Top 26 storylines for 2016: No. 15 – A pretty awesome group of H.S. running backs

[caption id="attachment_24787" align="alignright" width="350"]Denton Guyer's Noah Cain (Photo by Gary Sanderson) Denton Guyer's Noah Cain (Photo by Gary Sanderson)[/caption] You don’t need me to tell you that Texas produces some outstanding running backs, but this year’s group has the makings of something really special, particularly because of the age range of the talent. Sure, as far as the class of 2017 is concerned, the marquee names are all known by now. Kennedy Brooks of Mansfield, Eno Benjamin of Wylie East, and J.K. Dobbins of La Grange headline the list of stars. What those three alone are capable of doing this season is especially noteworthy, but it’s the group coming up behind them that makes 2016’s lineup of running backs tremendous. In the Valley, you’ve got a two-headed monster in Edinburg Vela’s Robert Guerra and Harlingen’s Leo Tienda. Vela knows how to put up points, and Harlingen may have one of its best teams in years. Head north a bit, and S.A. Southside’s Matthew Collier gets overshadowed by names at bigger schools like Cibolo Steel’s Travell Lumpkin, but both are backs anyone would take. Fort Bend Ridge Point’s B.J. Rainford got lost in the Houston-area wash a bit last year with huge running back performances by upperclassmen at places like Katy and George Ranch, and is still flying under the radar with the emergence of Katy’s Deondrick Glass. Glass joins Denton Guyer’s Noah Cain as two backs with meteoric rises as freshmen last year, becoming established names before 99 percent of players even get a look on varsity. East Texas has some monsters, too, including Marshall’s Cam Haller, who had to play some QB last year, but is a powerful running force. At smaller schools not named La Grange, there are workhorses like Keaton Dudik, Mac Briscoe, Calvin Tyler, Tyler Gray, David Dickson and Kiyandre Faulk. If you believe reports out of the Coastal Bend, Refugio will feature Jaylon Mascorro as a running back, too. Here’s our current list of 1,800-yard rushers returning at each level: 6A Mansfield’s Kennedy Brooks 3,522 yards Fort Bend Ridge Point’s B.J. Rainford 1,992 yards Edinburg Vela’s Robert Guerra 1,891 yards Harlingen’s Leo Tienda 1,849 yards 5A Wylie East’s Eno Benjamin 2,652 yards Frisco Wakeland’s Jay Orji 1,919 yards S.A. Southside’s Matthew Collier 1,829 yards Marshall’s Cam Haller 1,815 yards 4A La Grange’s J.K. Dobbins 2,740 yards China Spring’s Keaton Dudik 2,200 yards Belliville’s Mac Briscoe 1,894 yards Silsbee’s Calvin Tyler 1,809 yards 3A Brock’s Tyler Gray 2,061 yards 2A Memphis’ David Dickson 2,299 yards Kerens’ Kiyandre Faulk 1,801 yards Not bad, right? It’s a group that will almost certainly be overshadowed this year by a stellar batch of quarterbacks (more on that later in the list), but a group we’ll be watching closely all year. A few new names will probably emerge or take a big leap, too. All the more reason to be excited about a deep and talented group.