2024 Rankings Update: Top 10 RBs

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 2024 Rankings have been updated for the final time of their cycle and nearly 300 new names have been added! There are now almost 400 names in our 2024 Rankings with PRZ WV ranking every senior prospect that had film on their HUDL to evaluate. Here are the Top 10 running backs in the 2024 class!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["370255"],"_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":"No running back in West Virginia had as good of a year as Parkersburg South's [player_tooltip player_id='370255' first='Gage' last='Wright'] had in 2023. Wright flirted with a 2,000-yard rushing season and finished his senior year with 1,904 yards and 23 rushing touchdowns. In total, he had 2,600 all-purpose yards and scored 35 total touchdowns while leading the Patriots to a playoff berth. The Virginia Tech wrestling commit is a D1 athlete regardless if he chooses to wrestle or play football in college and I'm sure he has some D1 football opportunities if he wants to choose that route. Wright is a big physical athlete at 6'0 200 and with his wrestling background, he's a hard-nosed runner with the speed to separate away from defenders. He's probably not going to juke you out of your cleats or zigzag through defenders like a human joystick but Wright will certainly put his shoulder down and run through you or by you. He's just a special athlete that has natural abilities that can't be taught and he's been a pleasure to watch during his high school athletics career.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["866482"],"_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":"Not far behind Wright for who had the best season at running back in West Virginia this year was Bridgeport RB [player_tooltip player_id='866482' first='Zach' last='Rohrig'] who totaled 1,800 rushing yards and 25 scoring runs. He and Wright earned both running back spots on our Class AAA First Team All-State list and were the two leading rushers in the state this season. Rohrig is a different style of running back at 5'10 180 who has speed to burn and can make you miss. He was perfect in Bridgeport's single-wing offense and for being a smaller running back, Rohrig got the majority of his carries between the tackles and doesn't shy from contact. When they do get him the ball on the outside he's typically going for a big gain on tosses and direct snaps. It will be interesting to see where he ends up in college if he chooses to play football at the next level where I could see him playing on the defensive side of the ball. Rohrig rushed for more than 3,600 yards in his high school career and couldn't cap off his senior season any better winning the 2023 Curt Warner Award as the state's top running back.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["866532"],"_player_evaluations_2_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"PRZ WV Class AA First Team All-State selection [player_tooltip player_id='866532' first='Aaron' last='Hoffman'] had a huge senior season for the North Marion Huskies and helped lead them to the state championship game. Hoffman showed off his talent on the state's biggest stage rushing for over 200 yards and four scores and is deserving of some D2 offers. He's pretty quiet on Twitter so it's hard to say how much he's being recruited but Hoffman has the athleticism to play at that level. He would benefit from some added weight to his 5'10 frame but Hoffman has serious speed and ran by some very good athletes during the season and in the state championship game. He's also a high-quality student posting a 4.0 GPA and is by all accounts a high-character kid. Hoffman isn't really a twitchy running back but if he gets to the corner or a crease he's not being caught very often. You can tell any time he touches the ball that he has the end zone in his sight and he's certainly a threat to do just that on every carry.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["866500"],"_player_evaluations_3_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"Unfortunately, there isn't any new film of Independence running [player_tooltip player_id='866500' first='Tyler' last='Linksweiler'] from this season yet but the Patriot runner has been tearing up Class AA all season and has waited his turn to be the main guy until his senior year. Independence has had a great run of talented running backs lately with Atticus Goodson and Judah Price and Linksweiler did not have any drop-off in production from those two. He eclipsed 1,600 rushing yards and 26 touchdowns in his senior season for the Patriots helping lead them to the Class AA Semifinals. Linksweiler is another smaller running back at 5'10 170 but has very good speed and great feet. He has some wiggle in his running style and showed good balance in his junior film. He's a quiet kid on Twitter but worthy of some D2 looks based on his production and junior film.","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_4_player":["370299"],"_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":"Jefferson running back [player_tooltip player_id='370299' first='Rodrigo' last='Delgado'] didn't have a ton of production in his senior season at a new school but shared carries with talented junior [player_tooltip player_id='907161' first='Tay'Shaun' last='Roper']. That doesn't mean Delgado isn't talented and still ranks in our Top 5 at the running back position and would likely be a 1,000-yard rusher if he were the main guy at most other schools. He's a well-built kid at 5'10 190 with upper-level athleticism running a reported 4.5-40. Even with limited production, his athleticism jumps off the screen when watching his film which earned him a D2 offer from Glenville State among other D2 interest. Delgado also played a good amount of safety for the Cougars this season and could play defense at the next level as well.","_player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_5_player":["370426"],"_player_evaluations_5_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_5_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_5_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_5_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_5_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_5_evaluation":"Tyler Consolidated running back [player_tooltip player_id='370426' first='Sean' last='Winfrey'] had a monster season for the Knights rushing for over 1,700 