DNVR Rams All-Time Roster: The greatest running backs to ever play for CSU

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Over the last decade, Colorado State has consistently been one of the better passing offenses in the country.

A big part of that success has stemmed from hiring coaches with offensive backgrounds.

Since Sonny Lubick was fired back in 2007, CSU has hired an NFL offensive coordinator and a pair of SEC OC’s as head coaches. And although we haven’t seen a game yet, the new leader of the program, Steve Addazio, is also technically an offensive-minded head coach given that he used to be an offensive coordinator and o-line coach as well.

Along with the coaching philosophies, though, the other main contributing factor is obviously the talent that the Rams have possessed at the wide receiver position. When you have talented players like Rashard Higgins, Michael Gallup, Preston Williams, etc., it’s really easy to lean on the passing attack, and that’s exactly what CSU has done.

But while much of the modern era has been about ‘Wide Receiver U’, there’s no question that the Rams have also had some incredible running backs over the years. From Lawrence McCutcheon to Dalyn Dawkins and all the talent that played in-between, there have been some absolute beasts to come through Fort Collins.

So after a temporary hiatus, we continue the DNVR Rams All-Time Roster on NCAA Football 2013 with the running back position.

Preface

Honestly, I ended up taking the easy way out and essentially just included all of the major guys at the skill positions. Since this is a video game roster and I can eliminate the fear of injury, I was less worried about depth in the trenches and more interested in being able to experiment with the glamour positions.

However, because I wanted to get as many classic players on the field as possible, a couple of the running backs are technically positioned as fullbacks on the roster. For example: Cecil Sapp.

Now that we’ve covered the basics, we can continue with part two of the All-Time Rams Team.

Lawrence McCutcheon (1969-71)

The younger generation likely isn’t aware of his impact but Lawrence McCutcheon was absolutely one of the best players to ever don the green and gold.

The versatile running back led CSU in rushing for three straight years and made history in 1970 when he became the first Ram to rush for 1,000 yards in a single season. He then backed it up with 1,189 yards on the ground in 1971.

McCutcheon is third all-time in rushing attempts (649), sixth in rushing yards (2,917), and he’s tied with E.J. Watson with the eleventh most rushing touchdowns in program history (23). What’s more, though, McCutcheon went on to be one of the more productive running backs in the NFL for a decade-plus.

In 11 professional seasons, McCutcheon was selected to five Pro Bowls and produced 8,377 all-purpose yards in his career, which according to Pro Football Reference, still ranks in the top 200 all-time (No. 197). With 6,578 of those yards coming on the ground, McCutcheon ranks 73rd in NFL history.

Looking at the numbers, it’s clear that McCutcheon was a talented player but as impressive as the figures are, they don’t really tell the whole story. McCutcheon had the rare blend of speed, physicality and toughness — which made him a threat to take any carry to the house and an absolute pleasure to watch as a fan.

Of all the talented rushers to come through CSU, McCutcheon is definitely in the conversation for top 3.

Steve Bartalo  (1983-86)

Steve Bartalo was one of the most productive players in school history. To this day, Bartalo ranks first in career rushing yards (3,616), touchdowns (46) and attempts (1,211). What makes Bartalo’s story so cool, though, is that nobody saw it coming.

He started his career as a walk-on quarterback and even after he started to make a name for himself in the backfield, critics still questioned whether Bartalo was big and athletic enough to be a capable running back.

“He’s not slow but I’d say for a running back he might have average speed. And his height is too short,” Leon Fuller once said of Bartalo.

“All his life they told him well you can’t do this or you can’t do that. And he’s one of those guys that doesn’t believe what everybody tells him. Basically all he needed was the opportunity.”

When given that chance to shine, Bartalo did not let Fuller down. Bartalo ran hard in the open field and despite only being listed at 5-foot-9, 190 pounds, No. 41 never shied away from contact.

There have been certainly been more talented running backs than Bartalo over the years — guys that were bigger, faster, stronger, etc. But there have been very few players that consistently went as hard as him on every single down.

He’s the epitome of a bell cow back and one of the most beloved players to wear the green and gold. Had Bartalo played his career at a school like Notre Dame, there would probably be a movie about him.

Damon Washington (1995-98)

Like just about every other back that ended up making the cut on this team, Damon Washington’s resume is strong enough to put him in the conversation for the greatest running back in school history.

Playing for a winning program obviously helped his cause — Washington had an extremely talented group of teammates as well as what was probably the best coaching staff to ever work at CSU. Having said that, though, it’s really tough not to be impressed by Washington on film.

Washington was the type of versatile back that coaches dreamed of. He had excellent vision between the tackles and knew how to use his blockers to his advantage. But he was equally dangerous in the open field due to his elusiveness.

“When we had Damon Washington, we had one of the premier running backs in the conference. You could always count on him,” Sonny Lubick said of Washington in his CSU Sports Hall of Fame induction video.

