The 2025 Senior Bowl practices will be all wrapped up in two weeks from now, which means daily preview content will be coming at you for the next week leading up to the event. Yesterday, I kicked things off with the quarterbacks. Today, I will preview the accepted Senior Bowl invites at the running back position.
The Pittsburgh Steelers declined Najee Harris’ fifth-year option last May, and he will likely be signing elsewhere in March as an unrestricted free agent. Jaylen Warren is a restricted free agent, so he can be tendered and brought back pretty easily, but they will need another running back to help share the load.
With all the recent investments in the offensive line, the right rookie running back could have plenty of success. According to P-G insider Gerry Dulac, the Steelers will be looking for a back with speed that can get the edge outside the tackles.
Other primers:
Quarterbacks
RUNNING BACK ACCEPTED INVITES
Cameron Skattebo — Arizona State
Age: 22.9
Year: 4
Height/Weight: 5-11, 215 pounds
PFF Position Rank: 3rd (46th overall)
Skattebo was one of the darlings of the 2024 College Football Playoffs, giving Texas a run for their money with an outstanding game that went deep into multiple overtimes. He is difficult to take down, and that’s a skill that translates to the next level. He is a physical, between-the-tackles runner with good receiving skills. I don’t think his workouts will be blowing anyone away, but the tape is good enough that someone will take a chance on him by the end of day two.
In two seasons at Arizona State, he had 457 carries for 2,494 yards and 30 TDs. He also had 69 receptions for 891 yards and four TDs. touchdowns. He received a few Heisman votes along the way in 2024. He played at Sacramento State prior to ASU.
Jarquez Hunter — Auburn
Age: 22.1
Year: 4
Height/Weight: 5-10, 209 pounds
PFF Position Rank: 11th (111th overall)
Hunter began playing as a true freshman for Auburn. He has great lateral agility and has a second gear to break big plays if he finds a hole. His hands are solid, but I’ll be watching him at the Senior Bowl in the drills against linebackers where he needs to block in pass protection.
In four years at Auburn, he had 539 rushing attempts for 3,371 yards and 25 TDs. He also had 68 receptions for 558 yards and four TDs.
RJ Harvey — UCF
Age: N/A
Year: 6
Height/Weight: 5-9, 208 pounds
PFF Position Rank: 9th (97th overall)
Harvey started at Virginia before transferring to UCF for the last five years. He lost his entire 2021 season to an injury. Harvey’s a speedy runner with great burst. He is a big-play threat with a lot of patience behind the line of scrimmage that sometimes gets caught up dancing a little too much before hitting the hole.
He has 579 carries for 3,792 yards and 43 TDs throughout college. He also chipped in another 61 receptions for 720 yards and four TDs. He could be an intriguing option for the Steelers if they are looking for a speedster.
Marcus Yarns — Delaware
Age: N/A
Year: 5
Height/Weight: 5-11, 190 pounds
PFF Position Rank: 16th (140th overall)
Yarns was at Delaware for all five seasons and had 365 carries for 2,344 yards and 23 TDs along with 64 receptions for 812 yards and 11 TDs.
Devin Neal — Kansas
Age: 21.4
Year: 4
Height/Weight: 5-11, 215 pounds
PFF Position Rank: 7th (88th overall)
Neal started playing as a true freshman and became the first player in Kansas history to win Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week. He finished his career as Kansas’ all-time leading rusher in both yards and touchdowns. He was also a team captain for them.
In four years, Neal had 760 carries for 4,343 yards and 49 TDs with another 77 receptions for 711 yards and 4 TDs. Neal is a big threat out of the backfield in the passing game and is more of a one-cut player that would thrive in a zone running scheme. He is explosive enough to break off big plays.
Damien Martinez — Miami
Age: 20.9
Year: 3
Height/Weight: 6-0, 232 pounds
PFF Position Rank: 13th (116th overall)
Martinez spent his first two seasons with Oregon State before transferring to Miami. He was productive all three years with 514 attempts for 3,169 yards and 26 touchdowns. He also added another 32 receptions for 391 yards.
He is more of a physical, between-the-tackles runner that thrives on contact balance and breaking tackles to grind out tough yards, but he has enough acceleration and wiggle to get going if he finds some open space. He didn’t do a ton of receiving in college and might be better as an early-down or short-yardage back.
Donovan Edwards — Michigan
Age: 21.9
Year: 4
Height/Weight: 6-1, 212 pounds
PFF Position Rank: 25th (255th overall)
Edwards spent all four years at Michigan and won a CFP National Championship in 2023. After a strong sophomore season, he never quite found that next level and played second fiddle to Kalel Mullings (below) for his final season.
He had 422 rushing attempts for 2,251 yards and 19 TDs with another 86 receptions for 797 yards and 4 TDs. He’s a versatile player but doesn’t do any one thing great enough to set him apart.
