Is RJ Harvey the Best Running Back in the Nation?

Despite a so-so knight from new quarterback KJ Jefferson, the UCF rushing corps stepped up big time as they collectively rushed for 454 yards against New Hampshire.

Three running backs recorded a touchdown in the game, with Jefferson scoring the other rushing touchdown for UCF. Penny Boone, a transferee out of Toledo, ran for 81 yards with one touchdown, while another transferee out of Cincinnati, Myles Montgomery, covered 77 yards on eight carries with one TD.

But the star of the show was RJ Harvey, who returned for his senior season at UCF after posting 1,296 yards on 211 carries with 16 touchdowns in 2023. The fleet-footed Harden juked and cooked New Hampshire’s defence, covering 142 yards on 11 carries with two touchdowns.

Harvey’s longest rush in the match was a scintillating 60-yard brace at the one-yard mark, setting up for another rushing TD in the following play.

Because of his impressive opening-day performance, UCF fans and football critics cannot help but think that Harvey is entering a new territory, one that puts him in the same class as other elite running backs such as Ollie Gordon II of Oklahoma State, TreyVeyon Henderson of Ohio State and Trevor Etienne of Georgia.

UCF linebacker DeShawn Pace has even called Harvey the No.1 running back in the nation – a title many runningbacks had aspired to achieve before him.

RJ Harvey – The Best Runningback in College Football 2024?

But is he the No.1 in his position right now?

It might be too early to tell if Harvey can put together a season worthy of the mythical title of the best running back in the 2024 college football season. But at least his opening-day performance has generated nationwide attention, which would only help him enhance his standing against other top-tier running backs.

Harvey is expected to declare for the NFL Draft at the end of the season, so the UCF dynamo must continue putting up big numbers on the field and keep enhancing his stock ahead of the 2025 NFL Draft.

UCF Lacks Variety in Offense

Unfortunately, several fans still feel the team lacks variations in its offence, stressing that UCF spends most of its time running the ball instead of punishing the other team with its aerial attacks.

They believed that the UCF coaching staff should start getting creative in utilizing the talent of their prized recruit, KJ Jefferson. Jefferson arrived in Orlando this summer after shattering every known passing record at Arkansas over five seasons.

They want to see more plays in which Jefferson can showcase his full repertoire of passing skills, turning the UCF offence into a well-oiled double-edge scoring machine.

We cannot blame these fans for asking more from their team since everybody expected UCF to have a more improved passing offence with a seasoned quarterback like Jefferson joining the team this summer.

Then again, people might have forgotten that we are just about to enter Week No.2 of the college football season. Many things can happen between now and the final game of the regular season. Perhaps UCF’s offence is a work in progress, and Gus Malzahn and his coaching staff are still keeping their best plays – hopefully lots of passing – for their upcoming high-stake matchups with Big 12 teams.

I am really sure of one thing: RJ Harvey is going to play a crucial role for this team from here on out. And it doesn’t matter if he ends up at No.1; I only want him to be the best running back UCF.