FCS ranks top returning running backs for 2026 season preview

1. Eli Gillman

Gillman is the name that changes the whole conversation. Montana’s star entered 2025 on the Walter Payton Award watch list, then answered with 250 carries, 1,540 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns as the Grizzlies pushed into the FCS quarterfinals and beat South Dakota 52-22 on December 13, 2025.

2. Tylan Hines

Hines gives Tarleton State a back who still looks like a breakthrough waiting to happen. After transferring from Hawaii and fighting through early-season injury issues, he finished 2025 with 510 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns, a useful reminder that some of the most valuable FCS backs are the ones who can reset a program’s floor as much as its ceiling.

3. Jaden Green

Green is one of the clearest examples of why transfer movement now matters at the FCS level. Cal Poly landing the former Lehigh back was described as a major recruiting win for Tim Skipper, and that kind of addition can speed up a rebuild because it brings proven production, not just upside.

4. Carson Gresock

Gardner-Webb’s Carson Gresock belongs in the wider top-back conversation because the ranking’s honorable-mention tier is crowded with players who can still swing weekends in their own leagues. That matters in FCS football, where one dependable runner can keep a team on schedule, shorten games, and turn November into a hunt for a playoff foothold.

5. Chase Bingmon

Prairie View A&M’s Chase Bingmon stands out in a part of the sport where rushing continuity often carries the identity of the offense. In a season preview built around returning production, a back like Bingmon matters because SWAC and other FCS races are often shaped by which teams can impose pace, protect leads, and avoid letting games turn chaotic.

6. Steve Hall

Lindenwood’s Steve Hall is part of the reason the FCS running back discussion stretches beyond the usual power-conference overlap. Players like him may not dominate the national headlines, but they are exactly the backs that can stabilize a roster, keep third downs manageable, and give a program a cleaner path through a long fall.

7. Trey Holly

Southern’s Trey Holly keeps the HBCU side of the conversation in focus, where running backs still carry a special kind of cultural weight. In a landscape where style, tradition, and control of tempo matter, a productive backfield option can do more than rack up numbers, it can define how a program is seen nationally.

8. Rovaughn Banks Jr. and Jaden Gilbert

Rovaughn Banks Jr. of Abilene Christian and Jaden Gilbert of Youngstown State represent the next tier of backs who can shape conference races without needing the full spotlight. Their presence in the honorable-mention mix shows how deep the position is across the subdivision, from teams chasing late-season momentum to programs that expect physical, November-ready football.

9. Mitchell Summers and Xaviah Bascon

Mitchell Summers at Sacred Heart and Xaviah Bascon at Harvard highlight how the rushing conversation reaches well beyond the most visible weekly windows. In the FCS, a reliable tailback at a program built to win by structure and discipline can matter just as much as a star at a national power, especially when playoff positioning starts to tighten.

10. Jimmyll Williams

Elon’s Jimmyll Williams rounds out a list that says as much about roster-building as it does about talent. The top-returning-back debate was built on film, production, awards, and grading, but the larger takeaway is simple: the teams with the best ground games in 2026 will be the ones best positioned to control conference races, survive the playoff grind, and keep their seasons alive deep into November.