Top 5 RB Rooms in Tennessee for 2026 Season

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 2025 high school football season inside the state of Tennessee has come to an end and the focus now turns to who returns for the 2026 season next year.<br><br>While there will be a lot of moving parts with risers, fallers and even transfers, we begin to take a look at which teams have the best room at each position group in the days leading up to Christmas.<br><br>Today, we move the series forward with taking a look at the top five running back rooms inside the state of Tennessee for the 2026 season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">1.) Baylor High School</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Baylor has arguably the best prospect in the entire nation at the position in David Gabriel Georges and he put the team on his back in the most important games in route to winning the state championship in the top private school classification.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>He won Mr. Football after another dynamic season and will be leaned on heavily yet again as the offense loses the large majority of their passing production.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/shaynep_media/status/1996737435451928656?s=46","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/shaynep_media/status/1996737435451928656?s=46 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1665478' first='Jean-Pierre' last='Eto'o'] (thunder) and [player_tooltip player_id='1030608' first='Jack' last='Ferguson'] (lightning) offer great depth with differing skillsets as well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It will be difficult for anyone to top this running back room next season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/jackfergie09/status/1959341134678737152?s=46","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/jackfergie09/status/1959341134678737152?s=46 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">2.) Westview High School</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Westview has an explosive offense and tailback [player_tooltip player_id='1103496' first='Asa' last='Barnes'] is a large part of that success.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Accounting for nearly 1,800 yards, the rising senior is a physically imposing running back prospect with the speed to turn basic plays into explosive ones, including as a receiver.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Barnes continues to get significantly better every single year and is developing into a recruit with interest from top Power Four programs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/shaynep_media/status/1997028481893531656?s=46","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/shaynep_media/status/1997028481893531656?s=46 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">3.) Brentwood Academy</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Brentwood Academy gets the edge for the third-best backfield inside the state due to the step forward that [player_tooltip player_id='723428' first='Larry' last='Sanders II'] took during the playoffs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It is impossible to dismiss the dominant performance he put forward against Baylor in the state championship game and nearly led his team to the victory.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In an offense filled to the brim with future college talent, Sanders is the anchor on that side of the ball and everything works from there.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/shaynep_media/status/1992058258417422651?s=46","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/shaynep_media/status/1992058258417422651?s=46 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">4.) Ensworth High School</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ensworth is right there as well with standout EJ Gibson anchoring a strong offense for the Tigers, constantly producing at a high level this past season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gibson offers a strong and stocky build that makes him tough to bring down and possesses the one-cut ability to make a defender miss around the line of scrimmage.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>He was perhaps the biggest snub of the Mr. Football finalist nominees and that should only motivate him even more for his final season at the high school level.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/connersmith04/status/1985158620917485882?s=46","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/connersmith04/status/1985158620917485882?s=46 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">5.) Munford High School</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Munford was one of the best teams in Memphis regardless of class this past season and a large part of that success was due to a reliable downhill rushing attack.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As just a sophomore, [player_tooltip player_id='1585458' first='Tay' last='Starks'] completely took over games no matter the opponent.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>He had over 1,600 rushing yards with single digit carries in four games this season according to MaxPreps.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/sports_bk/status/1989503495545000032?s=46","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/sports_bk/status/1989503495545000032?s=46 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Starks is not the only back in this room either, as Qua Bell will have an opportunity to produce a strong statline as a senior as he steps into the RB2 role.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Playing behind Starks and another tailback with 800 yards, Bell recorded nearly 350 yards with eight touchdowns.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Munford will be in contention to make yet another deep playoff run next season and this strong running back room will be a large reason why.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/qua_bell3/status/1987228779106693360?s=46","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/qua_bell3/status/1987228779106693360?s=46 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed -->