2025 Rankings Update 3.0: Running Backs
In this article:
Rank Player Height High School Commitment Weight 1 Cortez Stone 5’10” Louisville Central 170 2 Kalen Washington 5’10” Bryan Station 200 3 Braxton Jennings 6’0″ Ashland Blazer 195 4 Peyton Smith 5’11” Frederick Douglass 190 5 Giaonni Hunter 5’11” Shelby…
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Rank
|
Player
|
Height
|
High School
|
Commitment
|
Weight
|
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
5’10”
|
Louisville Central
|
||||
2 |
5’10”
|
Bryan Station
|
||||
3 |
6’0″
|
Ashland Blazer
|
||||
4 |
5’11”
|
Frederick Douglass
|
||||
5 |
5’11”
|
Shelby County
|
||||
6 |
5’11”
|
Frederick Douglass
|
||||
7 |
5’10”
|
Johnson Central
|
||||
8 |
5’10”
|
Morgan County
|
||||
9 |
5’10”
|
Madison Central
|
||||
10 |
5’10”
|
Beechwood
|
||||
11 |
5’11”
|
Fairdale
|
||||
12 |
5’7″
|
Simon Kenton
|
||||
13 |
Franklin County
|
|||||
14 |
6’0″
|
Dixie Heights
|
||||
15 |
West Carter
|
|||||
16 |
5’6″
|
Betsy Layne
|
||||
17 |
5’8″
|
Fairdale
|
||||
18 |
Prestonsburg
|
|||||
19 |
6’1″
|
Garrard County
|
||||
20 |
5’10”
|
Scott County
|
||||
21 |
5’10”
|
Lexington Christian Academy
|
||||
22 |
6’0″
|
Metcalfe County
|
||||
23 |
5’9″
|
Western
|
||||
24 |
6’1″
|
Pendleton County
|
||||
25 |
5’10”
|
Lexington Catholic
|
||||
26 |
East Jessamine
|
|||||
27 |
5’8″
|
Highlands
|
||||
WL |
5’7″
|
Pleasure Ridge Park
|
||||
WL |
Hopkins County Central
|
|||||
WL |
5’7″
|
Louisville Ballard
|
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Continue ReadingAs we get deeper into the 2024 off-season, another season of high school football is quickly approaching. With that being said, it is time for another round of rankings updates. The third update of our rankings for the class of 2025 in the state of Kentucky has been officially posted! Over the next week or so, I will be doing positional breakdowns at each position. After already covering the quarterbacks, here are our top running backs in the class of 2025 in the state of Kentucky.
Cortez Stone Cortez Stone 5’10” | 170 lbs | RB Louisville Central | 2025 State KY has continued to establish himself as the top running back in his class in the state of Kentucky. He had another strong season as a junior, carrying the ball 278 times for 1,871 yards and 23 touchdowns in 13 games. Stone has explosive speed which he uses to burst through the running lane with a sense of urgency and run away from the defense on long runs. He has also shown impressive vision in the open field, showing the ability to find cut back lanes to make defenders miss. Stone also played a key role in the passing game this past season, catching 12 passes for 199 yards and a touchdown. Cortez currently holds offers from Southeast Missouri State, Tennessee State, Austin Peay, Purdue, Cincinnati, Miami (OH), Eastern Kentucky, Western Kentucky, and Louisville, and I expect more to come his way as he is a Power 4 caliber prospect.
Kalen Washington Kalen Washington 5’10” | 200 lbs | RB Bryan Station | 2025 State KY is a player that has climbed up our rankings following a strong junior year. Washington finished the season with 165 carries for 1,311 yards and 16 touchdowns in 13 games. He is an elusive ball carrier, showing the strength/contact balance to run straight through defenders along with the quickness to make cuts to make defenders miss. Washington has also shown the speed to run away from the defense once he hits the open field. Kalen also played a role in the passing game this past season, catching seven passes for 76 yards and a touchdown. Washington currently holds offers from Gardner Webb, Eastern Michigan, UT Martin, Miami (OH), Ohio, and Akron, and I expect more to come his way as he is a Division I caliber running back prospect.
