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Watching him go 95 yards made me wonder: who is the last SMU running back with that kind of pure speed? I don't mean lateral movement, change-of-direction quickness, or anything else. I mean pure, top-end speed.

When he got to the sideline and kicked it into overdrive, I thought of Johnnie Freeman.

Anyone else?

21.0mph

I'll venture in the 'way back' machine and suggest Rod Jones as the fastest I have seen.
ED was deceptively fast as well.

What was deceiving about Dickerson's wheels? Dude could fly. Just ask the Longhorns.

Pony4Life wrote:What was deceiving about Dickerson's wheels? Dude could fly. Just ask the Longhorns.

Deceptive because you don't think a guy that tall would have that speed. And after his freshman year and some quality time in the weight room, he never dropped a step.

Shanderrick Charles was pretty fast.

Shawnbrey McNeal

not sure abut the name but IIRC a sprinter that played fball for us. Think he played WR. the name John Roderick comes to mind. He was a real speedster. Hey some of you other old times help me out with this.

Some names here I haven't thought of in a long time. Loved Shanderrick Charles during his brief run. And I remember speedy Johnnie Freeman. Eric Dickerson used to outrun NFL DBs, and they would fall down trying to catch him. I don't think I've ever seen another running back who could regularly do that. He may not have been the "best" running back in NFL history in terms of stats, but I've never seen anyone with more talent. Dickerson at SMU was like a videogame character. In 1982 he had 1617 yards on 232 carries. Herschal Walker, who won the Heisman Trophy, had 1752 yards on 335 carries. . . ie only 135 more yards on 103 MORE CARRIES. If Dickerson would have had 335 carries in 1982 he would have blown Walker out of the water.

1983 Cotton Bowl wrote:Some names here I haven't thought of in a long time. Loved Shanderrick Charles during his brief run. And I remember speedy Johnnie Freeman. Eric Dickerson used to outrun NFL DBs, and they would fall down trying to catch him. I don't think I've ever seen another running back who could regularly do that. He may not have been the "best" running back in NFL history in terms of stats, but I've never seen anyone with more talent. Dickerson at SMU was like a videogame character. In 1982 he had 1617 yards on 232 carries. Herschal Walker, who won the Heisman Trophy, had 1752 yards on 335 carries. . . ie only 135 more yards on 103 MORE CARRIES. If Dickerson would have had 335 carries in 1982 he would have blown Walker out of the water.

In 1982, 7 people other than ED had rushing attempts for a total of 378 carries, CJ was tops with 197/938/4.8/4. ED averaged 7.0 a carry. Its unlikely that he would get the bulk of that 378 total, but even 100 more @ 7.0 puts him at 2317 and still 3 less carries than Walker. To this day, I have not heard or read an honest defense of why ED did not win the Heisman. He was the best player on the best team, even sharing time.

My gosh ED averaged 7.0 - 1 yard less a carry than Elway throwing 8.0. Elway played for a losing, unranked team (5-6) Stanford - what was he even doing in the final 3? Georgia was ranked 4th, lost to Penn State. Was a JR, which should have meant a slight advantage to ED. But when you compare numbers, team results, ED is the better player.

Rk Player School Class Pos 1st 2nd 3rd Tot - Summary
1 Herschel Walker Georgia JR RB 525 155 41 1926
335 Att, 1752 Yds, 5.2 Avg, 16 TD
2 John Elway Stanford SR QB 139 335 144 1231
262 Cmp, 405 Att, 3242 Yds, 24 TD, 12 Int
3 Eric Dickerson SMU SR RB 31 100 172 465
232 Att, 1617 Yds, 7.0 Avg, 17 TD
4 Anthony Carter Michigan SR WR 11 27 55 142
38 Rec, 785 Yds, 20.7 Avg, 8 TD

I've always assumed it was simply the East and West coast media bias. There is no way to justify the votes objectively. /rant

redpony wrote:not sure abut the name but IIRC a sprinter that played fball for us. Think he played WR. the name John Roderick comes to mind. He was a real speedster. Hey some of you other old times help me out with this.

I recall this as well...he had a nickname..something with an 'R'...Robot?

I believe Rod Jones was probably the fastest. In the pros, he chased Bo Jackson down from behind. And I believe he was also part of an NCAA champion track team.
But John Roderick would not have been far behind!

1983 Cotton Bowl wrote:Eric Dickerson used to outrun NFL DBs, and they would fall down trying to catch him.

Yup. Most of them had no chance.

1983 Cotton Bowl wrote:I don't think I've ever seen another running back who could regularly do that. He may not have been the "best" running back in NFL history in terms of stats, but I've never seen anyone with more talent. Dickerson at SMU was like a videogame character. In 1982 he had 1617 yards on 232 carries. Herschal Walker, who won the Heisman Trophy, had 1752 yards on 335 carries. . . ie only 135 more yards on 103 MORE CARRIES. If Dickerson would have had 335 carries in 1982 he would have blown Walker out of the water.

Totally agree. Walker was fantastic, but there is zero question Dickerson was better, in college and in the NFL.