Underclassmen RBs shine through the first two weeks

We're coming up on week 3 of this exciting 2025 high school football season, and several underclassmen have already stood out across the state. While there's plenty of love to go around, I'm focusing on five young running backs who have the potential to be future stars.   [player_tooltip player_id='1305180' first='Kruise' last='Buntyn Jr.'], [player_tooltip player_id='1297479' first='Manoach' last='Crockett'], [player_tooltip player_id='1585458' first='Tay' last='Starks'], [player_tooltip player_id='1571091' first='Isaac' last='Otey'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1868595' first='Jacob' last='Vaughn'], all of whom have come in and played significant roles for some of the best programs in Tennessee.   The five are all highly talented with favorable speed, athleticism, burst and power. Let's get into it.    The freshman RB from Knoxville Catholic had a solid start to his high school career, running for 4.9 YPC in a victory against Riverdale in week 1. He followed that with another good performance the next week, where he rushed for 80 yards and a touchdown against Anderson County.   Buntyn Jr is a compact player who impresses with his toughness, footwork and good speed while featuring nice power to run through people. The 2029 tailback is undoubtedly a player to watch out for, as he could grow into one of the best running backs in Tennessee.     Crockett is another running back who's stood out in his freshman season. The 5-foot-8, 170-pound RB has nice size and frame for a 2029 recruit and uses it well. He can get good pad level, which helps him run through people and fight for yardage.   He's a good receiver out of the backfield, making him a do-it-all player. Perhaps the most underrated part of Crockett's game is his elusiveness. Defenders often approach him, but his ability to weave through traffic is impressive.     The sophomore halfback has been electric in 2025. He started slow against Knoxville Catholic in the season opener, but ultimately had a good game before exploding last week for over 100 yards and two scores.   The shifty player has legit track speed as he was clocked at 21.05 mph on a touchdown run in week 2. Along with his incredible speed, Vaughn is shifty, strong, has nice footwork and good vision. If the 2028 recruit can put on more weight, he could be one of the best players in the Midstate due to his already nice skill set.     The sophomore from Page High School is the No. 1 running back in the state by Prep Redzone, and for a good reason. This past game, the 2028 RB ran for 85 yards with four touchdowns.   He's got nice size with more room to fill out, while having great elusiveness and vision. Otey is very good at weaving through traffic or even waiting for a hole to open. He's a patient player who runs well with good pad level and has nice cuts.   Along with the polished technique his position requires, Otey has a lot of athleticism and speed, which brings everything together, making him one of the best underclassmen in Tennessee.     Starks has been impressive to start the new campaign following his sensational freshman year, where he ran for over 1,600 yards. So far in 2025, the sophomore running back has rushed for 227 yards on 14.2 YPC while scoring four touchdowns in two games.   He's a speedy player who runs circles around every team he plays due to his good athleticism, burst, vision, patience and elusiveness. Starks has a good finesse game, but he can also run through someone and fight for extra yardage, as shown at Munford High School.

We're coming up on week 3 of this exciting 2025 high school football season, and several underclassmen have already stood out across the state. While there's plenty of love to go around, I'm focusing on five young running backs who have the potential to be future stars.