{"id":29824,"date":"2025-07-01T12:28:13","date_gmt":"2025-07-01T12:28:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/29824\/"},"modified":"2025-07-01T12:28:13","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T12:28:13","slug":"analyzing-the-best-dallas-area-high-school-running-backs-in-the-class-of-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/29824\/","title":{"rendered":"Analyzing the best Dallas-area high school running backs in the Class of 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"body-text-paragraph\">There are six running backs in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dallasnews.com\/high-school-sports\/football\/2025\/06\/24\/top-texas-high-school-football-recruits-class-of-2026-dallas-fort-worth\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">The Dallas Morning News\u2019 area top 100 recruiting rankings for the Class of 2026<\/a>, ranging from No. 6 to No. 99 overall. Four of those running backs have already made their college commitment going into their senior year, and Forney\u2019s Javian Osborne is the group\u2019s highest-ranked player.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-text-paragraph\">Here is a breakdown:<\/p>\n<p>No. 6 Javian Osborne, Forney<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-text-paragraph\">Osborne is coming off a season where he rushed for 1,227 yards and 22 touchdowns, while leading <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dallasnews.com\/high-school-sports\/schools\/forney\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.dallasnews.com\/high-school-sports\/schools\/forney\/\">Forney<\/a> to the bi-district round of the playoffs.<\/p>\n<p>High School Sports<\/p>\n<p class=\"dmnc_features-cta-social-cta-social-module__zWZy- mb-4\">The latest news, analysis, predictions and more for each season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-text-paragraph\">Standing at 5-10, 200 pounds, Osborne is the No. 6 running back in the country and No. 90 player overall in the 2026 class, according to 247Sports. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dallasnews.com\/high-school-sports\/football\/2025\/05\/03\/forney-four-star-rb-javian-osborne-announces-commitment-to-notre-dame\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.dallasnews.com\/high-school-sports\/football\/2025\/05\/03\/forney-four-star-rb-javian-osborne-announces-commitment-to-notre-dame\/\">He committed to Notre Dame in early May.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>No. 21 Christian Rhodes, Lake Highlands<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-text-paragraph\">Rhodes is the second-highest-rated running back in The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dallasnews.com\/high-school-sports\/football\/2025\/06\/24\/top-texas-high-school-football-recruits-class-of-2026-dallas-fort-worth\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">News\u2019 area top 100 recruiting rankings for the Class of 2026<\/a>. He had 147 carries for 1,271 yards and 14 touchdowns as a junior. He ran for 199 yards and three touchdowns on just seven carries in a 53-13 win against North Garland last season. <\/p>\n<p class=\"body-text-paragraph\">Rhodes is the No. 16 running back in the country and No. 200 player overall in the 2026 class, according to 247Sports. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dallasnews.com\/sports\/smu-mustangs\/2025\/02\/06\/smu-lands-commitment-from-4-star-lake-highlands-running-back-christian-rhodes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.dallasnews.com\/sports\/smu-mustangs\/2025\/02\/06\/smu-lands-commitment-from-4-star-lake-highlands-running-back-christian-rhodes\/\">He pledged to SMU in February<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>No. 33 Izayah Lee, Lancaster<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-text-paragraph\">Lee is coming off a season where he rushed for 1,294 yards and 24 touchdowns, while leading <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dallasnews.com\/high-school-sports\/schools\/lancaster\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.dallasnews.com\/high-school-sports\/schools\/lancaster\/\">Lancaster<\/a> to the area round.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-text-paragraph\">Standing at 5-11, 190 pounds, Lee is the No. 32 running back in the country and No. 515 player overall in the 2026 class, according to 247Sports. He pledged to Vanderbilt in early June.