Top Arkansas Razorbacks running backs Part 2: Hall of Famer tops list

Arkansas teammates called Alworth "Bambi" because of his big brown eyes and mostly his ability to leap and run like a deer.

He played for the Razorbacks from 1959-61, back when freshmen were not eligible, and led the nation in punt returns as a junior and senior.

He was an All-American halfback in 1961 and went on to become the first University of Arkansas athlete to letter in three sports in the same school year. He was a track star, running 9.6 seconds in the 100-yard dash, and led the baseball team in steals.

His statistics are modest by today's standards, but football was played differently 65 years ago, more of a slugfest with fewer risks involved.

In 30 games, Alworth carried 301 times for 1,272 yards (4.2 average) and four TDs. He caught 37 passes for 645 yards and six TDs. His 1,917 yards and 10 TDs suggest Arkansas coaches didn't use him enough.

But for coach Frank Broyles' gridiron Hogs, Alworth ran the ball, caught passes, returned kicks, punted and even played defense. He rarely left the field.

Alworth led the Hogs to an undisputed Southwest Conference championship and two co-championships, with Arkansas playing in the Cotton, Sugar and Gator bowls.

He was the outstanding back in the Cotton Bowl after the '60 season and outstanding player in the Hula Bowl, an all-star game, after the '61 bowl games were completed.

To top it off, Alworth was class president and an Academic All-American. And he did all that while married with a child.

Was Alworth great running back in the pros?

Alworth signed with the NFL's new rival, the American Football League, which opened for business in 1960. But he didn't play running back.

Former Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis, who was an assistant coach with the San Diego Chargers then, actually signed Alworth on the field after the Sugar Bowl game against Alabama. It was a different day and age. That could actually be done. Davis knew he could play running back.

Alworth quickly became one of the most influential players in pro football, a superstar with the Chargers who brought attention and legitimacy to the AFL before it merged with the NFL in 1970.

He's credited with transforming the pro passing game. He was the first modern-day wide receiver, stretching defenses on a regular basis to produce big plays. It took Jerry Rice a couple of decades later, playing more games in a season and longer to break some of Alworth's records.

He was the first AFL player to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

His smooth, graceful stride and blazing speed made him a terror in pro football as he scored 87 touchdowns and retired after just 11 seasons but with the fourth-most receiving yards in history at the time.

He averaged 18.9 yards per catch for his career and totaled 10,266 yards on 542 catches in what amounted to nine full seasons. In a six-year stretch, he scored 70 touchdowns -- and did all that in the AFL and NFL when the running game dominated offenses.

He was a seven-time All Pro and led the AFL in catches, in yards, and in touchdowns three times each. In 1967, he averaged an amazing 23.2 yards per each of his 69 receptions for 1,602 yards and 14 TDs. The year before his line was 73-1,383-18.9-13.

His final two seasons were with the Dallas Cowboys. He helped them win Super Bowl VI by catching a touchdown pass, a fitting finale to his storied career.

But Bambi did more than amass amazing numbers; he changed the pro passing game and did it with grace, speed and a humble attitude.

Strange rule led to Mississippi can't-miss recruit playing for Arkansas

Broyles, Arkansas' soon-to-be legendary coach, was recruiting Alworth hard. Normally, the Brookhaven, Miss., preps star would have stayed home and gone to Ole Miss but it wasn't allowed.

Alworth was married in 1958 before starting college and Ole Miss Hall of Fame coach Johnny Vaught had a rule against his players being married.

When he learned Broyles really wanted Alworth, Vaught offered to make an exception to his archaic rule. But it was too late.

Broyles' wife, Barbara, befriended Betty Alworth. Both women were pregnant and the 33-year-old Barbara, who had four sons, became a guiding light for the young expectant mother.

When Lance Jr. was born, Barbara knitted booties for the baby while also celebrating the birth of her twin daughters, Linda and Betsy.

It seemed obvious Alworth made a great choice in coming to Arkansas. He left a legacy based on his immense talent and spectacular on-field play.

No. 3 Alex Collins (2013-15)

A native of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Collins was an immediate favorite of Razorback rooters because of his relentless effort typified by his ever-churning legs.

He combined that determination with speed and power to become the second-leading rusher (3,703 yards) in UA history behind Darren McFadden.

He's tied with D-Mac for most 100-yard games in a season with 10 in 2015, the year he ran for 1,577 yards, good for fourth best among all Hogs. He had 36 career touchdowns, putting him fourth on that list.

Here's another indication of just how good Collins was for the Razorbacks: His backup, Johnathan Williams was a fifth-dround draft pick of the Buffalo Bills in 2017.

Collins and Williams, in 2014, became the second set of Arkansas running backs to each rush for more than 900 yards in the same season. The other duo was McFadden and Felix Jones in both 2006 and '07 with both of them topping the 1,100-yard plateau.

Collins was the first true freshman in the SEC to rush for 300 yards in his first three games on the way to winning the league’s Freshman of the Year Award.

He set a school record by rushing for 20 touchdowns as a senior. He joined McFadden and Georgia’s Herschel Walker as the third player in SEC history to rush for more than 1,000 yards three times.

His five touchdowns in one game tie Collins for second in the Arkansas record book with Jessie Clark (1981) and Gene Davidson (1915 and '16) behind Madre Hill (six in 1995).

Collins was a fifth-round draft pick who played six NFL seasons. He was still playing with the USFL's Memphis Showboats when he was tragically killed in a motorcycle accident in August 2023.

