Georgia's Top Schools for Running Backs
For decades, Georgia High School Football has been the home for outstanding running backs, consistently proving that the state produces some of the best running backs in the nation. The talent in the backfield is seen on every football field on Friday nights across the state. Below, I will list 10 of the state’s best programs when it comes to running backs. The criteria that was considered in making this list varied program to program. For example, some of the programs made the list based on specific moments of unprecedented success in the backfield for their respective programs, while others were measured by more recent trends. This list is not perfect.
1. Milton
Milton tops the list and has produced a stall of top-tier running backs in the past decade that rival many programs in the state. The culmination of Milton’s running game was solidified by quarterback Jordan Yates, currently at Georgia Tech, when the Eagles won the 2018 Class AAAAAAA State Championship 14-13 over Colquitt County. The Eagle offense, built on the ground, helped the more recent backs thrive. Josh Edwards carried the ball 212 times during the 2018 season for 1,134 yards and 19 touchdowns during the championship run. He plays at Arkansas State. Arguably the most successful back to come from Milton, Peyton Barber, rushed for 1,700 yards his senior season with more than 20 touchdowns. Barber played at Auburn from 2013-2016 and started in 2015 with 238 carries for 1,017 yards and 13 touchdowns. In 2016, Barber declared for the NFL Draft and was signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers where he spent four seasons before signing with the Washington Redskins on a 2-year, $3 million contract in March. Treyvon Paulk, a 2017 graduate, rushed for over 3,000 yards in high school and played at Tennessee and Samford. 2018 graduate Soloman Vanhorse rushed for 1,250 yards and 10 touchdowns his senior season without a fumble and currently plays at James Madison. Clark-Atlanta signee Ahmad Junearick rushed for 14 touchdowns during his senior season in 2019. The Eagles have another up-and-coming back, Jordan McDonald (2022), who already has ten power 5 offers at 6-foot-1, 215 pounds.
2. Colquitt County
Colquitt County rushed to back-to-back state championships in 2014-15 with a national championship in 2015. During the back-to-back state titles, Colquitt running back Sihiem King led the way. In his senior season in 2015, King rushed for 2,090 yards and 37 touchdowns while rushing for 139.3 yards per game. King played four years at the University of Kentucky where he played in 40 games. In more recent years, the Packers have produced two of the best backs to ever pass through Moultrie in the so-called ‘two-headed monster’ of Ty Leggett and Daijun Edwards. The prolific duo helped lead Colquitt to back-to-back state title appearances in 2017 and 2018 and were called the ‘best backs in the state, bar none’ by, at the time, head coach Rush Propst. In 2017, Leggett and Edwards combined for 2,325 yards and 25 touchdowns. In his junior year in 2018, Edwards, a UGA signee, led with 1,480 yards and 26 touchdowns on 227 carries. Leggett, a senior in 2018, rushed for 984 yards and 16 touchdowns to complement Edwards. Leggett currently is on the roster at Georgia Military college in Milledgeville. As a senior, Edwards rushed for 1,008 yards and 11 touchdowns before Colquitt lost to Parkview in the second round.