Justin Jackson

Derrick Henry and Christian McCaffrey led the nation in carries last season with 395 and 337, respectively. The third-leading rusher in terms of workload? Surely you guessed Justin Jackson at 312 carries, right? While Jackson isn’t in the same stratosphere as Henry or McCaffrey, he’s still an excellent back with about as solid of a guaranteed workload as you’ll find coming into the season. He averaged 4.54 yards per carry, which is tied for the lowest among the running backs in the top 10 in terms of carries, but that’s still not a bad mark overall considering some of the defenses he faced such as Michigan, Iowa, and Wisconsin. In fact, he ran all over Wisconsin’s fourth-rated run defense for 139 yards and a score. His touchdown efficiency may look concerning given that he only scored five rushing touchdowns on so many carries, but that number is so low that it’s almost guaranteed to progress towards the mean. Furthermore, he ended last season on a scoring streak, posting touchdowns in each of his last four games. The line in front of Jackson figures to improve as well given that the Wildcats have several returning starters up front. Look for the Northwestern offense to lean on Jackson to key the offense, especially considering the long learning curve Clayton Thorson exhibited as a freshman in 2015.