Rating the RB's of RBU

[Newbomb 193]

Ok the Ultimate Team thing for ESPN has gotten my thoughts going on the best RB's (and then other position's) that ever played at Auburn. Lets start with RB's. Obviously Bo is #1 but who would you put at #2 and so on? I have my ideas but I will hold my opinions until later. Ultimately I would like to see a top ten but do what you feel...

[gAUlf 1]

Disclaimer: I'm only going by what I've seen live or in old films, so no old farts jump on me too bad.

1. Bo (never saw him, but still #1 regardless)

2. Cadillac

3. Rudi

4. Brown

5. Davis

6. Irons

7. Tate

8. Lionel James

9. Brent Fullwood

10. Dyer (what could have been)

Like I said, this is a list of those who I've seen or seen an old game of. I'm sure some of the older guys *cough*golf*cough* could tell us how great Tucker Frederickson, Joe Cribbs, James Brooks etc. were. Games from the mid-late 80's are easier to find.

[AUTigers910 45]

1. Bo Jackson

2. James Brooks

3. Carnell Williams

4. Joe Cribbs

5. Stephen Davis

6. Ronnie Brown

7. Brent Fullwood

8. Tucker Frederickson

9. Ben Tate

10. Kenny Irons

[aushrink 22]

no list is complete without Joe Cribbs and Tucker Fredrickson.

Take Dyer off.

[Warbird82 160]

Bo is first…Tucker Fredrickson is second...all the others just toss 'em in any old way.

[WarEagle10 77]

no list is complete without Joe Cribbs and Tucker Fredrickson.

Take Dyer off.

....and Little Train, and Rudi, and on and on. If we rated the top 25 RB's, we would be leaving guys off. You don't become RB U with just a few handfuls of great backs.

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,838]

Dyer could've easily been on the GOAT list

[BirdofPrey76 0]

Bo is first…Tucker Fredrickson is second...all the others just toss 'em in any old way.

Sounds about right!

[WarEagle1982 457]

I am going to refrain from listing, but I believe that had he not played behind Bo or if he had another year after 1986 that Brent Fullwood would be way up there at number 2 or 3 on the list. His 86 season (8.3 yards per carry in the SEC) was one of the best ever. In fact, over his 4 years at AU he averaged 7.2 yards per carry. That same year he came within less than 400 yards of Jackson's single season AU record set in 85 on over 100 less carries than Jackson had in 85. I do understand that he benefitted from a better passing attack in 86 that cleared the box out more, but I still believe he was one of AU's most talented backs ever, and Bo Jackson was the only man in America that could keep him off the field.

[TitanTiger 20,572]

1. Bo

2. Brent Fullwood

3. James Brooks

4. Cadillac

5. Joe Cribbs

6. Ronnie Brown

7. Lionel James

8. Rudy Johnson

9. Stephen Davis

10. Kenny Irons

[AUbritt 611]

I am going to refrain from listing, but I believe that had he not played behind Bo or if he had another year after 1986 that Brent Fullwood would be way up there at number 2 or 3 on the list. His 86 season (8.3 yards per carry in the SEC) was one of the best ever. In fact, over his 4 years at AU he averaged 7.2 yards per carry. That same year he came within less than 400 yards of Jackson's single season AU record set in 85 on over 100 less carries than Jackson had in 85. I do understand that he benefitted from a better passing attack in 86 that cleared the box out more, but I still believe he was one of AU's most talented backs ever, and Bo Jackson was the only man in America that could keep him off the field.

Fullwood was awesome, no doubt. This is, I admit, a subjective criterion. But one thing I look for in a RB is whether I feel, every time he touches the ball, that he could take it to the house. Take Bo as the high end of that feeling -- I literally felt that way every single time he got the ball. I was more surprised when he didn't score than when he did. Of the other running backs I've seen listed, Fullwood is the only other one I saw play who came close to giving me that feeling. That's a limitation of this criterion, of course -- I never saw James Brooks, Joe Cribbs, or Tucker Frederickson play, so I can't say about them.

Rudi is an interesting case. He made me feel like we were going to get first downs and get stronger as the game went on. I felt that way with the 2004 offense, as well. The 2010 offense combined that feeling of security with close to the level of expectation I felt about Bo. Cam was amazing. Not a RB, but very exciting.

