Five Big 12 Running Backs Among Top 10 in Missed Tackles Forced
The Big 12 had as much talent at the running back position as any conference in America in 2023, and nearly every one of the standout players at the position will be back again in 2024.
Led Doak Walker Award winner Ollie Gordon, who will return to Oklahoma State for his junior season next fall, the Big 12 boasted three of the nation’s top six rushers in 2023 and six of the top 20 rushers.
While each of them have more than their fair share of speed and power, it was really the elusiveness that caused players like Tahj Brooks and RJ Harvey to have so much success.
In fact, the Big 12’s running backs rank very well among the nation’s most elusive running backs, with five of them ranking inside the top 10 for missed tackles forced in 2023.
Texas Tech’s Tahj Brooks led all Power Five running backs with 96 missed tackles forced, while UCF’s RJ Harvey was third with 74. TCU’s Emani Bailey checked in at No. 5 nationally with 70, while K-State’s DJ Giddens was tied for sixth with 69 and Gordon was ninth with 68.
Gordon led the FBS with 1,732 rushing yards, with Brooks coming in at No. 4 (1,538 yards), Harvey at No. 6 (1,416 yards), Giddens at No. 19 (1,226 yards), and Bailey coming in at No. 20 (1,209 yards).
Bailey is the only back in that group who will not return in 2024, and with names like Devin Neal (Kansas), Corey Kiner (Cincinnati), and Jahiem White (West Virginia) all set to come back, there’s more than enough RB talent for the Big 12 to stake a claim as the deepest conference in the nation at the position.
