Average Size of College Football Running Backs

Average Size of College Football Running Backs (Height & Weight)

I’ve been a collegiate sports performance coach for 20 years. One thing I always loved doing was going through and checking out the sizes of the other teams in our conference.

It helped give me (and our staff) an idea of how we stacked up against our competition. It also could be used as motivation with our team both during the season and, often, during the following off-season.

So, this is essentially the same research I’ve always done, but now I’m sharing it with you. I took starting depth charts for each team in the FBS (a total of over 3000 players) going into the 2023 season and broke them down by position.

For this guide, I took an average of the heights and weights of the over 100 starting Running Backs* across college football. In addition, I broke down the sizes of running backs by conference and individual players.

Go ahead and impress someone today with your newfound random football knowledge.

Average Height of a College Football RB

The average height of a College Football Running Back is 70.52 inches (right at 5’10 1/2″).

Height of College Football Running Back 2023

Average Weight of a College Football RB

The average weight of a College Football Running Back is 205.38 pounds.

Want to see how college football Running Backs compare with the size of NFL Running Backs? Good news, I’ve also run the numbers on the guys at the next level.

Which Conference Has the Tallest Running Backs?

ConferenceAvg Height (Inches)
Pac 1271.92
Big 1071.43
Conference USA71.22
Big 1271.07
SEC70.86
ACC70.71
Independents70
Sun Belt70
MAC69.86
AAC69.6
Mountain West68.58

Which Conference Has the Heaviest Running Backs?

ConferenceAvg Weight
Big 10216.21
SEC215.64
Pac 12212
Big 12211.57
Sun Belt207.71
ACC203.43
Conference USA200.78
MAC198.29
AAC195.27
Independents194.8
Mountain West191.08

READ MORE –> Average Size of College Football Wide Receivers

Who Are the Tallest Running Backs in College Football?

Running Backs come in a variety of different body types, with heights ranging almost an entire foot (from 5’6″ to 6’3″).

Here are the 8 tallest backs I found this season, all 6’2″ or taller.

NameHeightWeightSchool
Aidan Robbins6’3″240BYU
Raheim Sanders6’2″242Arkansas
Ja’Quinden Jackson6’2″226Utah
TJ Harden6’2″215UCLA
Jamoni Jones6’2″225New Mexico State
Braelon Allen6’2″245Wisconsin
Roman Hemby6’2″202Maryland
CJ Donaldson Jr6’2″239West Virginia

Who Are the Shortest?

There are five running backs listed at 5’7″ or shorter.

Robert Briggs Jr, listed at 5’6″, is not only the shortest running back, but the shortest starter on any college football roster in 2023.

NameHeightWeightSchool
Robert Briggs Jr5’6″185Utah State
Amin Hassan5’7″176Navy
Tylan Hines5’7″175Hawaii
Kairee Robinson5’7″195San Jose State
La’Damian Webb5’7″208South Alabama

Who are the Heaviest Running Backs in College Football?

Good luck tackling these behemoths coming straight at you in the secondary.

The five biggest running backs in college football all weigh over 235 pounds.

NameHeightWeightSchool
Braelon Allen6’2″245Wisconsin
Raheim Sanders6’2″242Arkansas
Aidan Robbins6’3″240BYU
CJ Donaldson Jr6’2″239West Virginia
Thad Franklin Jr6’0″237Louisiana-Monroe

Who are the Lightest?

Just like with heights, Running Backs have a huge range when it comes to bodyweight, spanning roughly 70 pounds from heaviest to lightest.

Here are the 6 lightest I found, all 175 pounds and less.

NameHeightWeightSchool
Brandon Chatman5’9″167Navy
Shedro Louis5’8″170Tulane
Braylin Presley5’8″170Tulsa
Tylan Hines5’7″175Hawaii
Zach Hrbacek5’9″175Sam Houston
Devontae Houston5’9″175UConn

Important Notes

As a former sports scientist, I tend to take data pretty seriously so I must stress that these ‘averages’ should be used for entertainment purposes only.

Why do I say that?

There are multiple issues that can make all the data in this article flawed.

First and foremost, it’s pretty commonplace in athletics to lie about heights and weights. I once worked at a school where it was standard procedure to add an inch and 5 to 10 pounds to almost every player on the roster.

Why?

The best answer that I was ever given is that it could potentially help with NFL scouting. However, I can’t imagine in 2023 that anyone is fooling an NFL scout with the size listed in a program. I think the real answer is it’s just part of the culture in sports.

*I used the heights and weights of all the projected starters leading into Week 0. Whether it’s through injury or performance, starters can and will change throughout the season.

In fact, it took me a week to gather all these numbers and by the time I was done I would bet that there were at least a couple of starting positions that had already changed hands.

And, if a couple of 6’2″ 230-pound players are swapped out with a couple of 5’8″ 180-pound players, the sample size is small enough that this could substantially affect the overall averages.

Finally, I can tell you for a fact that players’ weights can fluctuate pretty wildly from week to week and sometimes even day to day and, especially, over the course of a season.

Just because a guy weighed 215 on the first day of camp when weights were put in the program, does not mean that’s what he weighs in Week 8.

So, have fun with the data above, but this is just a reminder to not take the numbers too seriously.

More Info

I also broke down the sizes of Tight Ends across college football that you can check out.

Or, if you really want to have your mind blown, check out the fastest 40 times that running backs have put up at the NFL Combine over the years.

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