Is Rahsul Faison going to be Utah State’s next star running back?

It didn’t take long for Rahsul Faison to etch himself — his name, his ability, even his flowing hair — in the collective minds of Utah State football fans a year ago.

In the season opener at Iowa, Faison — a junior college transfer from Snow College — only carried the ball seven times. Yet against the vaunted Hawkeyes’ defense he still managed to rush for 59 yards, averaging 8.4 yards per carry.

Back-to-back runs for 17 yards and 18 yards midway through the fourth quarter were eye-opening, as was a 26-yard reception a possession later.

It all presaged what was to come for the Aggies’ opponents when Faison was in the game. The Utah State running back quickly established himself as arguably USU’s second-best offensive playmaker behind only projected 2025 NFL draft pick Jalen Royals.

In all, Faison rushed for 736 yards and five touchdowns in 2023, averaging 6.2 yards per carry, all while splitting time as part of a running back trio with Davon Booth — now at Mississippi State — and Robert Briggs. Faison’s explosiveness was evidenced by seven rushes of at least 20 yards, including three that went 40-plus yards.

His 181 yard day against Nevada was the highlight — it was the most yards on the ground for a USU running back since 2016 — but week in and week out Faison was a dynamic back.

So much so that Pro Football Focus rated him Utah State’s best running back by far (Faison came in at No. 51 overall, while Booth slotted in at No. 69 and Briggs at No. 243). Faison’s run grade had him among the best 30 backs in the country in 2023, in the same tier as Oklahoma State’s Ollie Gordon II, Louisville’s Jawhar Jordan and Penn State’s Kaytron Allen, to name a few.

(Where Faison struggled was in pass blocking, which was a significant reason Booth was used more regularly by the Aggies, who struggled in pass protection on the whole).

And he’s back for the 2024 season, after a brief foray into the NCAA transfer portal.

Utah State has high expectations for Faison this season. As in No. 1 back expectations. Or at worst 1A to Briggs’ 1B.

“Those two will kind of be the 1-2 punch that we have,” interim head coach Nate Dreiling said, singling out Faison first and Briggs second. “... The offense is mainly a one-back system that goes fast so they don’t sub overly. We do feel like we need two backs and we have those guys. Both of them can take it the distance any play.”

Whatever expectations the Aggies’ have for Faison pale in comparison to his own stated goals, however.

“I want to prove I’m one of the best in the country,” he told the Deseret News. “And not just at running back, but one of the best players in the country in general. I’ve got a lot to prove, to myself and to everyone else. I just want to prove I’m one of the best.”

Lofty as it seems, Faison has good reason to believe he can be one of the best players in college football. He entered his name into the transfer portal in late April and was greeted with interest from several notable Power 4 programs.

“I definitely had some big time programs reach out and it felt good to feel wanted of course,” he said.

He returned to Utah State only after deciding that it was the best thing for him, personally off the field as much as on the field as a football player.

“I had a lot going on off the field so I had to sit back and take myself away from football and think about what was best for me coming up this season,” Faison said. “(Utah State) just felt like home. Coach A (Blake Anderson) had a lot to do with that too. He was one of the big reasons I stayed and I feel like he talked it out with me, stayed with me every day I was in the portal. I just felt like it (staying at Utah State) was the best move and in my best interest.”

Of course, he couldn’t have predicted what would happen in July with Utah State, namely the termination of Anderson as head coach and the tragic death of New Mexico State transfer Andre Seldon Jr.

A senior, Faison has taken an active role in trying to shepherd the Aggies through it all to the season.

“We’ve been handling it all pretty well,” he said. “I feel like if anything we’ve gotten a lot closer the last month. I’m no stranger to adversity so I know not to focus on things I can’t control. I’ve just been preparing for my last year and just trying to be a leader on and off the field and keep everyone uplifted. That is what all the older guys have been doing. We’ve been staying focused and blocking out any outside noises that have been coming around.”

Faison believes he has a chance to do something special this season, in part due to the offense put in place by Anderson, now run by offensive coordinator Kyle Cefalo.

“I feel like it will be similar to what you’ve seen in the past,” Faison said. “We will definitely be more explosive in the run game than what you’ve seen last year, though. We are definitely going to be an explosive offense as you are used to seeing a lot. Fast tempo. All that. It is going to be fun to watch for sure.”

It doesn’t hurt that Dreiling has mentioned — often — a desire to run the ball more this season too.

“We want to be physical and we want to run the ball,” he said Thursday, ahead of USU’s first scrimmage of fall camp.

Throw in a revamped offensive line, buoyed by the additions of Power 4 transfers in George Maile (Baylor), Trey Andersen (Pitt) and Ethan Boyd (Michigan State) and things have lined up for Faison to make a real impact.

Which is everything he wants in his final season.

“I want to build on what we started last year,” he said. “No, I want to finish what we started last year.”