Welcome to another edition of “Friday Five”. We’re only a few weeks away from football season!
It’s a new era out west. The “departing five” of the old Mountain West have left to reform the Pac-12. The Mountain West has added the likes of North Dakota State, Northern Illinois, and UTEP to fill the gaps.
We at the Mountain West Connection intend to cover both conferences going forward. “Friday Five” will feature the five best of, well, anything leading into football season, alternating between each conference week-to-week. Best quarterbacks, stadiums, mascots, who knows. We’re open to your ideas! This week, we start off with Friday Five running backs in the Pac-12 Conference.
5. Javen Jacobs, Utah State
This list starts off with another well-traveled running back. Jacobs started plenty of games at Arizona State from 2022-2023 before transferring to New Mexico in 2024, then to Utah State last season. Jacobs started 10 games for the Aggies and led the team with 1,058 all-purpose yards. He rushed for 447 yards on the ground and caught 43 passes for 379 yards. I won’t fight anyone who believes that Jacobs is the best all-around running back in the conference. Experienced and he can truly do it all.
4. Sire Gaines, Boise State
It was a strange 2025 season for Gaines. Expected to be the heir to Ashton Jeanty, Gaines was plenty good despite injuries, totaling 811 yards and eight touchdowns on the ground. His PFF grade was 88.9, first in the Mountain West and 13th-nationally. All positive! Which made it all the more surprising that he was surpassed on the depth chart by Dylan Riley. It doesn’t really matter, both running backs will feature heavily for the run-first offense. Gaines has NFL upside and could make even more noise this upcoming season.
3. Bryson Donelson, Fresno State
Now, hear me out. I know this inclusion might seem strange considering Donelson was outperformed statistically last season by fellow running back Rayshon Luke, who is very good in his own right and could easily warrant inclusion on this list, but I’m putting Donelson here because I think he profiles as a every-down back. He rushed for 600 yards last season on the dot, and I think there is a potential for a real breakout with improvement on the offensive line and hopefully quarterback. Either way, Donelson and Luke form a terrifying running back tandem.
2. Dylan Riley, Boise State
One of the big surprises of the 2025 season in the Mountain West. Riley was slated to be buried on the depth last spring, yet worked his way into a starting role and ended up being phenomenal. Riley rushed for 1,125 yards and scored 12 times last season, warranting inclusion for second-team all-Mountain West. Riley broke off several memorable long runs against UNLV. Riley and Gaines figure to be one of the best running back groups, not just in the Pac-12, but all of college football. Boise State has some new faces on the offensive line, but if that group can gel and the quarterback play improves, dominance is a possibility for Riley and Gaines.
1. Lucky Sutton, San Diego State
It is rare to see a gifted running back stay all five seasons with one program nowadays. Sutton, the 6’1”, 210 workhorse back was a semifinalist for the Doak Walker Award last season. Rushing for 1,297 yards, you once again have to tip your cap to the Aztecs in the player retention department. Sutton is a legitimate NFL prospect and has the talent and profile to win Pac-12 offensive player of the year. Expect another monster season.
Others in consideration: As mentioned earlier, Fresno State running back Rayshon Luke could easily make this list too. I’ll throw out a few other names to remember this year: Kirby Vorhees from Washington State, Torrance Burgess from Texas State, Cornell Hatcher from Oregon State, and Mel Brown Sr. from Colorado State.