Under The Radar Charlotte Running Backs To Watch

In this article, we take a look at running backs stepping into the spotlight at programs across the city of Charlotte. Charlotte has become the premier area in the state of North Carolina when it comes to producing a large volume of college players, and these players hope to jump on the radar of college coaches this upcoming season. Ziere Brooks - Chambers - Class of 2025 - Chambers has a ton of athletes and options that can take over for [player_tooltip player_id="44973" first="Daylan" last="Smothers"] departure from their program, but Ziere has some excellent traits about him that give him as good of a shot as anyone else. He’s 5’9 and 160 pounds, and already flashes some elite agility and change of direction skills. He has a special gear in the open field that does not allow him to get caught from behind, and he has an excellent vision in and out of the hole and displays an ability to cut and set up blocks very well. Being in 2025, he has time to fill his frame out, but he will be one to watch as opportunity is there immediately for him. Derek McKnight - Myers Park - Class of 2023 - Derek is a very hard-working young man, having dedicated himself the past couple of offseasons to various camps around the area to get better. At 5’9 and 175 pounds, he has a good frame to become the lead back this upcoming season for the Mustangs. He has some very good top-end speed in the open field, but the thing I love about him the most is his ability to break tackles. He has one highlight on film where he is stopped by multiple tacklers in the backfield, but he spins out of it and goes 20 yards for a touchdown. That is some next-level ability, and I think he can get there with a great senior campaign. Ryan Henley - Charlotte Christian - Class of 2024 - Playing for a traditionally winning program, Ryan had an excellent sophomore season rushing for over 800 yards with an 8.1 yard per carry average. Looking at his film, he is definitely in the "one cut and go" mindset of running backs, and his one cut comes off of excellent vision in a zone-based running attack. Usually, after that cut, he is on his way to picking up big yardage and touchdowns. He has good speed when he gets in the open field, and he can catch the ball out of the backfield, especially in the screen game where he uses his blockers very well. Chris Brown - Hopewell - Class of 2023 - The first thing I think about Chris is a 3-down running back. He shows an ability to catch the football from the backfield, and the slot and can run routes downfield. He even shows he is physical at the DB position, with a couple of great form tackles on wide receivers in the open field. He has excellent speed in the open field and simply won’t get caught from behind. He also shows an ability to return kicks, proving that he is definitely an athlete that could play other positions possibly at the next level. At 5’8 170 pounds, he can add more weight to tote the load as a lead back for this upcoming season. Tomar Bivens - Mallard Creek - Class of 2023 - I have been covering Tomar for a few years now, and his growth as a player has been really fun to watch. He is 5’11 and 190 pounds, a great frame for a running back, especially of his style. He is a punishing runner, and he simply does not quit when the ball is in his hands. He has multiple highlights of breaking 4 or 5 tackles for big gains and/or touchdown runs that are just super impressive. He is a lead, bellcow type of running back that can get better as the game goes along and can just wear down a defense who has to take him on consistently. In the right system, Tomar can be a big-time type of player.