Rashaad Penny was a cheat code. If you didn't stay up late to watch Mountain West after-dark games in 2017, you missed one of the most absurd statistical seasons in the history of the sport. Seriously. Most people remember him as a first-round pick for the Seattle Seahawks who couldn't stay healthy, which is fair, but it completely overshadows the fact that at San Diego State, he was basically a video game character come to life.
He didn't just lead the nation in rushing. He bullied it.
The rashaad penny college stats tell a story of a guy who sat behind the NCAA’s all-time leading rusher, Donnel Pumphrey, and then somehow managed to look even more dominant when it was finally his turn. We’re talking about a human being who averaged nearly 8 yards every single time he touched the ball as a senior. You don't see that. Not in a high-volume role.
The 2,000-Yard Monster Season
Let’s look at 2017. Honestly, the numbers are kind of offensive to defensive coordinators. Penny racked up 2,248 rushing yards in a single season.
To put that in perspective, he didn't just lead the FBS; he out-rushed guys like Saquon Barkley and Bryce Love while being the focal point of every single scouting report. Teams knew he was getting the ball. They still couldn't stop him. He found the end zone 23 times on the ground that year.
But it wasn't just the total volume. It was the efficiency. He carried the ball 289 times and averaged 7.8 yards per carry. Think about that. Every time the quarterback handed him the rock, the Aztecs were basically guaranteed a first down every two plays.
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Why the 2017 Rushing Title Was Different
Usually, when a guy hits 2,000 yards, he’s a "volume hog." Not Penny. He was a home-run threat. He had five straight games with at least 200 rushing yards to end his college career. That tied an NCAA record held by legends like Marcus Allen and Barry Sanders. You’re in decent company when your name is next to Barry Sanders.
He finished 5th in the Heisman voting that year. In hindsight, he probably deserved to be higher, but playing in the Mountain West meant a lot of people were sleeping while he was breaking ankles in the fourth quarter.
More Than Just a Running Back
If you only look at the rushing column of the rashaad penny college stats, you’re missing half the brilliance. Penny was one of the greatest kick returners to ever play college football. Period.
He finished his career with 7 kickoff return touchdowns. That’s tied for the most in NCAA Division I history. He wasn't just a big, bruising back; he had this weird, gliding speed that made him impossible to catch in the open field.
In a single game against Nevada in 2017, he did something that basically nobody does:
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- Two rushing touchdowns.
- One kick return touchdown.
- One punt return touchdown.
He accounted for 429 all-purpose yards in that game alone. It was the kind of performance that makes you double-check the box score to see if it’s a typo.
The Total Career Arc
People forget he wasn't a one-year wonder. Even as a junior in 2016, while playing second fiddle to Pumphrey, Penny still went over 1,000 yards on just 135 carries. He averaged 7.5 yards per carry that year. The efficiency was always there; the world just needed to see the workload catch up.
By the time he left San Diego State, his career totals looked like this:
- Rushing Yards: 3,656
- Rushing TDs: 38
- Total Touchdowns: 52 (including 6 receiving and 8 on returns)
- All-Purpose Yards: 6,654
He was a Swiss Army knife in a 220-pound frame.
The NFL Draft Context
Because of these rashaad penny college stats, the Seahawks felt comfortable taking him 27th overall in 2018. They saw a guy who had a 4.46-second 40-yard dash at the combine and a college resume that suggested he could handle 300 touches a year.
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The tragedy of his pro career—the ACL tear, the hamstrings, the broken leg—often masks just how elite he was as a prospect. In college, he was durable. He played in all 54 games of his career. He was the reliable engine of a winning program.
What We Can Learn From the Tape
If you go back and watch his San Diego State highlights, you'll notice he didn't run like a typical power back. He had "light feet." He could jump-cut in the hole and then immediately hit top gear.
The Mountain West might not be the SEC, but Penny’s production against Power 5 schools was legitimate. He dropped 216 yards on Arizona State and 175 on Stanford in 2017. He wasn't just padding stats against "cupcakes." He was the best player on the field regardless of the logo on the other side.
Key Takeaways for Fans and Scouts
- Efficiency is King: High yardage is great, but 7.8 YPC over 280+ carries is legendary status.
- Special Teams Value: Penny proved that a star RB can—and should—impact the return game if they have the vision for it.
- The "Workhorse" Fallacy: Just because a player hasn't had 300 carries by their junior year doesn't mean they can't handle it; sometimes they're just waiting for their turn behind another legend.
If you’re looking to truly understand the Rashaad Penny era, stop looking at his NFL injury reports. Go look at the 2017 SDSU game logs. That was the real him. A relentless, explosive, and statistically dominant force that the college game hasn't really seen since.
To get a better sense of how his college production stacks up against modern NFL draft prospects, you should compare his 2017 yards-per-carry metrics against recent first-round backs like Bijan Robinson or Jahmyr Gibbs. You might be surprised to see that Penny's efficiency numbers actually hold a slight edge over almost everyone in the modern era.