Liberty’s Quinton Cooley was the only 1,000-yard rusher in the conference last year, but that likely won’t be the case in 2024. Which backs on the CUSA RB Rankings could surpass the millennium mark this season?
CUSA 2024 RB Rankings
10) Kejon Owens, FIU Panthers
Lexington Joseph’s return after missing 2023 with an injury could slash Kejon Owens’ workload. In fact, some analysts and fans may put Joseph over Owens on a list such as this, but not me.
Owens averaged 5.7 yards per carry last season and scored five touchdowns, both of which ranked eighth in the CUSA. In his first game of the year, Owens rocked North Texas to the tune of 101 yards and three TDs.
The talent is there, but opportunity might not be in 2024.
9) Elijah Young, Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
After three years buried on the depth chart at Missouri, Elijah Young transferred to Western Kentucky. It didn’t take long for him to become an integral piece of the offense, as he earned the starting role in Week 4. He finished the season with 474 and three TDs on 104 carries and added another 247 yards and three scores on 20 receptions.
However, there’s reason to believe that was only the beginning, a sentiment that landed Young on the Doak Walker Award Watch List. The Hilltoppers are known for their aerial assault, but Young could bring the ground game to prominence this season.
8) Ron Wiggins, Jacksonville State Gamecocks
After producing 461 yards and four TDs on just 60 attempts in 2022, Ron Wiggins entered 2023 as the unquestioned starter. Unfortunately, injuries hampered him throughout the year, forcing him to miss five games.
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Wiggins still took 92 carries for 568 yards and six scores, but he was noticeably less efficient. With an offseason to fully recover, he’s primed to explode in 2024.
7) Shomari Lawrence, FIU Panthers
Following a 107-597-3 rushing line at South Dakota in 2022, Shomari Lawrence landed at FIU. Joseph’s injury left the backfield wide open, and Lawrence took advantage. In his first season at the FBS level, Lawrence nearly matched his FCS output, running for 566 yards and four TDs on 125 attempts.
Even if the offensive line struggles to open lanes, Lawrence has the speed and elusiveness to create space for himself and break big plays.
6) Billy Lucas, Liberty Flames
After shining at FCS-level Duquesne, Billy Lucas decided it was time for a step up in competition. Unfortunately, he chose the one CUSA team with Quinton Cooley on it, but he was still able to generate his own success behind him.
As the RB2 on one of the most potent offenses in the nation, Lucas recorded 597 yards and six TDs, flashing the efficiency and ability to break long runs that put him on Liberty’s radar.
5) Monte Watkins, New Mexico State Aggies
New Mexico State will look completely different this season with HC Jerry Kill, OC Tim Beck, QB Diego Pavia, and TE Eli Stowers all off to Vanderbilt. The result will likely be a less potent offense and far less than the 10 wins the Aggies produced last year.
Nevertheless, it’s not all doom and gloom, with Monte Watkins back for his third season with the program.
The high school track star initially committed to TCU as a CB but moved to RB due to depth issues. He decided to transfer after his freshman season and committed to NMSU, where he saw immediate playing time. But it wasn’t until 2023 that he took the backfield reins.
Although Pavia was the team’s leading rusher, Watkins was by far the most impressive Aggie on the ground, putting up a video game-esque line of 59-572-2. He only saw more than five carries twice (6 and 10), but expect that to change in 2024.
4) Marquis Crosby, Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
As a freshman in 2022, Marquis Crosby led Louisiana Tech with 918 yards (sixth among all freshmen) and nine TDs on the ground. He entered the 2023 season with high hopes and then had only one carry for 20 yards before a season-ending injury.
Now healthy, all eyes are on his bounce-back campaign, which has Crosby on the Doak Walker Award and Comeback Player of the Year watch lists. Sonny Crumbie will lean on him to power the offense, and the offensive line should afford him more room to operate than it did in 2022, so 1,000+ yards is well within his wheelhouse.
3) Michael Benefield, Kennesaw State Owls
At 5’7″ and 205 pounds, Michael Benefield isn’t the biggest back, but his low center of gravity allows him to withstand contact better than many larger RBs.
Playing for Kennesaw State, CUSA — let alone FBS — fans are likely unfamiliar with his game. But Benefield became the only player in program history with four straight 100-yard rushing games, doing so in the final four games last season.
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The Owls run an option offense under head coach Brian Bohannon, and if they are able to find any success in their first year in the FBS, it will stem from the trail Benefield blazed on the ground.
2) Jevon Jackson, UTEP Miners
Following four years as the head coach at Austin Peay, Scott Walden took the role at UTEP, bringing much of his star power with him, including Jevon Jackson. Jackson finished fifth in the FCS in rushing yards (1,373) and sixth in rushing yards per game (114.4) last season, scoring 10 TDs in 12 games.
It’s not as if most of his production came against weak competition, either. He rushed for 100+ yards in seven games, leading to first-team All-United Athletic Conference honors. With 20+ carries in eight games, including 38 against Utah Tech, Jackson is the definition of a bell-cow back who can carry the weight of the offense all on his own.
1) Quinton Cooley, Liberty Flames
While Kaidon Salter and CJ Daniels torched defenses through the air last season, Quinton Cooley was running over them on the ground. The result was 1,401 yards, 16 TDs, first-team All-CUSA honors, and a spot on the Doak Walker, Maxwell, and Shrine Bowl 1000 watch lists this offseason.
KEEP READING: 2024 Conference USA Power Rankings
With the contact balance, vision, and short-area quickness to shake defenders out of their cleats, Cooley’s next stop will be the NFL.
2024 CUSA RB Rankings | 11-20
11) Anwar Lewis, Jacksonville State
12) Lexington Joseph, FIU
13) Jay Ducker, Sam Houston
14) Jalon Hampton, Western Kentucky
15) Donerio Davenport, Louisiana Tech
16) Jaiden Credle and Frank Peasant, Middle Tennessee State
17) Mike Washington, New Mexico State
18) James Jointer, Liberty
19) John Gentry, Sam Houston
20) Yesiah Clemons and Alexander Diggs, Kennesaw State
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