College football fans take pride in a lot of things including championships, award-winning players, history, and traditions. Being the "it" school for certain positions in the game is also a source of pride. The first school/fanbase to really embrace this was Penn State, who dubbed themselves as "Linebacker U" due to the pipeline of linebackers they put into the NFL under Joe Paterno's watch.
The "Position U" titles are now more dynamic these days, thanks to the transfer portal, NIL, and the coaching carousel. It's difficult to keep track of who comes from where and which school a certain player claims. The best we can do is keep an eye on the trends.
For this reason, Alabama is pretty clearly the current "RB U", but how long the Tide can maintain that title remains to be seen.
Alabama currently has six running backs on NFL rosters or in NFL camps: Derrick Henry, Jahmyr Gibbs, Josh Jacobs, Najee Harris, Brian Robinson Jr., and Jase McClellan. All but McClellan are in line to either be the lead back or a significant part of a two-back share at the position.
Derrick Henry is widely regarded as one of the best running backs in NFL history, Jacobs is two seasons removed from a league rushing title, and Gibbs is a consensus Top 3 back according to most major fantasy football publications.
No other college football program can currently boast that caliber of running back stable at the NFL level. The issue is, those backs are all products of Nick Saban's tenure at Alabama. Can Kalen Deboer keep it rolling?
Taking a peak into the future, there are a couple of programs postured to unseat Alabama as "RB U."
The Georgia Bulldogs currently have six running backs in NFL camps, and they've all entered the league since 2020. What's holding the Bulldogs back is the fact that only Buffalo's James Cook appears to have a clear path to being a lead back in 2025. With what have become inevitable injuries at the position, however, that could change quickly.
The Ohio State Buckeyes are another program that could very well snatch the "RB U" title from Alabama in the next couple of years. Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson were both selected in the 2025 draft and are expected to either be the lead or share the lead role for their respective teams. The Buckeyes also have a loaded depth chart of NFL running back prospects at the collegiate level, lead by sophomore James Peoples.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have put three running backs into the league since 2022, the most notable of those being Kyren Williams. The Irish also currently have Jeremiah Love on the roster -- widely regarded as the top returning running back in college football heading into 2025. When Love takes a breather, he'll be relieved by Jadarian Price and Aneyas Williams, both of whom are projected to be on NFL rosters within a couple of seasons.
The bottom line is this: right now, Alabama football is the gold standard in terms of producing NFL caliber running backs, but that title is always going to be up for grabs thanks to NIL, the transfer portal, and turnover at the position.