College Football 2017: Ranking each conference by its running backs
By Dana Becker
7. Youth movement
No conference has been hit as hard by the injury bug than the ACC, losing the likes of Mark Walton and KirVonte Benson in recent weeks.
For the ACC, though, it is always that “next man in” approach.
NC State features Nyheim Hines as the focal point to an offense off to an unbeaten start in the conference. Hines has 648 yards, good for second in the league behind quarterback Lamar Jackson of Louisville, with six touchdowns on the year.
Cam Akers from Florida State garners most of the headlines as the top freshman back, but it is actually Boston College’s AJ Dillon who is ahead the rest of his class in yards rushing. Dillon, coming off a huge game for the Golden Eagles, has 605 yards and six scores.
Virginia’s Jordan Ellis has turned into a steady player, racking up 544 yards and five scores, with Duke’s duo of senior Shaun Wilson and freshman Brittani Brown providing 976 yards and eight scores.
There may be no better young pair than the two backs Clemson deploys in freshman Travis Etienne and sophomore Tavien Feaster. Etienne is averaging just under nine yards per carry with six touchdowns, with Feaster adding 389 yards and three scores.
Freshman Michael Carter of North Carolina, Miami’s Travis Homer, Syracuse’s Dontae Strickland and Virginia Tech’s Travon McMillian are all on the cusp of greatness.