Top running backs in Pennsylvania high school football in 2024

Meet some of the top running backs in Pennsylvania high school football for the 2024 season

Aliquippa running back Tiqwai Hayes runs away from a Dallas defender in the 2023 PIAA Class 4A state championship game. / Paul Burdick, SBLive Sports

High school football season is upon us once again.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be taking a position-by-position look at some of the top players in Pennsylvania high school football.

We started with the top quarterbacks and now we look at the top running backs in the Keystone State.

There are plenty of standout football players in Pennsylvania, and these lists are not intended to be comprehensive. Tag us on X or Instagram at @SBLivePA to discuss the other running backs worthy of fans’ attention in 2024. You can also submit player nominations to ryan@scorebooklive.com.

(Note: These lists were compiled prior to the first week of the season)

TOP RUNNING

Shavane Anderson Jr., jr., William Penn

Anderson topped the 1,300-yard mark as a sophomore and finished the season with 17 touchdowns. The star back’s early offers include Kent State and Old Dominion. 

Donald Barksdale, sr., Steel Valley

A Class 2A all-state selection last season, Barksdale ran for 2,061 yards while piling up 36 touchdowns. He also intercepted four passes on defense, returning two for TDs. His brother, Da’Ron, stars alongside Donald for Steel Valley. 

Luke Blessing, sr., Mount Carmel

Blessing also made the Class 2A all-state team as a junior after rushing for 1,370 yards and 22 touchdowns. He added four two-point conversions and three receiving TDs. 

Brian Box, sr., Marple Newtown

A Cornell lacrosse commit, Box recorded 1,548 all-purpose yards and 16 total touchdowns as a junior. He was a Class 5A all-state selection. 

Sy’eer Coleman, jr., Imhotep Charter

A do-everything running back, Coleman averaged 9.6 yards per attempt as a sophomore and scored eight total touchdowns. The four-star junior’s lengthy list of suitors includes Penn State, Pittsburgh and West Virginia. 

Drew Engle, jr., Twin Valley

Engle piled up 1,528 rushing yards with 13 total touchdowns last fall while averaging 10.5 yards per attempt. The junior is also a star lacrosse player for Twin Valley. 

Nehemiah Ewell, sr., Harrisburg

An under-the-radar recruiting prospect compared to some of his more famous teammates, Ewell is a productive back who ran for 1,203 yards and 16 touchdowns a season ago. He is also a good receiver out of the backfield. 

Elijah Faulkner, sr., Pittsburgh Central Catholic 

A first-team all-Big 56 Conference selection as a junior, Faulkner carried it 194 times for 1,426 with 25 touchdowns. His numerous offers include Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan and Navy. 

James Fisher, sr., Strath Haven

The Delaware County player of the year as a junior, Fisher had 1,347 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns for Class 5A state semifinalist Strath Haven. He also had 499 yards receiving and four TDs while playing strong safety and returning kicks. 

Tiqwai Hayes, sr., Aliquippa

The 2023 Class 4A player of the year, Hayes entered his senior season with 6,078 career rushing yards. The four-star Penn State commit ran for 2,137 yards and 26 touchdowns as a junior while leading Aliquippa to a perfect 14-0 record and the 4A title. 

Jance Henry Jr., so., Central Valley

Henry Jr. had a monster freshman season for Central Valley, rushing for 1,008 yards and 13 touchdowns. The sophomore sensation’s early offers include Michigan State, Ole Miss, Pittsburgh and West Virginia. 

Armand Hill, so., West Mifflin

Hill made national news during his freshman season after running for 495 yards and five touchdowns in a win over Hopewell. He finished the year with 1,529 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns while intercepting seven passes on defense. His early offers include Michigan, Penn State and Pittsburgh.

Austin Johnson, sr., Muncy

An Oklahoma wrestling commit, Johnson is a two-time Fargo national champion, a three-time PIAA state finalist and the 2023 state champion at 215 pounds. He is a bruising back on the football field who accumulated 1,743 yards of total offense as a junior en route to Class 1A all-state honors. 

Jayden Johnson, sr., Conestoga Valley

Johnson earned Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 2 co-offensive back of the year honors last fall after carrying it 140 times for 1,038 yards and 16 touchdowns while catching 21 passes for 451 yards and eight TDs. Using his 10.61 100 meters speed, he also ran back two kickoffs for TDs. He will line up at running back and slot receiver for Conestoga Valley. 

Elijah Jordan, sr., Jersey Shore

A Class 4A all-state selection as an athlete last year, Jordan ran for 934 yards and 14 touchdowns while catching 23 passes for 310 yards and three more scores. The talented athlete also plays in the defensive backfield for Jersey Shore. 

Messiah Mickens, jr., Harrisburg

Mickens starred for Trinity as a sophomore, running for 961 yards with 17 total touchdowns. The four-star Penn State commit transferred to Harrisburg during the offseason and will form a deadly three-headed monster with Nehemiah Ewell and fellow transfer D’Antae Sheffey in the backfield. 

D’Antae Sheffey, jr., Harrisburg

Sheffey spent his first two seasons at State College, leading the Mid-Penn Conference in rushing as a freshman (1,725 yards, 22 touchdowns) while adding 12 more TDs last fall. The four-star prospect committed to Syracuse in April. 

Jabree Wallace-Coleman, sr., Imhotep Charter 

Wallace-Coleman ran for 1,585 yards and 28 touchdowns as a junior en route to Class 5A player of the year honors. The electric four-star back committed to Penn State in June. 

Isaiah West, sr., St. Joseph’s Prep

West made the Class 6A all-state team last fall after accumulating 861 total yards and 10 touchdowns. A four-star prospect, West is committed to Ohio State. 

Jayden Zandier, sr., Exeter Township

A do-it-all back for Exeter Township, Zandier ran for 1,358 yards and 15 touchdowns as a junior to receive Class 5A all-state honors. He also had three receiving TDs and a kick return TD.

Stay tuned to SBLive Pennsylvania all season long for all of your high school football coverage. You can check out our Pennsylvania high school football scoreboards all season long.