Aug 15, 2022
3:44:01pm
3:44:01pm
As I did with the QB, I try to measure mostly time at BYU and valuing greatness a little bit higher than longevity. I do put some value (although less) on pro careers. Certainly it is subjective, feel free to criticize. I myself did this awhile ago and even my current placement is different than it was then.
1. Tyler Allgeier - To me there are 4 guys that I could put here. But Allgeier is the best. He ranks #5 in career rushing yards, #1 in yards per attempt among the top 50 rushers (6.4 yards per attempt), and #2 in all-time TDs. He holds the single season record for yards in a season and was one TD behind Staley for the single season mark while playing a much more difficult schedule than Staley. He was among the most durable running backs that BYU has ever seen. Allgeier's combination of burst and size at 5'11" 220lbs is rare. His ability to do it all (defense, he had a couple of kick returns, etc) made him even more valuable in his time at BYU. If it were me and I was choosing a RB for the next 4 years at BYU then Tyler Allgeier would be my first pick. I expect a very good career for him in the NFL.
2. Jamaal Williams - Jamaal is BYU's all-time leading rusher. I believe he is also BYU's all-time leading rusher in the pros (well behind Steve Young, but I would love for someone to let me know if that is not the case). He finished his career at BYU with 3998 yards and 35 TDs (T-4th) and a healthy 5.4 ypc. He finished with the 4th and 7th highest rushing totals of all-time at BYU. He came in as a true freshman at 17 I believe and supplanted the incumbent his freshman season to win the job. Jamaal also has the most rushing yards in a game as he dominated Toledo on the way to 286 yards in 2016. His personality was 2nd to none and he still is a strong representative of BYU to this day in the pros.
3. Harvey Unga - Harvey is BYU's 2nd all-time leading rusher with 3455 yards and tied for 2nd in TDs (36). He is #1 all-time at BYU in total rushing and receiving yards with 4540. Harvey has the 8th, 10th and 13th highest single season rushing totals in school history. I remember watching him as a freshman against Arizona where his knee wasn't down and he made a huge play out of what looked like a modest gain. He was durable as well in his career and had he been able to finish out his Senior year he likely would be higher on this list. He is now doing a phenomenal job as a BYU coach.
4. Luke Staley - Putting everything together statistically, Staley had the single best year of any BYU RB. In 2001 he won the Doak Walker for that year. The rest of his career was pretty injury ridden, although despite not a lot of yards Staley had a knack for the end zone and finished as BYU's all-time leader in rushing TDs with 41. Staley is currently 9th on the all-time BYU career rushing list and his 5.9 YPC would put him tied for 4th out of the top 50 BYU rushers in ypc. Staley is the only one on this list without two top 50 seasons at BYU as his 2nd best season was #67 and as we all know Staley did not have an NFL career due to injury. Still, Staley is certainly an all-time great and everyone remembers his historic season and his massive calves. His size and speed were well utilized in Crowton's first year here and led us to a 12-0 start to the season and top 10 ranking.
5. Curtis Brown - Curtis is #2 in all-time receiving and rushing yards just 10 yards behind Harvey. He is the #3 all-time leading rusher at BYU and #7 in rushing TDs with 31. Curtis had the 12th, 15th and 29th best rushing yard seasons at BYU and was in many ways the anti Luke Staley. Brown played and was very durable and reliable. He was rarely spectacular, but did every well. He was a good blocker, good receiver, good rusher and good kick returner. He had a couple of years with Crowton, but really blossomed with Anae at the helm of the offense.
6. Jamal Willis - Jamal with one "A" finished as BYU's all-time leading rusher which he held onto for 12 seasons before Curtis Brown took it over. He is currently #4 with 2970 yards and tied for 4th with 35 TDs. He had the 14th and 17th best rushing seasons in BYU history. He is also #4 in career rushing and receiving yards behind Unga, Brown and Williams. Willis was a tall back for BYU with good burst through the holes that was the #1 back of all-time that played primarily for Lavell (Staley played most of his career under LaVell, but got most of his yards under Crowton).
