BOZEMAN — Pat White used deft ball skills and electric open-field speed to finish his career at West Virginia as the all-time leading rusher for a quarterback in college football history.
Tim Tebow’s grit, determination and strength running the football proved a key cog in a pair of national championships at Florida. Cam Newton’s physical gifts and raw power equaled a Heisman Trophy and a national championship at Auburn.
Denard Robinson’s elusiveness made him an icon at Michigan and Jordan Lynch’s deceptive athleticism made him a Heisman finalist despite playing at non-Power 5 Northern Illinois.
Lamar Jackson became the first player ever to throw for more than 3,500 yards and rush for more than 1,500 yards in back to back seasons, piling up 57 passing touchdowns, 39 rushing touchdowns and a Heisman Trophy before his time at Louisville ended.
In the Big Sky Conference, Cal Poly’s string of triple option quarterbacks have been among the most productive rushers in the league. In 2011 at Portland State, Conner Kavanaugh broke the mold as a non-triple option quarterback to rush for more than 1,000 yards in Bruce Barnum’s version of the spread read option.
Three years later, Cal Poly quarterback Chris Brown stole the QB single-season rushing record when he plowed his way to 1,265 yards in 2014.
Dakota Prukop’s ability to break the pocket made him an All-American for Montana State in 2015. Chris Murray’s elusiveness made him one of the league’s most unique weapons over the last two seasons at MSU.
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Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
