The next great Canadian running back is already here, but chances are you don’t know his name.
The fact that Antwan Raymond remains a relatively obscure figure in his home country is sadly unsurprising. Time and again, the numbers have proven that very few households north of the border turn their television sets to American college football every Saturday. Fewer still go the extra mile to tune in to watch the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, a program long mired in mediocrity.
Those who have this season have been treated to a compelling preview of the future of Canadian talent at the professional level. The team’s two leading tacklers, safety Jett Elad and linebacker Dariel Djabome, hail from Mississauga, Ont., and Longeuil, Que., respectively. A pair of Montrealers, Djibril Abdou Rahman and Farell Gnago, play rotational roles along the defensive line. But none of those players hold a candle to what Raymond has been able to accomplish on offence.
The five-foot-11, 205-pound back is the latest in a string of Canadian ball carriers to surpass the thousand-yard mark at the highest level of NCAA competition, racking up 1,052 yards and 12 touchdowns on 215 carries through 11 games. That puts him 15th nationwide in rushing heading into the final week of the regular season, a stone’s throw away from top 2026 NFL Draft prospects like Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love.
The native of Montreal, Que., has been the key cog behind Rutgers’ entire attack, scoring in nine different games this season. He broke out with a 161-yard rushing, two-touchdown performance at Minnesota in late September, before notching 178 all-purpose yards — 89 rushing and 89 receiving — at Washington the next week. His finest moment came on November 8 against Maryland, when he rumbled for 240 yards on the ground.
Canadian sophomore Antwan Raymond doesn’t skip leg day.
The pride of Montreal is listed at 205 lbs, but trucks like he’s 235 — with patience in the backfield. Rutgers’ every-down RB bulldozed 240 yards (153 YAC) on a workhorse 41-CARRY Saturday W over Maryland.
🎥 @RutgersOnBTN pic.twitter.com/3hqAyp0Lmb
— Alex McComb (@alexmmccomb) November 11, 2025
With the CFL playoffs at the top of the docket and the NFL season in full swing, that performance hardly made a ripple in the Canadian media landscape. On the heels of recent homegrown rushing sensations like Chuba Hubbard and Chase Brown, both of whom have since gone on to successful NFL careers, the concept no longer seems unique or notable. However, Raymond very much remains an anomaly, one of just two Canadians playing the position at the FBS level, and his ceiling could be higher than either of the marquee names that came before him.
After finishing high school at Clearwater Academy International in Florida, Raymond made an instant for Rutgers as a true freshman in 2024, rushing for 457 yards and eight touchdowns as the backup to future Chicago Bears draft pick Kyle Monangai. His current accomplishments are taking place in just his second season of eligibility, far earlier than most break out.
Hubbard didn’t cross the thousand-yard mark until his third year at Oklahoma State — a now infamous campaign that saw him receive votes for the Heisman Trophy. Brown was in his fourth college season when he first did the same at the University of Illinois in 2021. Raymond has already surpassed the yardage total from that season and equalled Brown’s career-high in total touchdowns set the next year.
The former four-star prospect has done all of that with little help. His 757 yards after contact are the eighth most in college football, and his 62 missed tackles forced are tied for sixth, according to Pro Football Focus. The result has been 69 first downs produced on the ground, fourth most in the nation. That has earned him recognition as one of the 10 semi-finalists for the Doak Walker Award as the top running back in the NCAA.
After a lopsided loss to Ohio State last week, in which Raymond’s 52 yards rushing represented more than a third of the team’s total offensive production, Rutgers’ season hangs in the balance. They’ll need a victory over Penn State on Saturday, November 29, at 3:30 p.m. EST to reach 6-6 on the year and qualify for a bowl game, though even then it may not be guaranteed. There isn’t much to make that game compelling, but for Canadian football fans, it’s worth tuning in to catch an early glimpse at a player whose presence in the national discourse should only grow over the next 18 months.
Despite incredible defensive seasons from the likes of Miami’s Akheem Mesidor, Wake Forest’s Nuer Gatkuoth, and Boise State’s Ty Benefield, Raymond is likely to win the Jon Cornish Trophy as the top Canadian player in the NCAA. Because of his age, he will then have to return to school for at least another season before declaring for the NFL Draft.
With his short-area burst, impressive contact balance, and relentless running style, the high water marks set by Hubbard and Brown are little more than suggestions for what Canada’s new rushing king might be capable of.
J.C. Abbott is a University of British Columbia graduate and high school football coach. He covers the CFL, B.C. Lions, CFL Draft and the three-down league's Global initiative.
