SoCon Football 2020: A historic look back at the top 10 running backs in league history

With COVID 19 having wrecked havoc on the 2020 season, I thought this might be a good Saturday to start ranking some of the all-time greats at each position in the SoCon, starting with running back. That would be a natural starting point for the SoCon, since for most of its existence, its identity has been the ground game.

With that said, it looks like the fall for most of us who cover college football, and in particular for me, the Southern Conference, will spend the spring dredging up old memories from some of the great players, games and seasons from the past. 

Let's take a look back at some of the best running backs to ever grace the SoCon gridiron to get the pot stirring. Here's a look at my top 10 running backs in SoCon history.

1. Adrian Peterson (Georgia Southern, 1998-2001)--For anyone that ever saw Georgia Southern play during the late 1990s and early 2000s, there was little doubt who the best running back in the Southern Conference and FCS were--it was Adrian Peterson. 

Peterson turned in quite the career on the college football gridiron, and is arguably still the best to ever run the pigskin at the then Division I-AA level--better than former University of New Hampshire running back Jerry Azumah and better than former Sacramento State running back Charles Roberts. 

Peterson had his No. 3 jersey retired at Georgia Southern and he finished out his career as the the NCAA Division I all-time leading rusher, with 6,559 yards. Peterson once rushed for 333 yards in an FCS playoff win over UMass in 1999.

Peterson was the 1999 winner of the prestigious Walter Payton Award, which is given to the top player in FCS football each season. He helped the Eagles win back-to-back national championships in 1999 and 2000.

2. Louis Ivory (Furman, 1998-2001)--The early 2000s were really an unprecedented era for running backs in the Southern Conference, and to have two in the league running the football like both Georgia Southern's Adrian Peterson and Furman's Louis Ivory at the same time was somewhat remarkable. 

Ivory, like Peterson, would finish out his career by winning a Walter Payton Award while toting the pigskin for the Paladins, and fittingy it would come in the year 2000, as Ivory became the first player in Southern Conference history to rush for 2,000 yards during an 11-game regular-season. 

The Fort Valley, GA., product would end up helping the Paladins to the FCS Playoffs in three out of his four seasons playing for the Paladins, and his performance during the 2000 season, which saw him rush for 2,079 yards, still ranks as a Southern Conference single-season record.  

Ivory posted a 301-yard rushing performance during the 2000 season, as he helped the Paladins demolish top-ranked Georgia Southern, 45-10, on a rainy Saturday afternoon at Paladin Stadium. The win helped solidify the Paladins' inclusion in the 2000 FCS (then I-AA) Playoffs. 

All told, Ivory finished out his career by leading Furman to the doorstep of its second national title as a program, finishing one win short, with a 13-6 loss to Montana in the 2001 NCAA Division I-AA national championship game in Chattanooga.  For his career, Ivory ended up rushing for 5,353 career yards and currently ranks fourth in Southern Conference history. 

Ivory's No. 34 jersey was retired shortly after his career. Ivory was named an All-American three out of his four years toting the pigskin for the Paladins. 

3. Thomas Haskins (VMI, 1993-96)--Thomas Haskins of VMI was undoubtedly one of the best running backs to ever grace the Southern Conference gridiron, and to do what he did at a place like VMI, where the challenges of competing on the SoCon gridiron scene are so tough to begin with is nothing short of remarkable. 

Haskins was named the Southern Conference Offensive Player of the Year in both 1995 and '96, and 5,349-career yards ranks fifth in Southern Conference history, however, at the time of his graduation in 1996, that marked ranked him tops in NCAA Division I-AA history. 

Haskins had plenty of notable performances in his career with the Keydets, with one of those coming in his final game in the Military Classic of the South rivalry as a senior in 1996. 

With the Silver Shako trophy on the line, Haskins delivered what can best be described as a symphonic performance, weaving through Citadel would-be tacklers like they were statues that adorn the surrounding campus and city of Lexington. 

