Best Ever--Running Back Edition

First off, I apologize that I have missed a week or two. We are all moved in at the new house and I can breath again, so here we go---we'll get back into it with a debate that is always pretty hot on the boards--this week we are going to name BYU's best ever Running Back--who do you think is in the conversation for best ever?



Make your nominations here, and Thursday morning we'll put a poll up and let you decide. We'll be naming one, so when the poll is up you'll get one vote. Sunday night the poll will close and the top vote-getter will be enshrined.

Luke Staley



Harvey Unga



Curtis Brown



Eddie Stinnett ( I still love the pass he threw to Steve Young)



Future best ever running back Juice Quezada

jamal willis

Willis, Brown, and Unga are all career yardage leaders for BYU, but they are not as good as Staley. Staley was possibly the best football player to ever play at BYU regardless of position. In my opinion there is only an argument for who is the second best RB in BYU history between the career yardage leaders.

Wickchad84087 wrote:
Willis, Brown, and Unga are all career yardage leaders for BYU, but they are not as good as Staley. Staley was possibly the best football player to ever play at BYU regardless of position. In my opinion there is only an argument for who is the second best RB in BYU history between the career yardage leaders.

You do have to consider that what limited Staley was durability. Had he not been so injury prone, he would still be the leading rusher. Do we vote based on how good they were at their prime and assume that they are invincible? Or do we vote based on the actual body of work?



Ronnie Jenkins probably won't win, but he should be in the discussion.

Pete Vanvalkenberg (sp) who led the nation with 1300+ yards in one of Edwards first years.

When Staley played in HS against our High School, I asked my sons how the game went. They said "the bad is news is this Staley kid scored 6 touchdowns on us, the good news is that he will be at BYU next year"



I wish we could have seen Staley for a full 4 years.

redneckjedi wrote:

Willis, Brown, and Unga are all career yardage leaders for BYU, but they are not as good as Staley. Staley was possibly the best football player to ever play at BYU regardless of position. In my opinion there is only an argument for who is the second best RB in BYU history between the career yardage leaders.

You do have to consider that what limited Staley was durability. Had he not been so injury prone, he would still be the leading rusher. Do we vote based on how good they were at their prime and assume that they are invincible? Or do we vote based on the actual body of work?



Ronnie Jenkins probably won't win, but he should be in the discussion.

Just vote for who you think was the "best." It's an inherently subjective label, so to each his own. I personally use the "at his best, who would I want to put on the field with the game on the line" criteria--which includes a certain bit of longevity--at his best Hague could break an 80 yard TD run, which Unga never did, but he's not even in a rational conversation because he only did it once. Then again, every person has their own way of defining "best," so you do what you think is best.

Definitely Staley for me. That 2001 season was just so spectacular.



Unga's consistency of rushing for 1,000 yards all three seasons he played is definitely impressive, especially considering he seemed to always be suffering some type of ankle or hamstring problem. Wasn't the most exciting player though. I remember a lot of times after watching a game at the stadium, I'd look up the stats at home and be really surprised to see Unga with over 100 yards. He would just really grind 'em out. Perfect fit for the Anae offense.

01 and 02 seasons were lost to me. I took a 2 year all expenses paid (by me of course) trip to Ukraine during those years. So I have no real memories of Staley. But I have been impressed with the highlights I've seen of those years.

declocoug wrote:
01 and 02 seasons were lost to me. I took a 2 year all expenses paid (by me of course) trip to Ukraine during those years. So I have no real memories of Staley. But I have been impressed with the highlights I've seen of those years.

Oh, man, you missed something special. I've never heard LES as loud as when Staley took it down the sideline on the pitch from Doman against Utah (50 sec. mark in video). Hopefully we get announcers like Mike Patrick and Sean McDonough and not Rod Gilmore and Bob Davie next year. What am I saying, either way I'm listening to Wrubell.



Staley gets my vote (followed by Unga, Brown)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHARVLfkva4

Luke Staley is a freak athlete, like Steve Young was at QB. How many Doak Walker Award winners had BYU had again?

Prov1, I would have loved to have been there. My memories while at BYU were the mediocre 2000 year, disgraceful 2003-2005 years and then finished it off with 2006 which was pretty amazing.



BYU utah games included the 2003 snowbowl 0-3, when BYU saw it's continuous games scoring record come to an end, and the 2005 overtime/band fiasco game.



Ugh. Maybe it's a good thing for BYU football to have me not so close.



Somehow y brother was there for 4th and 18 and George. Lucky.



My vote is for Jamal mostly for nostalgic purposes. That's my first memories of someone playing running back and realizing what an important position it was, and I've compared every running back at BYU since then to Jamal. Of course Unga who was as solid as they come is also on my list. Jenkins was fun, but never in contention for best ever.

ProV1 wrote:
I've never heard LES as loud as when Staley took it down the sideline on the pitch from Doman against Utah (50 sec. mark in video).

What makes that run so awesome is that their are 3 utes in perfect position to make a play, totally unblocked, but they all freeze at Doman's juke and Staley just flies right by them

Best ever? Harvey Unga, no question, Curtis brown second, then Jamal Willis 3rd. Yes Staley was awesome, probably the best talent we have ever had at that position but you have to actually be on the field to realize that potential. If Ronney Jenkins could have kept his pants zipped up, he might have been the unquestioned best at that position. We have never had anyone on our team before or since that had his speed, but he is not the best ever since he could not stay at BYU.

Luke Staley, Harvey, Curtis Brown.

frdbtr wrote:
Best ever? Harvey Unga, no question, Curtis brown second, then Jamal Willis 3rd. Yes Staley was awesome, probably the best talent we have ever had at that position but you have to actually be on the field to realize that potential. If Ronney Jenkins could have kept his pants zipped up, he might have been the unquestioned best at that position. We have never had anyone on our team before or since that had his speed, but he is not the best ever since he could not stay at BYU.

Yeah, cuz Unga did so much better in that realm of doing things so he "could stay at BYU."



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Luke Staley is a man among boys in this competition. And our boys, Harvey Unga, Jamal Willis, Curtis Brown, etc. are pretty awesome.

Does anyone else remember any BYU running back that made the pros? Jenkins made it but I think he was more a return man. The only one I can think of is Eric lane. I think Lane should be in the discussion. He not only did well at Seatle but was very good at BYU as well.

Scott Phillips. He made the pros and I believe that he played in New York for several years and I heard the only reason that he quit was he was tired of the NFL life style. However, I was gone to school out-of-state during the 2001 season so I didn't see much of Luke Staley that year but the games I did watch, wow he was awesome. I watched a Youtube highlight video the other day and all I know is he was head and shoulders above any other running back BYU has had. Maybe his production numbers weren't as high as Unga, but if Unga were even in the same realm of athletic ability as Staley, many of Unga's 20 yard runs would have been 40 or 50. Staley hands down best running back in BYU history.