Barry vs Herschel

Barry Sanders had tremendous careers in both college and the pro football, but both were shorter than they could have been. He played behind Thurman Thomas before putting up record numbers in his Heisman Trophy winning season. In the pros he retired after ten seasons, falling just short of the all-time NFL rushing record. He was the hare to Herschel Walker’s tortoise.

Herschel outgained Sanders in both college and the pros  - by more than 7500 yards. That’s over four miles. Walker scored 34 more touchdowns. He also gained more yards in his first ten professional seasons than Barry gained in his ten year career.

College:

H 5259 yd 51 TD 243 rec yd 0247 ret yd 5749 tot yd

B 3556 yd 56 TD 164 rec yd 1410 ret yd 5130 tot yd

18308 Barry total pro yards (10 seasons)

18168 Herschel total NFL yards

18537 Herschel total yards first 10 pro seasons

25214 Herschel total pro yards

Total yards college & pro combined:

30963 Herschel

23438 Barry

07525 fewer yards = 4.3 miles

Touchdowns:

143 pro 51 college 194 total Herschel

109 pro 56 college 160 total Barry

Professional stats:

BS 10 15269 099 TD 352 rec 2921 10 TD 118 ret yd

H   12 08225 061 TD 512 rec 4859 21 TD 5084 ret yd 2 TD  

H   03 05562 054 TD 130 rec 1484 07 TD

H   15 13787 115 TD 642 rec 6343 28 TD    

They each had 41 fumbles in the NFL – Barry in ten seasons, Walker in twelve.

Barry’s longest touchdown was 85 yards. Herschel had runs, receptions, and returns 91 yards or greater.

ALSO: while Derrick Henry may have broken Herschel’s single season rushing record, he fell far short of Walker’s yards per game record. To break that record Henry would need to rush for 300 yards in each of Alabama's two postseason games. 

 http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2015/12/sec_football_by_the_numbers_de_1.html