2022 Rankings – Running Back Spotlight
In this article:
Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy! On Wednesday, it was national signing day and 2022 prospects from all over the state signed with their future college programs. On Friday, we made our final…
Access all of Prep Redzone
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingGet 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy!
On Wednesday, it was national signing day and 2022 prospects from all over the state signed with their future college programs. On Friday, we made our final update to the 2022 rankings. These rankings have been updated multiple times a year since our website launched in the summer of 2020. We can’t wait to look back on this final update and see what each guy did at the next level and see just how accurate or inaccurate they were. But over the next several days, we’ll spotlight several players at each position that have stood out to us in one way or another.
In this post, we take a look at the running back position. Overall, 22 running backs made it into the final Top 200. Three running backs, Braylin Presley Braylin Presley 5'9" | RB Bixby | 2022 State OK , CJ Brown CJ Brown 6'1" | RB Beggs | 2022 State OK and Maurion Horn Maurion Horn 5'11" | RB Broken Arrow | 2022 State OK were in the Top 10. You can read about those three players RIGHT HERE. But here, we put a spotlight on 10 running backs who have stood out to us over the last few seasons. You can check out all of the running backs in the Top 200 at the bottom of the post.
34) Antonio Smith Antonio Smith 6'0" | 180 lbs | RB Union | 2022 State OK – Union
We’ve been saying it for about a year now and we’ll continue to say it here. Union running back Antonio Smith Antonio Smith 6'0" | 180 lbs | RB Union | 2022 State OK is one of the more underrated running backs in the state. More schools should have gone after the Union speedster. After checking him out as a junior in person, in an absolutely loaded backfield, we were sold. He backed up that hype throughout his senior season as well. Smith does so many things well and is going to be an instant impact player at the next level. Once again, we have to tip our cap to the coaches at UCO because they got an absolute steal in Smith. He’s one of the best backs in the state and he’s staying in-state down in Edmond.
35) Isaiah Gray Isaiah Gray 6'0" | RB Lawton MacArthur | 2022 State OK – Lawton MacArthur
Arguably the biggest breakout star on this list is Lawton MacArthur running back Isaiah Gray Isaiah Gray 6'0" | RB Lawton MacArthur | 2022 State OK . Not many people outside of Lawton saw this kind of season coming from Gray, who very quickly turned himself into a household name when it came to Class 5A running backs. On a side note, 5A was absolutely loaded at the running back position this year. And Gray was right there with the best of the best. After checking him out on film, I had to see him in person and got the chance later in the season when they went on the road to face Noble. He lived up to the hype. He’s a game changer at the position and was one of the highest stock risers in the 2022 class.
54) Daylan Thompson Daylan Thompson 5'9" | RB Elk City | 2022 State OK – Elk City
Elk City was a team in Class 4A that nobody saw making a run to the semifinals but maybe we should have considering they returned Daylan Thompson Daylan Thompson 5'9" | RB Elk City | 2022 State OK at the running back position. I got a chance to see Thompson during the offseason at a camp down in the Dallas area and was incredibly impressed. Yes, Thompson doesn’t have the prototypical height for running backs but just take one look at the film and the size doesn’t become a question anymore. Thompson is a powerful back that can also breakaway from a defense and out run defenders to the end zone. He’s staying close to home after signing with SWOSU to play his college football.
56) Ethan Washington Ethan Washington 6'0" | RB Booker T Washington | 2022 State OK – Booker T Washington
No surprise here that Booker T Washington produced yet another talented skill player who ended up being one of the better running backs in the state. And what’s scary is they’ll still have another one of the top running backs in 6A-2 with Washington graduating. The Hornets certainly are no strangers to developing skill players and Ethan Washington Ethan Washington 6'0" | RB Booker T Washington | 2022 State OK is the latest example of just that. For two years, Washington was behind Jaiden Carroll Jaiden Carroll 5'10" | 180 lbs | RB Jenks | 2023 State OK on the depth chart but this was his year to shine and he did just that. He became one of the better running backs in the state’s 2022 class and at this point, it seems like his best football is ahead of him as he continued to show growth throughout the year.
57) Dontierre Fisher Dontierre Fisher 6'0" | RB Checotah | 2022 State OK – Checotah
We cannot wait to see what the future holds for Checotah running back Dontierre Fisher Dontierre Fisher 6'0" | RB Checotah | 2022 State OK , who flew under the radar within this 2022 class. Fisher is signed to play his college ball at Ohio and the last time Ohio snagged a small-town running back, it worked out with former Seminole standout Papi White having a very successful college career. That could be what’s in store for Fisher at the next level. Fisher was a consistent playmaker for Checotah, running behind an excellent offensive line but he also showcased his abilities out in the open field as well. Fisher is a likely candidate for a prospect who could be much higher on the overall list in a few years when we look back on this class.
