PRZ PA StockUp Showcase - GameChangers: Running Backs

This content series is sponsored by <a href="https://gc.com/home/football?utm_source=prepredzone&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=2022prepredzone&utm_content=gamechangeroftheevent&utm_term=partner">GameChanger</a> - The Official Scorekeeping, Stats, Team Management & Technology Partner of Prep Redzone.   First, I want to say before getting into all this that this running back group was outstanding. I had about six or eight guys I thought could genuinely win MVP including a few walk-ups. With that, the following players are our standouts from this past Friday's event. For those who are not covered below, we'll have future articles in the future that feature all the other running backs who attended the camp.   2024 - Harrison Wallace - Avon Grove (MVP)   I wasn't all too familiar with Harrison coming in Friday evening but after Friday, I'm a big fan of what the Avon Grove running back can bring. He immediately stood out to me during the game going through testing, while he is a bit on the shorter side, he's well built and appears to have strong lower body strength that allows him to power through would-be tacklers and you can see that on tape as well. But to go along with that strength, he showed quality speed and agility as well, he was consistently getting the best of the linebackers in one-on-ones and showed good closing speed on passes thrown in front of him as well. While some may be his size, he seems to be able to make up for it thanks to great fundamentals, footwork, and athleticism.   2023 - [player_tooltip player_id='140961' first='Montez' last='Ellis'] - Upper Darby   [player_tooltip player_id='1156407' first='Vic' last='Castillo'] talked about Ellis in our preview of 2023 prospects attending the camp and after watching him on Friday, I'd fully agree with his assessment. Ellis may be just 5-foot-8 but he's a thick 5-foot-8, and he has some really nice acceleration and athleticism as well, he's versatile doing a little bit of everything during his time at Upper Darby as well. He shows a good center of gravity and the footwork is solid as well. He was a second-team All-DECO selection as well which has its fair share of top-notch talent.   2024 - [player_tooltip player_id='558298' first='Avery' last='Hankey'] - Monsignor Bonner   Another smaller running back at 5-foot-8, 175-pounds, Hankey may be slightly on the smaller side but he's a fierce runner. He has a good burst to his game and has a self-reported 40-yard dash time of 4.5, On tape, that speed would seem to be accurate. He's a fundamentally sound running back with good footwork and vision as well, using that athleticism to burst through holes and his higher-end speed in the open field to pull away from defenders. He doesn't shy away from contact either and does show the ability to work his way through would-be tacklers at all levels. He's been a productive back at Monsignor Bonner/Archbishop Pendergast in Drexel Hill and was a first-team All-Catholic running back this season. He totaled 1,173 yards and 12 touchdowns on 193 carries.   2024 - [player_tooltip player_id='558332' first='Da'sjon' last='Craggette'] - Greensburg Central Catholic   Cragette was another player who caught my eye early, his size definitely stands out at just around the 5-foot-11, 6-foot-0 mark, and 190 pounds. He also shows quality speed for someone his size and has good footwork as well. On tape, that athleticism shows but also his ability to be a bruiser-type running back. He's not afraid to tuck it and run straight through the line of scrimmage but also has the athleticism to go to the outside as well. What also stands out quite a bit on tape is his burst, once he sees a hole and gets to it, he has the ability to hit a bit of another gear.   2025 - [player_tooltip player_id='281264' first='Caleb' last='Jacob'] - WC Rustin   Jacob is kind of similar to Wallace and Ellis in the fact that they're on the smaller side but they're fundamentally good running backs. As one could imagine, with his speed he's rather quick, has quality acceleration, and uses his smaller frame to his advantage, being able to get his way through smaller holes. Shows the ability to be a weapon in a variety of ways, whether it's in motion, from the backfield, or even on special teams. Nice player, excited to see what he can do as a junior. If he gets even the smallest growth spurt, it would help him immensely but even at his current size, he has the ability to be an asset to any team.   2026 - [player_tooltip player_id='209185' first='Marquez' last='Wimberly'] - Parkland   We had high expectations for Wimberly coming into the event and were excited to see him up close. While we are working on getting all the 40-yard dash times typed up, he surpassed all expectations when it came to testing, to say the least, his speed and athleticism are truly elite. As soon as he gets more playing time on the field and he can show what he can do with a bigger workload, the offers are going to come flying in for Wimberly in my opinion. Unfortunately, he did tweak something during testing that didn't allow him to perform the rest of the event.   2026 - Khyan Billups - St. Joes Prep   There's not much game film or stats to go off of for Billups but I was impressed with what I saw out of the St. Joes Prep Junior Varsity starting running. He's got good size, great athleticism, and had just as good of an argument as most to be our MVP. He's going to be a name to keep a very close eye on over the next few years.

This content series is sponsored by GameChanger - The Official Scorekeeping, Stats, Team Management & Technology Partner of Prep Redzone.