Michael Carvell’s Video Blog: Who is the state’s top high school running back?
Chat live on Fridays with the AJC's Michael Carvell
Georgia’s high schools have a heralded reputation for producing some of the nation’s top running backs every year.
This year’s crop is another strong one, led by Southwest DeKalb’s Ken Malcome and M.L. King’s Mack Brown. There’s also Grayson’s Ean Pemberton, Sandy Creek’s Rajon Neal and Charles Perkins of Collins Hill, among others.
Who is my pick for the state’s top running back? The biggest talent I have seen this year is the same guy I thought was No. 1 last year – ahead of other tremendous players such as UGA freshman Washaun Ealey. The player I mention in the video below is very rare in that he projects to play both tailback and fullback at college’s highest levels. And he’s darn good in high school this year, too.
Note: By popular demand, we’ve added McEachern’s Rajaan Bennett, Loganville’s Storm Johnson, and Stephenson’s Raymond Sanders to our short list.
Who is YOUR pick for the state’s top running back? Post your RB’s name below and why. And if we’re missing out on some great ones, then state your case.
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215 comments Add your comment
JAGS
October 22nd, 2009
4:56 pm
DOTTIO- Not Disappointed-Lot’s of excellent Running Backs in the state of Georgia. Good Luck Young Men.
lassiter trojans fan 222
October 22nd, 2009
5:06 pm
tyren jones lassiter the kids only a freshmen and he has been braking tackles every week the kids good come to lassiter and u will see his talent
Marcus
October 22nd, 2009
5:09 pm
its malcome. he is tough and a bruiser, runs people over and one person cant tackle him
slalom1
October 22nd, 2009
5:09 pm
Hands down: OCIE SALTER from LaGrange
Marcus
October 22nd, 2009
5:12 pm
and o yeah, Malcome has more yards than mack brown, and raymond sanders
Gee Man
October 22nd, 2009
5:16 pm
Marteze waller of Putnam County War Eagles.Just an sophomore ,but very talented.Check him out just might surprise you.
TJ
October 22nd, 2009
5:29 pm
Depends how define a great back……Look at Storm Johnson, at Buford AA he was all state now running at AAAA at Loganville…not as good. I like to define a great running back as one that a teams record hinges their success. Examples are Collins Hill with Perkins and Grayson with Pemberton. The nod goes to Pemberton in my book. Look at Grayson’s record before he came on the scene as a freshman. His size and stature at 5ft 4 inches and 160 pounds raises his teams spirit and will. If Ean can do it so can we attitude has taken Grayson to new heights. Some college is going to strike gold if they give him a chance. His heart and attitude make him the number 1 player not just running back. His 4,000 yards so far in his high school career in the highest classification in the state at his size……no question the best pound for pound player in the state!
gp295
October 22nd, 2009
5:33 pm
Tevin king best back in georgia, play for Colquitt High ask lowndes. Record 6-1 and the reason the pack will make noise in the state playoff.
Porty
October 22nd, 2009
5:45 pm
Charles Perkins, no question.
The Ole Ball Coach
October 22nd, 2009
5:53 pm
Martzez Eastland of Ringgold is a man among boys….
TB, FB, QB, LB, & DL he can play it very well.
Andre Bagley from LaFayette looks good too over 1100 yards in 7 games.
Paddy
October 22nd, 2009
5:56 pm
tell it like it is….charles perkins, I agree with you.
The Ole Ball Coach
October 22nd, 2009
6:00 pm
Martez Eastland should be getting looks by D1 if not something is wrong
with the scouts.
Martez is one of the best player I have ever seen in over 40 years
of watching HS Football. He can play every position and he is big, strong and fast …. UGA you let him get away then you do not have a Recruiting expert… I am not from Ringgold but I have watched him in 4 games in two years and he was by far the best player on the field in all 4 games. Just an absolute stud.
and that include several current D1 players.
TRUE BLUE
October 22nd, 2009
6:04 pm
GRAYSON STUDENT, I was going to leave grayson alone but you are making me go there with after you leave Gwinnetti the talent drops. Every sports writer in their right mind knows to come to DEKALB COUNTY for talent. Dekalb have the best DEFENSIVE END, RUNNING BACK ,DEFENSIVE TACKLE, RECEIVERS, QUARTERBACK, LINEBACKER, SAFETY, AND ETC. in the metro ATLANTA. Do you want me to name the players, because you can go on ESPNU, RIVALS,and SCOUT.COM an see.
dakotah
October 22nd, 2009
6:18 pm
eayn dayz he is the best :]
reality
October 22nd, 2009
6:28 pm
Brookwood has a stable of good running backs but Crews doesn’t play them…they have good receiver but the quarterback is so blind he would rather get sacked than throw to them…
Brazilia120
October 22nd, 2009
7:20 pm
I’d have to go with:
1. Franklin (Lowndes)
2. King (Colquitt)
3. Pemberton (Grayson)
Franklin and King play against the best defenses in the state, and Pemberton showed out against a very good Lowndes defense last year. The rest of these guys are good…but they pad their stats against mediocre competition.
