← the board · drewhoover.com · 2004–2026
Illinois's best running backs since 2004
Chase Brown leads with 3,206 rushing yards in 32 games at Illinois; Josh Ferguson had 2,586.
Every running back with 5 or more games at Illinois since 2004, ranked by rushing yards; the lines are each player's rushing yards game by game, the top 8 drawn. A link opens the player's page, where he has one, or his row on the board.
28 running backs with 5+ games at Illinoisrushing yards
| # | player | seasons | games | rushing yards | rushing touchdowns | yards from scrimmage | receptions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chase Brown | 2019–2022 | 32 | 3,206 | 18 | 3,652 | 48 |
| 2 | Josh Ferguson | 2011–2015 | 46 | 2,586 | 18 | 4,093 | 168 |
| 3 | Mikel Leshoure | 2008–2010 | 31 | 2,557 | 23 | 2,996 | 37 |
| 4 | Rashard Mendenhall | 2005–2007 | 35 | 2,539 | 22 | 3,103 | 59 |
| 5 | Reggie Corbin | 2016–2019 | 43 | 2,361 | 18 | 2,704 | 38 |
| 6 | Pierre Thomas | 2004–2006 | 33 | 2,312 | 18 | 2,711 | 54 |
| 7 | Jason Ford | 2008–2011 | 48 | 1,962 | 26 | 2,351 | 46 |
| 8 | Donovonn Young | 2011–2014 | 48 | 1,777 | 18 | 2,099 | 80 |
| 9 | Aidan Laughery | 2022–2026 | 36 | 1,452 | 9 | 1,606 | 28 |
| 10 | Josh McCray | 2021–2024 | 33 | 1,370 | 14 | 1,578 | 25 |
| 11 | Mike Epstein | 2017–2021 | 22 | 1,276 | 11 | 1,456 | 18 |
| 12 | Kaden Feagin | 2023–2026 | 30 | 1,251 | 12 | 1,624 | 35 |
| 13 | Daniel Dufrene | 2007–2009 | 34 | 1,234 | 5 | 1,561 | 40 |
| 14 | Reggie Love III | 2020–2023 | 30 | 1,066 | 6 | 1,152 | 15 |
| 15 | Kendrick Foster | 2015–2017 | 26 | 1,064 | 9 | 1,185 | 15 |
| 16 | Ca'Lil Valentine | 2024–2026 | 30 | 1,051 | 6 | 1,182 | 18 |
| 17 | Ke'Shawn Vaughn | 2015–2016 | 22 | 1,024 | 9 | 1,232 | 25 |
| 18 | Dre Brown | 2017–2019 | 23 | 902 | 7 | 992 | 11 |
| 19 | Troy Pollard | 2007–2011 | 40 | 836 | 3 | 893 | 13 |
| 20 | Ra'Von Bonner | 2017–2019 | 29 | 822 | 10 | 905 | 9 |
| 21 | Jason Davis | 2004–2005 | 19 | 261 | 1 | 763 | 52 |
| 22 | Jakari Norwood | 2018–2021 | 18 | 244 | 0 | 262 | 7 |
| 23 | Dami Ayoola | 2012 | 8 | 117 | 2 | 128 | 10 |
| 24 | Jordan Anderson | 2024–2026 | 15 | 116 | 3 | 128 | 3 |
| 25 | Chase Hayden | 2021–2022 | 7 | 105 | 0 | 117 | 2 |
| 26 | Henry Enyenihi | 2015 | 7 | 58 | 1 | 73 | 4 |
| 27 | Devin Church | 2013–2014 | 9 | 57 | 1 | 83 | 5 |
| 28 | Kenyon Sims | 2018–2019 | 5 | 56 | 0 | 63 | 2 |
Also at Illinois: quarterbacks, wide receivers, tight ends, defenders, kickers, punters. Every school and conference: schools, conferences. The games are ESPN's box scores since 2004 (the Method says where they fall short); a position is the roster's, else read off the box score, so a tight end from before 2014 may be listed with the wide receivers.