Wisconsin's Jonathan Taylor Joins Storied List of Running Backs with 2,000-Yard Seasons

Heading into the 2018 college football season, 28 different FBS running backs had produced 30 total seasons with 2,000 or more rushing yards. The 2018 campaign has now produced another 2,000-yard rusher — Wisconsin's Jonathan Taylor.

Taylor has made plenty of history in his two years as a member of the Wisconsin Badgers football team. He ran for nearly 2,000 yards as a freshman, coming up just 23 yards short after a 1,977-yard campaign.

That production led to an All-American season, the Thompson-Randle El Big Ten Freshman of the Year award and numerous spots as an award finalist including for the Doak Walker, Maxwell and Walter Camp Awards.

Expectations were high for his sophomore season in 2018, and Taylor delivered, hitting the 2,000-yard mark on his first carry in the Pinstripe Bowl against Miami. He has rushed for more yards in his freshman and sophomore years than any running back in college football history, and joins former Badger Ron Dayne and Georgia's Herschel Walker as the only three running backs to hit the 3,500-yard mark in their first two seasons.

He took home the 2018 Doak Walker Award — given to the nation's top back — ahead of bowl season, and earned the Ameche-Dayne Big Ten Run Back of the Year Award that is named for a pair of former Wisconsin greats.

His 2,000-yard sophomore season puts him in elite company with some of the best running backs in college football history. He's the 29th running back to run for 2,000 yards in one season. Only Dayne and Iowa State's Troy Davis rushed for 2,000 yards in a season twice.

MORE: Jonathan Taylor Can Obliterate All-Time Rushing Record

Here's the list of every running back in FBS history to break the 2,000-yard mark in a single season (*denotes bowl game stats included):

Rank	Player	Yards	Year	School
1	Barry Sanders	2,628	1988	Oklahoma State
2	Melvin Gordon*	2,587	2014	Wisconsin
3	Kevin Smith*	2,567	2007	UCF
4	Marcus Allen*	2,427	1981	USC
5	Rashaad Penny*	2,248	2017	San Diego State
6	Derrick Henry*	2,219	2015	Alabama
7	Jonathan Taylor*	2,194	2018	Wisconsin
8	Troy Davis	2,185	1996	Iowa State
9	Andre Williams*	2,177	2013	Boston College
10	LaDainian Tomlinson	2,158	2000	Texas Christian
11	Tony Dorsett	2,150	1976	Pitt
12	Mike Rozier	2,148	1983	Nebraska
13	Donnel Pumphrey*	2,133	2016	San Diego State
14	Matt Forte	2,127	2007	Tulane
15	Ricky Williams	2,124	1998	Texas
16	Bryce Love*	2,118	2017	Stanford
17	Ron Dayne*	2,109	1996	Wisconsin
18	Larry Johnson*	2,087	2002	Penn State
19	Donald Brown*	2,083	2008	Connecticut
20	Lorenzo White*	2,066	1985	Michigan State
21	Damien Anderson*	2,063	2000	Northwestern
22	Rashaan Salaam	2,055	1994	Colorado
23	Charles White*	2,050	1979	USC
24	Tevin Coleman	2,036	2014	Indiana
25	Ron Dayne	2,034	1999	Wisconsin
26	D'Onta Foreman	2,028	2016	Texas
27	Christian McCaffrey*	2,019	2015	Stanford
28	J.J. Arrington*	2,018	2004	California
29	Ray Rice*	2,012	2007	Rutgers
30	Troy Davis	2,010	1995	Iowa State
31	Byron Hanspard	2,000	1996	Texas Tech

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