I really think Kalvin McRae's yardage mark is probably an unreachable record for any Bobcat moving forward, isn't it? With the way offenses have gone and the popularity of sharing the carry load with multiple backs, specialization and mobile quarterbacks, it's going to be tough for a back to play four years, get the 900-1000 carries necessary and if they're that good not leave after three years for the NFL.
Ouellette was the type of guy and Solich was the type of coach to give him the shot to that mark, but it just takes such a toll on a running back getting that many carries.
tl;dr: Kalvin McRae's career was pretty amazing.
My reaction to the list in OP was, man, Kalvin was a beast.
Agreed. That said, I believe Hookfin would be the career rushing leader had he not shared the load with Wilson.
Of course, at the time he graduated, Steveland was the career rushing leader. (And Kareem was #2!)
Ohio has been blessed with some excellent RB's (and running QB's) in the last 25 years.
Tim Curtis was an underrated and underappreciated player on some bad Bobcat teams in the early 90's.
Steve Hookfin and Kareem Wilson were an incredible tag team in the mid-90's. (I remember the game at EMU when Hookfin, Wilson, and Riz Buckman each ran for over 150 yards!) They played four years together, and finished their careers at Ohio as the #1 and #2 all-time leading rushers.
Chad Brinker was a legend who sealed his mythic status in Athens when he returned after missing nearly an entire season to brain surgery, and ran for 1099 yards in his senior year. (For those younger BA members who don't know, Brinker had an arachnoid cyst, which is what Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer has also recently been diagnosed with.) Brinker's understudy, Jamel Patterson, was also a fine RB.
Kalvin McRae was a stud! He is the only three-time 1000-yard rusher in Ohio history, and the first player to lead Ohio in rushing in four different seasons. (Ouellette will become the second this season.) As has already been mentioned, it is unlikely that his records will fall anytime soon.
Donte Harden was an excellent back in the transition period during Frank Solich's early recruiting classes, and Chris Garrett was an undersized, but dangerous, all-purpose scatback in the mold of Papi White.
Beau Blankenship holds the single-season rushing record at Ohio, and was an outstanding back on the Cats' first bowl-winning team.
More recently, A.J. Ouellette has stepped into the spotlight. He has also worked with a pair of excellent running mates in Dorian Brown and Maleek Irons, and Nathan Rourke may be the best running QB (other than maybe Kareem Wilson) that the Bobcats have had, and Nathan is a far more dangerous passing threat than Kareem.