounds. He’s carried the ball 710 times.
This season, the sawed-off-running back needs just 317 yards to pass Marshall Faulk for San Diego State’s all-time rushing record.
Pumphrey’s not only going to surpass the record, but he’s going to take the record out of the stratosphere. Last season, the passing game for the Aztecs took care of the ball, but also took few risks. Starters Maxwell Smith and Christian Chapman combined to complete 139-of-248 passes for 1,965 yards, 15 touchdowns, and just three interceptions
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On average, the offense threw the ball 18 times per game to the running games 48.3 attempts per game. Pumphrey has every opportunity to break the record. He’s easily the least talked about back in the game. He plays in a mid-major conference, the Mountain West, and an under-the-radar squad. Boise State gets all the press out of the MWC.
He’s certainly someone teams need to keep an eye on. The Aztecs are going to be one of the best teams in college football regardless of coverage. However, he’s certainly someone the country should watch.