Breakout 2025 Backs To Start 2023 Season

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Which junior running backs are running wild to start the 2023 season?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Prep Redzone gives the details...</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1299066' first='Dalen' last='Penson'] - Sandy Creek</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A breakout player to know in the Atlanta area, Penson is an explosive athlete with track speed. A multi-sport star, Penson is a tremendous athlete off to an eye-opening junior season. He's the starting quarterback at Sandy Creek, but he's shown the ability to run wild on opposing defenses. The 5-foot-11 180-pounder has rushed for 414 yards through the first three games of the season with six touchdowns. Averaging two touchdowns a game, Penson is also averaging an excellent 138 yards per game. He knows when to take off out of the pocket, and if he has room to run, he's going to take off for a long gain. A threat to score any time he has the ball in his hands, Penson is a 2025 back who could see his recruitment pick up soon. He's off to the races early in the season, and he doesn't appear to be slowing down anytime soon.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1080813' first='Ahmad' last='Gordon'] - Perry</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the best running backs you'll find in Middle Georgia, Gordon is a productive back who has been really impressive through the first two games of the season. In week one, Gordon ran for a respectable 91 yards and three touchdowns in a tough loss to Houston County. That made Gordon mad, and he ran angry in week two against Jones County, taking off for 177 yards and three touchdowns in a massive 54-21 win over a talented Jones County team. A back with plenty of speed, Gordon has the ability to score whenever he has the ball, and has already scored six touchdowns through just two games. Look for him to be one of the more productive rushers not only in Middle Georgia, but across the 4A classification this fall.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1571612' first='Elijah' last='Hayes'] - West Hall</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>An under the radar back in the 2025 class, Hayes is off to a big start for West Hall this season. He brings a dynamic blend of quickness and physicality, and the numbers back it up. One of the top backs in Hall County and around Lake Lanier, Hayes ran wild in week one, taking off for 192 yards and one touchdown. He ran for 216 yards and another touchdown during a week two win over East Hall before rushing for 85 yards and another touchdown in week three. Plenty of folks still may not know who he is, but opposing defenses sure do. He's in the early stages of a breakout season and is a guy high school football fans in Georgia need to know about. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><a href="https://www.maxpreps.com/ga/covington/newton-rams/athletes/zion-johnson/football/stats/?careerid=afjanr906besc">[player_tooltip player_id='338640' first='Zion' last='Johnson']</a> - Newton</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the junior backs in the state, Johnson is quick, shifty back with explosiveness who knows how to make defenders miss in the open field. He ran better and better throughout the 2022 season last year, ending the season with 1,066 yards on 141 carries. Now, he's off to a tremendous start to his junior season, rushing for 464 yards and six touchdowns through his first three games of the season. More importantly, he's led Newton to a 3-0 start to the season. He rushed for 142 yards and two touchdowns in game one, 174 yards and two touchdowns in game two, and 148 yards and two touchdowns in game three. He may not be big, but he brings plenty of speed, vision, and burst to the position, and he's been tough to stop early on in 2023.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->