Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer, October 14, 2016
There are many good running backs in the Big Ten in 2016: Northwestern?s Justin Jackson, Ohio State?s Mike Weber, Penn State?s Saquon Barkley, Rutgers? Robert Martin, Purdue?s Markell Jones, Minnesota?s Rodney Smith and Indiana?s Devine Redding, among others, are the elite.
[btn-post-package-v2]
But who is the best RB in the Big Ten? I asked some media members who cover the league.
Scott Dochterman, LandOf10.com: Penn State's Saquon Barkley. In baseball terms, Barkley would be considered a five-tool player. He's got the perfect blend of size, speed, quickness, power, toughness and acceleration.
Steve Greenberg, Chicago Sun-Times and Bleacherreport.com: Saquon Barkley is the guy I'd pay to watch play. Big-time talent and clearly the bright spot for Penn State. I didn't just commit myself to pay to watch that team play, did I?
Tom Shatel, Omaha World-Herald: Wow. It kind of says it all that I can't pick one. Where have all the Big Ten running backs gone? I guess the easy answer is Mike Weber, who leads the league. But how about if I go outside the box and say Tommy Armstrong is the most important runner in the league? His QB run game dimension has given NU a dynamic it lacked last year and has made him a better passer. He has 293 yards, so he's not in the top 10. But he's been impressive.
Louie Vaccher, WildcatReport.com: Saquon Barkley. He's the complete package. He's big, he has elite speed, he can run over you and he can make you miss. I shudder to think what Penn State's offense would look like without No. 26 in the backfield.
Nick Baumgardner, Mlive.com: Saquon Barkley. He leads the league in rushing (yards) despite running behind an up-and-down offensive line.
***
| Rank | Player | Team | G | Rushes | Yds | Yds/G | Avg | TD | Long |
| 1 | S. Barkley | PSU | 6 | 117 | 582 | 97.0 | 5.0 | 8 | 55 |
| 2 | M. Weber | OhioSt | 5 | 83 | 566 | 113.2 | 6.8 | 4 | 49 |
| 3 | J. Jackson | NW | 5 | 109 | 510 | 102.0 | 4.7 | 4 | 58 |
| 4 | D. Redding | Ind | 5 | 105 | 491 | 98.2 | 4.7 | 0 | 36 |
| 5 | R. Smith | Minn | 5 | 93 | 446 | 89.2 | 4.8 | 5 | 31 |
| 6 | L. Daniels, Jr. | Iowa | 6 | 86 | 439 | 73.2 | 5.1 | 4 | 43 |
| 7 | R. Martin | Rut | 5 | 81 | 420 | 84.0 | 5.2 | 1 | 80 |
| 8 | A. Wadley | Iowa | 6 | 65 | 416 | 69.3 | 6.4 | 7 | 54 |
| 9 | C. Samuel | OhioSt | 5 | 50 | 410 | 82.0 | 8.2 | 3 | 36 |
| 10 | C. Evans | Mich | 6 | 48 | 400 | 66.7 | 8.3 | 3 | 57 |
