Underclassmen RBs Ready for a Big 2024

Illinois has produced elite talent in the backfield at the high school level and college level. We have even seen some RBs from the past get drafted into the NFL recently. The tradition is in good hands with these 2026s and 2027s toting the rock. Each of these athletes caught my eyes while reviewing their tape, so I want to talk about what exactly grabbed my attention in today's article. These kids are going to be athletes you want to be well aware of for the next few years. Let's get started!    Mario was actually a two way impact player as a sophomore. He stood out at both RB and LB for Johnsburg. On offense Mario is showing strong early signs of being a playmaker with the ball in his hands. He seems to find a way to create a play. Need him to run hard between the tackles? He can do that. Need him to make LBs miss in tight spaces? Mario has proven he can do that. Want him to be a threat as a receiver? There is tape of that too. The 5'11" 190 lbs ATH/RB can handle the physicality of the position and the playmaking requirements. Check out his two way tape.      Casey is a muscled up 170 lbs and his tape shows an athlete who can break a game open on any touch and in several different ways. Casey's tape shows a back who can be patient and hit holes as they open then run with power to gain the tough yards. We see that he has the speed to break contain and fly down the sideline. Casey is also viable option as a receiver because of his soft hands and his speed makes him a mismatch for LBs. Casey has a low center of gravity that stands out on tape as he rips through arm tackles. Etheridge has a bright future ahead of him in Princeton, IL.      Jaylin was a problem on the Brother Rice JV team. The 2026 jumps off the tape compared to those around him. I wouldn't even say that power is one of his main strengths, but compared to his opponents last fall Jaylin was more developed in that area and it allowed him to run through a lot of arm tackles while keeping his balance. Where his real strengths are is his athleticism. Both long speed and his short area agility make him a nightmare to contain. He turned a lot of small seams into big plays with pure speed or by making defenders miss and then accelerating. I'm excited to see if he gets varsity action as a junior. Check out the exiting sophomore tape here.      Brennon is a freshman RB who was able to earn playing time on varsity for Warrensburg Latham and the tape has me excited for his potential development over the next three years. Brennon is patient and has impressive vision and instincts with the ball in his hands already. He knows when to let things develop and when to attack. We see him make people miss and also keep his feet after taking hits. The freshman shows an explosive burst when he sticks his foot in the ground and gets up field. Bonds makes it look easy against the varsity level at times. Don't sleep on this kid. Big things ahead for him.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://youtu.be/zKh6JV2w1A0 </div></figure>

Illinois has produced elite talent in the backfield at the high school level and college level. We have even seen some RBs from the past get drafted into the NFL recently. The tradition is in good hands with these 2026s and 2027s toting the rock. Each of these athletes caught my eyes while reviewing their tape, so I want to talk about what exactly grabbed my attention in today's article. These kids are going to be athletes you want to be well aware of for the next few years. Let's get started!