Stock Risers: New Jersey Class of 2022 Running Backs

Prep Redzone looks at some of the Class of 2022 running backs from the state of New Jersey that have caught our attention. The next Prep Redzone New Jersey rankings update will include these running backs listed in this article. <p data-pm-slice="1 1 []"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="27994" first="Bryce" last="Cobb"]/6-2/210/Bound Brook</strong></p> Cobb carried the football 73 times for 545 yards and two touchdowns last season. He’s a big back that does best when he’s running between the tackles. Cobb is a downhill runner who is tough to tackle. He’ll need to work on improving his start and overall speed. Cobb is a patient runner who waits for holes to open up and he seems to always finish falling forward. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="27997" first="Charlie" last="Barth"]/5-11/200/New Providence</strong> He had a monster junior year season this past fall. He carried the football 186 times for 1,702 yards and 25 touchdowns on the ground in nine games last season. From the looks of his highlights, Barth seems to surprise opponents with his speed. Barth makes defenders pay for taking bad angles while trying to tackle him in open space. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="28027" first="Mike" last="Leanza"]/5-9/190/Bernards</strong> Leanza carried the football 102 times for 638 yards and ten touchdowns in nine games during the 2020 season. He’s not really fast but he has football speed. Leanza can break 20-30 yard runs here and there. He’ll become a better prospect if he can work on his overall speed and quickness. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="28013" first="Myles" last="Thomason"]/5-9/Seton Hall Prep</strong> Thomason carried the football 87 times for 422 yards (4.9 ypc) and two touchdowns in six games last season. He has what I call football speed. Thomason isn’t a burner on the field, but his vision, toughness, and ability to break tackles help make up for it. He is the No. 10 running back in his class. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="28005" first="Paul" last="Lefkowitz"]/5-10/215/St. Peter’s Prep</strong> <p data-pm-slice="1 1 []">Lefkowitz carried the football 68 times for 463 yards (6.8 ypc) and two touchdowns in six games last season. He’s at his best when he’s able to run in-between the tackles and get to the second level. Lefkowitz doesn’t have a lot of speed but he breaks the occasional long run. He needs to work on his overall speed and explosiveness. Despite those things just mentioned, he runs with efficiency and does a good job of running through arm tackles.</p> <p data-pm-slice="1 1 []"><strong>BEST OF THIS BUNCH</strong></p> <p data-pm-slice="1 1 []">The best of this group has to be [player_tooltip player_id="27997" first="Charlie" last="Barth"]. For overall production, he’s heads and shoulders above everybody else on this list. Some of the other prospects may have a higher ceiling as a linebacker. I think Barth is a prospect that could get more Division I look if he can improve his speed. The numbers are there from a production standpoint.</p>