In all, Haskins finished the afternoon with 277 yards and three touchdowns on a career-high 38 carries, as the Silver Shako was claimed by VMI, 34-27, in double-overtime. The 277-yard rushing day remains a VMI school-record. His 1,698 yards in a single-season are also a VMI record, as well as his 50-career touchdowns. His 

Another of his more memorable performances came in what was one of the biggest upsets in conference play history, as the winless Keydets traveled to Boone, N.C. to face off against the No. 5 Appalachian State Mountaineers with a chance to gain a tie for the Southern Conference on the line at Kidd Brewer Stadium. His 225-yard rushing performance gave the Keydets their only win of the season, and spoiled Appalachian's hopes of tying Marshall atop the league for the 1994 regular-season title. 

Just like Louis Ivory at Furman, Haskins has his No. 34 jersey retired at VMI. 

4.  Chris Parker (Marshall, 1992-95)--Chris Parker of Marshall was a running back, who hailed in the backyard of Liberty University University in Lynchburg, VA, and ended up playing from 1992-95 for the Thundering Herd.

Parker was at Marshall during a time of a football renaissance of sorts for the Herd, and he helped the Thundering Herd to the 1992 national title following a campaign that saw him rush for 602 yards before winning All-America honors his last three years and SoCon Offensive Player of the Year in 1994 and '95.

The big, bulky No. 36 donning the Green and White of the Thundering Herd finished out his career with an impressive 4,560 rushing yards still rank seventh in SoCon history, however, had his 1,364 yards in 15-career playoff games been included in his career stats by the NCAA at the time, he would have finished out his career as the SoCon's second all-time leading rusher behind only Adrian Peterson. 

Parker's 5,924-career rushing yards while with the Thundering Herd still ranks as the program's all-time record. Parker led the Herd to three national title game appearances, one national title, and a Southern Conference title as a freshman in 1992. His 68 career rushing TDs are also a school record, however, aren't tabulated in career totals because the NCAA did not count playoff touchdowns at the time. 

During his senior season of 1995, Parker rushed for a SoCon single-season record of 1,833 as a senior in 1995. His 208 yards and one touchdown in a 33-31 loss at Chattanooga in 1993 still stands as a his career-high for rushing yards

5. Stanford Jennings (Furman, 1980-83)--In the decade of the 1980s, there was not a better running back in the Southern Conference than Furman's Stanford Jennings. In fact, some around the program make the argument that Jennings is the best running back to ever come through the program, however, it depends on the decade of Paladin media member or fan you talk to I suppose.

I never saw Jennings play personally, but I heard stories and those stories were enough to make me a believer he was a pretty darn good running back. 

Like Louis Ivory, Jennings is one of three players in Paladin football history to have his jersey retired. The No. 27 jersey he donned from 1980-83 was never worn again by any Paladin. 

Jennings was a part of four Furman Southern Conference championship teams, and at the time of his graduation in '83, was the only player in Southern Conference history to have garnered the league's Offensive Player of the Year award three times. 

Jennings finished his outstanding Paladin career as the all-time leading rusher in school history, with 3,868 yards and 39 touchdowns. 

One of the more memorable performances of Jennings' career came in 1983, facing the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in Bobby Dodd Stadium. Jennings rushed for 168 yards on 22 carries in a 17-14 Paladin upset win. 

He would go on to a solid NFL career, as he was selected in third round of the the draft by the Cincinnati Bengals in 1984. 

In the 1988 Super Bowl against the San Francisco 49ers, Jennings returned the opening kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown to become just the second player in Super Bowl history to return a kickoff for a score at the time. He was inducted into the Furman Hall of Fame in 1990. 

6. Eric Breitenstein (Wofford, 2008-12)--This past spring saw former Wofford standout running back Eric Breitenstein garner SoCon Hall-of-Fame honors following an unprecedented career as the Terrier football program, and remains one of the most important football players in the history of the Wofford football program.

The former Terrier recently returned to his hometown of Boone, N.C., to take the head coaching reins of his former high school alma mater, Watauga High School. 

Breitenstein's career would best be described as being the Mike Alstott of Southern Conference football. Keep in mind the former Purdue bulldozer of a running back also donned black and gold for the Boilermakers during the mid-1990s. 

Breitesten starred for the Terriers from 2008-12, finishing his outstanding career with 5,734 yards, which ranks second in Southern Conference football history behind only Georgia Southern's Adrian Peterson.

Breitenstein was a bruising running back throughout his career as a Terrier player, Breitenstein posted the highest single-game rushing total in Southern Conference history, as he rushed for 321 yards vs. Elon as a senior in 2012. 

