Elite Football Combine: Missouri 2023 running backs

The Elite Football Combine is one of the top events in Missouri every year and this year’s event, held on March 12 at the Lou Fusz indoor facility in Earth City, did not disappoint. We will be taking a look at some the top performers at the event divided by class year, positions and home state. For more Combine coverage, please check out the links at the bottom of the page. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="300324" first="Jacob" last="Bowles"], Southern Boone</strong> Bowles, who is listed as a linebacker in the Prep Redzone database and likely projects better on defense, measured in at 6-feet and 195 pounds. He recorded a 4.53 pro-agility, a 9-4 broad jump, 30-inch vertical leap and powerball toss of 36-3. According to statistics on MaxPreps, Bowles rushed for 880 yards, averaging 7.2 yards per carry, and 12 touchdowns in nine games during his junior season. He was also credited with 68 tackles, four sacks and one fumble recovery. <iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/12805973/61fad0bab023530bf0a011d3" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="300321" first="Jackson" last="Overton"], St. Dominic</strong> Overton has been one of the better running backs in Missouri the past two seasons and showed off his explosiveness and athleticism at the Elite Combine. Measuring in at 5-7 and 150 pounds, he recorded a 32-inch vertical leap, 4.22 pro-agility, broad jump of 9-3 and powerball toss of 37-2. He’s a smaller back, but is quick and strong and offers positional versatility as a weapon at slot receiver. Overton racked up 1,642 total yards and 29 touchdowns as a junior last fall. He ran for 1,231 yards, averaging 6.9 yards per carry, and 25 touchdowns. He also caught 27 passes for 411 yards and four scores. As a sophomore, Overton racked up 1,516 total yards (1,351 rushing, 165 receiving) and 15 touchdowns. <iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/13082046/613652eed225130edc5f6a90" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="308409" first="Elijah" last="Owens"], Wellington-Napoleon</strong> Owens was one of the prospects at the Elite Combine who stood out based on his size among the rest of his position group. But he proved to be more than just a big back. Owens, who is also listed as a defensive end for his high school, measured in at 6-2 and 224 pounds and ran a 4.89 40. He also recorded a 29-inch vertical leap, a broad jump of 8-9 and a powerball toss of 38-9. We were unable to find full junior season stats for Owens, but from his highlights it was obvious he was a handful for Wellington-Napoleon’s opponents. <iframe src="//www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/13389055/617616c1160081065ccf4a46" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="262760" first="Mark" last="Patton"], Bayless</strong> Patton was a player we’ve seen differing information on in terms of his height and weight, but he measured in at 5-7 1/2 and 181 pounds at the Elite Combine. Patton had a good junior season despite playing for a Bayless team that finished 0-10. He rushed for 882 yards, averaging 6.4 yards per carry, and scored eight touchdowns — leading the Bronchos in all three categories. As a sophomore he led the team in rushing yards and total yards and tied for the team high with four touchdowns. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Another camp down some clips showing my skill <a href="https://twitter.com/CoachReedLive?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CoachReedLive</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/OJW_Scouting?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@OJW_Scouting</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/MOprepredzone?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MOprepredzone</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/6starfootballMO?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@6starfootballMO</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/elitefootball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@elitefootball</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/GSV_STL?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GSV_STL</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/BaylessAD1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BaylessAD1</a> <a href="https://t.co/VO6x0UWxaB">pic.twitter.com/VO6x0UWxaB</a></p> — [player_tooltip player_id="262760" first="Mark" last="Patton"] jr (@MarkPatton_12) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkPatton_12/status/1503418970984038400?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 14, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> &nbsp; <strong>Elite Football Combine Coverage</strong> <strong>Class of 2023: </strong><strong><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2022/03/elite-football-combine-mo-2023-quarterbacks/">Quarterbacks</a> | <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2022/03/elite-football-combine-missouri-2023-running-backs/">Running Backs</a> | <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2022/03/elite-football-combine-missouri-2023-wide-receivers/">Wide Receivers</a> | <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2022/03/elite-football-combine-2023-offensive-defensive-linemen/">Offensive-Defensive Linemen</a> | <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2022/03/elite-football-combine-missouri-2023-linebackers/">Linebackers</a> | <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2022/03/elite-football-combine-missouri-2023-defensive-backs/">Defensive Backs</a> </strong> &nbsp;