No. 4 Felix Jones (2005-07)

Jones was a first-team All-American but forced to earn his way onto that elite group as a kick returner. He was also a first-round draft choice of the Dallas Cowboys, the 21st overall pick.

Jones might've found himself atop this list if he hadn't played second second fiddle to his friend and teammate, Darren McFadden, the two-time Heisman Trophy runner-up.

Blazing speed and elusiveness still produced two 1,000-yard seasons for Jones, who averaged an eye-popping 7.7 yards per carry during his three-year Arkansas career.

As a sophomore, he averaged 7.6 per carry with a total of 1,168 yards on 154 attempts. He bested that with an amazing 8.7 average as a junior with 1,162 yards on just 133 carries.

Jones scored a total of 27 touchdowns in his UA career. He ran for 11 TDs from scrimmage as a junior, 20 in three seasons. He also scored three touchdowns on pass receptions.

Jones returned four kickoffs for touchdowns in his Razorback career, two as a junior in 2007 when he was a concensus pick for All-American at that spot.

No. 5 Bill Burnett (1968-70)

Bill Burnett is still first in the most important statistical category, which is scoring touchdowns. He reached the end zone 46 times in his three-year career and held the single-season mark of 19 TDs for 46 years, until Collins scored 20 times.

Burnett was Arkansas' tailback for three seasons and led the Southwest Conference in 1969 as a junior with 900 rushing yards and a 4.3 per carry average.

His performance helped carry the No. 2-ranked Razorbacks into an early December showdown against fellow unbeaten, the No. 1 Texas Longhorns. Burnett gave the Hogs an early lead with his trademark dive into the end zone.

The 1969 Texas vs. Arkansas 'Game of the Century' defined college football greatness. With championship stakes, a...

Posted by College Football Hall of Fame on Thursday, December 19, 2024

Burnett earned All-SWC honors in '69 and '70 and finished his outstanding career with 2,204 yards. The Baltimore Colts picked him in the ninth round of the '71 draft.

The Bentonville native was captain of the 1970 Hogs, an Academic All-American, winner of the SWC Sportsmanship Trophy, and the Kern Tips Award for outstanding senior.

After graduation, he became the first Arkansas State Director for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (1972-80) and came back on staff with FCA in Northwest Arkansas in 2004.

No. 6 Ben Cowins (1975-78)

He played behind two future NFL backs, Ike Forte and Jerry Eckwood, as a freshmanis but then reeled off three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons. The The St. Louis athlete is third in career rushing (3,570 yards) and fourth in touchdowns (30). He was Arkansas' career leader in attempts, yards, TDs and 100-yard games before McFadden passed him in all categories.

7. Clyde "Smackover" Scott (1946-48)

The speedy two-way back from Smackover, Ark., played two season at the Naval Academy during World War II before returning to his home state and marrying Miss Arkansas. He was a three-time All-Southwest Conference back, consensus 1948 All-American, and the eighth overall pick in the NFL draft by the Eagles. Before his senior year, he became the first Razorback to win an Olympic medal when he claimed silver in the 110 hurdles at the London Games.

The College Football Hall of Famer was the Hogs' career rushing leader (1,463) but was credited with a larger accomplishment by UA coach John Barnhill, who said Scott meant more to the Hogs' program than any athlete because he convinced Arkansas players they should remain in-state and play for the Razorbacks. Scott's No. 12 is retired; only offensive lineman Brandon Burlsworth has the same honor.

No. 8 Dickey Morton (1971-73)

The Dallas, Texas, product led the Hogs in rushing all three years and is fourth on the all-time Arkansas yardage chart (3,317). Morton ran for 1,188 yards as a junior and 1,298 his senior season before being drafted in the 11th round by the Pittsburgh Steelers. When he set the team record with an amazing 271 yards against Baylor, it seemed to be a record that might stand forever but McFadden topped it with 325 against South Carolina.

No. 9 James Rouse (1985-89)

He came out of Little Rock Parkview stamped for greatness but spent much of his UA career fighting off nagging injuries and trying to live up to the hype. In 1987, he became the Hogs' first 1,000-yard rusher since Cowins in '78 with a stat line of 1,004, 5.5-yard average, and 17 touchdowns which is third on the Hogs' single-season list. His 38 career TDs are also third, trailing just Burnett and McFadden.

No. 10 Jerry Eckwood

An Arkansas high school legend from Brinkley, Ark., Eckwood was one of Broyles' most prized recruits and among a short list of the most gifted running backs in school history. The 6-foot-2, 195-pounder possessed a combination of power and speed that had every power program on his doorstep.

Hall of Fame runners Gale Sayers and O.J. Simpson even visited the Eckwood home. He had back surgery that curtailed his 1974 season but in '75 was enjoying the greatest Arkansas season ever and led the country in rushing through five games.

He suffered a knee injury early in the seventh game and finished the season with 792 yards on just 104 carries, that 7.6 per-cary average standing as the Arkansas record until broken by Jones three decades later. Eckwood was All-SEC in '75 but struggled to recover from surgery.

He missed the '77 season due to injuries, but was drafted in the third round by Tampa Bay after 1978. He played three productive seasons before concussions and a balky knee ended his career. His immense talent edged out Barry Foster, Cedric Cobbs and Gary Anderson, who was the 2.0 version of Lance Alworth, for this final spot.