2023 Kansas City Players to Watch: RB

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As we head into the end of June, the 2023 high school football season is quickly approaching. To prepare for the upcoming season, I have taken the past couple months to preview some of the top talent in certain areas of Missouri. Continuing this trend, I will be starting a “Kansas City Players to Watch” series focusing on the top returning players at each position in Kansas City. After covering the quarterbacks, I will now turn my attention to the top returning running backs in Kansas City for the 2023 season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["185385"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"[player_tooltip player_id='185385' first='Jacorey' last='Love'] has established himself as one of the best running backs in the entire state of Missouri. He is coming off an incredible junior year in which he rushed for 1,747 yards and 29 touchdowns. Jacorey has unbelievable speed, showing the ability to burst through the running lane with a sense of urgency and simply run away from the defense on his way to the end zone. When defenders are able to catch up to him, Love has shown the elusiveness to make defenders miss in the open field. He has also shown that he has the strength and contact balance to break tackles without losing stride. Love is also dangerous in the passing game, finishing this past season with 372 receiving yards and four touchdown. He also plays a key role on special teams as a returner. Love currently holds offers from Southeast Missouri State, Southern Illinois, Washburn, Missouri Western, Augustana, Northwest Missouri, Central Missouri, and Benedictine College, and I see more coming his way as he is a Division I caliber running back prospect in my eyes.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["275011"],"_player_evaluations_1_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"[player_tooltip player_id='275011' first='KV' last='Stone'] is another incoming senior running back that has stood out to me. Stone is a very athletic ball carrier, showing the ability to make cuts on the dime in the open field to make defenders miss. He also shows a nice amount of burst through the running lane and has the speed to run away from the defense once he hits the second level. Stone currently holds one offer from Pitt State but he also holds a basketball offer so it remains to be seen what his future holds but he definitely has the talent to be a productive college running back if he chooses to pursue that path.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_2_player_details_player_name":"Don Daughtry Jr.","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_2_player_details_graduating_class":"2024","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_2_player_details_height":"5'10u0022","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_2_player_details_position":"2408","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_2_player_details_school":"2024","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_2_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_2_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_2_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"Joining Stone in the Staley backfield is fellow incoming senior Don Daughtry Jr. Daughtry has very impressive vision, showing the ability to find the open running lane and hit it in a hurry. Once he gets through the running lane, he has the speed to bounce to the outside and run away from the defense. He also shows a nice amount of power in his running, showing the ability to lower his shoulder and keep his balance to run through defenders without breaking stride. Like Stone, Daughtry also holds an offer from Pitt State but I expect more to come his way as he has the talent to play at the next level.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_3_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_3_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_3_player_details_player_name":"Aidan Ryan","_player_evaluations_3_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_3_player_details_graduating_class":"2024","_player_evaluations_3_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_3_player_details_height":"5'11u0022","_player_evaluations_3_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_3_player_details_position":"2408","_player_evaluations_3_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_3_player_details_school":"Rockhurst","_player_evaluations_3_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_3_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_3_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_3_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_3_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"Aidan Ryan is another incoming senior running back that has caught my attention lately. He is coming off a solid junior year in which he ran the ball 190 times for 1,080 yards and 11 touchdowns. Ryan has impressive vision, showing the ability to find the running lane quickly and burst through it with a sense of urgency. Once he hits the open field, Ryan has the elusiveness to make defenders miss and speed to run away from the defense. He also shows some power in his running, showing the ability to lower his shoulder and run straight through defenders. Ryan also caught 19 passes for 218 and served a key role as a returner on special teams last season. Aidan currently holds one offer from Benedictine College and I expect more to come his way as he definitely has the talent to play at the next level.","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_4_player":["285152"],"_player_evaluations_4_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"[player_tooltip player_id='285152' first='Travon' last='Pankey'] is a running back that is coming off an impressive sophomore season. He finished this past season with 180 carries for 1,359 yards and 16 touchdowns. Pankey is a physical, downhill runner with the ability to break tackles in the open field without losing stride. Once he gets to the second level, he has shown that he has the speed to get to the outside and run away from the defense. Pankey also has good vision in the open field, showing the ability to find cut back lanes quickly. Travon doesn't currently hold any offers but he deserves some attention from college coaches as he has the talent to play somewhere at the next level.","_player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_5_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_5_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_5_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_5_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_5_player_details_player_name":"Turner White ","_player_evaluations_5_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_5_player_details_graduating_class":"2025","_player_evaluations_5_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_5_player_details_height":"5'8u0022","_player_evaluations_5_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_5_player_details_position":"2408","_player_evaluations_5_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_5_player_details_school":"St. Pius X (KC)","_player_evaluations_5_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_5_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_5_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_5_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_5_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_5_evaluation":"To wrap up this impressive list of running backs, I have incoming junior Turner White from St. Pius X. White has impressive vision as a ball carrier, showing the patience to let his blocks set up and hitting the running lane quickly once it opens. Once he hits in the open field, White is very shifty, showing the ability to make cuts to make defenders miss. He also has the speed to bounce to the outside and run away from the defense on long runs. White has also shown impressive contact balance, showing the ability to break tackles without losing stride. Turner also has shown the ability to leak out of the backfield and pose as a threat in the passing game. White hasn't received any offers yet but he is definitely a player to keep an eye on over the next two seasons.","_player_evaluations_5_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":6,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-649b5cddbf848"} /-->