Entering the second half of the season, Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney takes a look at which transfer running backs have impressed the most so far.
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Nate Carter, Michigan State
A two-star out of Rochester (N.Y.) Bishop Kearney, Carter started his career at UConn and put up nice numbers there before an injury sidelined him and then he transferred to Michigan State heading into this season.
In a turbulent year in East Lansing, Carter is the mainstay in that backfield with 529 yards and four touchdowns on 113 carries. He has about four times as many touches as anyone else running the ball.
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Ray Davis, Kentucky
A two-star running back who started his career at Temple and then transferred to Vanderbilt, Davis is now at Kentucky and is the lead back for the Wildcats. Last season with the Commodores, Davis posted huge numbers of 1,042 yards and five touchdowns in 12 games coming off an injury the year before.
He’s by far the leading rusher and the focal point in the Kentucky backfield with 111 touches for 787 yards and eight scores so far.
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Logan Diggs, LSU
After a sophomore season at Notre Dame where Diggs rushed for 822 yards and four touchdowns on 165 carries, the Metairie (La.) Rummel four-star transferred to LSU for this season and things have taken off in Baton Rouge as well.
Quarterback Jayden Daniels runs a lot but when the Tigers run Diggs he’s carried it 99 times (Daniels has 86 carries) for 585 yards and five touchdowns, all team-highs.
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Dillon Johnson, Washington
A high three-star running back from Greenville (Miss.) St. Joseph, Johnson had 229 carries for 1,198 yards and 11 touchdowns and also caught 149 passes for 864 yards over three seasons at Mississippi State.
Johnson transferred to the Huskies where he has continued to be a focal point of the offense leading Washington with 340 rushing yards and five scores this season. He also has 11 catches for 87 yards on what might be the best receiving corps in the country.
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Jaylan Knighton, SMU
Despite leading Miami in rushing in 2021 with 561 yards and eight touchdowns, the four-star from Deerfield Beach, Fla., transferred to SMU where he’s taken over the workload there as well.
Knighton leads the Mustangs with 62 carries for 358 yards and two touchdowns and what’s most impressive is that the SMU backfield is loaded with five-star Camar Wheaton and high four-star LJ Johnson Jr. also getting carries.
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MarShawn Lloyd, USC
In three years at South Carolina, Lloyd had some solid numbers but never a true breakout season as he totaled 801 yards and 10 touchdowns on 175 carries through 21 games.
Looking for a fresh start, the five-star running back from Hyattsville (Md.) DeMatha transferred to USC where he’s had an excellent start to the season with 565 yards and five TDs on 75 carries as the Trojans’ main back.
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Trey Sanders, TCU
There was so much promise in Sanders being the next big-time running back at Alabama, as the five-star running back was ranked third overall in the 2019 class behind Derek Stingley and Nolan Smith. But then season-ending injuries occurred in both 2019 and 2020 which stalled any progress even when he got back on the field.
Looking for a fresh start, Sanders landed at TCU where he leads the team with four rushing TDs, although he is third on the Horned Frogs in carries (41).
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Cam Skattebo, Arizona State
After rushing for 1,382 yards and seven touchdowns last season at Sacramento State, Skattebo transferred to Arizona State in hopes of being a key cog in first-year coach Kenny Dillingham’s offense.
It has been a struggle on the offensive side of the ball for the Sun Devils but Skattebo has been a lone bright spot – and the only player with more than 100 yards rushing so far – as the former unranked RB has 367 yards and five scores on 93 touches.
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Carson Steele, UCLA
A two-star running back from Greenwood (Ind.) Center Grove, Steele recorded 12 100-yard rushing games at Ball State over two seasons before transferring to UCLA where he’s had a leading role as well.
Steele is the main running back in the Bruins’ attack with 93 carries for 523 yards and three touchdowns.
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Bhayshul Tuten, Virginia Tech
Last season at North Carolina A&T, Tuten had a breakout season with 1,363 yards and 13 touchdowns on 208 carries which led him to transferring to Virginia Tech. Quarterback Kyron Drones has run the ball a lot too, but Tuten is the feature back with 360 yards and three scores on 92 touches.