TRE SORRELLS HANDS DOWN, DO UR HOMEWORK
October 22nd, 2009
7:25 pm
ALCOVY’S SOPHMORE RB IS KILLING THESE BOYS ON HERE BUT LIKE HUFF SAID ALL NEWTON COUNTY TEAMS GETTING LOOKED OVER FOR THE INSIDE 285 TEAMS. WE PLAY HARDER SCHEDULES AND MORE YARDS AND STILL GET OVER LOOKED…..ALCOVY STATE BOUND
The Mind...
October 22nd, 2009
7:27 pm
@ Paddy…
Yea, the mind is horrible thing to waste, since you can’t read the difference between my typing Crowell instead of Cross… lol at that. No one has heard of Crowell??? um ok, here a link that believes he’s possible 5 star for 2011…
http://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1005121
BulldawgBite
October 22nd, 2009
7:45 pm
if charles perkins had a decent line he would be unstoppable. same with mack brown these two are probably the best in GA. mack brown was injured against Stephenson so i kinda wanna neglect that game.
Grayson Student
October 22nd, 2009
8:28 pm
to be honest with you true blue i could care less… rivals and espn and all the other rankings are purely opinion. tell me something, do u remember when caleb king was a 5 star recruit??? now tell me if he has lived up to that, or better yet has he even come close? Thats funny how you say that dekalb has all the talent because they can NEVER do anything with it. I mean jesus i would take the 2 seed in our region (south) over any team dekalb could muster.. D1 talent means ABSOLUTELY NOTHING IN HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
big nasty
October 22nd, 2009
8:48 pm
somebody need to beware of the brother daul in brooks co they are the truth
Region 6AAAA
October 22nd, 2009
9:11 pm
MIKE GILBERT FROM STONE MOUNTAIN. AND HIS SIDEKICK MICAH COLLINS BOTH JUNIORS
just saying
October 22nd, 2009
9:46 pm
IF I blocked for Mack or Charles I would stop they say you are no good. Please stop making excuse.Neither one is really in the running. And everybody has a bad game you cant pick and choose which ones you want to count they all count. A lot of the running back dealing with some type of injury. Mack looked fine. Whatever!!! And Charles line or online too many carries for those yards. Duh
TJ
October 22nd, 2009
11:31 pm
Pound for pound, inch for inch the best back/player…Ean Pemberton with his 5ft 4 inch frame and 160 pounds has lifted Grayson to where they are at on offense. The team feeds off him because if little Ean can do it, so can they. True mark of a great player makes everyone around them better. Not sure how good Grayson would be without him and the 4,000 high school career yards he has so far.
OLESKOOL
October 22nd, 2009
11:41 pm
HE MAY NOT BE THE ABSOLUTE BEST BACK IN THE STATE BUT HE IS HANDS DOWN IN THE TOP 10–HIS NAME MR.TYRONE DAVIS OF THERRELL HIGH SCHOOL IN ATLANTA—THIS KID HAS RUN 4 OVER A 1000 YARDS WITH AN OFFENSIVE LINE THAT CONSISTS OF ALL SOPHMORES AND ONE FRESHMEN ON A TEAM THAT HAS ONLY WON 1 GAME BUT HE WORKS HIS BUTT OFF EVERY FRIDAY NITE AND EARNS EVERY YARD HE GETS—-THESE ARE THE KIND OF KIDS THAT PEOPLE TEND TO FORGET
Bodog
October 23rd, 2009
12:55 am
Hey…..Go For The Facts: If he is so @@@@ good ; what happened against northside Warner Robins? I can’t hear you…………………………….!!!!!!!! step up…
SGT CHRIS
October 23rd, 2009
2:21 am
Funny you guys mention Isaiah Crowell because he is just a junior this year and has another year to get even better. Definite game changer. Just go back to the GPB.ORG archives and find the Carver/Baldwin game
Afraz
October 23rd, 2009
5:18 am
Cole Moon, St Pius
rwdekalbfan
October 23rd, 2009
7:55 am
To “TRUE BLUE” I was not making excuses for Mack Brown, Stephensen has an overall better team than MLK. Stephensen is not as dependent on Sanders as MLK is on Mack because their “team” is better. If Sanders was on MLK instead of Mack Brown, his stats would not be any better than Mack Browns. Word of advice, you might want to tone it down a tad with all the boasting. That one game does not make a season. Stephensen has a good team but until they beat the good teams in AAAAA that they normally lose to, you are setting yourself up for more Stephensen bashing on here.
Big Dawg
October 23rd, 2009
8:03 am
Decatur Fullback Quendarious Hall is 5′10 205 and is averaging 110 and a touchdown a game.
