Ranking the 10 best small school college football RBs of all time
By Zach Bigalke
Though he never got the chance to play in a bowl game, Paul Palmer still put together one of the best overall careers among small school running backs. The Temple star did a little bit of everything during his time in Philadelphia. He rushed for over 600 yards as a freshman, nearly 900 as a sophomore, and over 1,500 as a junior. Palmer’s career was capped by a 1986 season where he finished second to Vinny Testaverde in the Heisman voting.
That season, Palmer led the country in both rushing yards (1866) and rushing touchdowns (15). He added another 110 yards on 12 receptions and threw a 33-yard touchdown pass. On special teams, Palmer also returned 28 kickoffs for another 657 yards. Unfortunately, though, Temple lost three of its final four games to fall out of bowl contention.
Palmer’s historic 1986 season on the field should not be discounted due to his violation of NCAA policies when he signed with an agent prior to the expiration of his eligibility. Those games were ultimately played, and Palmer did rack up all that yardage to grow into one of the most consistent small school running backs in history. He was a first-round selection by the Kansas City Chiefs in 1987, but Palmer’s career never did get off the ground in the pros like it did at Temple.