Running Back Prospects That Caught My Eye At SportzFarm

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The SportzFarm All-Star tournament was held over Easter Weekend and featured six teams in the eighth-grade (class of 2028) bracket. While the bulk of the talent was from New Jersey (North, Central and South) and New York (the five boroughs and Long Island), there was also talent from Pennsylvania and North Carolina. Here are the running backs that stood out to me.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Strong Island Power United</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1228825"],"_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":"Lamorissiere solidified himself as on of the top running backs in Long Island in my eyes. At 5-foot-7 and 160-pounds he showed a great balance of speed and strength. Great acceleration after being as patient as possible awaiting a hole to open. Also played linebacker on defense.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-660ae057ec0bc"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">NYC Elite</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1203435"],"_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":"Reeves was the workhorse for the NYC Elite squad, getting the ball early and often throughout the weekend. Strong, compact build with good balance. Can count the amount of times he was brought day by a single tackler, on just one hand.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["1230425"],"_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":"While [player_tooltip player_id='1203435' first='Chase' last='Reeves'] appeared to be the more complete back at this point, Ferguson was a nice change of pace back for NYC Elite. To the naked eye, appeared to be the faster of the two backs, he passed the eye test during warmups and had some nice touches during the game(s).","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":2,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-660ae057ec14d"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">SportzFarm</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1230512"],"_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":"Arguably a top 3-5 running back out of all the backs in the eighth-grade bracket at the tournament. He's a reclassed kid that will be on his way to Seton Hall Prep in the fall, to team up with top 2027 prospects [player_tooltip player_id='205460' first='Kahden' last='Davis'] and [player_tooltip player_id='909278' first='Taylor' last='Daniels'] for the Pirates. West is a short, thick back that can also catch out of the backfield.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-660ae057ec19f"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Born Winners</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1001358"],"_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":"Out of all the 2028 prospects I saw at the SportzFarm tournament, Hall may have been the kid whose stock raised the highest. He appeared to be significantly slimmer than I anticipated based off film from the season and coaches confirmed he's been putting in a ton of work. He looked like a Clydsdale running the ball with driving knees and obvious size and power.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["972510"],"_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":"Like his partner in crime [player_tooltip player_id='1001358' first='Kaseem' last='Hall'], [player_tooltip player_id='972510' first='Jay' last='Nelson'] also earned some points in my book at the tournament. For being another thicker, compact back, he showed much quicker feet than I anticipated. He had enough speed to get to the edge on stretch plays in addition to having the agility to shake defenders in the hole between the tackles.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":2,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-660ae057ec21d"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">South Jersey Vikings</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1230598"],"_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":"Ortiz was one of the top two skill position athletes on this team and he was used early and often, in tandem with [player_tooltip player_id='1227520' first='Dylan' last='Granzow']. Ortiz, like Granzow, contributed in all three phases of the game. He was back deep handling kick returns and punt returns, also played safety deep in the secondary. With it being a run-heavy offensive attack, Ortiz also had more than a few touches on the offensive side of the ball too.  He was a regular season all-star in his local conference, for a reason.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-660ae057ec26f"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Irvington Golden Knights</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1230624"],"_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":"Without much of a question, [player_tooltip player_id='1230624' first='Jayden' last='Pierre-Saint'] appears to be more an Athlete than anything else, but he was part of a three-headed rushing attack for Irvington. I'm adding him to the 2028 Watchlist as a defensive back because he's a seatbelt at 5-foot-10 and 130-pounds, but he was impressive on the offensive side of the ball while taking handoffs out of the Wishbone formation.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-660ae057ec2bd"} /-->