Southern Nevada’s top running back countdown — No. 1
Bishop Gorman’s Biaggio Ali Walsh comes in at No. 1 on our #NVprepsfb list of Southern Nevada’s top five running backs.
To create the list, we spoke with coaches from the Sunrise and Sunset Regions in both 4A and 3A. A couple of the base questions were: “Who is the top high school running back today?” and “Who would you pick to start a team?”
Then we grabbed the statistics from last season, looked at the player’s collective rankings on recruiting websites and used our own judgment to fill holes.
This resulted in the #NVprepsfb running back rank. The list is based off high school productivity and not college or professional potential. Stay tuned for our wide receiver/pass catcher and defensive player lists that will be unveiled in the next two weeks.
#NVprepsfb Running Back Rank: Bishop Gorman’s Biaggio Ali Walsh No. 1
Class
2017
Vitals
5 feet, 10 inches; 181 pounds
Honors
Gatorade Nevada Player of the Year (2015); Review-Journal Male Athlete of the Year (2015); first-team all-state (2015); Southwest League Offensive Most Valuable Player (2015); first-team All-Southwest League (2015)
Recruiting
Ali Walsh, who is a three-star prospect on Scout.com, holds scholarship offers from Arizona, California, Hawaii, Louisville, UNR and UNLV.
Last Year’s Stats
Ali Walsh rushed for 2,451 yards and 33 touchdowns. He averaged 12.1 yards per carry and caught three TD passes for the undefeated Gaels.
What they are saying?
— “I’d probably go with Ali Walsh over all those guys,” one Sunset Region football coach said. “He’s got the quickness and speed. And his first step is faster than any kid I’ve seen. He’s not like anybody else in town.”
— “It’s got to be (Ali) Walsh,” one Sunset Region football coach said. “We couldn’t even get close enough to tackle him. A lot of it is because of those guys up front. But he clears the first level so quick.”
— “He’s more straight-line fast than moving laterally and all of those things,” one Sunset Region football coach said.
— “He’s so fast,” one Sunset Region football coach said. “He’s fast nationally and can score at any point.”
— “I like Biaggio as a player. He’s got a hell of a motor,” one Sunset Region football coach said. “He’s a tough kid. His speed and toughness is his thing. He’s not a big make-you-miss-type-guy. He’s a north-south guy. That’s his forte. He’s not an everydown back at the Division I level.”
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#NVprepsfb Running Back Rank: Desert Pines’ Isaiah Morris No. 2
Class
2017
Vitals
5 feet, 8 inches; 155 pounds
Honors
First-team all-state (2015); Division I-A first-team all-state (2015, 2014); first-team All-Southern Region (2015); first-team All-Sunrise Region (2015, 2014)
Recruiting
Morris, who decommitted from UNLV on June 2, is a two-star prospect on Rivals.com. He has scholarship offers from Eastern Washington, Hawaii and UNR.
Last Year’s Stats
Morris rushed for 1,461 yards and 19 TDs, averaging 12.0 yards per carry for the Jaguars.
What they are saying?
— “I think the most important player (for Desert Pines) is the Morris kid,” one Sunrise Region football coach said. “He’s the key to their whole offense. When he got hurt last year, they were not the same team. He gives them that extra dynamic.”
— “He’s a burner,” one Sunset Region football coach said. “You give him a step and he’s going to hurt you. He’s a home-run hitter. I haven’t seen a back like that since Gorman had a young kid named (Keola Antolin; class of 2008). A lot of people knock him on his height, but a kid that can do those things for you out of the backfield, you kind of bypass his height and take that kid.”
— “He’s an exceptional running back,” one Sunrise Region football coach said. “You’ve seen it the last couple of years. He can change the game like that. Everybody tries to keep the ball away from him because once the ball gets into his hand, it’s a game changer.”
— “That tailback from Desert Pines. His speed is just unreal,” one Sunset Region football coach said. “I know it may not translate as well to the next level because he’s so small, but he’s hard to contain.”