GREG MCCRARY
October 23rd, 2009
8:14 am
BUCK HANCOCK DON’T LIVE IN METO atlanta so he get no press BUT HE IS THE REAL DEAL!!
Coach E
October 23rd, 2009
9:16 am
Darren Hancock Griffin High School. If you don’t know you should read the paper or come visit Griffin.
Coach E
October 23rd, 2009
9:23 am
Darren Hancock Griffin high. Griffin high is the number one team in the state.
JAGS
October 23rd, 2009
9:32 am
@rwdekalb fan I Love Mack Brown but .But you are so wrong about being on a better team with better stats because boys from Avondale, Miller Grove , etc. have better or just as good stats. When there is not a much talent on the team you ususally have better stats because you dont have to share as much time. So I cant agree with the stats would be better We just dont know . And also Sanders have not just done this one game its just one game the World know about. Check him out.
But you are right no need to boast the season must be finished.
Please stop talking about the rest of MLk team as though they cant play because they can . We still have a lot of respect for those young men ,just enjoying the bragging right while we can.
the greast ever in the dekalb
October 23rd, 2009
9:49 am
Mike Gilbert RB at stone mountain class of 2011 Fast, strong , with great hands went over a 1000 as a sophmore. Reminds you B.J. Edwards when he was at stone mountain
afwer
October 23rd, 2009
10:11 am
Donovan Johnson Union Grove
plowboy
October 23rd, 2009
10:28 am
tevin king is really good
Stacy Parker
October 23rd, 2009
10:38 am
Dalton’s TRE BECK, Sophomore, rushed 19 times for 296 yards on Thursday vs. Rome. This is Becks 3rd game with over 250 yards on the seasonn. He had a 97 yard run vs. Woodland Bartow and a 95 yard run last night vs. Rome. He currently has 1147 yards on the season with 12 TD’s and over 400 return yards on both punt and kickoff returns.
BIGCAT
October 23rd, 2009
10:42 am
Dalton’s Sophomore TRE BECK rushed for 296 yards on Thursday vs Rome with 2 TD’s. One run was 95 yards. This is Beck’s 3rd game with over 250 yards. His longest run of the season was 97 yards vs Woodland Bartow. Beck currently has 1147 yards rushing with 12 TD’s and over 400 return yards on both Punt and Kickoff.
MR. SMITH
October 23rd, 2009
10:56 am
Robert Brown, Westside High, Macon, GA
shawn
October 23rd, 2009
11:20 am
I. Crowell of Carver(Col). This kid is very good. Great coaching staff behind him. Go Carver. Beat Lagrange tonight!
james brown
October 23rd, 2009
12:23 pm
MACK BROWN…GATORS BABY
Beast Lover
October 23rd, 2009
12:27 pm
Most you folks obviously haven’t seen Storm Johnson play. This kid is the beast. Last game 37 carries, 285 yards.
HomeFieldAdvantage
October 23rd, 2009
1:08 pm
Brazilia120 – I hear you man. I like your 1-2-3 picks and YOUR JUSTIFICATION! Warner Rnins will see first hand how good Colquitt’s best RB (King) is 2 nite! May be the best in 1-AAAAA. Along with Franklin and the dude at Houston County.
Jerry Glanville
October 23rd, 2009
1:23 pm
#23 Juwan Thompson Woodward Academy. See Link below to provide it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DtPli7KDkI&feature=related
Arthur Dukes
October 23rd, 2009
2:08 pm
I also was at the MLK vs SWD game and saw both running backs in action. They were both OK, The best running back I have seen this year is Stephenson’s Raymond Sanders. He has great balance and speed with the natural gift of hitting the right hole. I think with the right coaching he could be a greatest running back to come from Georgia.
Eastside Eagles
October 23rd, 2009
2:44 pm
There are a lot of great running backs in Newton Co. period! All of the high schools in that county have GREAT runningbacks. They range from Tre Sorrells (over 700yds rushing as a sophomore), to Akeem Hunt (Newton Co.), to Git Aikens (Eastside High..over 800 yds. rushing in 7 gms.). And these guys play in some pretty tough regions too. We just ask that you guys dont overlook our talent cause we’re all (Newton CO., Alcovy, and Eastside) playoff bound in all regions. AAA, AAAA, AAAAA!
fred
October 23rd, 2009
2:49 pm
ARE YOU CRAZY NORTH CLAYTON HIGHSCHOOL JACKSON is a beast #1 in the state and that oline they have KIllers TORI BOX and the rest of the crew are just the best
kimo
October 23rd, 2009
2:49 pm
i have no idea who is the best!
boots
October 23rd, 2009
3:03 pm
Ed Pinson at Athens Academy is a fantastic back. Good for 5 to 10 yards a carry and has busted some big plays each game. Scored 11 TDs in first five games of the season.