2023 Position Previews – District B-2 RBs

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Get 30% off your first billing cycle with code:&nbsp;OscarGalindo30&nbsp;in the coupon code area.</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We are getting closer and closer to the 2023 season every day, and with it, my excitement continues to skyrocket. In the lead-up to the 2023 season, I will be doing a position preview feature. This feature will jump around by class and district while highlighting different position groups in that district.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We are jumping back into position reviews by the district as we look into the runningbacks in District B2. B2 features some heavy-hitting running games in Gross Catholic, Skutt Catholic, and Plattsmouth, with Ralston also looking to be more experienced in 2023. Omaha Buena Vista will kick off its first season as a varsity team. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">Gross Catholic</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Cougars will be without reliable, consistent workhorse back Jake Garcia next season as they look to make their way back to Memorial Stadium. The Cougars featured a very deep senior class last season that dominated a majority of the varsity snaps. The next leading rusher was QB [player_tooltip player_id='307090' first='Colby' last='Duncan'], who will likely look to pass first before taking off with the ball. Still, the Cougars should have several youngsters compete for the RB1 spot before someone emerges in the pre-season. Definitely a team on my "need to check out" list for the summer. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">Omaha Buena Vista</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Unfortunately, Buena Vista had to forfeit its inaugural football season due to roster depth and other reasons. As a result, I don't have a lot of information on the Buena Vista roster. Year 2 should see the Bison take the field for its first varsity season and should hopefully field some stand-out players in the backfield. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">Omaha Skutt Catholic</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Sky Hawks enter the 2023 season boasting one of the top RB tandems in the state. Even when losing Maccoy Holtam, they retain [player_tooltip player_id='250612' first='Anthony' last='Heithoff'] and [player_tooltip player_id='250610' first='Colin' last='Pike']. Colin ended the season with 444 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns while also being a huge contributor on defense. The two backs bring a unique mix of speed and balance, with both reporting 40-yard times in the 4.5 range. Colin might be the shifter back of the two and is able to use his quick feet to cut and juke his way through lanes. He's a smooth runner that glides at times, especially when weaving through traffic. Heithoff is a bit bigger and runs more north-south, but also has the ability to bounce runs to the outside and turn on the jets. Anthony rushed for 361 yards and five touchdowns on 61 carries while also shining in the return game, racking up 480 return yards on 14 returns. I like Skutt's returning experience and talent going into this season; if they make it far, expect Colin and Anthony to be a big reason for it.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>[player_tooltip player_id='250610' first='Colin' last='Pike'] | 2024 | RB/LB | 5'10" 185 lbs</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em><a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/14961712/Colin-Pike" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hudl</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/ColinPike15" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Twitter</a></em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/14961712/637416ac041dea0de4909ff4' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-648bae0f0bb5e"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>[player_tooltip player_id='250612' first='Anthony' last='Heithoff'] | 2024 | LB/RB | 5'10" 195 lbs</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em><a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/14771622/Anthony-Heithoff" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hudl</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/heithoff1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Twitter</a></em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/14771622/637aa1c84df60c0f70d500dd' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-648bae0f0bb8e"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">Plattsmouth</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Blue Devils will have the luxury of having a pair of experienced RBs back this season. Plattsmouth should see seniors [player_tooltip player_id='250306' first='Ethan' last='Walker'] and [player_tooltip player_id='982396' first='Dominic' last='Vercillino'] split the backfield. Ethan is a player that is set to have a bounce-back season after only playing in 3 games. Walker was on a nice pace with back-to-back 100-yard games and four touchdowns in that stretch. Walker is a tough back who, despite being "undersized," has no fear of dropping the pads when running between the tackles. Vercillino took over during the back end of the season and ended as the team's leading rusher with 481 yards and three touchdowns. Both backs will benefit from having their offensive line mostly intact from last season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>[player_tooltip player_id='250306' first='Ethan' last='Walker'] | 2024 | </em>5'7" 150 lbs</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em><a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/14878877/Ethan-Walker" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hudl</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/EthanMWalker12" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Twitter</a></em></strong> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>[player_tooltip player_id='982396' first='Dominic' last='Vercillino'] | 2024 | </em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em><a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/17490680/Dominic-Vercellino" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hudl</a> </em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">Ralston</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ralston is a young team looking to make their way back to the playoffs. Running back is a position where they will have some experience returning, namely junior [player_tooltip player_id='736418' first='Conner' last='Brown']. Conner played in four games for the Rams and ended his sophomore season with 209 yards and four rushing touchdowns. I didn't have much tape on Conner so I couldn't check out his game, but he does have great size for the position at 6'1" and 190 pounds. [player_tooltip player_id='408446' first='AJ' last='Ress-Conkey'] is another player that could see some touches out of the backfield, as he ended las season with 165 rushing yards an three touchdowns. AJ's primary role is on defense and he has the athleticism to line up at wide receiver as well, so it's hard to determine how many carries he'll see. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>[player_tooltip player_id='408446' first='AJ' last='Ress-Conkey'] | 2024 | S/ATH | 5'10" 170 lbs</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em><a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/14844270/AJ-RessConkey" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hudl</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/ajleerc" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Twitter</a></em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/14844270/6367fcd296811609346fe551' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-648bae0f0bbb4"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>[player_tooltip player_id='736418' first='Conner' last='Brown'] | 2025 | 6'1" 190 lbs</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em><a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/17718519/Conner-Brown" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hudl</a></em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Make sure to follow @PrepRedzoneNE on Twitter and Instagram to stay up to date with all your Nebraska prep recruiting news.</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->