This may be the Year of the Running Back in the Big 12.
Four of the top six rushers from a season ago return in the conference, a group that includes BYU’s LJ Martin, Texas Tech’s Cameron Dickey, Utah’s Wayshawn Parker and Kansas State’s Joe Jackson.
Combine that with some intriguing incoming transfers, and it looks to be a good season ahead for running backs in the league.
Going into the 2026 season, here’s a look at how we’d rank the starting running backs for each Big 12 team.
Beyond that top group, there are backups and other transfers who could step into a starring role for their respective teams.
1. LJ Martin, BYU
- 2025 stats: 236 carries, 1,305 rushing yards, 12 touchdowns; 36 receptions, 255 receiving yards
The reigning Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year was the driving force behind BYU’s offense during a 12-win season that included an appearance in the Big 12 championship game.
Martin finished the season No. 11 in the country in rushing yards, 29 away from the top 10, while setting career highs in rushing yards, touchdowns, yards per carry and receiving yards.
He’s led BYU in rushing yards the past three seasons, and as a senior, he’ll have the opportunity to become the Cougars’ all-time leading rusher.
Martin’s return — when he could have declared for the pros — was a pivotal offseason moment for BYU, and now he’ll have the chance to help the Cougars try to break through to the College Football Playoff, something the program has come agonizingly short of the past two years.
The only question surrounding Martin is his health. He’s been banged up several times in his career and missed some time. Will he stay healthy enough to lead the charge again?
2. Cameron Dickey, Texas Tech
- 2025 stats: 209 carries, 1,124 rushing yards, 14 touchdowns; 25 receptions, 224 receiving yards, 2 touchdowns
Dickey proved to be one of the top playmakers for the Red Raiders in a year when their offense was full of them, and it earned him All-Big 12 second-team honors.
His 14 rushing touchdowns led the league and he was second in the conference in scoring, averaging 7 points per game. Pair him with fellow junior J’Koby Williams, who ran for 868 yards and six touchdowns last season, and the Red Raiders again have the most explosive backfield in the Big 12.
Given Texas Tech’s uncertain quarterback situation, they might be leaned on to carry the load, at least early in the year.
3. Caleb Hawkins, Oklahoma State
- 2025 stats (at North Texas): 231 carries, 1,434 rushing yards, 25 touchdowns; 32 receptions, 370 receiving yards, 4 touchdowns
Hawkins was a scoring sensation for North Texas during the 2025 season, averaging a nation’s best 13.4 points per game. He also finished the year ranked fifth nationally in rushing yards and fourth in all-purpose yards (138.7 per game).
Hawkins, the American Conference Rookie of the Year and a unanimous first-team all-conference selection, followed former Mean Green coach Eric Morris to Oklahoma State, where he’ll have the opportunity to show whether his skills translate to similar production at the power conference level.
Can he and quarterback Drew Mestemaker give the Cowboys’ offense the jolt it needs after a rough couple years?
4. Cam Cook, West Virginia
- 2025 stats (at Jacksonville State): 295 carries, 1,659 rushing yards, 16 touchdowns; 30 receptions, 286 receiving yards
Cook started off his college career in Big 12 territory, playing two years at TCU. A change of scenery last season paid off for Cook, who led the nation in rushing yards and was second in all-purpose yards during his lone season at Jacksonville State while earning Conference USA Player and Newcomer of the Year honors.
Can he bring that kind of production with him to West Virginia? Cook is reunited in Morgantown with his offensive line coach at Jacksonville State, Rick Trickett, who joined the Mountaineers staff this offseason — the third time in his career he’s coached for the program.
5. Wayshawn Parker, Utah
- 2025 stats: 149 carries, 981 rushing yards, 6 touchdowns; 13 receptions, 185 receiving yards, 3 touchdowns
Parker had a standout year for the Utes last season, one that was good enough to earn him third-team All-Big 12 honors as he finished fourth in the league in rushing yards.
Funny thing is, it could have been even better.
Once he started earning double-digit carries game in and game out beginning with the Utes’ 53-7 win over Colorado, Parker averaged 103.8 rushing yards over the team’s final six contests.
