2023 RB Who Don’t Get Enough Credit

Chris Norcross

April 22, 2022 @ 06:49 PM

Throughout the state of Georgia, the talent pool at the running back position is still very deep. While there are plenty of players who are already gaining a good bit of recognition, there still lies a few prospects who have not gained the credit, or attention that we feel they deserve. Nevertheless, throughout our studies, we have found players that stand out among the standard players across the state, and deserve a tad bit more attention than they have been receiving. Below, feel free to take a few minutes to check them out, and we encourage you to keep up with us as we give them more credit throughout the 2022 season. Malcolm Brown- Warner Robins To start the list, we want to recognize Brown, as he happens to be one of the most talented players out of this group. Not only does he run through tackles well, but he always does a good job of finishing plays, no matter the amount of contact that he has to run through. Brown also does a good job of sifting through traffic, and allowing his vision to help position him effectively at all times. In addition to this, he also has a good bit of twitch to his step, and his quick feet and explosive lower body makes him hard to tackle on first contact. This, paired with his vision, makes him a lethal offensive player, and we fully expect him to have opportunities to be an incredible player at the next level. Jaylen Johnson- Appling Even though Johnson is not the fastest running back, his footwork and vision help him to make up for this, by constantly putting him in place to gain good yards on the ground. Don’t let this fool you though, because he still has the ability to turn the corner, and allow his small twitch to help him gain quick yards, putting his offense in good position to gain first downs. In addition to this, he also runs at a good pad level, and proves that he can catch the ball out of the backfield. While this is not common for most running backs, it adds another dimension to the offensive scheme, and makes him a more deadly offensive weapon. Moving forward, we would like to see him continue to capitalize on his good vision at the line of scrimmage, and his ability to take off when he sees a hole. [player_tooltip player_id="321265" first="Jamarion" last="Wilcox"]- South Paulding One of the things that stands out about Wilcox’s film is the fact that he plays a physical brand of football at the running back position. Not only does he run through tackles, but he does a good job of keeping his legs moving through contact. In addition to this he also has quick feet at the line of scrimmage, and he has the vision that allows him to adjust and run to the correct hole at at the appropriate time. While he is not the biggest back, he still has a good frame that allows him to play at a good pad level and to gain positive yards on the ground in an efficient manner. Going forward, we would like to see more explosion out of his runs, which will make his long runs and finishes a lot easier. Jahvon Butler- Bleckley Not only does Butler run with good balance, but he has a strong, and big lower body build. No wonder he has a good amount of explosiveness from his lower body, as this translates into his ability to run through tackles, and gain quick yards on the ground. It is also easy to see that he has good vision, and that this, along with his good footwork, allows him to get in and out of his breaks easily, as well as to adjust at the line of scrimmage in a quick manner. We also like the way that he runs at a good pad level, and has the ability to catch the football out of the backfield, causing defenses to be off balance. This not only adds a safety level for the quarterback, but it proves that he is a diverse back with the ball in his hands. If he can continue to work on these things moving forward, we have no doubt that he will continue to receive attention, and will receive more credit than he has recently.