— “Speed. That’s the first thing you know about him,” one Sunset Region football coach said. “When he gets an inch of daylight, it’s lights out. And if he hits a crease or edge, it’s night night. He makes it look easy.”
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#NVprepsfb Running Back Rank: Faith Lutheran’s Christian Marshall No. 3
Class
2017
Vitals
5 feet, 10 inches; 175 pounds
Honors
Second-team all-state (2015); Division I-A Southern Region Offensive Most Valuable Player (2015); first-team Division I-A all-state (2015); first-team All-Southern Region (2015); first-team All-Sunset League (2014); second-team All-Sunset League (2013)
Recruiting
Marshall is being recruited in both lacrosse and football. He received a scholarship offer as a freshman to play lacrosse at Air Force, and has garnered interest in football from Harvard, Princeton, UNLV, UNR and Utah State.
Last Year’s Stats
Marshall rushed for 1,255 yards and 22 TDs for the Crusaders. He also caught 27 passes for 471 yards and three scores.
What they are saying?
— “He’s really underrated,” one Sunset Region football coach said. “He works hard and doesn’t make a lot of mistakes. He’s very good with the football. He does his job. I’d imagine he’s very coachable. He’s been steady for them.”
— “He’s a really good high school player,” one Sunrise Region football coach said. “I don’t see him as an elite talent. He might be a Division II talent.”
— “That Marshall kid is strong,” one Sunrise Region football coach said. “He’s a kid that one-on-one, he will just break tackles. We watched a lot of film on him. You have to gang tackle him.”
— “Every year he just seems to get better,” one Sunset Region football coach said. “He just has some of the natural instincts. Phenomenal vision and great feet. He makes a lot of things happen. He’s been consistently productive and that sets him apart. It’s his ability to see things and kind of anticipate. I’m interested to see how he’ll play at the (4A) level. I tend to think he’ll have the same production.”
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#NVprepsfb Running Back Rank: Las Vegas High’s Elijah Hicks No. 4
Class
2018
Vitals
5 feet, 10 inches; 175 pounds
Honors
All-state honorable mention (2015); first-team All-Northeast League (2015, 2014)
Recruiting
Hicks has received interest from San Diego State and Utah State, according to Rivals.com.
Last Year’s Stats
Hicks rushed for 1,001 yards and 13 touchdowns for the Wildcats. He averaged 7.6 yards per carry and finished with 17 total TDs.
What they are saying?
— “His freshman year was like, ‘Oh my god. This kid is going to be a stud in a couple of years,’” one Sunrise Region football coach said. “He can run. He’s explosive and he gets through the hole.”
— “He’s good. For where he is, he’s doing a great job,” one Sunset Region football coach said. “He’s an athlete. He’s fast and can play. He’s going to get his yardage.”
— “He’s a football junkie,” one Sunrise Region football coach said. “He’s extremely dynamic with the football in his hands, whether he’s running it or catching it. He’s got the things you can’t teach.”
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#NVprepsfb Running Back Rank: Cimarron-Memorial’s Tyree Riley No. 5
Class
2017
Vitals
5 feet, 10 inches; 180 pounds
Honors
All-state honorable mention (2015); second-team All-Northwest League (2015)
Recruiting
N/A
Last Year’s Stats
Riley rushed for 1,439 yards and six touchdowns for the Spartans, who finished 2-8. He averaged 6.2 yards per carry.
What they are saying?
— “I thought he was (Cimarron’s) best player by far,” one Sunrise Region football coach said. “He was a workhorse. He runs hard. It wasn’t a secret who was getting the ball. We were very impressed with him.”
— “That kid is a great runner,” one Sunset Region football coach said. “He definitely stands out. I knew just by watching film on him. He runs really hard, breaks tackles and finishes runs. A lot of the extra yardage is running after contact. You’ve got to love a hard-nosed kid like that.”
— “He’s just a good athlete and a good football player,” one Sunset Region football coach said.
If you want to get involved in the discussion, #NVprepsfb is the Twitter hashtag to use. You also can follow along @nevadapreps.
