Five of the Best Running Back Tandems in the State
Wisconsin high school football was built on the run game. It almost has to be thanks to the inclement weather that rolls in as early as October some years. Year after year, the playoff outcomes usually correlate strongly to the teams with the most talented and productive backfields. This year looks no different as some of the most talented and successful teams in recent history have made this list. As we dive into each of the five tandems we will look at who each player is and what they bring to the table, and take a look at what they produced last season and how their team performed. First up we have the Muskego Warriors talented tandem!
Muskego Warriors
Muskego runs the Wing T and Double Wing T offense making use of up to three running backs. However, this offense runs through the play of two stud backfield mates.
Alex Current
Alex
Current
5'11" | 180 lbs | RB
Muskego | 2021
State
WI
and
Josh Bulski
Josh
Bulski
5'10" | 180 lbs | RB
Muskego | 2021
State
WI
. The two of them form the most dangerous thunder and lightning tandems in the state. Alex is the lightning of the tandem. He is electric with the ball in his hands. His speed paired with his vision and elusiveness make him one of the best and most dangerous running backs in the state. The Warriors pair him with the perfect power complement in Bulski. Bulski is perfect for the FB role in this offense. He is a hard-nosed runner who runs behind his pads so well. He doesn’t waste any time with cuts or jukes. Instead he takes the hand off, makes one cut and then runs north and south. Josh knows how to pick up those tough yards, even when everyone knows he is getting the ball.
In the 2019 season, the two helped lead the Warriors to a state championship. They finished the year with a combined 2825 yards and 31 touchdowns. The stats even support their perfect fits in the thunder and lightning combo. Bulski averaged 5.7 yards per carry and Current finished with an average of 13.4 yards per carry. The two of them together are going to be must watch come Friday nights as they look to defend their crown against some of the best competition in the state.
Verona Area Wildcats
Verona takes a slightly different offensive approach. They are a much more balanced team between their pass and run games. However, that hasn’t kept them from developing one of the better up and coming running back tandems out there. This tandem is made up of
Jackson Acker
Jackson
Acker
6'2" | 220 lbs | RB
Verona | 2021
State
WI
and
Graham Stier
Graham
Stier
5'8" | 175 lbs | RB
Verona | 2021
State
WI
. They are another set of complementing backs that work well off of each other. Jackson is more of the workhorse who sees the larger number of carries per game. He has the size to hold up to that and the excellent strength and athleticism combination to be a featured back. Stier is the perfect change of pace back to work with Acker. He does have a smaller frame, but he relies on his speed, ability to slip through closing gaps, and his elusiveness in the open field to make plays.
Last season, Acker and Stier worked together to produce 1351 yards and 17 touchdowns. Acker produced the majority with 929 yards on a 8.2 yards per carry average. Stier was able to provide a nice change of pace as I mentioned on his way to 422 yards on a 9.6 yards per carry average. In 2020, I expect both backs to increase their numbers as the Wildcats will be without 2019 senior QB Adam Bekx. They should be a fun backfield to watch as they seem to work off each other nicely.
Eau Claire Memorial Old Abes
This is a tandem that is more about potential than it is about current production. This season Eau Claire Memorial will field
Loyal Crawford
Loyal
Crawford
6'0" | 190 lbs | RB
Eau Claire Memorial | 2021
State
WI
and
Reese Woerner
Reese
Woerner
5'7" | 185 lbs | RB
Eau Claire Memorial | 2022
WI
. Crawford is the best running back in the state and a current Badger commit. Crawford can do it all, but he is best when he can play in space and use his elite traits. His speed, change of direction, and burst are evident on every play. If you give him a crease you are going to regret it. With Woerner, I am very excited to see how he performs this season. He has been putting in the work this offseason. Woerner is a compact, thick running back who has nice power and is more of a one cut runner who will get the tough yards. He should blend well with Crawford and be able to provide a nice change of pace from the speed and electric play of Crawford.
Now fully healthy, I expect to see Crawford and Woerner work together to form one of the top rushing tandems in the state. Of course we expect to see Crawford get the majority of the work, but the offense should lose too much effectiveness when they rotate backs this season. That will be important as they look to start a new QB this season. The more pressure they can take off the new starter the better.
Menomonie Mustangs
Our next talented tandem comes from the Menomonie Mustangs. The talented Mustangs are Devauntaye Parker and
Will Ockler
Will
Ockler
5'11" | 195 lbs | LB
Menomonie | 2021
State
WI
. Both of these talented athletes actually make their presence felt on both sides of the football. As running backs, they are a great combination and look to lead them to similar success that they had in 2019. Parker is the pure athlete of the tandem. He has an excellent frame for his offensive and defensive positions and his change of direction, acceleration, and burst as well as his ability to run through contact make him an intriguing workhorse prospect. However, thanks to the talent of Ockler the Mustangs don’t need to put the load on Parker. Ockler is surprising. When you watch him on defense he is an enforcer. So, when he gets the ball on offense I expect to see him as a north-south runner who doesn’t do much dancing and picks up the tough yards. He can do that, but then he comes out of nowhere with exceptional breakaway speed in the open field and really good vision in tight quarters and out in space.
Last season the Mustangs were able to make it to Level 4 of the playoffs in an exciting season. This season I expect to see more of the same type of success as these two stud athletes work together to create a run game that doesn’t drop off no matter who is in the game. Both athletes could be the feature back, but the most dangerous part is that neither has to be.
