Do the Hokies Have the Best Running Back in College Football?

We are officially finished with the first four weeks of the college football season. That means we’re already 33% through the regular season, and we can start looking at some of the season-long statistics with a sample size that’s now large enough to mean something. Let’s take a look at the season-long rushing leaders through the first four weeks of the season…

Although these stats don’t paint the entire picture, they give us a solid idea of who some of the best running backs are at this point of the CFB season. Nate Sheppard is obviously top of list, he has the second most carries in CFB up to this point and is leading all of college football in rushing yards. He’s been an absolute bell-cow back for the Blue Devils, and one of the main reasons why they are still undefeated. The only issue I have with Nate Sheppard is Duke’s strength of schedule so far this season. 

I have a feeling that his stats will take a dip against a pissed off Georgia Tech defense coming off an atrocious blown game against Stanford. UVA’s defensive line is also nothing to scoff at, either. We’ll see how good Nate Sheppard really is in these next couple of weeks against some respectable defenses. 

If you go back and look at the top 30 rushing yard leaders image from above, you’ll notice a couple things. First, respect to the two quarterbacks who made this list, Michael Hawkins Jr. from WVU and Jacurri Brown from Rice. You’d expect QBs for Army, Navy or Air Force on this list, but not these two gentlemen. Second, almost every single running back on this list is a bell-cow back. Not many of these guys are in an RB committee, or splitting carries with anyone else (give or take a couple breathers). There’s only one running back on this list that has split carries in every game so far this season, and it’s Jeffrey Overton Jr., the sophomore from Virginia Tech.

After Overton Jr.’s breakout performance against Boston College, I’d be shocked if we see Marcellous Hawkins getting nearly as many carries per game as he has been. “JO” as they call Jeffrey Overton Jr., has slowly gotten more of the workload every single week, as he should. He has been incredible so far, which is even more impressive considering he’s coming off an ACL tear in 2024, missing the first eight games of the 2025 season. 

If you gave Jeffrey Overton Jr. the same easy schedule or amount of carries as any other running back on this list, he would outperform them without a doubt in my mind. What I’m seeing from JO is something I haven’t seen in Blacksburg since David Wilson was around. This kid is absolutely electric, and I only see him getting better as the season goes on and he gets more comfortable in the offense. He is as quick and decisive of a runner as any RB in the country. If James Franklin was smart, which he is, he would continue increasing his workload every week.

In my opinion, Jeffrey Overton Jr. is the best college running back in the country. He might not have the best stats, but he’s impressed me the most out of any of those running backs on the top 20 list. He’s the only one on that list fully splitting time right now in a committee, and has already played in two P4 road games. It’s time we start respecting the homegrown kid from Alexandria, Virginia. His dad is a high school coaching legend in the area, and to see him send his some to the local public school really has been a treat to experience. There is no better running back in the country right now that is better than Jeffrey Overton Jr., and he will be playing on Sundays in a few short years.