Parker ended the year sixth in the country in average yards per carry, at 6.58, but that improved to 7 yards per carry over that final six-game stretch. That average would have tied him for second nationally.
So, what will he do for an encore? There’s a clear argument to place Parker higher on this list. It should also be considered that Utah is replacing its entire starting offensive line and could experience some growing pains for part of 2026, which may impact Parker’s numbers.
Still, Parker has proven to be an explosive playmaker, and he could be relied on even more in 2026, even with guys such as Devon Dampier, Byrd Ficklin and Daniel Bray back to help carry the running load.
6. Makhi Hughes, Houston
- 2025 stats (at Oregon): 17 carries, 70 rushing yards; 2 receptions, 24 receiving yards
Last year ended up as a misstep for Hughes. After two seasons as a star running back at Tulane, he transferred to Oregon but did not find a role and redshirted after playing just four games.
That came after he ran for 2,779 yards and 22 touchdowns over two years for the Green Wave and was a two-time first-team all-conference selection.
The question will be if Hughes can replicate the kind of success he found at Tulane. If that happens, he’ll be a valuable piece for a Cougars team that is on the rise and challenge to be one of the top backs in the Big 12.
Hughes played under Houston coach Willie Fritz for one season at Tulane, when he ran for 1,378 yards and seven touchdowns in 2023 and earned freshman All-American honors.
7. Joe Jackson, Kansas State
- 2025 stats: 169 carries, 911 rushing yards, 8 touchdowns; 22 receptions, 119 receiving yards, 1 touchdown
Jackson’s 2025 season had been solid if unspectacular, then in the final two weeks, he broke the school single-game rushing record with 293 yards and three touchdowns against Utah and followed that with a 142-yard, three-score effort in a win over Colorado. Jackson ended up with third-team All-Big 12 honors.
Unlike previous years, he goes into 2026 as the premier back at Kansas State and will have the chance to build on that late-season surge.
The Wildcats also added some intriguing transfer options at running back, bringing in Oklahoma State’s Rodney Fields Jr. (who led the Cowboys in rushing last season) and Oregon transfer Jay Harris.
8. Jeremy Payne, TCU
- 2025 stats: 110 carries, 623 rushing yards, 5 touchdowns; 22 receptions, 207 receiving yards, 2 touchdowns
Payne feels like one of the best candidates for a breakout season among Big 12 running backs heading into 2026. He’s coming off a year wherein he led the Horned Frogs in rushing and came on strong at the end, starting the team’s final three games of the season and had his only two 100-yard games of the year.
Payne also had a standout performance in TCU’s bowl win over USC, accounting for 123 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winning score in overtime.
Now he gets a new offensive coordinator in Gordon Sammis, and the Horned Frogs are expected to lean more on the running game. That all spells a likely surge in production for the junior.
9. Dawson Pendergrass, Baylor
- 2025 stats: DNP due to injury
Pendergrass was supposed to be a key figure in Baylor’s offense last season, but he missed the entire year due to a foot injury that occurred in the preseason. That opened the way for freshmen backs Caden Knight and Michael Turner to make contributions, and both of them are back in 2026.
With Baylor’s top back the past two seasons, Bryson Washington, transferring to Auburn, the window of opportunity is there for Pendergrass to take over as lead back.
In the 2024 season, he ran for 671 yards and six touchdowns while averaging 5.5 yards per carry. This is his chance to shine.
10. Dylan Edwards, Kansas
- 2025 stats (at Kansas State): 34 carries, 205 rushing yards, 2 touchdowns; 3 receptions, 17 receiving yards
The 2025 season didn’t end up as things had been envisioned for Edwards, who looked like he would be the top back for Kansas State a year ago. An injury situation hovered over him for much of the season, and it all led to the diminutive runner seeking a fresh start.
He didn’t have to look too far to find another opportunity, staying in state and landing at fellow Big 12 school Kansas. Edwards’ speed had made him valuable as both a runner and a returner, and at Kansas, he could be the solution to the Jayhawks’ search for a lead rusher.