Braxton Jennings Braxton Jennings 6’0″ | 195 lbs | RB Ashland Blazer | 2025 State KY is another running back that had a strong junior year. He finished this past season with 104 carries for 807 yards and 15 touchdowns in 12 games. Jennings is electric in the open field, showing the speed and elusiveness to break away on long runs at any given moment. He is also a major threat in the passing game, finishing his junior year with 22 receptions for 536 yards and five touchdowns. Jennings also returned one kickoff for a touchdown a played a key role on defense, finishing the year with 51 tackles, two tackles for loss, and three interceptions (one returned for a touchdown). Braxton currently holds offers from Marshall, Buffalo, Bowling Green State, Massachusetts, Toledo, Eastern Michigan, and Eastern Kentucky, and I expect more to come his way as he is a true Division I caliber prospect.
Highlights
Peyton Smith Peyton Smith 5’11” | 190 lbs | RB Frederick Douglass | 2025 State KY is a running back that has been high on our radar for a while now and continued to impress this past season. He finished his junior year with 165 carries for 1,538 yards and 21 touchdowns in 12 games. Smith is a strong runner, showing the contact balance to break tackles with ease without losing stride. He has also shown the speed to get to the outside in a hurry and turn up the field then run away from the defense. Smith also finished this past season with 10 receptions for 93 yards and returned one kickoff for a touchdown. Peyton currently holds an offer from Eastern Kentucky and I expect more to come his way as he has the talent to play at the Division I level and recently transferred to a powerhouse program in Frederick Douglass where he should have a lot of eyes on him.
Highlights
To wrap up our top five running backs in the class of 2025 in the state of Kentucky, I have Giaonni Hunter Giaonni Hunter 5’11” | 210 lbs | RB Shelby County | 2025 State KY . Hunter had another very impressive season as a junior, running the ball 225 times for 1,742 yards and 17 touchdowns in 10 games. The main thing that stands out to me with Giaonni is his explosiveness. He is a downhill runner that bursts through the running lane with a sense of urgency and hits a second gear once he hits the second level to run away from the defense. Hunter has also shown the elusiveness to make defenders miss when they’re able to catch up to him. Giaonni also caught one touchdown pass this past season and made an impact on defense, finishing the year with 43 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, and one fumble recovery returned for a touchdown. While Giaonni doesn’t currently hold any offers, I wouldn’t be surprised to see one come his way soon as he has received some college interest and definitely has the talent to succeed at the next level.
Other Players Included in Top 200:
6. Pharo Watts Pharo Watts 5'11" | 180 lbs | RB Frederick Douglass | 2025 State KY (Frederick Douglass)
7. Zack McCoart Zack McCoart 5'10" | 195 lbs | RB Johnson Central | 2025 State KY (Johnson Central)
8. Cameron Rogers Cameron Rogers 5'10" | 175 lbs | RB Morgan County | 2025 State KY (Morgan County)
9. Bryant Mathis Bryant Mathis 5'10" | 180 lbs | RB Madison Central | 2025 State KY (Madison Central)
10. Chase Flaherty Chase Flaherty 5'10" | 180 lbs | RB Beechwood | 2025 State KY (Beechwood)
11. Xavier Burks Xavier Burks 5'11" | 185 lbs | RB Fairdale | 2025 State KY (Fairdale)
12. Durrell Turner Durrell Turner 5'7" | 165 lbs | RB Simon Kenton | 2025 State KY (Simon Kenton)
13. Christian Moore Christian Moore RB Franklin County | 2025 State KY (Franklin County)
14. David Anderson David Anderson 6'0" | 190 lbs | RB Dixie Heights | 2025 State KY (Dixie Heights)
15. Dwaylon Dean Dwaylon Dean RB West Carter | 2025 State KY (West Carter)
16. Andrew McCutcheon Andrew McCutcheon 5'6" | 145 lbs | RB Betsy Layne | 2025 State KY (Betsy Layne)
17. Leo Washington Leo Washington 5'8" | 160 lbs | RB Fairdale | 2025 State KY (Fairdale)
18. Jacob Rose Jacob Rose RB Prestonsburg | 2025 State KY (Prestonsburg)
19. Malachi Simmons Malachi Simmons 6'1" | 180 lbs | RB Garrard County | 2025 State KY (Garrard County)
20. Ali Hamdiyah Ali Hamdiyah 5'10" | 195 lbs | RB Scott County | 2025 State KY (Scott County)
21. Leland Edwards Leland Edwards 5'10" | 190 lbs | RB Lexington Christian Academy | 2025 State KY (Lexington Christian Academy)
22. CT Branstetter CT Branstetter 6'0" | 210 lbs | RB Metcalfe County | 2025 State KY (Metcalfe County)