Deep Dive: Gaston/Cleveland County Top Running Backs

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Charlotte Football Insiders is taking a look at ranking the top Charlotte Metro Area players by position, and we're taking a look at those players in those rankings in a Deep Dive analysis series. In these articles, we will share why these players are ranked and their best attributes as potential college-level football players in their respective futures. This will feature Gaston and Cleveland County running backs. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":1636359,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none","align":"center"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/03/CFI-Top-5s-2.png?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-1636359" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1295076"],"_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":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67cbc72925681"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Josiah is a big and bruising runner who has been named the Mountaineers Offensive MVP the last two seasons. The impressive trait about Josiah though is his speed and quickness to go along with that size. Josiah is getting interest from multiple Division 1 college football programs now and deservedly so. I'm expecting Josiah to have a huge senior year to cap off what has already been a good high school football career in Kings Mountain. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1600183"],"_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":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67cbc7292572a"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Martino had a 1,000 yard plus season last year for the Green Wave. He was a major part of them having a program-defining season and making the 3rd round of the state playoffs. Martino runs with really good power for his frame, but he has a nice burst of speed once he gets into the open field where he rarely gets caught from behind. With a number of players returning on offense, I expect Martino to have similar production again next season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["378966"],"_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":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67cbc7292579d"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Savion is a player that coming into high school had super high expectations based on the incredible highlights he produced in middle school in the Gaston County area. Last season, you started to see some of those big plays happen for him for the Green Wave. Savion really has some impressive explosive ability to get into the open field and do some special things. Savion showed the ability to line up at receiver and do some things also, so we could be in a treat with a player who is dangerous in different places on offense. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Jaylen Tate","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2026","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'9u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_weight":"185","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_weight":"field_65b288425ecf6","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"2408","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Shelby","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67cbc729258a5"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Last season the Tate's rushed for over 2000 yards together for the Golden Lions. With the older Tate (Tristan) now graduating, the younger Tate in Jaylen is poised to take the #1 spot in the Shelby backfield. Jaylen's vision and agility to elude defenders is one of his best traits. Of course, Jaylen has excellent speed in the open field also. I also like Jaylen's fundamentals as a back - he keeps the ball tucked high &amp; tight and there's not a lot of wasted motion when he runs. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Keon Smith","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2026","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'7u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_weight":"160","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_weight":"field_65b288425ecf6","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"2408","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Bessemer City ","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67cbc729259ac"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Honestly in doing research for this article, I didn't know much about Keon. But taking a look at the film, he is a quick and fast prospect who takes advantage of getting into space well. There are several runs on his film where he outruns the defense when they have the angle on him to make a play under normal circumstances. Keon rushed for over 1100 yards last season for a good Bessemer City squad and should be in line to have another strong year again. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"align":"center"} --> <p class="has-text-align-center"><strong>Honorable Mentions</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1334109' first='Aamir' last='Gilcreast'] - Mountain Island - Aamir flew under the radar playing for the Raptors, but his production was impressive, totaling over 700 yards rushing despite missing a few games due to injury. With a new QB in tow, expect Aamir to be an important player next season for Mountain Island. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kaevaun Pless - Stuart Cramer - This young freshman last year played at 5'10 and over 200 pounds, yet he showed some nice speed and power in the backfield for the Storm. I liked how he hit the hole and had good vision once he got there to maximize his rushing attempts. He will be a candidate for the Watch List in our next update. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->