7. Pete Van Valkenburg - Pete was an old-timer from before Lavell and helped Lavell win 7 games his first season with the Cougars. He finished with 2,392 career yards and a 5.2 ypc with 24 TDs (tied for 10th). Pete's 1972 season is currently the 3rd highest rushing season of all-time at BYU as he ran for 1,386 yards, 12 TDs with a 6.0 ypc. This was a huge step up as his 2nd best season at BYU is the 44th best rushing season in BYU's history.
8. Lakei Heimuli - Heimuli finished 7th in career yards at BYU with 2,710. His 4.5 ypc is quite a bit lower than anyone above him on the list. He did get in the end zone an impressive 30 times which ranks 8th on BYU's career list. He also boasts something than no one else on this list does, a national championship. Heimuli was the primary back on the 1984 national title team. He had the 19th, 24th and 27th best rushing seasons in program history. Heimuli ranks 5th in all-time rushing and receiving yards combined at BYU as he was a big threat out of the backfield.
9. Ronney Jenkins - These next two go hand in hand as they were part of one of the best rushing attacks in program history in 1996. Then the following two seasons they each got a year to be "the guy". In 1998 Jenkins had 1,307 yards, 13 TDs and 5.4 ypc. Between the two seasons Jenkins played he finished 12th in career rushing yards and tied for 10th in career rushing TDs. Jenkins and his lightning quickness played 4 seasons in the NFL primarily as a kick returner (he did have 5 yards rushing and 1 yard receiving).
10. Brian McKenzie - McKenzie was the other half of the duo that amassed over 1700 rushing yards in 1996. He finished his two year BYU career #13 in rushing with 1954 yards and 12th in TDs with 23. He averaged 5.1 ypc at BYUY as well. He finished with the 16th and 20th best rushing seasons in BYU history. McKenzie was plenty fast himself running a 4.43 40 at the combine.
Others receiving votes: Eldon Fortie who finished 10th in the Heisman in 1962, Jeff Blanc 8th in career rushing, John Ogden 9th in career rushing, JJ DiLuigi 22nd best single season, Peter Tuipulotu best name.
1. Tyler Allgeier - To me there are 4 guys that I could put here. But Allgeier is the best. He ranks #5 in career rushing yards, #1 in yards per attempt among the top 50 rushers (6.4 yards per attempt), and #2 in all-time TDs. He holds the single season record for yards in a season and was one TD behind Staley for the single season mark while playing a much more difficult schedule than Staley. He was among the most durable running backs that BYU has ever seen. Allgeier's combination of burst and size at 5'11" 220lbs is rare. His ability to do it all (defense, he had a couple of kick returns, etc) made him even more valuable in his time at BYU. If it were me and I was choosing a RB for the next 4 years at BYU then Tyler Allgeier would be my first pick. I expect a very good career for him in the NFL.
2. Jamaal Williams - Jamaal is BYU's all-time leading rusher. I believe he is also BYU's all-time leading rusher in the pros (well behind Steve Young, but I would love for someone to let me know if that is not the case). He finished his career at BYU with 3998 yards and 35 TDs (T-4th) and a healthy 5.4 ypc. He finished with the 4th and 7th highest rushing totals of all-time at BYU. He came in as a true freshman at 17 I believe and supplanted the incumbent his freshman season to win the job. Jamaal also has the most rushing yards in a game as he dominated Toledo on the way to 286 yards in 2016. His personality was 2nd to none and he still is a strong representative of BYU to this day in the pros.
3. Harvey Unga - Harvey is BYU's 2nd all-time leading rusher with 3455 yards and tied for 2nd in TDs (36). He is #1 all-time at BYU in total rushing and receiving yards with 4540. Harvey has the 8th, 10th and 13th highest single season rushing totals in school history. I remember watching him as a freshman against Arizona where his knee wasn't down and he made a huge play out of what looked like a modest gain. He was durable as well in his career and had he been able to finish out his Senior year he likely would be higher on this list. He is now doing a phenomenal job as a BYU coach.
