2022 Rankings: Deep RB class has Power Five programs’ attention

Small and quick. Big and physical. Longtime workhorses, junior breakout stars and still-underrated athletes. Louisiana’s deep 2022 class can provide a running back to fit any mold, including nine returning all-state performers. Half a dozen have already received Power Five offers, with others of their peers potentially joining that status this summer. We look more closely at 10 of the top college prospects in the bunch. <strong>No. 4 — [player_tooltip player_id="127859" first="Le’Veon" last="Moss"] — 5-11, 200 RB — Istrouma</strong> One SEC coach after another used the word "special" when describing the Baton Rouge star. Moss possesses a tremendous combination of vision and decisiveness to hit the hole hard, good feet to make quick cuts and make tacklers miss, the size and physicality to run through contact when necessary and top-end 10.8-second 100-meter track speed to pull away in the open field. He holds offers from LSU, Alabama, Georgia, Florida State, Texas A&amp;M, Mississippi State, Texas, Florida, Colorado, Memphis, Louisville, Miami, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss and Vanderbilt are among his offers. <strong>No. 14 — TreVonte’ Citizen — 6-0, 220 RB — Lake Charles College Prep</strong> Seeing the big back show up to track meets and race side-by-side with sprinters 50 pounds lighter evokes memories of past stars such as Leonard Fournette and Devin White in similar juxtapositions. He ran legs on three Lake Charles College Prep relay teams this weekend, including the winning 4x200-meter group, to help lead the school to a share of the Class 3A team title. His 4.53-second 40-yard dash and 11.31-second 100-meter don’t quite match the speed of the earlier stars mentioned, but remain impressive nonetheless. And, with 200-meter times as low as 22.19 seconds, Citizen closes that gap over distance — or, on the football field, pulls away once he hits the second level. But his balance spinning past or bouncing off contact may be even more impressive. And he’s working frequently on his skills as a pass catcher to become one of the state’s better receiving running backs. <strong>No. 15 — [player_tooltip player_id="127856" first="Trevor" last="Etienne"] — 5-10, 210 RB — Jennings</strong> The electric and elusive back has carried on the family name and tradition well. Older brother Travis Etienne spent much of his ultra-productive high school career somewhat underrated on the recruiting trail, with Clemson and LSU making their big pushes late in the process. Travis went on to become an ACC and FBS record-setting running back, national champion, two-time All-American and first-round NFL Draft pick.. And programs such as Alabama, LSU, Clemson, Georgia, Florida, Florida State and Arkansas have been sure not to make the mistake of wasting similar time with his younger brother who has offered similar size and traits. <strong>No. 31 — [player_tooltip player_id="127860" first="Dylan" last="Sampson"] — 5-10, 180 RB — Dutchtown</strong> The Dutchtown star is one of the smaller, quicker backs in Louisiana’s 2022 class and one being highly coveted by a slew of Division I programs, including Power Five coaches such as Scott Satterfield at Louisville and new hire Josh Heupel at Tennessee who have had success with similar styles of athletes at the position. Sampson has consistently run 100-meter dashes in less than 10.9 seconds, including a 10.62-second mark in March, and 200-meter dashes in less than 22 seconds, including a 21.57 at the same meet at Episcopal. <strong>No. 33 — [player_tooltip player_id="127857" first="Marlon" last="Gunn"] Jr. — 6-0, 200 RB — Scotlandville</strong> Gunn has somewhat quietly established himself among Louisiana’s best running backs in the 2022 class following a breakout junior campaign in which he was a consistent weapon for his Hornets finding yards between the tackles, breaking big gains in space and even hauling in timely catches downfield. Virginia, Tulane, Louisiana Tech, Florida State and SMU were among the first programs to extend scholarship offers, with more sure to come this summer. <iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UGV_uyNGges" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <strong>No. 37 — Derrick Graham Jr. — 5-11, 210 RB — University Lab</strong> "Rodeo" has been a workhorse from an early stage in his career, following the lead of former U-High stars Nicholas Brossette and Michael Hollins, who went on to LSU and Virginia, respectively. The Tulane, Louisiana Tech, Houston, South Alabama and Virginia target is one of the thicker, stockier halfbacks in the class with some experience at linebacker, but as also run the 100-meter in as fast as 11.30 seconds and has played multiple years of extra 7-on-7 in the spring to help gain more reps as a pass-catcher. <iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/maZ62ct9RZk" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <strong>No. 47 — [player_tooltip player_id="127864" first="Corey" last="Singleton"] — 5-10, 205 RB — Catholic (Baton Rouge)</strong> The junior burst onto the scene in 2020 as the biggest home-run threat for the eventual Division I state champion Bears. Singleton ran 4.66- and 4.62-second 40-yard dashes at the program’s offseason Cur Dog Combine event and often looked even a step faster in pads that fall. Singleton rushed 69 times for 656 yards (9.5 yards per attempt) and seven touchdowns. Army, Navy, Air Force and McNeese State have been the first offers, with Louisiana (Lafayette), Houston and California among others monitoring him this summer. One Power Five assistant compared Singleton to South Carolina star Kevin Harris, who led the SEC in rushing this fall as a sophomore. <iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VKZXGhMTAjE" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <strong>No. 60 — [player_tooltip player_id="127865" first="Daniel" last="Jupiter"] — 5-10, 185 RB — St. James</strong> As a small, speedy weapon out of the backfield or the slot, the Wildcats’ athlete was a timely complement to 2020 quarterback Shamar Smith and 2022 wide receiver [player_tooltip player_id="128240" first="Shazz" last="Preston"] during their 2019 state championship run. Jupiter continued to grow and develop physically and prove himself a more consistent playmaker as a junior with his vision, quickness and acceleration. And Navy and Air Force recently became his first offers, with Columbia, Dartmouth, Harvard and Maryland among others in contact. <strong>No. 66 — [player_tooltip player_id="136795" first="Anthony" last="Allen"] Jr. — 6-0, 185 RB — Neville</strong> Louisiana College and Arkansas-Monticello have finally extended the first scholarship offer for the underrated back fresh off a productive, second-team all-state junior campaign at Monroe powerhouse Neville. "A.J." or "AJay" reports a 40-yard dash time in the 4.4-second range and has showcased explosive broad and vertical jumps that have shown up on film in his explosiveness through running lanes and out of changes of direction and even an ability to abruptly hurdle would-be tacklers. <strong>No. 70 — [player_tooltip player_id="136657" first="Braydon" last="Johnson"] — 6-0, 210 RB — Ponchatoula</strong> The physical two-way standout stepped into an increased role in the Green Wave backfield as a junior with 118 yards, 1,007 yards (8.5 yards per carry) and 11 touchdowns for one of Louisiana’s top contenders in Class 5A. Johnson displays an explosive first step and good acceleration at his size, the vision and agility to smoothly navigate traffic and even some breakaway speed with a 4.53-second 40-yard dash. Tulane, Southeastern Louisiana and McNeese State have been his first scholarship offers.