Far West Texas: 10 Running Backs You Need To Know For 2023

<p>As the 2022 high school football season proved, Far West Texas has plenty of talented running backs. It should be the same story in 2023. Here are 10 running backs you need to know for the upcoming season (listed in alphabetical order):</p>   <p><strong>Juan Archuleta, Del Valle</strong>: Archuleta finished with over 900 all-purpose yards in 2022 to help lead Del Valle to the 1-5A district championship. With prolific passing QB Jesse Ramos graduating, Del Valle could lean on Archuleta more in 2023 in their quest for back-to-back district titles.</p>   <p><strong>Izayuh Claudio, Montwood</strong>: Possessing good size (5-11, 192 pounds), Claudio has excellent toughness, acceleration and elusiveness. He finished last season with 765 yards and 12 TD on 160 carries. Oklahoma Panhandle State has offered while Ivy League institution Dartmouth has expressed interest. He was recently invited to play in the Hawaii Tiki Bowl.  </p>   <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='212439' first='Ryan' last='Estrada'], El Dorado</strong>: Estrada staked his claim to being the top young running back in West Texas by rushing for 1,326 yards on just 127 carries. He averaged an impressive 10.4 yards per carry, scoring 13 TD on the ground. Estrada can also catch the football out of the backfield as he finished with a team-high 23 receptions for 280 yards. Overall, he finished his freshman campaign with 1,788 total yards. Baylor offered in February, joining SMU and UTSA in the chase. They are the first of many offers Estrada will get over the next couple of years.</p>   <p><strong>Ruben Laguna, Hanks</strong>: Hanks finished short of the playoffs in 2022 but not for a lack of effort and production from Laguna, who gained 662 yards and scored 6 TD on a workmanlike 142 carries. The good news for Hanks is their starting QB, top RB (Laguna) and leading WR all return in 2023. Expect more wins from the Knights this season.      </p>   <p><strong>Max Mancilla, Eastwood (2024)</strong>: In his first year of varsity action, Mancilla rushed for 690 yards and 6 TD on 108 carries, averaging an impressive 6.4 yards per carry. He also caught 15 passes for 366 yards, finishing with more than 1,000 all-purpose yards. Mancilla's heroics helped Eastwood capture a share of the district title and reach the second round of the Conference 6A,  Div. 2 playoffs.</p>   <p><strong>Zack Martinez, Bel Air</strong>: With a powerful 5-foot-11, 200-pound frame, Martinez is difficult to bring down as he showed last season when he rushed for 1,089 yards and 16 TD to help lift Bel Air into the 5A playoffs as a result of a third-place finish in the district behind Del Valle and Parkland. Should be another great race in 2023.    </p>   <p><strong>Jordan Morales, Franklin (2024)</strong>: Morales and Cougars quarterback Shay Smith shared the ball carrying responsibilities for Franklin in 2022, combining for nearly 2,000 rushing yards on 283 carries. Morales had 910 rushing yards and 10 TD on 154 carries. Good news for Franklin – Morales and Smith return in 2023, fueling Franklin's ground game.</p>   <p><strong>Brian Promesse, Americas</strong>: Americas had their own productive rushing duo in 2022 as Promessee and QB [player_tooltip player_id='618282' first='Mark' last='Moore III'] combined for 1,654 rushing yards and 10 TD, with Promesse contributing  638 yards on 85 carries. Americas lost the tiebreaker with Eastlake and didn't go to the 6A playoffs but they'll be a strong contender in 2023 to reach the postseason.</p>   <p><strong>Miguel Rubio, Jefferson</strong>: Another of El Paso's 1,000-yard rushers in 2022. Rubio fueled Jefferson's ground game with 1,064 yards on a workhorse 219 carries. Jefferson didn't show much of a passing game last season, so opponents knew Rubio was going to get the football. Still, he achieved the millennium mark.</p>   <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='402615' first='Daveon' last='Singleton'], Chapin</strong>: El Paso is blessed to have not one but two extremely talented and dynamic rising sophomore running backs in [player_tooltip player_id='212439' first='Ryan' last='Estrada'] (see above) and Singleton. The latter is a true athlete and is utilized in a variety of roles. SMU offered after Singleton's electric first season of high school football in 2022. Called upon to play quarterback in the middle of the season, Singleton threw for 731 yards and nine touchdowns, while rushing for 902 yards and 14 touchdowns. Singleton is just scratching the surface of his potential.</p>   <p><strong>HONORABLE MENTION</strong>: Julius Acosta (Eastlake); [player_tooltip player_id='628089' first='Owen' last='Levesque'] (Coronado); Jeremiah Knox (Canutillo); Kayleb Hannah (Burges); Abraham Carrasco (Bowie); Joe Rodriguez (Bowie); Giovanni Soto (Irvin); Erick Ortiz (Fabens); Jose Carlos Herrera (Cathedral).   </p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/RyanEstrada_1/status/1593677604686467073?s=20 </div></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/DaveonSingleton/status/1628512477737631746?s=20 </div></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/MikeTrevizo915/status/1624832138053836801?s=20 </div></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/JordanMoralesFH/status/1466212794718687237?s=20 </div></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/bpromesse5/status/1591154650409013263?s=20 </div></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/epsportsnet/status/1576022081418203136?s=20 </div></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/Zach_Martinez_1/status/1638953531402223617?s=20 </div></figure>

As the 2022 high school football season proved, Far West Texas has plenty of talented running backs. It should be the same story in 2023. Here are 10 running backs you need to know for the upcoming season (listed in alphabetical order):