Jonah Coleman Earns Highest Preseason Plaudit Yet

Singleton shared the ball last season with a 1,108-yard rusher in teammate Kaytron Allen, who appears at No. 4 on this list, so his accomplishments are even more impressive.

The 6-foot, 224-pound senior from Shllington, Pennsylvania, stands 10th on the Nittany Lions all-time rushing list with 2,912 yards, which means he has a reputation to uphold.

Singleton and Allen are just the latest backs at a school with a long history of prolific runners in Saquon Barkley, Lydell Mitchell, Larry Johnson, Ki-Jana Carter, John Capelletti and two who came to Seattle to play pro football, Curt Warner and Franco Harris.

For the Huskies, Coleman put together his 1,000-yard season with an offensive line that was not up to Joe Moore Award standards of the previous year in Montlake, not anywhere close. In fact, just one full-time starter returns to block for him in right tackle Drew Azzopardi on what should be a much better line.

With more help up front, there's no telling what kind of season Coleman could have. In the offseason, the senior dropped 14 pounds, built a muscular 5-foot-9, 223-pound physique and looked a lot quicker during spring practice.

He enters this season with a career 451 touches and no fumbles on the college level.

"It's kind of like a mentality -- somehow you have to hold onto the ball," Coleman said at Big Ten Media Days. "A change of possession can change a whole game. Losing the ball is non-negotiable as a running back."

Coleman and Singleton went head to head last November, but it wasn't much of a battle because the game got out of hand early and neither back played much during Penn State's 35-6 victory. Singleton finished with 45 yards rushing on 7 carries while Coleman picked up just 24 yards on 11 carries.

Some Oregon fans complained that their newcomer, Hughes, should be ranked higher on this list than Coleman, which is normal pivot anyway considering the rivalry between the schools.

However, the 5-foot-11, 210-pound junior from Birmingham, Alabama, needs to prove it against a higher level of competition in the Big Ten rather than where he's been -- in the American Athletic Conference.

With a veteran offensive line in Eugene, Hughes will have every opportunity to flourish, but he hasn't done it yet against the best.

It will be interesting to see where Coleman and Hughes are at with their rushing yards when their teams meet at Husky Stadium on Nov. 29.

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