4A RB's To Know This Spring

4A is retuning some big time ball carriers with all the potential to have breakout season and turn some heads. Take a look:    Rosenthal is a dangerous big play ability type of Back that holds all the potential to be a well talked about player here in 2026 that's easily a preseason OPOY candidate to watch. He runs with authority and possesses excellent top end speed, frequently busting those long runs purely with that speed alone. On top of that, he shows excellent balance (play 0:53 mark on film) with the ability to run through opponents or make one cut and be gone. He comes off a ridiculous Jr. year by rushing for 2,100 yards and 24 TD's.     Green is a violent, physical Back that runs with authority and possesses a mean streak, and holds a ton of raw ability. Excellent strength at the point of contact with a textbook pad level, frequently showing the ability to run through opponents and keep his legs moving to run with forward momentum 100% of the time. His ability to break and bounce off contact is some of the best you'll see, as he can turn a 3 yard loss into a 20+ yard chunk play. He checks a ton of boxes- compact frame, play strength, pad level, vision, ball security, lateral mobility, and even possesses solid top end speed to change gears once he hits the 2nd level to finish big plays. A very impressive Back that surely needs to be on your recruiting boards.     Van Dyke put himself on the map with a 2,082 yard 21 TD Junior season this past fall. Really good initial vision, burst and spatial awareness as he does a great job hitting the hole with a purpose and knows when to bounce toward the numbers to give himself room to maneuver. He flashes some good twitch and lateral mobility to make opponents miss, but also possesses that play strength to lower his shoulder and punish opponents.     Leist is a well polished back with a great combination of speed, power, and the ability to make opponents miss with good lateral mobility/bounce. Strong downhill runner between the tackles but does a great job making LB's miss in the box showing the ability to cut without losing acceleration, oftentimes springing him free. He showed big play ability to finish those long runs to TD's and has a good understanding of angles once he hits the 2nd level. Love his ability at mark 1:23 on film to square his shoulders against a stacked box and use that lateral burst to immediately bounce outside and make opponents miss- setting up his blocks and cut for a TD.     Brown was and will be a focal point of that St. Mary's offense. Solid initial burst with really good vision all around and does a great job reacting to those narrow developing lanes with a burst with a north-south demeanor first, but also shows the ability to bounce runs outside utilizing top end speed. Good strength and balance at the point of contact to frequently break initial contact and pick up extra chunks of yards. A sleeper Back to keep an eye on that comes off a productive Jr. season by putting up nearly 1,300 yards and 22 TD's.

4A is retuning some big time ball carriers with all the potential to have breakout season and turn some heads. Take a look: