30 Best College Running Backs of All-Time
Career Statistics
- Games: 46
- Carries: 927
- Rushing Yards: 5,091
- Rushing Yards Per Game: 110.7
- Rushing Yards Per Season: 1,272.8
- Rushing Touchdowns: 31
- Yards Per Carry: 5.5
- Receptions: 43
- Receiving Yards: 389
- Receiving Touchdowns: 2
- Notable: All-American, Heisman Trophy Winner, 1980
The greatest player in South Carolina football history, running back George Rogers is one of the best to play college football. A big 6-foot-2 and 228-pound ball carrier, Rogers gained 623 rushing yards and scored three touchdowns as a true freshman in 1977 and added 1,006 rushing yards and scored six TDs as a sophomore.
Rogers exploded onto the national scene as a junior when he ran for 1.681 yards on 311 attempts (5.4 yards per carry) and scored eight rushing touchdowns. He added 140 receiving yards and a score on 14 catches and finished seventh in the voting for the Heisman Trophy. Rogers was even better in 1980 and won the award after leading the nation with 1,781 rushing yards on 297 carries (6.0 yards per carry) and scored 14 times on the ground.
After his college career was over, Rogers was selected first overall in the 1981 NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints and was an immediate success, earning Pro Bowl honors in both 1981 – when he was named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and led the league in rushing – and 1982. A statue of Rogers now stands outside Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia.
Next: Charles White