The 2007 Heisman Trophy race starts with the Doak Walker Award Presentation Banquet.

It probably will end there, too.

If Darren McFadden doesn't manage the Doak and Heisman double next year, another top rusher probably will. Reggie Bush's niche as the only running back to win the Heisman this century should end.

Next season looks like the year of the running back in college football, even with the early draft entries of Oklahoma's Adrian Peterson and Cal's Marshawn Lynch.

Forget the departures of quarterback Mitch Mustain and offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn from Arkansas. McFadden should be just as good as last season when he rushed for 1,647 yards, completed 7-of-9 passes and returned a kickoff for a touchdown.

He will have company. Six returning running backs ran for at least 1,550 yards and 14 touchdowns last season. Five compete in BCS conferences. Nobody questions the credentials of the sixth, Boise State's Ian Johnson, after the Fiesta Bowl.