In what was his coming out party in 2010, Breitenstein was an absolute machine in a key early October matchup with the 17th-ranked Paladins, as he rushed for 230 yards and four scores in what was a 34-17 Terrier win at Gibbs Stadium. That 2010 Terriers squad went on to tie for a share of the Southern Conference crown along with Appalachian State.

He went on to finish that season with 2,035 yards rushing. His rushing total as a senior in 2012 were the second-most in a single-season in school history, bested only by Louis Ivory's 2,079 yards some 12 years earlier. He helped the Terriers to a share of the league title along with Georgia Southern and Appalachian State in 2012.
 

Just five years following his graduation, Breitenstein was named to the Wofford football Hall-of-Fame, and was named the SoCon's Offensive Player of the Year in 2011 and '12. 

The three-time All-American holds five Wofford rushing records, two Southern Conference rushing records, and one NCAA rushing record.  

In 2019, Breitestein had his No. 7 jersey retired by Wofford.

7. John Settle (Appalachian State, 1983-86)--John Settle was the running back that set the tone for all running backs in the Southern Conference and perhaps the entire era of football for ASU football to be compared to. His 4,409 career rushing yards still rank as the second-most in school history, and he would help lead ASU to its first Southern Conference title in 1986, as well as the program's first appearance in the FCS playoffs.

The Reidsville, N.C., native still ranks highly in virtually all of the school's rushing categories, including career rushing scores (44 TDs), career rushing yards per game (151.0 YPG), and his 88-yard scoring run against Furman in 1986 ranks as the fourth-longest rush from scrimmage in school history.

Settle had it all--power, speed and vision. He was the complete running back and is one of two Mountaineer running backs to ever garner the SoCon Offensive Player of the Year, as he did so in 1986. His '86 season, which saw him rush for 1,661 yards, still ranks as the second-best in school history. Though playoff stats could not be included in the final totals as they can be today, Settle would have posted the best rushing season in school history in '86, having finished the campaign wih 1,897 yards.

There were plenty of individual performances that were impressive as well, including a 245-yard rushing effort in a 17-17 tie with Furman in 1986, while also posting 239 and 236-yard rushing performances, respectively, in wins over Western Carolina and Nicholls State during that same season.

In terms of individual accolades, Settle was one of two Mountaineers named to the 75th Anniversary Team in 2003, while garnering All-SoCon honors in three campaigns as a Mountaineer and was a two-time Associated Press All-American, garnering those plaudits in 1985 and '86. His No. 23 jersey is one of four Mountaineer jerseys to be retired, and is the only running back to achieve that elite distinction.

In the four seasons a Mountaineer has led the Southern Conference in rushing yards to end a campaign, Settle owns two of those single season rushing titles in 1985 and '86. Settle ranks eighth in SoCon history in all-time rushing yards.

Settle was a NFL free agent signee in 1987, playing four seasons with the Atlanta Falcons before calling it a career.

8. Stump Mitchell (The Citadel, 1977-80)--Stump Mitchell personifies the toughness and grit The Citadel's ground has come to be known by since the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s. 

At a program that has prided itself on wishbone/spread option and single-wing and double-wing option offense over the better part of the past three decades, Mitchell was the running back that became the trailblazer for guys who would follow like Travis Jervey, Everette Sands, Nehemiah Broughton and Troy Cooper.

Mitchell is the program's all-time leading rusher, having finished his career with 4,026 yards and finished with a single-season rushing record for the Bulldogs with 1,646 yards in 1980. His 4,026-career rushing yards ranks just outside the league's top 10 all-time rushing list. His 1980 rushing total led the Southern Conference, and was enough to garner Mitchell SoCon Offensive Player of the Year accolades. 

In the 1981 NFL Draft, Mitchell was selected in the ninth round (226th pick) by the St. Louis Cardinals, where he played for nine seasons. His final season was spent with the Kansas City Chiefs in 1990. 

In 10 total seasons as an NFL running back for the Cardinals and Chiefs, Mitchell finished rushing for 4,647 yards and scored 32 touchdowns on 98 carries in his 10 seasons in the league. His best season came in 1985 with the Cardinals, as he rushed for 1,006 yards and seven scores. Mitchell's 11,985 all-purpose yards for the Cardinals are second-most in franchise history, which is second to only Larry Fitzgerald.

