Even though the best of the bunch, Adrian Peterson, is now on the Minnesota Vikings, 2007 will feature a stable of great tailbacks.
Before we get into the list, I'll touch on Kentucky's Andre Woodson. Maybe I left him off my quarterbacks list because he torched Clemson and ruined a great streak I had going during bowl season. Either way, his 2006 numbers were fantastic. He has the size and it appears he has the arm to matriculate to the next level. If he keeps improving, he's going to have huge numbers this year.
On to the backs:
Darren McFadden, Arkansas -- McFadden exploded onto the spotlight this past year. He was phenomenal as a freshman (1,100+ yards) and he pretty much owned the SEC as a sophomore, so what's going to happen as a junior? Probably enough to make him a top 5 pick in '08.
Steve Slaton, West Virginia - I had a ton of fun watching him run the ball last year. When the defense knows it's coming, he takes the ball, aims for a spot downhill and has no regard for anything that gets in his way. He averaged about 19 carries a game last year (248 carries). If he can get 270 carries this year, he'll break the 2,000-yard mark.
Ray Rice, Rutgers - It's not like Ray Rice was a nobody before 2006. He had 1,100+ yards as a freshman. So what was different about 2007? He touched the ball 140 more times and the result was almost 600 more yards and 15 touchdowns. It'll be interesting to see if he gets another 300+ carries - will he hold up? If so, you can't deny he's valuable to any NFL team.
Ian Johnston, Boise State - He had long-made his mark on college football before proposing to his girlfriend after a Fiesta Bowl victory over Oklahoma. He was last year's No. 2 rusher in the country. I really wish he played against better competition. But he has all the tools to keep on succeeding and his fiancé is quite hot. With his quarterback out, his performance this year is pretty intriguing, probably more so than his team's performance for us east coasters (Although I can't knock the Broncos too much, they were a TON of fun to watch last year).
P.J. Hill, Wisconsin - The Wisconsin Winnebago. He's pretty much Ron Dayne V2.0 (somewhat slimmer). I think it's safe to say his size and durability are pretty well correlated (third in carries last year). Not many people remember that Wisconsin finished 12-1 in 2006 with their only loss coming at Michigan. With quarterback John Stocco gone, more eyes might be on the sophomore big back. We'll have to see if this plays into a potential, and proverbial, slump.
Mike Hart, Michigan - Hart bounced back for a very solid junior year. He handled the ball a ton of times with poise, but I don't know that Lloyd Carr needs to call No. 20 so much this year. Tailbacks Kevin Grady and Brandon Minor are both more than serviceable when they're asked to spell Hart. But with the scouts watching, expect Hart to run with a purpose.
Other studs: Branden Ore, Virginia Tech; James Davis, Clemson; Chris Wells, Ohio State; Javarris James, Miami; Felix Jones, Arkansas; LaMarcus Coker/Arian Foster/Montario Hardesty, Tennessee. The list goes on.