Despite splitting carries for much of his career, Washington is second in all-time rushing yards (3,616). And he’s tied with Gartrell Johnson and Oscar Reed with the eighth-most rushing touchdowns (24).

Had Calvin Branch and Kevin McDougal not been in the picture, who knows what kind of numbers he would have put up — but without a doubt, Washington belongs on this roster.

Kevin McDougal (1996-99)

If Damon Washington provided the flash, Kevin McDougal provided the bash for the legendary Rams teams of the late 1990’s.

After starting his college career as a free safety, McDougal returned to his high school position of running back when the Rams ran out of healthy players in a 1996 game against Fresno State. Funny enough, McDougal ended up scoring on his very first carry and the rest was history.

McDougal was a strong, physical, running back that punished any defender that tried to bring him down. And much like Washington, McDougal made the absolute most out of every opportunity as well.

As the numbers currently stand, McDougal ranks fifth in career rushing yards (3,067) despite only ranking 12th in carries (514). At 6.2 yards per carry, McDougal is tied with Kapri Bibbs for the best career rushing average in school history — the key difference is that McDougal did this over the course of four seasons while Bibbs was a one-and-done player.

McDougal also set CSU’s single-season record in 1997 when he finished the year with an average of 7.4 yards per carry.

Beyond the figures, which are most definitely impressive, the thing that always stood out about McDougal was how much heart he played with on the field. Although it’s somewhat of a cliche, McDougal truly was a smash mouth football player.

He was the type of running back that almost always gained positive yardage — not because he was the most talented player but usually because he was willing to go the hardest. It’s because of that tenacity that McDougal will forever be revered in Ram Country and why he absolutely belongs on this team.

Cecil Sapp (1999-2002)

Cecil “The Diesel” Sapp had big shoes to fill when he started his career at CSU, but by the time he left in 2002, Sapp had more than made a name for himself.

Sapp currently ranks fifth in career rushing touchdowns (29) — although he was third all-time when his career ended. He ranks ninth in career rushing yards with 2,642. And Sapp’s 1,601 rushing yards in 2002 are still the most ever by a senior running back.

Between his 89-yard touchdown run against Air Force in 2000, the infamous touchdown run at the goal line in the 2002 upset over No. 6 Colorado, or any of his other nine 100-yard rushing performances as a senior, it’s tough to lock down what Sapp’s most memorable moment as a Ram was.

But without Sapp’s incredible production in 2002, the Rams likely would not have taken down Virginia on the road, upset the Buffs in Denver, or beaten Wyoming, Utah, BYU and Air Force in consecutive weeks.

As talented as Bradlee Van Pelt was at QB, having a stud running back was a huge reason the Rams were able to relentlessly drive on their opponents and consistently capitalize in the red zone.

If that’s not enough justification, Sapp remains one of the most popular CSU players in school history to this day. And he was inducted into the Colorado State Athletics Hall of Fame back in 2017.

Kapri Bibbs (2013)

Kapri Bibbs only played one season in a Rams uniform but it was so incredible that there’s a strong case he’s the best running back in school history.

Bibbs finished the 2013 campaign with 31 rushing touchdowns and 1,741 yards on the ground — both of which obliterated previous high marks. And at one point during the season, Bibbs even managed to rush for 603 yards and 10 touchdowns in just a two-week period.

After recording 312 rushing yards and four scores in a home win over Nevada on Nov. 9, 2013, Bibbs backed it up with six scores and 291 rushing yards in a road blowout of New Mexico on Nov. 16. In all my years of following football, I’ve never seen a stretch quite like it.

In total, Bibbs finished the 2013 season with nine games in which he scored two or more touchdowns. The crazy thing is that had Bibbs not clashed with head coach Jim McElwain, he likely would have had about twice as many carries in the first six weeks of the season — which only would have helped his numbers that much more and could have potentially prevented the Rams from starting that season 2-4.

Unfortunately for CSU fans, when it comes to Bibbs, there will always be this feeling of “what if”. What if Bibbs would have received more carries early in the 2013 season? What if Bibbs could have worked things out with McElwain? And what if Bibbs would have returned for the 2014 season?

In a different reality, maybe the Rams would have beaten CU in both 2013 and 2014. Maybe they would have ran the table in 2014 and Bibbs ultimately would have gotten drafted. We’ll never know.

However, even if his professional career didn’t quite pan out, it’s extremely clear that Bibbs was the best modern running back in school history and he absolutely belongs on the all-time roster.

Honorable Mention

Oscar Reed (1965-67)

Ron Harris (1974-77)

Alvin Lewis (1977-1980)

Tony Alford (1987-1990)

Calvin Branch (1996)

Kyle Bell (2004-08)

Gartrell Johnson (2004-08)

Dalyn Dawkins (2015-17)