[80Tiger 904]

I am going to refrain from listing, but I believe that had he not played behind Bo or if he had another year after 1986 that Brent Fullwood would be way up there at number 2 or 3 on the list. His 86 season (8.3 yards per carry in the SEC) was one of the best ever. In fact, over his 4 years at AU he averaged 7.2 yards per carry. That same year he came within less than 400 yards of Jackson's single season AU record set in 85 on over 100 less carries than Jackson had in 85. I do understand that he benefitted from a better passing attack in 86 that cleared the box out more, but I still believe he was one of AU's most talented backs ever, and Bo Jackson was the only man in America that could keep him off the field.

Fullwood was awesome, no doubt. This is, I admit, a subjective criterion. But one thing I look for in a RB is whether I feel, every time he touches the ball, that he could take it to the house. Take Bo as the high end of that feeling -- I literally felt that way every single time he got the ball. I was more surprised when he didn't score than when he did. Of the other running backs I've seen listed, Fullwood is the only other one I saw play who came close to giving me that feeling. That's a limitation of this criterion, of course -- I never saw James Brooks, Joe Cribbs, or Tucker Frederickson play, so I can't say about them.

Rudi is an interesting case. He made me feel like we were going to get first downs and get stronger as the game went on. I felt that way with the 2004 offense, as well. The 2010 offense combined that feeling of security with close to the level of expectation I felt about Bo. Cam was amazing. Not a RB, but very exciting.

Cribbs and Brooks most definitely could take it to the house on any play. Both guys had great speed (even though Brooks was faster). They were tough and broke tackles also. Great backs no doubt. While some of the teams they played on were good, they were not great. Same can be said for the OL they ran behind.

[StatTiger 3,188]

1. Bo

2. Brent Fullwood

3. James Brooks

4. Cadillac

5. Joe Cribbs

6. Ronnie Brown

7. Lionel James

8. Rudy Johnson

9. Stephen Davis

10. Kenny Irons

That is just about where I would place them Titan. Brent Fullwood was very close to being in the same league as Bo except he wasn't as big. He still ran like a heavy weight and his leg drive and determination to get those extra yardage made him special. He always reminded me of Walter Payton in the way he spun off tackles rarely going down to the first defender to make contact. Lionel James doesn't have the career yardage as some of the others on the list but he was special too. Can you imagine a player like James playing in Malzahn's offense or Chip Kelly's offense?

IMO, you nailed the top-6 and the only slight change I might make is pushing Ben Tate into #10 but then I'd hate to leave Kenny Irons off the list.

I realize Tucker Frederickson was very special but I never saw him play, live. I began following Auburn football in the mid 70's, which meant Cribbs and Brooks were the first great Auburn backs, I saw play live.

[StatTiger 3,188]

But one thing I look for in a RB is whether I feel, every time he touches the ball, that he could take it to the house. Take Bo as the high end of that feeling -- I literally felt that way every single time he got the ball. I was more surprised when he didn't score than when he did. Of the other running backs I've seen listed, Fullwood is the only other one I saw play who came close to giving me that feeling.

I know exactly what you are expressing.... I call it the "hold your breath" type of player. The moment they take the hand off, you hold your breath because you know they can score from anywhere on the field. Fullwood had that and obviously Bo did too. Brooks had that kind of speed but Cribbs did not. Kenny Irons did not have that top-end type of speed but he was extremely explosive through the hole.

[Newbomb 193]

But one thing I look for in a RB is whether I feel, every time he touches the ball, that he could take it to the house. Take Bo as the high end of that feeling -- I literally felt that way every single time he got the ball. I was more surprised when he didn't score than when he did. Of the other running backs I've seen listed, Fullwood is the only other one I saw play who came close to giving me that feeling.

I know exactly what you are expressing.... I call it the "hold your breath" type of player. The moment they take the hand off, you hold your breath because you know they can score from anywhere on the field. Fullwood had that and obviously Bo did too. Brooks had that kind of speed but Cribbs did not. Kenny Irons did not have that top-end type of speed but he was extremely explosive through the hole.

Stat thank you for chiming in on this topic. Could you point me to the a website that has all time Auburn Football stats including player stats?

[tigerbrotha12 2,362]

Think Cadillac and Ronnie definitely should be on there along with irons, Davis, fullwood,frederickson, and of course Bo. No idea what order to put them in other than Bo at the top and Cadillac at 2

[80Tiger 904]

But one thing I look for in a RB is whether I feel, every time he touches the ball, that he could take it to the house. Take Bo as the high end of that feeling -- I literally felt that way every single time he got the ball. I was more surprised when he didn't score than when he did. Of the other running backs I've seen listed, Fullwood is the only other one I saw play who came close to giving me that feeling.

