Honorable Mention
Rapheal Bradley (Wheeling Park) 2020
Trey Sine (Martinsburg) 2020
Diallo Mitchell (Huntington) 2020
#5 Jace Whetsell
School: Morgantown
Height: 5’10
Weight: 160
Year: 2020
Whetsell will most likely be the least expected name on this list. This is mostly due to the fact that his role in 2018 was more of a returner and scatback while Ty Konchesky did most of the heavy lifting running. For the touches he did get, he was electric. Whetsell is smaller but has some serious agility and cutting speed. He had several highlight runs that looked video game-esque with the amount of dodged tackles and field crossing. We won’t expect him to be Matt Lacy’s three down horse but expect him to make plays in several spots consistently.
#4 Kenya Robinson II
School: Wheeling Park
Height: 5’8
Weight: 165
Year: 2020
Robinson comes into his senior season apart of a dynamite returning backfield that includes Alex Dunlevy, Rapheal Bradley, and Stevie Mitchell. Last season, he split carries with the other two backs but made the most of his touches. Robinson is a slasher with neat tricks to gain extra yards such as quick spinning whips and always falling forward. He can also be a threat in the short passing game. Coach Chris Daugherty has another promising looking offense with Robinson being a key piece in that.
#3 Jaydyn Johnson
School: South Charleston
Height: 6’2
Weight: 195
Year: 2021
Johnson has been one of the Black Eagle players who has had to play since freshman year due to some coincidental player departures. Though thrown into the fire young, Johnson has developed into a stud two-way player going into his junior year. He is tall and that allows his high knee running style to burst through holes for ripping gains. His length allows him to keep defenders off of him and stretch the field. Donnie Mays returns a stable of talent in which he looks to put them back in the race come August.
#2 Christian Hill
School: Hurricane
Height: 5’8
Weight: 175
Year: 2020
Hill is the definition of reliable. Not only has he been a tough and athletic staple of the Redskin offense since a sophomore, but he has arguably shown up in the biggest games. He is a versatile runner with a low center of gravity and strong hips that makes him appear to be a power back but don’t sleep, he has speed and explosion to make the defense bleed. He will be a favorite to lead to AAA in rushing yards especially with a new quarterback coming in.
#1 Naieem Kearney
School: Martinsburg
Height: 5’8
Weight: 165
Year: 2021
Kearney was a bad dream for other teams. A legendary 2017 senior class leaves and Dewayne Grantham goes down early in 2018- the Bulldogs are vulnerable, right? Wrong. Kearney was dynamite from the get-go. His mix of acceleration and reaction time to evade tacklers is elite. Becoming the number one runner on a team with 40+ straight victories as a sophomore says enough. Dave Walker will possibly allow Kearney to work his scatback ability now that a true pocket passer in Elijah Banks takes the full reign.