Top CSRA Running Backs

Ian Guerin August 12, 2023 @ 12:00 PM

All told, the eight tailbacks leading the way in the CSRA rushed for 8,200 yards and 89 rushing touchdowns last year.   That overall tally includes one of them only playing half the season, another losing touches to the first guy's return, one giving way to a high-volume running quarterback and another losing touches in blowouts.    This group has everything it takes to blast last year's production out of the water. And while others are going to rise up in the Western pocket of South Carolina, we're convinced these seven can all pop off in a big way.   Michael Blocker Strom Thurmond   Already a Class 2A selection at linebacker, Blocker (pictured) is going to pull double duty more than he already did a year ago when he enters the season as Strom Thurmond's starting tailback, too. And don't believe for a second that he's just a fill-in because no one else can play the position. Blocker rushed for 650 yards and eight touchdowns a year ago. The team's still gonna give him breaks when he needs them since his defensive spot is a bigger priority. But after 135 carries last season, there's very little limit to his workload.   [player_tooltip player_id='91348' first='Traevon' last='Dunbar'] Midland Valley   Dunbar, now a shade over 200 pounds and still running in the 4.5 range, is in his best football shape we've seen him. That's a really, really bad sign for anyone charged with stopping him. While things looked bleak there for a bit after his significant knee injury, the back half of the 2022 season and his offseason have everything pointing in the right direction. Dunbar is gonna need some breaks, but a 2,000-yard season isn't out of the equation.   [player_tooltip player_id='272702' first='Jevon' last='Edwards'] South Aiken   The Class of 2025 tailback is entering his junior season with 2,773 career rushing yards and 34 touchdowns on the ground. And since his backfield mate (more on him below) tends to draw much of the attention, Edwards is going to keep doing his thing this fall, too. He's already picked up a couple of NCAA Division-I offers and we think a third year of even equal production to last fall will prove he wasn't some flash in the pan to many more.   [player_tooltip player_id='997288' first='Nick' last='Folk'] Bamberg-Ehrhardt   There are a boatload of reasons we love what Folk can do for Bamberg-Ehrhardt this year. Everyone's talking about quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='464885' first='Chanston' last='Crosby']. The Red Raiders' defense is gonna be stout again. And, frankly, there may not be a ton of competition on this regular-season schedule. All of that, somehow, takes a back seat to the fact that Folk averaged 10.4 yards per carry en route to 1,413 yards, 14 touchdowns and Class A All-State honors last year. He is a perfect complement to everything happening around him.   [player_tooltip player_id='1575294' first='Omarion' last='Holman'] Edisto   Certainly not a high-volume back by any means, Edisto's most productive ball carrier last year did go for 123 yards against Columbia, 202 against Branchville, 121 against Military Magnet and 113 against Woodland. In only one of those game did Holman average fewer than 11 yards per carry. Holman is 5-foot-10 and 195 pounds and he's a long strider once he hits the open field. More big games seem like a forgone conclusion.    Deante Hopkins Ridge Spring-Monetta   Hopkins was all over the field for the Trojans last fall, as he also led the team in tackles (65 total). As a 6-foot-1, 175-pound tailback, though, he very much was the most influential person on the offense, too. Hopkins finished the season with 913 yards and 10 touchdowns. He averaged better than six yards per carry and only lost two fumbles in 152 ground touches. He also caught six passes for another 105 yards and a score.   [player_tooltip player_id='595703' first='Beans' last='Hunt'] RB, North Augusta   Hunt didn't take long to impress himself upon his new teammates. The 5-foot-11, 180-pound tailback can just as easily split out into the slot or wide and make plays there, too. North Augusta is entering the year with its third head coach in as many years, and some of the players who were expected to still be here left for other programs. But with the addition of Hunt, the Yellow Jackets have a player who can carry much of the slack left by 1,000-yard rusher DJ Curry's graduation.   [player_tooltip player_id='231445' first='Joenathan' last='Peeples'] Silver Bluff   In two years at Midland Valley, Peeples was the tailback glue that held together so much of the Mustangs' growth. He rushed for 614 yards and nine touchdowns as a sophomore before going for 933 and seven as a junior. Last year, he had four 100-yard games and a 200-yard game inside of the first six Fridays of the season prior to the return to a guy a little further up this list. Peeples transferred to Silver Bluff and now he has every chance to shine again.

All told, the eight tailbacks leading the way in the CSRA rushed for 8,200 yards and 89 rushing touchdowns last year.