Kalel Mullings — Michigan
Age: 22.3
Year: 5
Height/Weight: 6-2, 233 pounds
PFF Position Rank: 12th (112th)
Mullings barely played until his final season, but he broke out with almost 1,000 yards in 2024. In total, he had 235 attempts for 1,201 yards and another eight receptions for 67 yards in five seasons. He is an oversized back that packs a punch. He was a linebacker before he was a running back, and that hard-nosed style translated to his play on offense. On one hand, his lack of experience could mean there is plenty more room to grow. On the other, his learning curve might be steep. He doesn’t show top-end speed to be a big-play threat and projects as a between-the-tackles player on early downs.
Ollie Gordon II — Oklahoma State
Age: 21.0
Year: 3
Height/Weight: 6-2, 225 pounds
PFF Position Rank: 20th (160th overall)
A 2023 unanimous All-American and Doak Walker Award winner, Gordon’s production experienced a sharp decline in 2024, but that 2023 season was very impressive with 1,732 rushing yards and 21 TDs. In three years, he had 537 attempts for 2,920 yards and 36 TDs with another 80 receptions for 585 yards and four TDs in the passing game.
He does everything pretty well with good vision, contact balance, speed, and lateral quickness. He also has strong enough hands to be a threat out of the backfield. In the right system, he can be a bell cow back, and his 2023 college season shows a ton of upside. He sort of reminds me of a more patient Najee Harris coming out. PFF probably underrated him a little in their rankings.
Woody Marks — USC
Age: 24.1
Year: 5
Height/Weight: 5-10, 208 pounds
PFF Position Rank: 22nd (193rd overall)
Marks spent four seasons at Mississippi State before transferring to USC. He had a nice breakout season with the Trojans, rushing for 1,133 yards and nine TDs on 198 carries in his final season. He showed off his soft hands with 261 receptions throughout college. In total, he had 608 rushing attempts for 3,016 yards and 31 TDs with 261 receptions for 1,546 yards and five TDs.
He is a one-cut running back who offers a lot in the passing game. He seems like a candidate to end up in a committee backfield as a third-down back.
Bhayshul Tuten — Virginia Tech
Age: N/A
Year: 4
Height/Weight: 5-11, 209 pounds
PFF Position Rank: 17th (143rd overall)
Tuten started off his time in college with two seasons at North Carolina A&T before transferring to Virginia Tech. Along with his skills as a running back, he was a great kick returner. In two seasons at Virginia Tech, Tuten had 183 carries for 1,159 yards and 25 TDs with another 50 receptions for 320 yards and four TDs. He also chipped in two TDs on kick return in 2023.
His top gear is very fast and he can break big plays as a result, but his short-area quickness isn’t quite as impressive. He runs with more power than you’d expect for his frame and offers versatility out of the backfield. He could be an intriguing mid-to-late round addition that has plenty of speed and versatility and he could help in the return game early in his career.
Brashard Smith — SMU
Age: 21.8
Year: 4
Height/Weight: 5-10, 196 pounds
PFF Position Rank: N/A
Smith played three seasons at Miami before transferring to SMU for 2024. It paid off as he finally was featured and broke out for over 1,000 rushing yards as a result. In total, he had 253 attempts for 1,332 yards and 15 TDs in college. He added another 108 receptions for 1,097 yards and eight TDs as a receiver out of the backfield. He also had one return touchdown as a four-year return specialist.
His acceleration and top-end speed are both very good, and he can stress a defense horizontally. He is also a capable receiver. He won’t be an every-down back at his size, but there is some potential to develop into a change-of-pace weapon with that type of athleticism.
LeQuint Allen — Syracuse
Age: 20.5
Year: 3
Height/Weight: 6-0, 201 pounds
PFF Position Rank: N/A
Allen is a two-time All-ACC running back who declared for the draft early after his junior season. In three years, he had 514 carries for 2,359 yards and 26 TDs. He also had 119 receptions for 848 yards and six TDs.
Allen doesn’t have game-changing speed, but his patience and vision help him to be an efficient runner. He has the skill set of a potential three-down back but probably would have been better served to finish out one more season in college.
Trevor Etienne — Georgia
Age: 20.5
Year: 3
Height/Weight: 5-9, 205 pounds
PFF Position Rank: 14th (127th overall)
The younger brother of former first-round pick Travis Etienne, Trevor spent two seasons at Florida before transferring to Georgia. He finished his time in college with 371 attempts for 2,081 yards and 23 TDs. He also chipped in 62 receptions for 432 yards and a TD as a receiver out of the backfield.
Etienne is a downhill runner who uses his low center of gravity and pad level to stay on his feet and bounce off tackles. He functions kind of like a Jaylen Warren without the receiving skills out of the backfield. He seems a bit redundant for the Steelers to have interest.