I know exactly what you are expressing.... I call it the "hold your breath" type of player. The moment they take the hand off, you hold your breath because you know they can score from anywhere on the field. Fullwood had that and obviously Bo did too. Brooks had that kind of speed but Cribbs did not. Kenny Irons did not have that top-end type of speed but he was extremely explosive through the hole.

While not as fast as Brooks, Cribbs had an elusiveness that could allow him to take it all the way. I know two long runs don't make you a burner, but 60 yd against GA and 87 yd against UAT are 2 that come to mind. I am sure he had more.

[bigbird 60,603]

But one thing I look for in a RB is whether I feel, every time he touches the ball, that he could take it to the house. Take Bo as the high end of that feeling -- I literally felt that way every single time he got the ball. I was more surprised when he didn't score than when he did. Of the other running backs I've seen listed, Fullwood is the only other one I saw play who came close to giving me that feeling.

I know exactly what you are expressing.... I call it the "hold your breath" type of player. The moment they take the hand off, you hold your breath because you know they can score from anywhere on the field. Fullwood had that and obviously Bo did too. Brooks had that kind of speed but Cribbs did not. Kenny Irons did not have that top-end type of speed but he was extremely explosive through the hole.

I loved how Kenny hit the hole. I wish more backs would hit the hole with as much ferocity as Kenny did. He was a lot of fun to watch.

[Altima 200]

If we're going on full career... (NFL included), then you have to put Heath Evans in there.

[WarEagle10 77]

If we're going on full career... (NFL included), then you have to put Heath Evans in there.

If that's the criteria, William Andrews is a top 5 back IMO.

[Bunn1 0]

I don't think I have ever seen a back that hit a hole better than Irons, others were more complete backs, but none hit the hole with more tenacity.

But one thing I look for in a RB is whether I feel, every time he touches the ball, that he could take it to the house. Take Bo as the high end of that feeling -- I literally felt that way every single time he got the ball. I was more surprised when he didn't score than when he did. Of the other running backs I've seen listed, Fullwood is the only other one I saw play who came close to giving me that feeling.

I know exactly what you are expressing.... I call it the "hold your breath" type of player. The moment they take the hand off, you hold your breath because you know they can score from anywhere on the field. Fullwood had that and obviously Bo did too. Brooks had that kind of speed but Cribbs did not. Kenny Irons did not have that top-end type of speed but he was extremely explosive through the hole.

I loved how Kenny hit the hole. I wish more backs would hit the hole with as much ferocity as Kenny did. He was a lot of fun to watch.

[subterranean_jack 112]

1. Bo Jackson

2. James Brooks

3. Joe Cribbs

4. Carnell Williams

5. Ronnie Brown

6. Tucker Frederickson

7. Brent Fullwood

8. Stephen Davis

9. Lionel James

10. William Andrews

[JFDTiger80 791]

1. Bo Jackson

2. James Brooks

3. Joe Cribbs

4. Carnell Williams

5. Ronnie Brown

6. Tucker Frederickson

7. Brent Fullwood

8. Stephen Davis

9. Lionel James

10. William Andrews

I like this one best so far. You have to at least think about William Andrews. I think you are the first to do so. Their are a few others to including Tate and Rudi Johnson.

[TitanTiger 20,572]

1. Bo Jackson

2. James Brooks

3. Joe Cribbs

4. Carnell Williams

5. Ronnie Brown

6. Tucker Frederickson

7. Brent Fullwood

8. Stephen Davis

9. Lionel James

10. William Andrews

Fullwood is much too low.

[jcm81 2]

But one thing I look for in a RB is whether I feel, every time he touches the ball, that he could take it to the house. Take Bo as the high end of that feeling -- I literally felt that way every single time he got the ball. I was more surprised when he didn't score than when he did. Of the other running backs I've seen listed, Fullwood is the only other one I saw play who came close to giving me that feeling.

I know exactly what you are expressing.... I call it the "hold your breath" type of player. The moment they take the hand off, you hold your breath because you know they can score from anywhere on the field. Fullwood had that and obviously Bo did too. Brooks had that kind of speed but Cribbs did not. Kenny Irons did not have that top-end type of speed but he was extremely explosive through the hole.

Stat thank you for chiming in on this topic. Could you point me to the a website that has all time Auburn Football stats including player stats?

They are in the media guide at this link http://www.auburntigers.com/mediaguides/football/