<\/p>\n<p>No. 49 Davis Penn, Southlake Carroll<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-text-paragraph\">Penn\u2019s season was cut short in the area round due to an ACL injury. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dallasnews.com\/high-school-sports\/football\/2024\/06\/14\/after-big-sophomore-year-southlake-carroll-running-back-davis-penn-commits-to-baylor\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.dallasnews.com\/high-school-sports\/football\/2024\/06\/14\/after-big-sophomore-year-southlake-carroll-running-back-davis-penn-commits-to-baylor\/\">He was a Baylor pledge<\/a>, but de-pledged following the injury. Penn went on visits to Tulane and Rice in June and holds eight more offers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-text-paragraph\">He stepped up for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dallasnews.com\/high-school-sports\/schools\/southlake-carroll\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.dallasnews.com\/high-school-sports\/schools\/southlake-carroll\/\">Southlake Carroll<\/a> when running back Riley Wormley, who\u2019s now at USC, went down with a similar injury early in the season. Penn\u2019s 925 yards and 18 touchdowns helped Carroll get into the playoffs, where they eventually made the state championship.<\/p>\n<p>No. 67 Josiah Lucas, South Grand Prairie<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-text-paragraph\">Lucas is the fourth pledged running back out of the group, recently committing to San Diego State on June 25. He holds 22 other offers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-text-paragraph\">The 5-7, 175-pound running back is a three-star recruit and is the No. 40-ranked running back in the country, according to 247Sports.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-text-paragraph\">His <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dallasnews.com\/high-school-sports\/schools\/south-grand-prairie\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.dallasnews.com\/high-school-sports\/schools\/south-grand-prairie\/\">South Grand Prairie<\/a> team made the bi-district round, finishing 6-5, but he led the team with 1,463 yards and 20 touchdowns rushing on 203 attempts.<\/p>\n<p>No. 99 Cam Newton, Prosper Walnut Grove<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-text-paragraph\">Newton is another running back who has garnered interest from Division I programs nationwide. He holds 17 offers, including those from UTEP and Temple, among others, as he enters his senior year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-text-paragraph\">Newton is coming off a big junior year with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dallasnews.com\/high-school-sports\/schools\/prosper-walnut-grove\/baseball\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.dallasnews.com\/high-school-sports\/schools\/prosper-walnut-grove\/baseball\/\">Prosper Walnut Grove<\/a>, where he led all Dallas-area 5A running backs with 2,013 yards and 31 touchdowns. He was part of a Walnut Grove team that made it to the regional semifinals.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-text-paragraph\">He stands at 5-9, 185 pounds and is currently unranked by 247Sports. He currently holds scholarship offers from Columbia, Dartmouth, Colgate, Yale and others.<\/p>\n<p class=\"body-text-paragraph\"><b>On Twitter\/X:<\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ronharrodjr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ronharrodjr\">@ronharrodjr<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"body-text-paragraph\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dallasnews.com\/high-school-sports\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Find more high school sports coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"body-text-paragraph\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dallasnews.com\/newsletters\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sign up for our FREE HS newsletter.