8-Man Gems: Six Athletes Who Can Tote The Pigskin

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Taking a deep dive in the 8-Man ranks I discovered two players each from the Classes of 2024-2026 who can serve as offensive weapons on the ground.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Football practice starts across Kansas on August 14 and here are six offensive eight-man scoring threats from across the board of classes looking to provide a spark for their respective teams in the running game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Ian Kresin</strong>, RB, 5'9”, 165, Lakeside, ‘24</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kresin is a low-to-the-ground runner who has breakaway speed. He rushed for 1,246 yards and 16 touchdowns during his junior season. He has strong legs and runs through tackles. He is also a threat in the passing game, as he caught 14 balls for 289 yards and seven touchdowns.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jeremiah Prince, </strong>ATH, 5'10, 140, Sedan, ‘24</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Prince is athletic and versatile enough to play multiple positions. He took snaps at quarterback in nine games played for Sedan in 2022. He rushed for 704 yards and 13 touchdowns. He threw the ball for two touchdowns and completed 23 passes for 322 yards. He is also a solid combo guard on Sedan's basketball team.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='282252' first='Creyo' last='Koop']</strong>, RB, 5'9”, 175, West Elk, ‘25</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kopp has already rushed for a career total of 2,401 yards in just two seasons of football. His sophomore season total of 1,129 was actually less than the 1,272 yards he had as a freshman. He is lightning bug quick and has scored 24 touchdowns on the ground during both of his varsity campaigns.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Bryden Lawson</strong>, QB, 6'1”, 165, Marmaton Valley, ‘25</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lawson is a dual-threat quarterback who posted impressive numbers during the 2022-2023 season. During his sophomore season, he rushed for 1,078 yards and 18 touchdowns. He also threw for 1,323 yards and 15 touchdowns. He is a tall, physical, fast player who could move to another position to play college ball.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Kinglsey Smith</strong>, RB, 6'3”, 240, Wakefield, ‘26</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Smith is a young bruising running back from Wakefield. He rushed for 448 yards on 101 carries as a freshman. He also found the end zone five times during the 2022-2023 season. He also plays middle linebacker for Wakefield. He is a young talent to watch over the course of the next three seasons.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1250395' first='Layn' last='Todd']</strong>, QB, 5'8”, 145, St. Francis, ‘26</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Todd is a young quarterback who took some offensive snaps as a freshman. He completed just 19 passes but that accounted for a 59 percent completion percentage. His legs are what made him an offensive threat his freshman season as he rushed for 421 yards and three touchdowns.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->