South Florida '24 - The RBs

itsdolphhh

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....and we're back! Running back is one of the money positions in South Florida with us producing, on average, no less than 5 Power 4-caliber backs every class. In the 2023 class, we saw Mark Fletcher, Chris Johnson Jr., Sedrick Irvin Jr. (Stanford), Ja'Vin Simpkins (Coastal Carolina), Ja'Shon Benjamin (Rutgers), Kamari Moulton (Iowa) and Marlin Cochran (Western Carolina) get on the field early & make impact plays as true freshmen. This class has some guys that I feel have the same potential to make valuable contributions to their teams early.

Chauncey Bowens, Benjamin School (5'11" 225) - Rocked up power back with elite burst. It should be a crime to be 220+ with a 10.88 100. Runs like a ****ed off bighorn ram. Violent disposition & seeks out contact when running. Also an excellent receiver & pass blocker. Reminds me of Derrius Guice. Georgia signee.




Jordan Lyle, St. Thomas Aquinas (6'0" 200) - Do-it-all back from an NFL factory. Elite burst reminiscent of Travis Etienne. Runs a little too high but that can be fixed. Great production against some of the toughest competition in the country. Extremely productive with 33 rushing TDs on 11 yards a carry the last two seasons combined. Miami signee.



Chris Wheatley-Humphrey, South Broward (6'0" 175) - Wiry back with video game production. 3k rushing yards on 15 YPC and 24 TDs last two seasons of high school. He didn't play the best competition, but he did what he was supposed to do, absolutely crush it. No track times but plays extremely fast. Great stop-start ability. Build & running gait remind me of Chuba Hubbard. Miami signee.

Isaac Brown, Homestead (5'9" 180) - St. Brendan transfer. Electric scatback with track speed. One of the best kick returners at the high school level in the country & will immediately provide value there. Ridiculous production & an all-purpose back in every sense of the word. Plays like a young Reggie Bush on film. Louisville signee.

Davion Gause, Chaminade Madonna (5'11" 215) - Bellcow back at the best football program in the nation. Traditional RB build with great vision, balance & squatty running style. Outrageous production with 5K rushing yards & 56 TDs on 8 yards a pop in high school career. Not the fastest but combines good athleticism with vision and toughness. Reminds me of former UNC RB Javonte Williams. UNC signee.

Tovani Mizell, Western (6'0" 210) - Has been hyped since his youth days. Played varsity at Westminster Academy as an 8th grader, then went from Stranahan, to Cardinal Newman, to DeMatha Catholic all the way in the DMV, before finishing at Western as a senior. Track athlete with background in the sprints, jumps and throws. The athleticism definitely translates on tape. All around back with elite receiving skills out of the backfield. Suffered knee injury & missed senior year. 4.0 GPA. Kentucky signee.

Stacy Gage, St. Thomas Aquinas (5'11" 200) - Transferred in from Tampa Wharton ahead of senior year. Attended IMG Academy in 9th and 10th grade. Was once a 5 star recruit but ratings took a dive. Muscular back with good quickness & vision. Can make you miss in an airplane bathroom or bend your facemask if need be. Backed up Jordan Lyle as a senior. Lack of production is concerning but he has all the tools to succeed. Must work on pass blocking. UCF signee.

Khamani Alexander, Belen Jesuit (6'0" 190) - Productive tailback with good frame against so-so competition. Good vision & long speed. Track background. Also plays safety. One-time Georgia Tech commit. App State signee.

Da'Marion Alberic, Atlantic (5'10" 170) - Speedy scatback with elite burst. Extremely productive as both a runner and receiver. I wouldn't be surprised to see him move to WR at the next level. UMass signee.


Malik Kesley, Monarch (5'9" 170) - Went from Piper to Plantation, before finishing career at Monarch. Was rated higher earlier in his career & had some big offers. Slender, productive back with good speed and vision. Bethune Cookman signee.

 
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Running back has been pretty steady for a decade, although some disappointments in 2020 and 2021 will be felt in the coming draft. There's been a drop off recently.

James Cook was a Top 5 rusher in the NFL this year and Singletary and Moss were 21st and 26th among backs. Khalil Herbert was 29th.
 
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Chauncey Bowens & Isaac Brown will be very good players.

I'm holding out hope that UGA's log jam in the RB room will push him to the Portal.
Isaac Brown can play. saw it up close very sudden and accelerates very fast.
think it was a really good rb group this class locally.
 
Running back has been pretty steady for a decade, although some disappointments in 2020 and 2021 will be felt in the coming draft. There's been a drop off recently.

James Cook was a Top 5 rusher in the NFL this year and Singletary and Moss were 21st and 26th among backs. Khalil Herbert was 29th.
The drop-off started in 2015. Since then, the top rated South Florida RB's just haven't been producing in the NFL. It's really only James Cook.

The issue is most of these guys weren't even on our recruiting radar (or any other big time schools either):

James Cook - #41 in 2018
Zack Moss - #1,071 in 2016
Devin Singletary - #1,886 in 2016
Khalil Herbert - #2,068 in 2016

Compare that to 2009-2014 -
Dalvin Cook, Lamar Miller, Gio Bernard, Devonta Freeman, Sony Michel, Alex Collins, James White

Still a ton of good RB's - just obviously not as good as they used to be
 
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The drop-off started in 2015. Since then, the top rated South Florida RB's just haven't been producing in the NFL. It's really only James Cook.