4. Luke Staley - Putting everything together statistically, Staley had the single best year of any BYU RB. In 2001 he won the Doak Walker for that year. The rest of his career was pretty injury ridden, although despite not a lot of yards Staley had a knack for the end zone and finished as BYU's all-time leader in rushing TDs with 41. Staley is currently 9th on the all-time BYU career rushing list and his 5.9 YPC would put him tied for 4th out of the top 50 BYU rushers in ypc. Staley is the only one on this list without two top 50 seasons at BYU as his 2nd best season was #67 and as we all know Staley did not have an NFL career due to injury. Still, Staley is certainly an all-time great and everyone remembers his historic season and his massive calves. His size and speed were well utilized in Crowton's first year here and led us to a 12-0 start to the season and top 10 ranking.
5. Curtis Brown - Curtis is #2 in all-time receiving and rushing yards just 10 yards behind Harvey. He is the #3 all-time leading rusher at BYU and #7 in rushing TDs with 31. Curtis had the 12th, 15th and 29th best rushing yard seasons at BYU and was in many ways the anti Luke Staley. Brown played and was very durable and reliable. He was rarely spectacular, but did every well. He was a good blocker, good receiver, good rusher and good kick returner. He had a couple of years with Crowton, but really blossomed with Anae at the helm of the offense.
6. Jamal Willis - Jamal with one "A" finished as BYU's all-time leading rusher which he held onto for 12 seasons before Curtis Brown took it over. He is currently #4 with 2970 yards and tied for 4th with 35 TDs. He had the 14th and 17th best rushing seasons in BYU history. He is also #4 in career rushing and receiving yards behind Unga, Brown and Williams. Willis was a tall back for BYU with good burst through the holes that was the #1 back of all-time that played primarily for Lavell (Staley played most of his career under LaVell, but got most of his yards under Crowton).
7. Pete Van Valkenburg - Pete was an old-timer from before Lavell and helped Lavell win 7 games his first season with the Cougars. He finished with 2,392 career yards and a 5.2 ypc with 24 TDs (tied for 10th). Pete's 1972 season is currently the 3rd highest rushing season of all-time at BYU as he ran for 1,386 yards, 12 TDs with a 6.0 ypc. This was a huge step up as his 2nd best season at BYU is the 44th best rushing season in BYU's history.
8. Lakei Heimuli - Heimuli finished 7th in career yards at BYU with 2,710. His 4.5 ypc is quite a bit lower than anyone above him on the list. He did get in the end zone an impressive 30 times which ranks 8th on BYU's career list. He also boasts something than no one else on this list does, a national championship. Heimuli was the primary back on the 1984 national title team. He had the 19th, 24th and 27th best rushing seasons in program history. Heimuli ranks 5th in all-time rushing and receiving yards combined at BYU as he was a big threat out of the backfield.
9. Ronney Jenkins - These next two go hand in hand as they were part of one of the best rushing attacks in program history in 1996. Then the following two seasons they each got a year to be "the guy". In 1998 Jenkins had 1,307 yards, 13 TDs and 5.4 ypc. Between the two seasons Jenkins played he finished 12th in career rushing yards and tied for 10th in career rushing TDs. Jenkins and his lightning quickness played 4 seasons in the NFL primarily as a kick returner (he did have 5 yards rushing and 1 yard receiving).
10. Brian McKenzie - McKenzie was the other half of the duo that amassed over 1700 rushing yards in 1996. He finished his two year BYU career #13 in rushing with 1954 yards and 12th in TDs with 23. He averaged 5.1 ypc at BYUY as well. He finished with the 16th and 20th best rushing seasons in BYU history. McKenzie was plenty fast himself running a 4.43 40 at the combine.
Others receiving votes: Eldon Fortie who finished 10th in the Heisman in 1962, Jeff Blanc 8th in career rushing, John Ogden 9th in career rushing, JJ DiLuigi 22nd best single season, Peter Tuipulotu best name.
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We are onto the best receivers ever at BYU today. There have been some really good ones. (kimdaddy35, Aug 19, 2022 at 4:53pm)
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