UTR North Dakota 2026 RBs to Watch Closely this Fall

The next few days we will open up the floodgates in the Dakotas will a solid amount of Preseason All-State Teams, but tonight we move north to North Dakota to dish out our under the radar running backs that college coaches should keep a close eye on this fall. Plenty of sleepers occupy Bismarck, Thompson, and more in this series.    Although he's our RB1 in the North Dakota 2026 class, Yusuf in my eyes still is flying under the radar on his recruiting trail. He has some of the best vision amongst running backs still available in the Dakotas and it doesn't take long to tell when he finds the open field his sudden downhill burst amplies to another speed along with watching his strides get longer. He's also one of the best backs in the Dakotas at getting to the edges with his north-south running ability and offers the fluidity you want in your backfield at the next level. The verified 5'10 190 pounder from Bismarck Legacy just holds one NSIC offer thus far and could be one that adds more after the first three games of his senior year.     Charlie is a 2026 running back out of Thompson that grew a bunch this summer thru the summer camps I saw him in attendance at throughout the Dakotas as one that doesn't have an offer yet, but should. Last Friday night against Mayport-CG, he logged 151 total yards, three rushing touchdowns, 10 tackles and 2 sacks on the defensive side of the ball all in just one half of work. Charlie ran with a massive head of steam with the tape I watched getting donwhill on his first RB rep for a touchdown. On the second touchdown, he showed off his great vision and a smoother cutting ability than we saw last seasona and added the durability to finish the deal in the end zone. I said it this summer and I'll say it again, you also will not miss with this young man's excellent character in your college locker room.     Another 2026 running back that has turned a swift corner this summer was [player_tooltip player_id='930005' first='Cole' last='McClennen'] out of Shiloh Christian as another one waiting on his first offer. He has one of the twitchest change of direction probably in this group of running backs and that's certainly not all. It doesn't take long when you look at his scrimmmage tape from a few weeks ago that Cole has been in the weight room as the 5'10 192 pounder takes off with authority after contact. Where Cole will move the meter this season in my eyes is with his pass-catching ability as one that has grown a ton in that department. The sleepers out of Bismarck in this class at running back is something else.     I got a brielf look at Marcus this summer during camps as another 2026 RB in this class hunting for his first offer and one that our Midwest Scouting Director Oliver West was also impressed with at the college camp I was at. Marcus bursts out of the backfield with ideal fluidity destined for the next-level as one of a few backs for the Eagles that surely has the next-level skills. I feel Marcus's frame is more durable at 5'8 185 pounds than he might get credit for, as you could see it last year that he carries plenty of dudes with him with his carries, which I think his durability with be even better in the 2025 season for Fargo Davies. I'll be interested to see the workload that Marcus gets in the Eagles offense as one that appears as another stockriser upcoming in this 2026 class.

The next few days we will open up the floodgates in the Dakotas will a solid amount of Preseason All-State Teams, but tonight we move north to North Dakota to dish out our under the radar running backs that college coaches should keep a close eye on this fall. Plenty of sleepers occupy Bismarck, Thompson, and more in this series.