Mitchell is currently the running backs coach for the Cleveland Browns.  

9. Kevin Richardson (Appalachian State, 2004-07)--One of the most dynamic running backs to ever grace the Southern Conference gridiron, before Kevin Richardson's time was finished on the mountain, not only was he the school's all-time leading rusher, he was also a three-time national champion, helping the Mountaineers to the 2005, '06 and '07 national titles. 

Beginning his career as an afterthought as a second-string, walk-on running back behind Alan Atwater, few would have predicted that Kevin Richardson would go on to become the school's all-time rushing leader in the spring of 2004. Branded as lacking in work ethic, Richardson responded to such criticism after Atwater was removed from the program as a result of off-the-field issues.

What would ensue over his final three seasons were three of the more remarkable campaigns ever turned in by an ASU running back, posting 1, in 2005, 1,676 rushing yards in '06 and 1,588 yards in his senior campaign, helping Appalachian to all three of its FCS national titles. He is the only Mountaineer running back in program history to surpass the millennial mark in three-consecutive campaigns.

Richardson, who rushed for a program record 4,804 yards, was a three-time All-SoCon selection and his 1,676 yards in a single-season rank as the most by an ASU running back.

Richardson's 30 TDs in 2006 rank as the most by a player in FCS history, and his four rushing TDs in the 28-17 win over UMass are the most TDs by a running back in a title game in the history of the FCS national title game. 

His 66 rushing TDs also rank as the most rushing scores by a player in school history, as well as SoCon history. 

Richardson's 1,353 rushing yards in the postseason are also a school standard. Richardson's 1,676 rushing yards in '06 helped him become one of only four ASU running backs to finish the season as the league's leading rusher.

For his career, Kevin Richardson garnered All-America honors twice, and was the SoCon Offensive Player of the Year in 2006. Richardson currently ranks sixth in league history in all-time rushing yards

10. Carl Tremble (Furman, 1989-92)--Carl Tremble starred for the Furman Paladins during the glory years, and was member of perhaps the greatest team in Paladin football history in 1989. Tremble currently ranks 10th on the SoCon's all-time rushing ledger, having finished his career with 4,149 yards. 

His 300-career points as a player were among the greatest ever posted by a Paladin player, and he was a three-time All-SoCon selection, and at the time of his graduation in 1990, had rushed for over 100 yards over 25 in his standout career. 

Tremble was pivotal in helping the Paladins win a pair of Southern Conference titles in 1989 and '90, with both representing the last outright league titles the Paladins have won in the SoCon of their league-record 14 conference crowns. 

As a senior in 1992, Tremble rushed for what was then a school-record in a single-season finishing with 1,555 in his final season as a Paladin. 

During that '92 season, Tremble posted 100-yard rushing performances in 10 of 11 games, which included the best single-game rushing performance in Furman history in that '92 season, carrying a school-record 39 times for 228 yards in a 35-7 win over Chattanooga. For that effort, he was named FCS national player of the week. 

Tremble finished his Paladin career with a 34-15 record as a player. 

T-10 Brad Hoover (Western Carolina, 1996-99)--The final running back that made the list, and a player, who I witnessed personally and could not leave off the list is Western Carolina's Brad Hoover.

Hoover is a member of the Western Carolina Hall-of-Fame and finished out a stellar Catamount career by rushing for 3,616 career yards and are the second-most in school history. 

Hoover turned in his most memorable season as a junior in 1998, helping the Catamounts to a 6-5 record, including a historic win over No. 2 Appalachian State in the "Battle For The Old Mountain Jug" 23-6 in what is considered one of the biggest wins in program history, snapping a streak of 13-straight losses to the Mountaineers dating back to 1985. 

Hoover finished the contest by rushing for 195 yards on a school-record 49 carries to help the Catamounts spring the upset. 

Earlier during that same 1998 season, Hoover rushed for a school-record 251 yards and a then SoCon record-tying five touchdowns. His 1,663 yards as a senior are a single-season school record.

He enjoyed a successful career for the Panthers, officially released by Carolina in 2010. He was the lead blocker for Stephen Davis for most of the meat of his career with the Panthers, helping Davis gain 1,444 yards en route to the 2004 Super Bowl, which the Panthers lost a heartbreaker, 32-29, to the New England Patriots.