Pulaski Red Raiders
The Pulaski Red Raiders spent the 2019 season grounding and pounding away to victory after victory. The two workhorses of the offense were
Ben Redlin
Ben
Redlin
6'0" | 185 lbs | RB
Pulaski | 2021
State
WI
and
Jojo O’Leary
Jojo
O’Leary
6'1" | 160 lbs | RB
Pulaski | 2021
State
WI
. Redlin is the leader of the group. He has very good size for the position at his age, he has sufficient long speed to finish long TD runs, and his main trait is his physicality. He runs behind his pads with good forward lean and is impossible to bring down with arm tackles. Ben is an effective one cut runner who hits the hole hard. His running mate, O’Leary, is just as much of a threat when he gets the ball. Jojo is a smooth runner with very nice speed. He is best when he can attack the edge and play in space. Jojo does a great job of finding space and creating space with change of direction. They are a dangerous combination of power and speed that is hard to contain because they are on the field together quite a bit. It is hard to tell who the ball is going to.
I don’t see much changing for this offense in 2020. They have the pieces to continue their dominant rushing attack from last season. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. If they can improve from last year I would expect this rushing duo to carry them into the playoffs again this season and for both of them to receive more of the recruiting attention that they deserve.
Jackson
Acker
6'2" | 220 lbs | RB
Verona | 2021
State
WI
and
Graham Stier
Graham
Stier
5'8" | 175 lbs | RB
Verona | 2021
State
WI
. They are another set of complementing backs that work well off of each other. Jackson is more of the workhorse who sees the larger number of carries per game. He has the size to hold up to that and the excellent strength and athleticism combination to be a featured back. Stier is the perfect change of pace back to work with Acker. He does have a smaller frame, but he relies on his speed, ability to slip through closing gaps, and his elusiveness in the open field to make plays.
Last season, Acker and Stier worked together to produce 1351 yards and 17 touchdowns. Acker produced the majority with 929 yards on a 8.2 yards per carry average. Stier was able to provide a nice change of pace as I mentioned on his way to 422 yards on a 9.6 yards per carry average. In 2020, I expect both backs to increase their numbers as the Wildcats will be without 2019 senior QB Adam Bekx. They should be a fun backfield to watch as they seem to work off each other nicely.
Eau Claire Memorial Old Abes
This is a tandem that is more about potential than it is about current production. This season Eau Claire Memorial will field
Loyal Crawford
Loyal
Crawford
6'0" | 190 lbs | RB
Eau Claire Memorial | 2021
State
WI
and
Reese Woerner
Reese
Woerner
5'7" | 185 lbs | RB
Eau Claire Memorial | 2022
WI
. Crawford is the best running back in the state and a current Badger commit. Crawford can do it all, but he is best when he can play in space and use his elite traits. His speed, change of direction, and burst are evident on every play. If you give him a crease you are going to regret it. With Woerner, I am very excited to see how he performs this season. He has been putting in the work this offseason. Woerner is a compact, thick running back who has nice power and is more of a one cut runner who will get the tough yards. He should blend well with Crawford and be able to provide a nice change of pace from the speed and electric play of Crawford.
Now fully healthy, I expect to see Crawford and Woerner work together to form one of the top rushing tandems in the state. Of course we expect to see Crawford get the majority of the work, but the offense should lose too much effectiveness when they rotate backs this season. That will be important as they look to start a new QB this season. The more pressure they can take off the new starter the better.
Menomonie Mustangs
Our next talented tandem comes from the Menomonie Mustangs. The talented Mustangs are Devauntaye Parker and
Will Ockler
Will
Ockler
5'11" | 195 lbs | LB
Menomonie | 2021
State
WI
. Both of these talented athletes actually make their presence felt on both sides of the football. As running backs, they are a great combination and look to lead them to similar success that they had in 2019. Parker is the pure athlete of the tandem. He has an excellent frame for his offensive and defensive positions and his change of direction, acceleration, and burst as well as his ability to run through contact make him an intriguing workhorse prospect. However, thanks to the talent of Ockler the Mustangs don’t need to put the load on Parker. Ockler is surprising. When you watch him on defense he is an enforcer. So, when he gets the ball on offense I expect to see him as a north-south runner who doesn’t do much dancing and picks up the tough yards. He can do that, but then he comes out of nowhere with exceptional breakaway speed in the open field and really good vision in tight quarters and out in space.
Last season the Mustangs were able to make it to Level 4 of the playoffs in an exciting season. This season I expect to see more of the same type of success as these two stud athletes work together to create a run game that doesn’t drop off no matter who is in the game. Both athletes could be the feature back, but the most dangerous part is that neither has to be.
Pulaski Red Raiders
The Pulaski Red Raiders spent the 2019 season grounding and pounding away to victory after victory. The two workhorses of the offense were
Ben Redlin
Ben
Redlin
6'0" | 185 lbs | RB
Pulaski | 2021
State
WI
and
Jojo O’Leary
Jojo
O’Leary
6'1" | 160 lbs | RB
Pulaski | 2021
State
WI
. Redlin is the leader of the group. He has very good size for the position at his age, he has sufficient long speed to finish long TD runs, and his main trait is his physicality. He runs behind his pads with good forward lean and is impossible to bring down with arm tackles. Ben is an effective one cut runner who hits the hole hard. His running mate, O’Leary, is just as much of a threat when he gets the ball. Jojo is a smooth runner with very nice speed. He is best when he can attack the edge and play in space. Jojo does a great job of finding space and creating space with change of direction. They are a dangerous combination of power and speed that is hard to contain because they are on the field together quite a bit. It is hard to tell who the ball is going to.
I don’t see much changing for this offense in 2020. They have the pieces to continue their dominant rushing attack from last season. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. If they can improve from last year I would expect this rushing duo to carry them into the playoffs again this season and for both of them to receive more of the recruiting attention that they deserve.
