Illinois Football: 5 reasons Illini running back Chase Brown is a Heisman Trophy contender

5. Leads the nation in rushing

And here is the final slide of why Chase Brown has a legit shot to win the 2022 Heisman Trophy. There are a lot of numbers I mentioned in previous slides, but there is one simple one that I haven’t driven home just yet.

Plain and simple, Brown leads the nation in rushing, and when you are beating out some of the great running backs in the game, you should get the clout.

Brown has run the ball for 1,059 yards through seven games this season. He leads the No. 2 player, Michigan’s Blake Corum, by 158 yards. Running backs like Corum, Texas’ Bijan Robinson, and Minnesota’s Mohamed Ibrahim get most of the love. But Brown is beating all of these talented running backs in rushing yardage.

Illinois has a bye week this week, but heading into the eighth game of the season, it wouldn’t shock me to still see Brown atop the rushing yardage list. Some people might point to Brown and say that maybe he has played more games than the other running backs, so that is why he leads the nation in rushing. That isn’t the case at all, though.

Brown is averaging 151.29 yards per game on the ground, which ranks No. 2 in the country. He is only second to DeWayne McBride from UAB. Some of the other running backs mentioned above like Corum, Robinson, and Ibrahim are averaging 128.71 yards, 111.43 yards, and 138.80 yards, respectively.

Through the first seven games this season, Brown has been the driving force behind Illinois starting 6-1 and being ranked No. 18 in the country. He leads the country in yards after contact, rushes for 10 or more yards, rushing yards, and all-purpose yards. He has also gone over 100 yards rushing in each of the first seven games.

Brown is one of the best players in the nation, and he should be a legit contender for the Heisman Trophy.