63) Buddy Bizzell Buddy Bizzell 6'1" | RB Carl Albert | 2022 State OK – Carl Albert
One of the running backs who has been on the radar since his freshman and sophomore years is Carl Albert standout Buddy Bizzell Buddy Bizzell 6'1" | RB Carl Albert | 2022 State OK . Unlike some of the other running backs on this list, Bizzell didn’t have the opportunity to just focus on playing running back. He was also arguably Carl Albert’s best linebacker during his senior season. Bizzell was incredibly important to Carl Albert’s 2019 and 2020 state title teams and nearly helped take the young Titans back to the title game in 2021. Bizzell is a tall runner who is incredibly physical at the point of attack. He’s signed to play college ball at Oklahoma Baptist and OBU got one of the better overall athletes in the 2022 class.
92) Jaylon Orange Jaylon Orange 5'10" | RB Shawnee | 2022 State OK – Shawnee
A player who physically really reminds us of Thompson at Elk City and that’s Shawnee running back Jaylon Orange Jaylon Orange 5'10" | RB Shawnee | 2022 State OK . While the Wolves didn’t have a semifinal run like Thompson’s Elk City team had, Orange still showed that he was one of the more versatile players in the state over the last two seasons. In fact, in Class 5A, Orange was one of the top players in 5A football and as mentioned above with Isaiah Gray Isaiah Gray 6'0" | RB Lawton MacArthur | 2022 State OK , Class 5A was absolutely loaded at the running back position. Orange was another example of that but he was much more than that. He was Shawnee’s top offensive weapon as he could catch the ball out of the backfield just as easily as taking a hand off.
94) Tre’Vaughn Walton Tre’Vaughn Walton 5'10" | RB Lawton Eisenhower | 2022 State OK – Lawton Eisenhower
Yet another standout running back from Class 5A is Lawton Eisenhower running back Tre’Vaughn Walton Tre’Vaughn Walton 5'10" | RB Lawton Eisenhower | 2022 State OK . And the Lawton Ike product is in a similar boat to Jaylon Orange Jaylon Orange 5'10" | RB Shawnee | 2022 State OK at Shawnee. His team went 5-5 and missed out on the playoffs so he didn’t get as much pub and as much attention as some of the other running backs in 5A football. However, Walton has been a star for the Eagles for more than a season and he had another strong year in 2021. Walton has the chance to be another prospect that ends up having a very successful and lengthy college career and when we take a look back at this 2022 class, Walton might be considered much higher than his current rank.
136) Brayden Gilkey Brayden Gilkey 6'0" | 215 lbs | RB Collinsville | 2022 State OK – Collinsville
The first of two power running backs who ended their seasons in Edmond is Collinsville running back Brayden Gilkey Brayden Gilkey 6'0" | 215 lbs | RB Collinsville | 2022 State OK . The Cardinals had a three-headed monster on offense with quarterback Andrew Carney Andrew Carney 6'2" | LB Collinsville | 2022 State OK , wide receiver Oscar Hammond Oscar Hammond 6'3" | WR Collinsville | 2022 State OK and Gilkey at running back. But you can make the argument that Gilkey was the most consistent force in the Collinsville offense this year. Part of that was due to Carney missing time with an injury. But Despite that, Gilkey carried the load each and every week and was a critical part of the Cardinals capturing their first ever state championship. Even in that title game, Gilkey put up monster numbers against a good McAlester defense.
137) Canon West Canon West 5'11" | RB Tuttle | 2022 State OK – Tuttle
Right behind Gilkey is another undersized power back that helped lead his team to Edmond to play for a state championship. Canon West Canon West 5'11" | RB Tuttle | 2022 State OK probably didn’t imagine having the kind of season he had at the start of the year. He was slated to share the backfield with 2023 running back Tyler Woodson Tyler Woodson 5'10" | 165 lbs | RB Tuttle | 2023 State OK , but when the junior went down with an injury, it was all West after that. And he was one of the best running backs in the state during the 2021 season. Based on his size, you wouldn’t imagine he’d be a workhorse back but that’s exactly what he was. West was yet another example of a breakout star from the running back position during the 2021 football season.
Other Running Backs In Top 200
Kyron Downing
Kyron
Downing
5'10" | 175 lbs | RB
Vinita | 2022
State
OK
– Vinita (Ranked #87)
Amaurion Norment
Amaurion
Norment
6'0" | RB
Putnam City North | 2022
State
OK
– Putnam City North (Ranked #124)
Malik McMurtrey
Malik
McMurtrey
5'10" | 180 lbs | RB
Tahlequah | 2022
State
OK
– Tahlequah (Ranked #125)
Deshawn Kinnard
Deshawn
Kinnard
5'11" | RB
Owasso | 2022
State
OK
– Owasso (Ranked #129)
Derrick Overstreet
Derrick
Overstreet
5'7" | RB
Owasso | 2022
State
OK
– Owasso (Ranked #135)
Todd Mattox
Todd
Mattox
5'8" | RB
Poteau | 2022
State
OK
– Poteau (Ranked #144)
Brandon Watson
Brandon
Watson
6'0" | RB
Kingston | 2022
State
OK
– Kingston (Ranked #194)
Isaiah Givens
Isaiah
Givens
5'11" | RB
Muskogee | 2022
State
OK
– Muskogee (Ranked #197)
Blake Jones
Blake
Jones
5'9" | 180 lbs | RB
Sand Springs | 2022
State
OK
– Sand Springs (Ranked #198)