B/R CFB Recruiting: Ranking the Top RBs in the 2025 Recruiting Class

Sometimes, 10 running backs is just not enough for a list. This is a strong class of runners, and we couldn't choose between the final two, so we gave them a tie.

Regardless of how many you put on here, there are a lot of first-year playmakers who will come in and have a chance to make an impact right away. Even entering loaded rosters in some cases, they may be too talented to stand around and wait.

Running back isn't a difficult position to come in and play right away, especially if you can pass-block. It is, however, an extremely tough position to evaluate in the rankings, which is why you almost always see diversification of analysis from player to player.

While the position isn't quite as valued in the pros as it used to be and the shelf life isn't quite as long at the peak of the profession, a great running back at the collegiate level can go a long way toward determining a team's success. A stable of them allows everybody to keep fresh legs and preserve their pro potential.

Plenty of guys in the '25 class have the ability to blossom into NFL-caliber runners. So, let's take a look at the top-rated players in the class based off B/R video study and consideration of industry rankings.

It's not been a terrific start to the season for coach Mark Stoops' Kentucky Wildcats, which had high expectations for the '24 season once again.

After getting drilled on the road against South Carolina, the Wildcats took top-ranked Georgia to the brink before losing on Saturday. One of the main reasons why they're struggling so much is inefficiency on offense, and the running game isn't helping.

The Cats currently rank 75th nationally in rush offense and are averaging a paltry 3.7 yards per rush.

Incoming freshman Marquise Davis may just help those numbers right away, and while it's still too early to consider Kentucky's running back stable a disappointment this year, the 6-foot, 210-pound Cleveland, Ohio, product has the potential to step right in and help anybody.

He is a major coup out of the state that has become a breeding ground for UK prospects with Stoops and top recruiter Vince Morrow in the Bluegrass.

Davis is a big-bodied runner who drags tacklers and almost never goes down on first impact. He isn't the fastest back in the class, but he fits what UK wants to do schematically to a tee.

The Texas Longhorns have recruited as well as anybody in the nation since Steve Sarkisian came to Austin, and he is doing particularly well luring players at the running back position.

Guys like CJ Baxter and Jerrick Gibson have given the 'Horns a loaded room that has benefitted the College Football Playoff team tremendously in the past couple of seasons, particularly considering injuries derailed Jonathon Brooks' campaign last year and Baxter's and Christian Clark's this season.

You can't ever have too many quality running backs, which is why it's a big deal that Sark landed 5'11", 200-pound Shreveport, Louisiana, 4-star James Simon.

Simon needs some time in the college weight room, but he has the ability to be an all-around back who is a weapon out of the backfield. That's a big deal in a system that is going to see Arch Manning take over next year.

Simon also has a high football IQ, having been around the sport most of his life. His father, John, was a star at Louisiana Tech who is now Grambling State's offensive coordinator.

There are other "sure things," and Simon isn't that, but his ceiling is NFL ability with his knack for pulling away from defenders and also catching the football out of the backfield. We love his upside.

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You can't fault Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze when it comes to recruiting, even if the on-field results haven't been what the faithful on the Plains have been hoping for thus far.

The Tigers have the nation's fourth-ranked class so far this season after hauling in a top-10 class a season ago. While Freeze's decision not to go after a transfer portal quarterback this offseason has set his team's progress back, Auburn has a bright future with the way he's stockpiling dudes.

With Jarquez Hunter likely leaving after this season, the Tigers need reinforcements in that room. While they're swinging big with another guy on this list who is uncommitted, one great player already in the fold is Alvin Henderson.

The 5'9", 200-pound Elba, Alabama, native plays in the lowest classification in the state, but he has dominated the past two years, being named player of the year at that level.

He has the kind of burst and quickness that stand out on film, and while he could probably add some weight, he's already got a nice build. He also possesses the type of vision and cutback ability you simply can't teach.

There's a lot to love about his game, and it's a big deal he isn't leaving SEC country, though he was coveted by teams from everywhere.

Girard Pringle Jr., is a 5'10", 182-pound dynamo who plays for powerhouse Armwood High School in Seffner, Florida, and he isn't going far to play his college football.

The explosive runner is heading to Coral Gables where he wants to be a part of what Mario Cristobal is building at Miami. As strong as the Hurricanes offense looks so far this season, it would be an attractive option for any player, right?