The issue is most of these guys weren't even on our recruiting radar (or any other big time schools either):

James Cook - #41 in 2018
Zack Moss - #1,071 in 2016
Devin Singletary - #1,886 in 2016
Khalil Herbert - #2,068 in 2016

Compare that to 2009-2014 -
Dalvin Cook, Lamar Miller, Gio Bernard, Devonta Freeman, Sony Michel, Alex Collins

Still a ton of good RB's - just obviously not as good as they used to be
The list doesn’t include Kenny McIntosh and Travis Homer, two really good college players who got drafted and would have played for any team in the nation. They aren’t productive NFL guys, but they are takes any year.

Other than that, I agree.
 
The list doesn’t include Kenny McIntosh and Travis Homer, two really good college players who got drafted and would have played for any team in the nation. They aren’t productive NFL guys, but they are takes any year.

Other than that, I agree.

My feeling at RB is the same as pretty much all our positions - we get some nice college players, but we need to level up.

Georgia is the gold standard - they take South FL's best RB's and use them as depth guys. Sony Michel was behind Nick Chubb (although he played a lot). James Cook & Kenny McIntosh backed up D'Andre Swift & Zamir White (both barely played until they were Seniors).

I like that Mario hasn't stayed solely in South Florida for RB's - Citizen, Allen & Riley was a tough break. I hope that continues.
 
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My feeling at RB is the same as pretty much all our positions - we get some nice college players, but we need to level up.

Georgia is the gold standard - they take South FL's best RB's and use them as depth guys. Sony Michel was behind Nick Chubb (although he played a lot). James Cook & Kenny McIntosh backed up D'Andre Swift & Zamir White (both barely played until they were Seniors).

I like that Mario hasn't stayed solely in South Florida for RB's - Citizen, Allen & Riley was a tough break. I hope that continues.
I wouldn't call them depth guys- Cook is the best of the bunch besides Chubb, and McIntosh started as a senior.

But I agree we need elite RBs. South Florida is the most consistent area in churning out NFLers, but Mario has the ability and pocketbook to hunt nationally for first rounders if they aren't here.
 
I wouldn't call them depth guys- Cook is the best of the bunch besides Chubb, and McIntosh started as a senior.

But I agree we need elite RBs. South Florida is the most consistent area in churning out NFLers, but Mario has the ability and pocketbook to hunt nationally for first rounders if they aren't here.
Cook & McIntosh may not have been "depth guys" in terms of talent most places (especially Cook who has been great)

But they simply weren't used much until their Senior years at Georgia.
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I'm much less in the "depth chart is reflective of talent" camp as you are. I think on-field performance is the best way to gauge.

It's not just leaving South Florida when there's no 1st RD RB's - because South FL has only produced 1 2nd RD RB in the last 5 years (and who do you see coming anytime soon?). Top guys just haven't been here.

IMO - we're living off past glory a bit here. South FL hasn't been the top place for RB talent in the last 10 years.

It all just depends on how far you want to go back.
 
It’s good that we are recruiting backs from all over bc SFLA hadn’t produced an elite NFL back in a long time.

Got to remember a lot of states caught up with SLFA. Good football players are found all over .They may not have as much dense talent, but coaching is 10x better and most places have legit S&C programs. SFLA players are incredibly raw so it’s almost a crapshoot.
 
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South FL hasn't been the top place for RB talent in the last 10 years.
In the last few, I'd definitely agree. Over the past 10? I'd have to do the research, but there have been at least 11 NFL backs since 2014. That's more than one a year on average. Are there other areas churning out that kind of volume?
 
In the last few, I'd definitely agree. Over the past 10? I'd have to do the research, but there have been at least 11 NFL backs since 2014. That's more than one a year on average. Are there other areas churning out that kind of volume?
id like to know the area that is churning out more?.
 
In the last few, I'd definitely agree. Over the past 10? I'd have to do the research, but there have been at least 11 NFL backs since 2014. That's more than one a year on average. Are there other areas churning out that kind of volume?
By "Last 10 Years" - I mean the 2015-2024 Recruiting classes

By "Top Talent" - I mean Quality not Quantity

Since 2015 - Within 1 Hour of Philadelphia:

Saquon Barkley
Jonathan Taylor
D'Andre Swift
Isiah Pacheco
Nick Singleton

I don't think the whole state of Florida can compete with that.
 
By "Last 10 Years" - I mean the 2015-2024 Recruiting classes

By "Top Talent" - I mean Quality not Quantity

Since 2015 - Within 1 Hour of Philadelphia:

Saquon Barkley
Jonathan Taylor
D'Andre Swift
Isiah Pacheco
Nick Singleton

I don't think the whole state of Florida can compete with that.
Dont get carried away on the bolded.

Dalvin Cook
Derrick Henry
James Cook
Raheem Mostert

Not sure why Nick Singleton is in there lol. Henry Parrish had a higher per carry than him n u would throw Parrish to the curve right now if u had to.

That was the area though that i figured you would state. They had a crazy up tick....

*Nate Noel just transferred to Mizzou if healthy look for big stats from him.

* Update i think i didnt count those recruiting classes ...Henry and Mostert are older.
 
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