Stock Watch for Class of 2015 Top Running Backs

While there isn’t a Leonard Fournette-type star in the 2015 class of running backs, the rising crop of senior rushers is filled with its share of dynamic talents. 

There are 11 running backs who are rated among the top 100 players overall in the 247Sports composite rankings.

With the first month of the season in the books, there are a few backs whose stock is clearly on the upswing.

How are the nation’s top backs faring in the early part of the 2014 season?

Damien Harris

Trending: Up

Rank: No. 1 RB, No. 28 player overall 

Early Season Outlook

Rated as the nation’s top running back, 5-star Kentucky native Damien Harris has backed up that lofty rating with a strong start to his senior season.

According to MaxPreps, the 5’11”, 205-pounder has rushed for 958 yards and 14 touchdowns in his first four games. If those numbers weren’t eye-popping enough, he’s averaging a whopping 17.7 yards per carry. He’s also scored on a 91-yard kickoff return. 

Harris—who visited Ohio State earlier this month—is still the subject of a heated recruiting battle involving Urban Meyer’s Buckeyes and the homestanding Kentucky Wildcats.

With his blistering start to his final prep campaign, it’s easy to see why Harris has been tabbed as the nation’s most talented rusher.

Taj Griffin

Trending: N/A because of injury

Rank: No. 1 all-purpose back, No. 38 player overall 

Early Season Outlook

After rushing for three touchdowns in the first quarter of McEachern High School’s season opener against North Gwinnett, it looked like 4-star running Taj Griffin was primed for a monster senior season. 

Unfortunately, a torn ACL suffered in the second half of the Indians’ loss put a halt to the prep career of the standout Oregon Ducks commit. As Michael Carvell of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution noted, Griffin had rushed for 137 yards in the game before his injury.

However, the 5’10”, 175-pounder is taking the news in stride. As Justin Hopkins of 247Sports notes (subscription required), Griffin has decided to get a head start on his college career and his rehab.

"Actually I just recently decided that I'm going to graduate in December and enroll early at Oregon," Griffin told Hopkins. "That way I will be able to finish my ACL rehab in Eugene with the college's medical staff and personnel." 

The injury put a damper on his senior season, but as the glimpses of his limited action in the season opener proved, Griffin is a freakish all-purpose threat who should give Mark Helfrich and the Ducks another dynamic playmaking option to plug into their uptempo attack.

Jacques Patrick

Trending: Up 

Rank: No. 2 RB, No. 40 player overall 

Early Season Outlook

At 6’2”, 230 pounds, 4-star Orlando running back Jacques Patrick is one of the most physically imposing backs in the 2015 class. 

Similar to Harris, Patrick has begun his senior season on a tear, rushing for 769 yards and 11 touchdowns through three games, according to MaxPreps.

Patrick—who is scheduled to announce his commitment on Oct. 27—has already visited Ohio State and Texas A&M this month, but his primary suitors appear to be Alabama and Florida State. 

Considering his production, the package of size and speed he brings to the table and how his game translates to the next level, Patrick’s stock is on the rise.

Soso Jamabo

Trending: Up

Rank: No. 3 RB, No. 47 player overall

Early Season Outlook

While Harris and Patrick have put up monster numbers this year, it’s 4-star Texas standout Soso Jamabo who has had the most impressive singular performance among running backs so far this season.

In Plano West High School’s second game of the season, the 6’3”, 210-pound Jamabo went off. He rushed for 484 yards and six touchdowns on 31 carries in a 63-49 win over Sachse that earned him Player of the Week honors from The Dallas Morning News, via Michael Florek.

In three games this season, Jamabo has rushed for 789 yards and 13 touchdowns and added another touchdown as a receiver.

Texas A&M, UCLA and Notre Dame—who hosted Jamabo on an official visit for its win over Michigan—are among the schools hoping to lure a pledge from the nation’s No. 3 running back.

Johnny Frasier

Credit: 247Sports

Trending: Even

Rank: No. 4 RB, No. 66 player overall

Early Season Outlook

After rushing for 3,042 yards and 45 touchdowns as a junior, 4-star North Carolina rusher Johnny Frasier set an amazingly high bar for himself heading into his senior season.

Through five games, the 5’11”, 200-pounder is not on pace to top those ridiculous numbers. However, he’s rushed for 680 yards and 11 touchdowns on only 62 carries while adding another 101 yards and two scores as a receiver, according to MaxPreps.

Even though Frasier committed to Florida State last month, he’s left the door slightly open for other schools. He visited Duke unofficially two weeks ago, and he is scheduled to take an official visit to Tennessee on Oct. 4, per Ryan Callahan of 247Sports.

Regardless of how he finishes the season, his early start is another indicator that validates his status as one of the most explosive backs in the 2015 class.

