The running back position has been a spot of strength for the Utes for a long time. Even when the team struggled, Utah normally had a reliable back to shoulder the load on the offensive side of the ball. Some were hard-nose between-the-tackles runners while others could get to the edge and beat the defense with a burst of speed. Others could not only do damage in the running game, but also provided another weapon in the passing game.
It's hard to do an all-time list about Utah running backs without first talking about the greats from the early years of the program. They received all-Skyline Conference honors on a regular basis starting with the likes of Paul Snow, Izzy Spector, Dewey Nelson, Frank Nelson, Bob Summerhays, George Bean, Don Peterson, Louis Mele and Herb Nakkan.
There where also a pair of All-Americans during those early days including Earl Pomeroy in 1929 and Frank Christensen, who earned the honor three straight years from different groups. While all of these great backs made significant contributions to Utah football, there isn't enough information available to accurately rank them on this list.
Here is my list of the best running backs from the University of Utah.
Note: It is important to note that only what each player did during his time at the University of Utah was taken into consideration for these rankings.
Previously from this series:
Ranking the best quarterbacks in BYU history