• Film is two season’s old, yet very inspiring
• Can stop in a hole and gain full speed again very quickly
• I would describe the way he cuts as gliding
• Disciplined approach, follows his blockers
• Too explosive to allow to gain the edge – teams will pay dearly
• Has balance and tends to fall forward
• No clips of him in pass protection, few as a pass catcher; must get ball to outside arm as he bounces once in the second level

One of the class of 2026’s more exciting backs, Zahir Weatherington Zahir Weatherington 5'10" | 170 lbs | RB Nutley | 2026 State NJ , may have found a home and has a job that is his to lose. After transferring out of Paramus Catholic and into Clifton ahead of his sophomore season, he was the ‘Stangs’ third-leading rusher – behind Tables and a graduating senior tailback – with 237 yards on 64 carries. Unfortunately I was only able to find tape from Weatherington’s freshman season in 2022, and therefor my evaluation is based on that film.

Weatherington has this unique ability to come full-stop in the hole, change directions, and regain full speed in a hurry. His moves are swift, and I would describe the cuts he makes are as if he is gliding across the turf. On plays with pullers, he follows his blockers to the intended hole and bounce to the outside once he clears the scrum; whereas on zone plays he tends to look to bounce to the outside and gain the perimeter as soon as he can. Speaking of which, teams cannot allow him to gain the perimeter, unless they want to get gouged for chunk plays. As explosive as Weatherington is I want to see more of his ability as a pass catcher. And Clifton might be best served to get the ball into his hands as many different ways as possible.

Competing with Justin Griffin Justin Griffin 5'9" | 165 lbs | RB Passaic | 2026 State NJ for my highest ranked RB in the division, Zahir Weatherington Zahir Weatherington 5'10" | 170 lbs | RB Nutley | 2026 State NJ is a quick twitch runner that is extremely explosive at the onset of the play. Zahir’s vision and ability to see the field in its totality really sets him apart from other runners within the state. As he’s running through the defense he is able to see the field open up and sprint his way to daylight. With lateral quickness that allows him to navigate smoothly through would-be tacklers, Zahir is a slippery runner that is difficult to get a clean hit on.

So young but so impressive, Weatherington might have been the most exciting skill player to watch on Saturday. Just a rising sophomore, the young back was electric, elusive, and entertaining. In run simulation drills, Weatherington put linebackers in a blender often leaving them off balance or looking silly – all bent backwards with broken ankles. He possesses the athleticism in terms of speed and quickness give him all the God-given potential you could want to be a star running back in the making. Weatherington blew my mind when in the open field he managed to hit this vintage Reggie Bush cutback.