You could call Texas the Land of High School Running Backs heading into the 2020 high school football season. Six of the Top 25 running backs in the Class of 2021 hail from the Lone Star State, according to 247Sports.com’s composite rankings.
Heading the list is Lakeview Centennial’s Camar Wheaton. The 5-star speedster still hasn’t made-up his mind about where he’ll play his college ball.
In his first three years of varsity action, Wheaton has rushed for over 3,000 yards with 40 touchdowns.
The other top-ranked running backs from Texas are: No. 4 LJ Johnson from Cy-Fair, No. 16 Ahmonte Watkins of Klein Forest, No. 19 Brandon Campbell of the Katy Tigers, No. 23 Cam’Ron Valdez of Rockdale High and No. 24 Jordan Jenkins of Lindale.
At No. 4 Johnson, Johnson topped 1,000 yards during his sophomore season. Last year, he nearly reached 2,000 yards on the ground while averaging 9.5 yards per carry with 37 touchdowns.
Coming in at No. 2 in the composite rankings is TreVeyon Henderson of Hopewell High School in Virginia. Henderson is a 5-star back who’s given his verbal to Ohio State.
As a freshman and sophomore, Henderson was a wide receiver and defensive back. He moved to running back last year, rushing for nearly 2,500 yards with 45 touchdowns. In addition, he averaged 40 yards per kickoff return and he was named Gatorade’s Virginia State Player of the Year.
The No. 3 running back is Donovan Edwards of West Bloomfield in Michigan. Edwards has 4.4 speed.
Related: Top QB’s, Class of 2021
Last season, Edwards ran for 1,326 yards with 16 touchdowns. He averaged nine yards per carry. Edwards also caught 33 balls for 419 yards with five touchdowns.
Joining Wheaton in the Ohio State backfield is Evan Pryor of Hough High School in North Carolina. Pryor, the No. 5 running back in the composite rankings, is a do-it-all back — rushing for 1,130 yards last year with 38 receptions for over 600 yards in 2019. He ran for 11 touchdowns and caught eight passes for scores.
The top junior-to-be running back is Raleek Brown of Mater Dei in California. Brown is a transfer from Edison (Huntington Beach, California) where he ran for nearly 2,700 during his first two seasons.
On Sunday, we’ll look at the nation’s top All-Purpose Backs led by Will Shipley of Weddington in North Carolina.
Running Backs, Class of 2021
No. 1 Camar Wheaton – Lakeview Centennial (Texas) – Uncommitted
No. 2 TreVeyon Henderson – Hopewell (Virginia) – Ohio State
No. 3 Donovan Edwards – West Bloomfield (Michigan) – Uncommitted
No. 4 LJ Johnson – Cy-Fair (Texas) – Uncommitted
No. 5 Evan Pryor – Hough (North Carolina) – Ohio State
No. 6 Armoni Goodwin – Hewitt-Trussville (Alabama) – Auburn
No. 7 Lovasea Carroll – IMG Academy (Florida) – Georgia
No. 8 Seven McGee – East (Rochester, New York) – Oregon
No. 9 Cody Brown – Parkview (Georgia) – Tennessee
No. 10 Corey Kiner – Roger Bacon (Ohio) – LSU
No. 11 Byron Cardwell – Morse (California) – Uncommitted
No. 12 Jaylin White – Dothan (Alabama) – Uncommitted
No. 13 Thad Franklin – Chaminade-Madonna (Florida) – Miami (Florida)
No. 14 Prophet Brown – Monterey Trail (California) – Uncommitted
No. 15 Kamarro Edmonds – Havelock (North Carolina) – North Carolina
No. 16 Ahmonte Watkins – Klein Forest (Texas) – Uncommitted
No. 17 Phil Mafah – Grayson (Georgia) – Clemson
No. 18 Jaylen Anderson – Perry (Ohio) – West Virginia
No. 19 Brandon Campbell – Katy (Texas) – USC
No. 20 Mar’Keise Irving – Hillcrest (Illinois) – Minnesota
No. 21 Audric Estime – St. Joseph Regional (Montvale, New Jersey) – Uncommitted
No. 22 Ricky Parks – Gaither (Florida) – Uncommitted
No. 23 Cam’Ron Valdez – Rockdale (Texas) – Uncommitted
No. 24 Jordan Jenkins – Lindale (Texas) – Baylor
No. 25 Javion Hunt – Carl Albert (Oklahoma) – Arkansas
Running Backs, Class of 2022
No. 1 Raleek Brown – Mater Dei (California) – Uncommitted
No. 2 Emmanuel Henderson – Geneva County (Alabama) – Uncommitted
No. 3 George Pettaway – Nansemond-Suffolk Academy (Virginia) – Uncommitted
No. 4 Gavin Sawchuck – Valor Christian (Colorado) – Uncommitted
No. 5 Jovantae Barners – Desert Pines (Nevada) – Uncommitted
No. 6 Le’veon Moss – Istrouma (Louisiana) – Uncommitted
No. 7 Jaydon Blue – Klein Cain (Texas) – Uncommitted
No. 8 Nicholas Singleton – Governor Mifflin (Pennsylvania) – Uncommitted
No. 9 Rayshon Luke – St. John Bosco (California) – Uncommitted
No. 10 TreVonte Citizen – Lake Charles (Louisiana) – Uncommitted