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There are six running backs in The Dallas Morning News\u2019 area top 100 recruiting rankings for the Class&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":29825,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5135],"tags":[13478,13358,13359,5229,13502,13534,13463,7948,13393,13542,13394,13395,13523,13543,13396,13392,13473,13516,13506,13438,13538,13528,13519,13439,13441,13552,13440,13553,13442,13464,13497,13420,13517,13421,13498,13524,13470,13544,13469,13479,13370,13371,13518,13474,13546,13489,13344,1596,13547,13431,13360,13361,13432,13465,13422,13423,13424,13425,13475,13521,13345,13520,13505,13550,13372,13539,13374,13373,1318,13458,13535,13536,13525,13545,13529,13537,13551,13526,13448,13450,13452,13451,13466,13453,13540,13454,13455,13467,13499,13456,13449,13457,13399,13401,13402,13400,13513,7388,13397,13471,13541,13472,13527,13349,13375,10858,13381,25533,13480,13347,13346,9732,13383,13384,13382,13385,13533,13433,13503,13350,13351,13352,13353,13496,13481,13468,13386,13387,13459,13460,13376,13377,13514,13495,13508,13362,13490,13515,13427,13428,13426,13476,13443,13363,13364,13548,13366,13365,13491,13412,13413,13492,13414,13477,13436,13444,13504,13348,13500,13415,13403,13461,13354,13530,13511,13501,10548,13379,13378,13380,13512,13531,13493,13367,13369,13368,25532,13437,13388,13390,13391,13389,13445,13416,13417,13418,13509,13404,13405,13419,13406,13407,13482,13507,13483,13549,13429,13408,13398,13485,13484,13356,13355,62,13486,13522,13510,13446,13494,358,13434,13435,13487,13532,13357,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,13447,13430,13462,13488,13409,13410,13411],"class_list":{"0":"post-29824","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas","8":"tag-adamson-school","9":"tag-allen","10":"tag-allen-school","11":"tag-america","12":"tag-anna-school","13":"tag-argyle-liberty-christian-school","14":"tag-argyle-school","15":"tag-arlington","16":"tag-arlington-bowie-school","17":"tag-arlington-grace-prep-school","18":"tag-arlington-lamar-school","19":"tag-arlington-martin-school","20":"tag-arlington-oakridge-school","21":"tag-arlington-pantego-christian-school","22":"tag-arlington-sam-houston-school","23":"tag-arlington-school","24":"tag-arlington-seguin-school","25":"tag-arlington-trinity-leadership","26":"tag-aubrey-school","27":"tag-birdville-school","28":"tag-bishop-dunne-school","29":"tag-bishop-lynch-school","30":"tag-blue-ridge","31":"tag-bryan-adams-school","32":"tag-carrollton","33":"tag-carrollton-creekview-school","34":"tag-carrollton-newman-smith-school","35":"tag-carrollton-prince-of-peace-christian-school","36":"tag-carrollton-r-l-turner-school","37":"tag-carrollton-ranchview-school","38":"tag-carter-school","39":"tag-cedar-hill","40":"tag-cedar-hill-newman","41":"tag-cedar-hill-school","42":"tag-celina-school","43":"tag-cistercian-school","44":"tag-colleyville","45":"tag-colleyville-covenant-christian-school","46":"tag-colleyville-heritage-school","47":"tag-conrad-school","48":"tag-coppell","49":"tag-coppell-school","50":"tag-corsicana-mildred-school","51":"tag-corsicana-school","52":"tag-covenant-school-school","53":"tag-crandall-school","54":"tag-crowley-school","55":"tag-dallas","56":"tag-dallas-christian-school","57":"tag-denton","58":"tag-denton-braswell-school","59":"tag-denton-guyer-school","60":"tag-denton-ryan-school","61":"tag-denton-school","62":"tag-desoto","63":"tag-desoto-school","64":"tag-duncanville","65":"tag-duncanville-school","66":"tag-ennis-school","67":"tag-episcopal-school-of-dallas-school","68":"tag-euless-trinity-school","69":"tag-faith-family-school","70":"tag-ferris-school","71":"tag-first-baptist-school","72":"tag-flower-mound","73":"tag-flower-mound-coram-deo-school","74":"tag-flower-mound-marcus-school","75":"tag-flower-mound-school","76":"tag-football","77":"tag-forney-school","78":"tag-fort-worth-all-saints-school","79":"tag-fort-worth-christian-school","80":"tag-fort-worth-country-day-school","81":"tag-fort-worth-lake-country-school","82":"tag-fort-worth-nolan-school","83":"tag-fort-worth-southwest-christian-school","84":"tag-fort-worth-temple-christian-school","85":"tag-fort-worth-trinity-valley-school","86":"tag-frisco","87":"tag-frisco-centennial-school","88":"tag-frisco-emerson-school","89":"tag-frisco-heritage-school","90":"tag-frisco-independence-school","91":"tag-frisco-lebanon-trail-school","92":"tag-frisco-legacy-christian-school","93":"tag-frisco-liberty-school","94":"tag-frisco-lone-star-school","95":"tag-frisco-memorial-school","96":"tag-frisco-panther-creek","97":"tag-frisco-reedy-school","98":"tag-frisco-school","99":"tag-frisco-wakeland-school","100":"tag-garland","101":"tag-garland-lakeview-centennial-school","102":"tag-garland-naaman-forest-school","103":"tag-garland-school","104":"tag-gateway-charter-school","105":"tag-grand-prairie","106":"tag-grand-prairie-school","107":"tag-grapevine","108":"tag-grapevine-faith-christian-school","109":"tag-grapevine-school","110":"tag-greenhill-school","111":"tag-haltom-school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