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Oregon

Greg McElroy explains ranking for Makhi Hughes on Top 10 college football running back list

Grant Grubbs Profile Pictureby:Grant Grubbs•05/29/25•

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Oregon running back Makhi Hughes
© Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

In January, Oregon landed Tulane running back Makhi Hughes, who is the No. 1 RB in On3’s 2025 Transfer Portal Player Rankings. Earlier this month, ESPN’s Greg McElroy projected Hughes to be the second-best running back in the country in the upcoming season.

“When you watch him, he’s crazy physical,” McElroy said. “He’s extremely good when it comes to breaking tackles. He’s got really solid contact balance. He’s not a guy that I necessarily want to make a living in pass pro, but I think he works his tail off in pass pro.

“I think he has a solid and willingness to kind of elevate his play and do whatever’s asked of him, regardless of what it takes to be successful. So I think Makhi Hughes is kind of the perfect blend of what we’ve seen from Bucky Irving and Jordan James the last couple of years at Oregon. I think he’s he’s got some shiftiness, like we saw from Irving. But he’s got some of the power that we saw from James.”

Hughes spent three seasons at Tulane, including a redshirt year in 2022. In his two seasons on the field with the Green Wave, Hughes amassed 523 carries for 2,779 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns. Hughes also hauled in 30 catches for 243 yards and two scores over the two-season stint.

Hughes’ 1,401 rushing yards last regular season were the ninth-most among FBS running backs. Alas, all eight running backs ahead of Hughes on the FBS rushing leaderboard entered the NFL Draft this offseason.

For his success on the field, Hughes was named an All-AAC First Team member in both the 2023 and 2024 campaigns. He was also named a semifinalist for the Doak Walker Award, annually given to the nation’s top running back.

McElroy believes Hughes’ talents will only be more obvious when surrounded by other talent. Luckily for Hughes, the Ducks should have no shortage of talent next season.

“If you look at how they might use him in combination with [Noah] Whittington, this could be an excellent backfield tandem,” McElroy said. “But I’d be surprised if Makhi Hughes doesn’t get a lion’s share of these carries. I think his game will translate greatly to the Big Ten and in that offense, I think he’s got a chance to showcase a lot of versatility that we might not have known about.”