yards and 28 touchdowns in Class A. He was a unanimous First Team All-State selection the past two seasons and a Second Team performer as a sophomore. Winfrey has been a very productive player during his high school career and ranks as our #6 running back in the 2024 class and one of only 7 Class A athletes in our Top 100. He's a well-rounded back who has a nice combination of speed and physicality but could benefit from some added size. Winfrey is light on his feet with a smooth running style and runs in the 4.6-4.7 40 range. He has considerable D3 interest but should be a no-doubt D2 athlete come February.","_player_evaluations_5_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_6_player":["866502"],"_player_evaluations_6_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_6_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_6_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_6_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_6_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_6_evaluation":"Another running back who has been very productive during his high school career is Frankfort's [player_tooltip player_id='866502' first='Tyrique' last='Powell']. The 5'10 200 senior has been perfect for the Falcons' Wing-T offense and run by you or over you. I really like his running style and it starts with a quick burst behind the line of scrimmage which allows him to get to full-speed quickly. Powell is a thicker-built running back who you might mistake as only a power back but if you don't slow him down early you aren't likely to catch him. He runs through arm tackles easily and it often takes more than one defender to bring him down. It's always tough to say how running backs in these unconventional offensive systems translate at the next level but I'm confident Powell would fit right into a more modern offense at the D2 level.","_player_evaluations_6_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_7_player":["884041"],"_player_evaluations_7_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_7_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_7_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_7_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_7_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_7_evaluation":"One of the more underrated running back prospects in the state regardless of classification is Scott RB [player_tooltip player_id='884041' first='Preston' last='Cooper']. Cooper is coming off his best season yet and saved the best for last during his senior season. He rushed for over 1,500 yards and 14 touchdowns nearly doubling his production from his junior year. That's especially impressive given how much Scott loves to throw the ball around as one of the best offenses in the state this year. Cooper was able to provide them with a balanced offense that may have gone unnoticed by some because of the gaudy numbers the passing attack was putting up. Some consider him more of a fullback but it sure seems like he played himself into being a pure running back at the next level. His size at 6'0 190 also backs that claim up but he still maintained his tough and physical running style and has plenty of film of him running by defenders even if he doesn't have elite top-end speed. Cooper jumped up 6 spots in our overall ranking to the #94 ranked prospect in the 2024 class and the #8 running back. He should be a D2 prospect but I haven't seen any recruiting info posted on his Twitter.","_player_evaluations_7_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_8_player":["938593"],"_player_evaluations_8_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_8_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_8_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_8_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_8_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_8_evaluation":"u003cspan data-preserver-spaces=u0022trueu0022u003eWinfield running back [player_tooltip player_id='938593' first='K-Juan' last='Pearson'] was just mentioned in our u003c/spanu003eu003ca class=u0022editor-rtfLinku0022 href=u0022https://prepredzone.com/2023/12/2024-rankings-update-new-to-the-top-100/u0022 target=u0022_blanku0022 rel=u0022noopeneru0022u003eu003cspan data-preserver-spaces=u0022trueu0022u003eNew to the Top 100u003c/spanu003eu003c/au003eu003cspan data-preserver-spaces=u0022trueu0022u003e article entering our 2024 rankings as the #95 overall player and 9th best running back in the senior class. Without repeating myself from that article, Pearson is another running back from an unconventional offensive system in high school that makes it tough to project how he'll translate in college. He's a longer looking running back at 5'11 180 who would benefit from some added mass to his frame. Pearson has good speed and has been clocked in the 4.6 40 range and runs the 100-meter dash in the mid 11-second times. He should be a lock for a D2 offer and I expect that's where he'll sign in February.  u003c/spanu003e","_player_evaluations_8_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_9_player":["370257"],"_player_evaluations_9_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_9_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_9_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_9_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_9_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_9_evaluation":"Rounding out our Top 10 2024 running back rankings is Bluefield senior [player_tooltip player_id='370257' first='Amir' last='Hairston'] who unfortunately missed all of his senior season with a knee injury. That doesn't take away from the fact that the kid is talented and should sign with a D2 program in February. Hairston still has plenty of junior film to evaluate and the first thing that you'll notice is he has serious speed which is necessary if you go by u0022Country Boy Fastu0022. He's certainly not lying about that trait and that alone should get him an offer which he received from D2 Fairmont State even after his injury. Hairston has room to keep growing into his 5'11 frame but from his posted weight room numbers he gets after it. The Beaver sorely missed him on the field this season but I suspect he's made a full recovery and should be good to go for a college off-season program during the summer.","_player_evaluations_9_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":10,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6583aa851a1b9"} /-->