Larry Scott

Credit: 247Sports

Trending: Up

Rank: No. 5 RB, No. 68 player overall 

Early Season Outlook

One running back who has proven himself worthy of a lofty preseason ranking is 4-star Ohio rusher Larry Scott. 

The 6’0”, 205-pounder has rushed for 729 yards and 11 touchdowns while averaging nearly 10 yards per carry through four games, according to MaxPreps.

The Michigan State commit—who is currently the nation’s fifth-best running back and the No. 68 player overall in the 2015 class—has established himself as one of the nation’s top skill players and potentially the top player in Ohio in this cycle. 

If Scott continues his strong play, he has a chance to top his strong numbers as a junior (1,681 yards, 21 touchdowns) and make a move up the rankings.

Derrius Guice

Credit: 247Sports

Trending: Up 

Rank: No. 6 RB, No. 74 player overall 

Early Season Outlook

LSU signed the nation’s best back in Fournette last year, but the Tigers may have found another gem who hails just minutes away from Tiger Stadium.

Les Miles has already gotten a commitment from 4-star running back and Baton Rouge native Derrius Guice, who has exploded at Catholic High School through the Bears’ first three games of the 2014 season. 

The 5’11”, 219-pounder has rushed for 459 yards and five touchdowns while averaging more than 14 yards per carry. He’s also added another four touchdowns as a receiver.

While Guice may not carry the same hype as Fournette did a year ago, the buzz on Louisiana’s top back in 2015 will only continue to grow as he keeps piling up numbers as he’s done through the early portion of this season.

Jordan Scarlett

Credit: 247Sports

Trending: Down

Rank: No. 7 RB, No. 76 player overall 

Early Season Outlook 

After transferring from University High School in the spring, big things were expected of St. Thomas Aquinas senior running back Jordan Scarlett this season.

The 5’11”, 210-pound Floridian, who committed to Miami over the summer, rushed for 932 yards and 14 touchdowns in 10 games as a junior last season. 

However, it’s been tough sledding for Scarlett and the Raiders program in the early stages of the 2014 season. With a program like STA that’s used to winning big, a 2-1 start is more disappointing than perhaps it should be. 

Sharing time with fellow recruit and former Maryland pledge Deltron Sands, Scarlett has rushed for 190 yards and three touchdowns in the Raiders' first two games, according to InsideTheU’s Nate Adelson (subscription required).

While Scarlett is still one of the nation’s top backs in this class, his production is clearly below what some of the other backs who are ranked near him have produced.

Ronald Jones II

Credit: 247Sports

Trending: Even

Rank: No. 8 RB, No. 83 player overall

Early Season Outlook

Jamabo is the top back in the Lone Star State, but Oklahoma State pledge Ronald Jones II is on his heels to claim that title.

One year after rushing for 2,406 and 39 touchdowns, Jones has piled up 461 yards rushing and six scores on 43 carries through three games for McKinney North High School, according to MaxPreps.

Included in those totals was a 280-yard, four-touchdown performance in one half of work in a 54-16 win over Richardson Pearce in a performance that earned him Player of the Week honors from The Dallas Morning News, via Florek.

Tabbed as the No. 83 overall player in the 2015 class, the play of the 6’0”, 185-pound Jones to this point validates that lofty ranking.

Mark Walton

Credit: 247Sports

Trending: Even

Rank: No. 9 RB, No. 87 player overall

Early Season Outlook 

Scarlett isn’t the only future ‘Cane who is in consideration to be one of the nation’s top senior running backs.

Booker T. Washington 4-star standout Mark Walton is another talent reeled in by Al Golden who is rated among the nation’s top 100 players overall.

According to Adelson (subscription required), through four games, the Miami resident has rushed for 374 yards and five touchdowns on just 44 carries.

As Ryan Bartow of 247Sports notes, Walton’s strong play helped him earn an offer from Tennessee last week. His hot start is further proof that the 5’10”, 179-pounder is one of the nation’s better all-purpose threats out of the backfield.

DeSherrius Flowers

Trending: Down 

Rank: No. 10 RB, No. 93 player overall

Early Season Outlook

It’s been a struggle for Alabama running back pledge DeSherrius Flowers in 2014. 

The 6’1”, 212-pounder sprained his ankle in the first quarter of his team’s season opener, and he’s been hampered with the injury ever since.

“He is still limping a good bit,” Vigor coach Ashley Johnson told Ben Thomas of AL.com recently on his star rusher. “He’s still not 100 percent. Worse than that, he is just not himself. Sometimes a nagging injury like that can affect your mindset. We need him to get 100 percent healthy, and believe he is 100 percent healthy.”

Given his health issues, Flowers has been unable to build on a strong junior campaign that saw him rush for 922 yards and 12 scores. With a limited body of work to evaluate this season, Flowers could be a candidate to drop in the next batch of updated rankings.

Sanjay Kirpalani is a National Recruiting Analyst for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.

Follow @SanjayKirpalani