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If you took a poll of average college football fans and asked them who the leading rusher in the Pac-10 is, chances are a majority of them would answer Reggie Bush, of the USC Trojans. That's an understandable response, since Bush gets most of the press in the national media. That's what being a Heisman Trophy contender on the #1 team in the country will get for you. It's also an understandable response because Bush has put up huge numbers this year. But what most people don't realize is that a sizable portion of his stats come from receiving and returning yards. So while Bush does lead the nation in all-purpose yards, he is not the leading rusher in the Pac-10. Instead, that distinction belongs to Jerome Harrison of the Washington State Cougars.

Jerome Harrison is a senior out of Kalamazoo, Michigan. He actually began his college football career playing in the South Coast Conference at Pasadena City College, a junior college in California. Harrison's outstanding play at PCC led to his being ranked as one of the top 30 junior college prospects in the nation in 2003. He then transferred to Washington State University in time for his junior year.

Harrison played in all 11 Washington State games in 2004, including 5 as a starter. His WSU career got off to an inauspicious start, as he carried the ball 3 times for a net of -1 yards in his first-ever NCAA Division IA game against the New Mexico Lobos. Harrison gained positive yards from there on out, and really came on in the fifth game of the season when he ran for 117 yards and a touchdown against the Oregon Ducks. He then showed the nation what he was really capable of when he rushed for 247 yards and three touchdowns against the UCLA Bruins on November 6, 2004. Harrison would finish his first year at the most prestigious level of college football with 900 yards and 9 touchdowns on 174 attempts.

Harrison has continued his success this season as well. He currently leads the Pac-10 with 1,310 yards and 12 touchdowns through just eight games. That puts him on pace to gain more than 1,800 yards and 16 touchdowns for the season. And, dating back to last year, Harrison has rushed for over 100 yards in a game 11 consecutive times. During that span, he has gone over the 200-yard mark three separate times. You just get the feeling that if Harrison were playing for a team in a bigger national market, he would be getting a lot more attention in the press.

All of these numbers point to one thing: Jerome Harrison could make some solid contributions to an NFL team in the future. So even though he's not getting much notice in the large shadows of Reggie Bush, LenDale White, and the entire USC team, you can bet that the NFL scouts are indeed aware of him. And now you are, too. So the next time someone asks you who's leading the Pac-10 in rushing, you'll be ready with the answer: Jerome Harrison.