Pringle is a hard prospect to pin down, because he isn't the tallest runner, and as noted by 247Sports' Andrew Ivins in his evaluation above, Pringle hasn't caught a lot of passes. But the man is a mass-producer of yards.

He explodes on film, breaking away from defenders even against quality competition for a program that plays talent all over the place in the Sunshine State.

Pringle isn't scared to get his jersey dirty between the tackles, but when things break down up the middle, he sprints to the edge and can turn upfield.

It's the uncertainty of his ability to catch passes and his size that makes him fall a bit down the list, but that didn't stop 35 schools from wanting him, and we love his film, too. He seems destined for "The U."

"I'm locked in," Pringle told the Palm Beach Post's Nick Wilson. "I'm not going anywhere."

The second consecutive Alabama native on the list left the state a season ago to play for IMG Academy, but he's back this season. Anthony Rogers is a 5'8", 190-pound runner who is back at Carver High School in Montgomery this year.

That's much closer to his school of choice, the home-state Alabama Crimson Tide, than he was while in Bradenton, Florida.

Coach Kalen DeBoer has done an exceptional job landing talent so far in his brief time succeeding Nick Saban, but he hasn't exactly "racked up" instate playmakers. Rogers is the exception to that rule.

The Tide got a good one. Rogers is an explosive, one-cut runner who can accelerate past defenders, and that sprinter's speed makes him a different type of back than the Tide even have on their roster this year.

He may possibly do big things soon, and he will team with another, higher-ranked runner on this list to give DeBoer an elite 1-2 freshman punch in the '25 season if he sticks. Don't count out the Ohio State Buckeyes, though, as they're still swinging to steal him away.

According to Bucknuts' Bill Kurelic, the Buckeyes have a good chance on Rogers, who will make a final decision in December. The lure of a clearer path to playing time with Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson going pro after the season is a big deal.

Everybody is eager to see what happens with the Clemson Tigers offense this weekend against North Carolina State.

Are they the sputtering unit they've been in recent years and the one that reared its head in an impotent Week 1 loss to Georgia? Or, do they have big-play potential like they showed when they erupted in a lopsided win over Appalachian State?

Regardless, coach Dabo Swinney and second-year coordinator Garrett Riley need to upgrade several positions with exceptional playmakers on that side of the ball, and the Tigers need a game-breaker at running back.

Gideon Davidson fits that bill to perfection.

The 6'0", 193-pound Lynchburg, Virginia, product isn't the most physically commanding presence in the class, but he puts up big numbers and is a two-way player who also shines at safety. Davidson displays patience in the running game and, on film, he shows the stop-and-start explosion to accelerate through a hole.

Davidson is a centerpiece-type running back when he reaches his ceiling, and he could be an every-down back in the ACC.

It wouldn't hurt him to add some strength and keep showing what he can do on a high school level, but Riley will have a lot of fun building him into a premier back.

The Oregon recruiting brand is strong, which is why coach Dan Lanning's recruiting class normally includes a national flavor. The Pacific Northwest isn't exactly a hotbed, and while the Ducks were already a hot name, Nike money and the Big Ten brand help.

One of the players Lanning went across country to land is Midwest running back Dierre Hill of Belleville, Illinois. The dynamic, 5'11", 180-pound runner seems set on playing his college football with the green and yellow fowl.

It's really not too much of a stretch considering with the Ducks now in the Big Ten, Hill will play a handful of games every year nearer to his home.

Teams like Ohio State, Illinois and Michigan tried to keep him close to home, and others like Ole Miss and Kansas State made a run at him, too, but Oregon is the pick.

"Dierre's speed and vision make him special," Centralia head coach Brad Goewey told Gatorade last year, via On3's Collin Ginnan. "Their success goes directly through him—he is what makes them so dangerous for opposing defenses."

Performances like last week's 311-yard, four-touchdown performance in a win over Belleville East showcase just what he can do. Hill needed just 11 carries to pile up those numbers, too.

He has the potential to surge up this list if he continues showing out his senior year.

Back when Auburn was contending for the SEC every year during the Tommy Tuberville and Gus Malzahn days, there were some good, ol' fashioned recruiting battles in the Peach State.

The loveliest village on the Plains, of course, stands near the Alabama-Georgia line, so the Tigers have a major presence there. They do again with Hugh Freeze at the helm.

The battle for running back Ousmane Kromah is shaping up to be one of those recruiting wars once again. He will make his decision on September 28, and the Dawgs and Tigers, along with Florida State and Tennessee, are the finalists.

