Jordan Named Nation's 12th-Best Running Back
8/20/1999 8:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 20, 1999
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Returning for his junior season already halfway to University of Maryland's career rushing mark (3,317), LaMont Jordan is regarded among the nation's top running backs entering the 1999 college football season. He is rated the 12th top running back overall, and the fifth-best junior or sophomore.
Jordan, shy of becoming the fourth 1,000-yard rusher in Terrapin history with 906 yards in barely 10 games, has run for 100 yards seven times in his two-year career. He accomplished the feat five times in 1998, and ripped off long runs of 39, 46, 49 and 50 yards during the final three weeks of his sophomore season. He was runner-up to Florida State's Travis Minor for ACC Rookie of the Year accolades in 1997, and last year was a second-team All-ACC pick while finishing second in the league with 90.6 yards per game. Jordan enters 1999 as a nominee for the Doak Walker national running back award for the second straight season.
Under the guidance of head coach Ron Vanderlinden and the rugged running of Jordan, Maryland boasted the sixth most improved running attack in the country a year ago, adding nearly 80 rushing yards per game. The Terps moved from last in the ACC in rushing in 1997, Vanderlinden's first season after inheriting a run-and-shoot-based Maryland roster, to third in 1998 behind Virginia and Georgia Tech.
Here is a look at the top 20 running backs in the country according to CBS Sportsline:
1. Ron Dayne, Sr., 5-10, 253, Wisconsin 2. Ricky Williams, Jr., 5-9, 190, Texas Tech 3. Jamal Lewis, Jr., 6-0, 225, Tennessee 4. Travis Prentice, Sr., 6-1, 228, Miami of Ohio 5. Trung Canidate, Sr., 5-11, 200, Arizona 6. Shaun Alexander, Sr., 6-1, 205, Alabama 7. J.R. Redmond, Sr., 6-0, 210, Arizona State 8. Travis Minor, Jr., 6-1, 190, Florida State 9. Thomas Jones, Sr., 5-10, 205, Virginia 10. Reuben Droughns, Sr., 6-0, 210, Oregon 11. Eric McCoo, So., 5-10, 198, Penn State 12. Lamont Jordan, Jr., 5-11, 216, Maryland 13. Deuce McAllister, Jr., 6-2, 215, Ole Miss 14. Michael Wiley, Sr., 6-0, 195, Ohio State 15. Darren Davis, Sr., 5-8, 190, Iowa State 16. James Jackson, Jr., 5-11, 215, Miami 17. DeShaun Foster, So., 6-1, 205, UCLA 18. Anthony Thomas, Jr., 6-2, 221, Michigan 19. Doug Chapman, Sr., 5-10, 210, Marshall 20. Dante Hall, Sr., 5-8, 190, Texas A&M
