2023 St. Louis Players to Watch: Running Backs

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As we are headed into the end of April, the 2023 high school football off-season is in full swing with teams and players preparing for the upcoming season. As has been the case for quite some time now, the city of St. Louis is abundant in talent on the gridiron. With that in mind, I wanted to take a look at some of the top returning players in the city heading into the 2023 high school football season. After already covering the quarterbacks, I will now turn my attention to the top returning running backs in St. Louis in 2023.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["188601"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Heading into the 2023 season, [player_tooltip player_id='188601' first='Jamarion' last='Parker'] is not only the most talented running back in his class but one of the best overall players as well. He is the complete package at the running back position. Parker had incredible vision with the ability to find open running lanes and cut back lanes quickly. Once he bursts through the running lane, he has the speed to run away from the defense. Parker also has the elusiveness to make defenders miss in the open field. He is also a very dangerous returner on special teams, showing the ability to take a kickoff or punt for a touchdown at any given moment. Jamarrion currently holds a long list of Power 5 offers and I expect more to come his way as he is a very special talent.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["188604"],"_player_evaluations_1_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"Cardinal Ritter is a team that should consider themselves very lucky as they have an abundance of weapons on the offensive side of the ball. [player_tooltip player_id='188604' first='Keon' last='Sloan'] started to make a name for himself last season as he played a key role in their Class 3 State Championship run. Sloan finished his sophomore year with 35 carries for 322 yards and two touchdowns. He has impressive speed which he uses to get to the outside and up the field in a hurry while also showing the ability to run right by defenders on the way to the end zone. Sloan also has the strength and contact balance to break tackles without losing stride. While he doesn't currently hold any offers, I expect some to come his way soon as he has the talent to play somewhere at the next level","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_2_player_details_player_name":"Isaiah Julian","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_2_player_details_graduating_class":"2024","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_2_player_details_height":"5'10u0022","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_2_player_details_position":"2408","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_2_player_details_school":"Ladue","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_2_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_2_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_2_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"Isaiah Julian is a running back that jumped onto my radar after a strong junior season. He finished this past season with 69 carries for 433 yards and seven touchdowns. Julian has impressive vision, showing the ability to find the running lane and come downhill in a hurry. Once he hits the open field, he is a one-cut type of ball carrier that has the ability to make cuts on the dime to make defenders miss. He also has the speed to run away from the defense. Julian doesn't currently hold any offers but he should be a player to watch heading into his senior year as he has the talent to play at the next level.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_3_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_3_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_3_player_details_player_name":"Damarion White","_player_evaluations_3_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_3_player_details_graduating_class":"2024","_player_evaluations_3_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_3_player_details_height":"5'9u0022","_player_evaluations_3_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_3_player_details_position":"2408","_player_evaluations_3_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_3_player_details_school":"De Smet","_player_evaluations_3_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_3_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_3_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_3_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_3_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"Another junior running back that impressed last season was Damarion White from De Smet. White finished his junior year with 86 carries for 600 yards and four touchdowns. He is a strong downhill runner with the ability to keep his legs churning and keep his balance through contact without breaking stride. White also has the speed to run away from the defense and the elusiveness to make defenders miss once he hits the open field. Damarion has also shown the ability to catch passes out of the backfield, finishing this past season with 13 receptions for 129 yards and a touchdown. While he doesn't currently hold any offers, Damarion should definitely be on the radar of college coaches as he has the talent to play somewhere at the next level.","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_4_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_4_player_details_player_name":"Madden Irving ","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_4_player_details_graduating_class":"2025","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_4_player_details_height":"5'9u0022","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_4_player_details_position":"2408","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_4_player_details_school":"Chaminade","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_4_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_4_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_4_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_4_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"Another running back that had an impressive 2022 season was Madden Irving from Chaminade. Irving finished his sophomore year with 198 carries for 1,135 yards and seven touchdowns. Madden is a downhill runner that hits the open running lane with a sense of urgency and doesn't stop. He is a strong runner with the ability to keep his legs churning and keep his balance through contact without breaking stride. Once he hits the open field, Irving has also shown that he has the speed to run away from the defense. Irving also showed the ability to make catches out of the backfield last season, finishing with 21 receptions for 224 yards. Madden doesn't currently hold any offers but he will be a player to keep an eye on over the next few seasons as he has the potential to play at the next level.","_player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_5_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_5_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_5_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_5_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_5_player_details_player_name":"Makai Robinson","_player_evaluations_5_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_5_player_details_graduating_class":"2026","_player_evaluations_5_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_5_player_details_height":"5'10u0022","_player_evaluations_5_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_5_player_details_position":"2408","_player_evaluations_5_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_5_player_details_school":"Chaminade","_player_evaluations_5_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_5_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_5_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_5_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_5_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_5_evaluation":"The future of Chaminade's backfield is in great hands as they have another talented young running back on their roster in Makai Robinson. As a freshman this past season, Robinson finished with 48 carries for 396 yards and six touchdowns. He has very impressive speed, using it to get to the outside and around the corner, and also to run right by defenders on his way to the end zone. Robinson has also shown the toughness to keep his legs churning through contact to pick up extra yards along with the elusiveness to make defenders miss in the open field. He has also shown that he has value in the passing game, finishing this past season with six catches for 95 yards and two touchdowns. Makai doesn't currently hold any offers but he will definitely be a name to watch over the next few seasons that could turn into a highly sought after prospect by his senior year.","_player_evaluations_5_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":6,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6446fbf2d58e7"} /-->