Southern California: 2022 Best Available Running Backs
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Jaylen Thompson Jaylen Thompson 5'10" | 200 lbs | RB Bishop Alemany | 2022 State CA , Alemany Thompson is one of two elite running backs at Alemany. He has excellent field vision and his versatility is his biggest strength.…
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Continue ReadingJaylen Thompson Jaylen Thompson 5'10" | 200 lbs | RB Bishop Alemany | 2022 State CA , Alemany
Thompson is one of two elite running backs at Alemany. He has excellent field vision and his versatility is his biggest strength. There is a play on his highlight film where it’s a designed sweep but he cuts back through the B gap and makes a first down out of what would have been a loss. He is smaller at 5-foot-9 and 180 pounds, but he can break tackles and has proven himself to be durable. Thompson has 17 offers and his last two visits were to San Jose State and Colorado.
After a great season Alemany stars QB Dylan Gebbia and RB Jaylen Thompson are back at work ! Athletes ! #Gebbiabrothers # jaylen Thompson #Alemanyfootball pic.twitter.com/5OtIAVHwQr
— Derron Spiller (@SpillerDerron) December 10, 2021
Jabari Bates Jabari Bates 5'8" | 160 lbs | RB St. John Bosco | 2022 State CA , St. John Bosco
Bates would have been a 1,000 yard rusher for most teams in the state but he had to share carries at Bosco with Rayshon Luke Rayshon Luke 5'9" | 170 lbs | RB St. John Bosco | 2022 State CA and Michael Hayes Michael Hayes 5'8" | 165 lbs | RB St. John Bosco | 2022 State CA . He is not as fast as Luke but still has breakaway speed. He can break tackles and reads his offensive linemen well. He was the best receiving running back on the team and made big plays against top competition. He has six offers.
Jabari Bates big play for Bosco. pic.twitter.com/q27GMgSnAG
— eric sondheimer (@latsondheimer) October 2, 2021
Floyd Chalk Floyd Chalk 5'9" | 185 lbs | RB Bishop Alemany | 2022 State CA , Alemany
Chalk was one of my favorite running backs to watch this fall. He is a defensive coordinator’s nightmare because even when there is nowhere for him to run, he breaks tackles or finds cutback lanes that you didn’t know existed. He hits the hole hard and as enough speed to breakaway after getting by the second level. He is undersized as is everyone on this list, but there are backs his size that have already signed. He has offers from Penn State and San Diego State but the Aztecs have signed a lot of running backs in this class.
This run by Alemany’s Floyd Chalk on repeat sums up Friday night’s win over Bishop Amat. It was either Chalk or Jaylen Thompson. The two ran for 260 and 186 yards, respectively. pic.twitter.com/CEmPbm2hLc
— Tarek Fattal (@Tarek_Fattal) October 16, 2021
Derek Boyd Derek Boyd 5'11" | 180 lbs | RB Oaks Christian | 2022 State CA , Lawndale
Boyd is the biggest guy on this list and he may get offended at me classifying him as a running back because he is an “athlete” on most recruiting boards. Lawndale is fun to watch because they mix up their personnel groups well on offense and they find multiple ways to get Boyd the ball. Lawndale has a really good offensive line and Boyd takes advantage and breaks big runs because he trusts his line to handle the first two levels. He has a long stride and is tough to bring down. Boyd has offers from Boise State and Oregon State.
Humbled to present my high school football highlights. Thankful to be a Lawndale cardinal and very blessed to play for the best head coach Travis Clark and my teammates. Lawndale forever!!! https://t.co/hKo1f7h8hw@CoachTclark @Dale_Football @247Sports @Rivals @MaxPreps @espn pic.twitter.com/vpG76ORcWI
— Derek Boyd II (@DerekSBoydII) December 12, 2021
Nova Kebeli Nova Kebeli 5'10" | 190 lbs | RB Portola | 2022 State CA , Portola
When I first saw Kebeli as a sophomore I thought he was just a good high school back who played in a system that was designed for him to succeed. After seeing him grow over two years he’s evolved into a better player. The system is designed for him to put up numbers but he is the reason the offense works. He breaks tackles, makes people miss and reads his linemen very well. The only knock on Kebeli is the level of competition he plays against, which is not his fault of course. Can he adapt to the increased speed of the game at the college level? If I were a college coach, I would take a chance to find out. He has a lot of NAIA and some Division 3 offers but I think he could play at the FCS level if given the opportunity.
🎥 Bulldogs 🏈 💜🖤 @PortolaFootball #PTP 🐾@Coach_Green_ @C0achHernandez @coach_t_ @WrFactory @JacobMohr11 @omarv_77 @DanielGutz_76 @ParkerOlthoff @_teoarias @SonnyTierney @samsandoval04 @CoachPerrone @OCSportsZone @ocvarsity pic.twitter.com/0KtuCxICrJ
— Nova Kebeli (@novakebeli) November 22, 2021
Other best available running backs:
Jason Jones Jason Jones 5'9" | 175 lbs | RB Sierra Canyon | 2022 State CA , Sierra Canyon
Michael Hayes Michael Hayes 5'8" | 165 lbs | RB St. John Bosco | 2022 State CA , St. John Bosco
Jalen Shaw Jalen Shaw 6'0" | 170 lbs | RB Scripps Ranch | 2022 State CA , Scripps Ranch
Elijah Kelsey Elijah Kelsey 5'11" | 180 lbs | RB Moreno Valley | 2022 State CA , Moreno Valley
Matthew Caldera Matthew Caldera 6'0" | 185 lbs | RB Vista Murrieta | 2022 CA , Vista Murrieta
Kenny Manassero Kenny Manassero 5'10" | 190 lbs | RB Mission Viejo | 2022 CA , Mission Viejo