The 5 Most Successful Small-School Running Backs in the NFL
Rashad Jennings
College: Liberty University (FCS)
Drafted: 2009, 7th Round (250th Overall)
Career Total NEP: 38.47
So, we go from one former New York Giants big back to another: Rashad Jennings. Jennings didn’t start out his NFL career with Big Blue, but he is a current member of the team and is Brandon Jacobs’ spiritual successor.
He also could probably have passed off as Jacobs’ body double in his freshman year of college. Jennings enrolled at FBS school Pittsburgh in 2004 but deferred his enrollment until 2005 due to poor academics and conditioning -- he weighed 268 pounds despite standing only six-foot-one. When he got his chance to suit up for the Panthers, he put together a solid-but-unspectacular 411 yards and a single touchdown on 86 carries. He then transferred to FCS program Liberty so he could be closer to home and take care of his family. In 2006, he shed 35 pounds, started for Liberty, and set records.
Once Jacksonville took a chance on him at the end of the 2009 Draft, Jennings got his foot in the door as Maurice Jones-Drew’s backup and literally ran with it. In his six-year career, Jennings has had four replacement-level seasons despite being plagued by injuries and forced into backup roles. Now he’s the surefire starter for the Giants.