11. Landen Chambers or Duke Watson, UCF
- Chambers 2025 stats (at Central Arkansas): 242 carries, 1,273 rushing yards, 10 touchdowns; 27 receptions, 238 receiving yards
- Watson 2025 stats (at Louisville): 49 carries, 158 rushing yards, 1 touchdown; 6 receptions, 49 receiving yards, 1 touchdown
UCF is in the market for a starting running back, and Chambers and Watson are two incoming transfers who could fit that bill.
The pair bring different skill sets to the field, but they’ve also both had a nice season in their previous stop that shows they potentially have what it takes to be the lead back.
Watson ran for over 600 yards as a true freshman at Louisville two years ago and led the country with an 8.9-per carry average, while injuries sidelined him for much of last season.
Chambers, meanwhile, had a breakout 1,000-yard season at Central Arkansas a year ago — at one point, he had eight straight 100-yard rushing games — and he moved from the FCS level up to FBS.
This could end up being a good situation for both at UCF.
12. Zion Johnson, Cincinnati
- 2025 stats: 22 carries, 106 rushing yards, 1 touchdown; 2 receptions, 21 receiving yards
The Bearcats are restocking at running back, with their top four rushers from a season ago no longer at Cincinnati.
Of those, Johnson could end up being the man to win the starting job — he earned snaps late in the year and had a pair of solid games in November. Johnson has also been earning praise from media outlets after his spring camp showing and could be in line to take over the lead-back role.
Others in contention for that are a pair of transfers — Louisiana’s Zylan Perry and Notre Dame’s Gi’Bran Payne.
13. Kedrick Reescano, Arizona
- 2025 stats: 84 carries, 396 rushing yards, 9 touchdowns; 3 receptions, 12 receiving yards
Over the past two seasons at Arizona after transferring from Ole Miss, Reescano has been a reliable backup for the Wildcats. Last year, he scored a team-high nine rushing touchdowns while excelling in short-yardage situations.
Now, Reescano will have the opportunity to take over as the program’s primary back. Arizona also has fellow senior Quincy Craig, who ran for 364 yards last season, and Marshall transfer Antwan Roberts, who rushed for over 500 yards in 2025, to provide depth at the position.
14. Cameron Pettaway, Iowa State
- 2025 stats (at Bowling Green): 72 carries, 365 rushing yards; 8 receptions, 139 receiving yards, 2 touchdowns
The massive roster overhaul at Iowa State impacted the running back position, and it leaves the position as one of the bigger question marks for the program.
As a redshirt freshman last year, Pettaway showed flashes, including three games with 50 or more rushing yards, as well as a 72-yard effort in a loss to Cincinnati.
Pettaway is one of several transfers, along with returner Aiden Flora, who could take over as lead back for the Cyclones. Pettaway will also bring his special teams skills to Ames — he led the country in kickoff return average a year ago, averaging 33 yards per return.
With Oregon State transfer Salahadin Alleh lost to injury this offseason, Tulane transfer Arnold Barnes III could also factor into Iowa State’s run plans.
15. Kyson Brown, Arizona State
- 2025 stats: 18 carries, 106 rushing yards; 8 receptions, 72 receiving yards
Like several others on this list, the 2025 season was shortchanged by injury for Brown. He went into last season as a lead back candidate and ran for 73 yards in the season opener, only to injure his ankle in Week 2 and be limited after that while playing in just four games.
When healthy, the junior Brown has shown the potential to lead the Sun Devils backfield. Another candidate to be ASU’s top back is Jason Brown Jr., who ran for 134 yards in the Sun Bowl, and Demarius Robinson.
Those three internal candidates are the best bets to replace Raleek Brown, who transferred to Texas after his 1,141-yard season last year.
16. Richard Young, Colorado
- 2025 stats (at Alabama): 23 carries, 64 rushing yards, 2 touchdowns; 1 reception, 6 receiving yards
The running game has largely been stagnant for Colorado under Deion Sanders — his first two years there, the Buffaloes were the nation’s worst rushing team, and last year, they ranked No. 104 in the country at 125.5 yards per game.
While Micah Welch (a team-high 384 rushing yards last season) and DeKalon Taylor (limited by injuries in 2025) could win the lead back role for Colorado, perhaps the most intriguing option is Young.
The one-cut power back has just over 200 rushing yards over three seasons in Alabama, but he brings his SEC experience to a Big 12 program in need of a resurgence at the running back position.