Top 10 QB/RB Combos in the 2020 Recruiting Class
The quarterback position is always lightning-rod in nature when it comes to college football recruiting and the class of 2020 is among the deeper groups. When looking at running back, it seems similar, so why not run down the best one-two punches already signed to major programs?
Hudson Card, Bijan Robinson - Texas
As mentioned in the above video, the Texas group isn't the deepest in the class of 2020 but there is considerable strength at the top. This duo hits all the marks in the upside department whether based on athleticism, production or physical traits. The Longhorns have entrenched starters at each spot heading into 2020 but this duo wouldn't sit long on any college campus.
DJ Uiagalelei, Demarkcus Bowman - Clemson
When it comes to physical ability this could be the most dangerous group on the list individually or combined. Sure, Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne sit as the most productive returning backfield in all of college football but the incoming duo has similar physical ability. Uiagalelei got better as a starter in SoCal each year before exploding as a senior state and national champion with great running tools to go along with a stunning TD-INT ratio of 48:2. Bowman has one of the best first steps nationally at the running back position and it's helped him notch 4,000-plus yards and 50 rushing scores in the state of Florida over the last two years.
Bryce Young, Jase McClelan - Alabama
The current day and age of college football is very evident with the group Nick Saban is bringing in. Young is one of the top quarterback prospects of the modern era from a production and accuracy standpoint but carries strong mobile traits and decision-making to Tuscaloosa as well. McClelan is a speed and space standout who capped his career in Texas as a state champion with 30 offensive scores as a senior.
CJ Stroud, Cameron Martinez - Ohio State
Stroud was the fastest-rising 2020 passer on any list, beginning with his Elite 11 run in the offseason. Martinez did it all in high school, mainly from the quarterback position, so we're projecting him as a running back in the Cam Akers mold for this feature. It may become more apparent beginning in the 2021 season in Columbus, as Justin Fields theoretically moves on to the NFL, but few systems nationally have shown the consistent success for these two positions in a new-age system like OSU's has.
Drew Pyne, Chris Tyree - Notre Dame
Pyne looks like the immediate depth the Irish needs at the quarterback position coming off of a prep career in which he tallied 125 total scores (20 rushing) as a four-year starter. Tyree is one of the fastest and quickest incoming players at any position when healthy. Don't let either undersized talent fool you heading into their time in South Bend.
Carson Beck, Kendall Milton - Georgia
When a backfield is comprised of one of Florida's best and one of California's on the other side, it can't be much more promising. There is some throwback in each of these incoming Bulldogs' game along with a perceptive counter within each based on impressive size. Beck (6-foot-5, 230 pounds) has the look of a pure pocket player but works very efficiently on the move thanks to impressive ability in basketball and baseball. Milton (6-foot-2, 220 pounds) is patient and graceful while working laterally similar to an NFL back once considered the best in the game.
Luke Doty, Marshawn Lloyd - South Carolina
If we could combine the two in a true read-option setting this pair could contend for best duo on the list. Doty is one of the most productive and athletic quarterbacks in the 2020 cycle and Lloyd is one of the faster bigger backs (215 pounds) in the class. USC needs all the help it can get on offense and these two could factor into that mix sooner rather than later, especially in Lloyd's case with the top two Gamecock backs from last season moving onto the professional level.
Haynes King, Devon Achane - Texas A&M
Any one of A&M's three running back signees in 2020 could have been listed here alongside the uber-athletic King. While he started the 2019 season slowly, the dual-threat picked things up the back half of the season and ended up with double-digit scores as a passer and runner. The son of a coach, there's no denying his athleticism relative to the position. Achane is the speed and space compliment with sub 11 second times in the 100-meter dash and sub 21 second marks in the 200.
Harrison Bailey, Tee Hodge - Tennessee
Let's get one in for the conventional, shall we? Bailey is a pocket passer all the way, despite improved mobility, and Hodge is a big, downhill back at 6-foot, 220 pounds or so. Still, there is marked improvement in each player's game from junior to senior year and each is coming from wide open spread systems while both positions aren't exactly certainties for Jeremy Pruitt and his staff heading into 2020. A great backfield combo doesn't always have to mean they'll work a zone read together to pair dangerously and the UT sample sits in this space.
Jay Butterfield, Trey Benson - Oregon
An established arm and a straight line 4.4 back with a great frame just sounds like an Oregon Duck backfield. Butterfield notched 5,800-plus yards and 70 passing touchdowns while completing better than 60 percent of his passes as a high school upperclassman in California. Benson threatened 2,000 yards in each of his last three prep seasons in Mississippi with a gaudy 72 rushing scores in that span.
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