Kromah already has visited Auburn twice this season, and the Tigers are the heavy favorites on the 247Sports Crystal Ball.

"Why would I not want to come back?" Kromah told Auburn Undercover's Christian Clemente. "Always a great atmosphere, always great energy, always good to be around them. They always make me feel welcome. It's just great to be back in general. It was just the fact that I wanted to be back around good people and enjoy my time being down here."

Kromah's decision to visit nearby Auburn again, which is close to his Leesburg, Georgia, home, can't be seen as anything but massive news for Freeze, considering he'd planned on heading to South Carolina for the Gamecocks' game against LSU.

The 5'11", 200-pound running back is one of the top players at his position in the nation, and he can do it all with the ball in his hands. He catches a bunch of passes for his high school team, breaks free of defenders and is a force between the tackles. He's one of the most complete runners in the class.

When a running back has a name like Bo Jackson, there are unwarranted expectations already heaped on him by default.

That's the case even if there's no relation to the great player of the same name who was a Heisman Trophy winner at Auburn before going on to become a two-sport phenom with the Los Angeles Raiders and Kansas City Royals—not to mention an icon for a generation.

This Bo Jackson, however, is going to carve his own path just fine, thank you very much.

He's the second player on this list from Cleveland, and like a lot of other playmakers from that area, he's headed to play for coach Ryan Day and the Buckeyes. The 6'0", 205-pound running back is the future of the position for Ohio State.

Jackson is an elite athlete who could probably shine on defense or even at receiver, but he is a great candidate to be an all-around star lining up behind the quarterback, a tackle-breaking machine who already possesses a college-ready body.

His ability to cut back, his elite field vision and his athleticism to elude tacklers give him the potential to be special. All of those things were on display in the run above, and it's something he consistently shows.

It's difficult to evaluate running backs, but it's not hard to see his immense ability.

If you're talking about Akylin Dear, recruitniks around the country may not know who you're talking about. The star running back commitment from Mississippi who is heading to the Alabama Crimson Tide goes by "AK."

While he's a different type of running back than another former Tide runner with those initials who wound up starring at Tennessee—Alvin Kamara—he certainly has the potential to wind up a terrific player in his own right.

Dear, who hails from Quitman, Mississippi, was the bell cow of Lane Kiffin's Ole Miss Rebels class for a month this summer, but he wound up exploring other options and committed to Alabama in August.

While his recruitment may have remaining twists and turns, and you can't ever count out Kiffin, Dear seems locked in with the Tide right now, where he will team with Anthony Rogers for a top-tier duo if both of them wind up in Tuscaloosa.

Dear is a 6'1", 200-pound running back who is ready to play on the high-major level right now. With Alabama losing Jam Miller, Dear could be a nice complementary back to Justice Haynes next season. He delivers a punch in the hole, and he can accelerate in the open field, as well.

Coach Kalen DeBoer has gone into the Magnolia State and landed elite offensive playmakers Dear and receiver Caleb Cunningham, proving he has the chops to keep 'Bama on the same recruiting plain as they were under Saban. Dear may wind up the top runner in the class.

The LSU Tigers have the top-ranked overall player in the 2025 class committed in quarterback Bryce Underwood, and by B/R's estimation, coach Brian Kelly is bringing in the top running back, too.

That would be Harlem Berry, who is the perfect blend of speed, playmaking ability and need met. There may not be a team in the nation that needs an impact runner quite like the Bayou Bengals, and they've got one heading their way in Berry.

The 5'11", 175-pound Metairie, Louisiana, product is one of the best players to come out of the fertile grounds of the New Orleans area in a long time, and LSU always does well keeping those kids at home. Berry gives them another centerpiece in the '25 class.

As much as they love football on the Bayou, everybody down there already knows Berry's name, and he has the game to back up those humongous expectations. Yes, Kaleb Jackson has a bright future with the team, but it's hard to envision a scenario where Berry doesn't get on the field in '25.

Quite frankly, the Tigers need somebody who can break the game open when you hand them the ball, and there is no other home-run hitter at the position quite like Berry. He also is the top pass-catcher at the position in the class.

He can do it all and plays bigger than his size.

All stats courtesy of CFBStats and Sports Reference unless otherwise noted. Recruit rankings courtesy of 247Sports unless otherwise noted.

Follow Brad Shepard on Twitter, @Brad_Shepard.