Big Board - Running Backs

Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy! It’s officially April and with the NFL Draft later this month, mock drafts and Big Boards are all you’ll hear about if you’re a football fan. We’re leaning into that with Big Boards. Every Thursday and Friday, we’ll release a new Big Board, ranking the top ten players at their position, regardless of class. Now, similar to our prospect rankings, these rankings are based on who these players are as college prospects. Stay tuned each week for two more Big Boards, ranking and looking at the absolute best players at their respective positions. Today, we continue our Big Board series with a look at the best running backs in Oklahoma. 1) [player_tooltip player_id="38679" first="Braylin" last="Presley"] - 2022 - Bixby The race for the top spot at this position is so close as the 2022 class has three excellent running backs in Presley, Horn and Brown. However, we have to give the edge to the reigning Prep Redzone Oklahoma Player Of The Year in Bixby’s [player_tooltip player_id="38679" first="Braylin" last="Presley"]. Not only was Presley Bixby’s leading rusher, he also led them in every receiving category as well. And what made Presley our Player Of The Year as well as earning his spot as the best running back in Oklahoma was this fact. If it was a big game, you knew Presley was going to get the ball and he was going to produce. Some of his best performances came in Bixby’s biggest games of the year. 2) [player_tooltip player_id="38672" first="Maurion" last="Horn"] - 2022 - Broken Arrow After spending the majority of his sophomore season on the defensive side of the ball, we finally got a chance to see what Broken Arrow standout [player_tooltip player_id="38672" first="Maurion" last="Horn"] could do on offense at the running back position. It didn’t take long to figure out that he was the real deal. In their season opener, Horn was dominant and showed that big play ability. Out of all of the players on this list, we’re most curious about Horn and how his 2021 season will look. With new head coach Josh Blankenship coming in, the offense will certainly look different. We want to see how he’ll utilize one of the best RB’s in the state. 3) [player_tooltip player_id="38669" first="CJ" last="Brown"] - 2022 - Beggs Beggs will have one of the best running back duos in the state when they take the field in 2021. [player_tooltip player_id="38669" first="CJ" last="Brown"] and [player_tooltip player_id="110739" first="Red" last="Martell"] were a great 1-2 punch last year and they’ll only be better as they go into the new season. Brown is already committed to Oklahoma State and has been impressive when we’ve gotten a chance to see him this offseason. Brown continues to improve every time he gets on the field and has been an outstanding mentor to the young Martell so get used to Beggs having some of the best running backs in the state. Brown had a stellar junior season but he could make even more of an impact in 2021. 4) [player_tooltip player_id="91049" first="Erik" last="McCarty"] - 2023 - McAlester Without a doubt, one of the biggest breakout stars from the 2020 season was McAlester sophomore running back [player_tooltip player_id="91049" first="Erik" last="McCarty"]. He helped lead the Buffaloes all the way to the semifinals where they fell short to Bishop McGuinness. McCarty ran for over 30 touchdowns and was the complete player McAlester has been looking for over the last few seasons. You throw on the tape and McCarty is doing whatever he wants on the football field. He has size, speed, strength and perhaps his best quality is his vision. He knows how to get into the open field in a hurry and even when he’s bottled up, he finds a way out. 5) [player_tooltip player_id="57205" first="Rickey" last="Hunt Jr"] - 2023 - Millwood A running back that we’re very high on and can’t wait to see what 2021 holds is Millwood’s [player_tooltip player_id="57205" first="Rickey" last="Hunt Jr"]. You can make the argument that Hunt is the best athlete on the Millwood campus today, which is saying a lot if you know about Millwood athletics. However, Hunt played multiple positions on the football field, he’s a strong basketball player as well. But when he’s on the football field, that’s when he’s at his best. Hunt is a great running back prospect and it’s easy to see when he tucks the ball and runs. When we saw him in person last year, he was playing multiple positions and doing it all at a high level. 6) [player_tooltip player_id="38684" first="Buddy" last="Bizzell"] - 2022 - Carl Albert Carl Albert’s [player_tooltip player_id="38684" first="Buddy" last="Bizzell"] is right there with Broken Arrow’s [player_tooltip player_id="38672" first="Maurion" last="Horn"] as intriguing players to watch in 2021. Bizzell has been a steady force on offense for the Titans over the last two years but this year will look different. New head coach in Mike Dunn. New quarterback after four-year starter [player_tooltip player_id="38534" first="Ben" last="Harris"] graduated and he’s no longer sharing the backfield with [player_tooltip player_id="38487" first="Javion" last="Hunt"]. Things will be a little different in 2021 but the Titans are already ahead of schedule considering they do have Bizzell back for his senior season. He’s shown at times that he can be a workhorse back. We’ll see if that’s what he is this fall. 7) [player_tooltip player_id="51871" first="Michael" last="Taffe"] - 2023 - Bishop McGuinness We saw Bishop McGuinness early on in the 2020 season and one surprise was [player_tooltip player_id="51871" first="Michael" last="Taffe"]. The young playmaker was a breakout star for Millwood as a freshman but made his way over to Bishop McGuinness for his sophomore season. The Irish did a great job of utilizing Taffe as arguably their best athlete on the football field. They put him every where from running back, to receiver, to return man and he even played on defense. Moving forward, we’ll really see his impact on this Irish offense with the graduation of quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="38557" first="Luke" last="Tarman"]. Taffe will certainly have more of a workload in 2021. 8) [player_tooltip player_id="57158" first="Emmanuel" last="Crawford"] - 2023 - Grove One of the most underrated prospects in the state, regardless of position is Grove sophomore running back [player_tooltip player_id="57158" first="Emmanuel" last="Crawford"]. We’ve been all in on Crawford since the debut of this website last July and that hasn’t slowed down. Crawford has the tools to be up there in the conversation with the other guys at this position. Grove is a very young and talented team that should be making headlines over the next two seasons. Leading the way will be Crawford, who is a home run hitter every time he gets the ball in his hands. He has size, agility and breakaway speed, leading to big play after big play. 9) [player_tooltip player_id="47955" first="Jaiden" last="Carroll"] - 2023 - Jenks McGuinness got a boost last year from Taffe transferring in and Jenks will look to get that same boost from 2023 running back [player_tooltip player_id="47955" first="Jaiden" last="Carroll"]. The young running back was a breakout player for Booker T Washington as a freshman and then dealt with some nagging injuries during his sophomore season. Jenks will be defending their state championship this fall and will need somebody to replace the production of [player_tooltip player_id="48281" first="Grant" last="Lohr"] at the running back position. Carroll has shown the ability to be one of the top running backs in the state and if he’s healthy, he’ll be one of the very best. 10) [player_tooltip player_id="38678" first="Kyron" last="Downing"] - 2022 - Vinita If you’ve followed our weekly recruiting reports, you’ve seen that Vinita running back [player_tooltip player_id="38678" first="Kyron" last="Downing"] is finally getting the notice that should have come much earlier in our opinion. Downing was a breakout star for Vinita as a freshman, running for over 1,500 yards in his first year at the varsity level. From there, he’s shown he’s a legit track star and also has versatility to play several other positions. However, we like Downing at the running back spot and if Vinita uses him more in the passing game, that just adds value to his abilities as a running back, similar to what Bixby did with Presley last fall.