Inside The Huskies

Comparing the Nation's So-Called 4 Highest Rated Running Backs

Brian Bonner, the UW commit, ranks among this elite schoolboy foursome.
Dan Raley|
Brian Bonner is committed to the UW and Scottie Graham.
Brian Bonner is committed to the UW and Scottie Graham. | Bonner

Brian Bonner, committed to the University of Washington football team, ranks as the nation's fourth- best high school running back for the Class of 2026, according to Rivals, which is a stellar rating for any Husky recruit.

Just asking: what's the difference between Bonner and the top three guys or how do they even know that the future UW back deserves to be listed as high as No. 4?

Is it based on rushing numbers, speed components, number of recruiting offers or just good old-fashioned guesswork?

Taking a deep-dive comparison, we determined that Bonner from Valencia, California, is the fastest among a group that includes Savion Hiter from Mineral, Virginia, who is uncommitted and considering Georgia, Michigan, Ohio State and Texas; Ezavier Crowell from Jackson, Alabama, and an Alabama and Kalen DeBoer commit; and KJ Edwards from Carthage, Texas, and bound for Texas A&M.

Over 100 meters, Bonner has a personal best of 10.48 seconds over 100 meters, while Crowell comes in at 10.82, Crowell at 11.08 and Hiter at 11.11.

Bonner, at 6 feet, is the tallest of these four backs, with everyone else either an inch or two shorter, and, at 190 pounds, he is the third heaviest, behind Crowell, who checks in at 205 pounds and Hiter, who's at 200.

Stat-wise from last season, Bonner is fourth among this group in rushing yards with 1,493 yards, running for 25 touchdown, with 31 scores overall counting his 4 receiving TDs and 2 kickoff returns that went the distance.

Crowell, originally a 2027 recruit who has reclassified, is tops with with both 1,964 yards and 31 touchdowns rushing. from last year

Edwards, who hails from the same Texas high school as Husky back-up quarterback Kai Horton, comes off a 1,789-yard, 23-TD rushing season for a 4A state championship team.

The uncommitted Hiter rushed for 1,698 yards and 26 touchdowns last year and returned three kickoffs for scores.

As far as competition levels, Bonner easily comes from the largest population area, from Valencia, a city of 63,070, that sits 30 miles north of Los Angeles with 3.81 million people inside its city limits.

The top-rated Hiter plays his football in the small town of Mineral (pop. 474), which is found in a mining area 45 miles north of Richmond, which has a 249,247 population center.

Edwards, the No. 2 back, hails from Carthage, population 6,601, which is 20 miles from the Texas-Louisiana border and 45 miles from Shreveport, Louisiana, which has a population base of 177,959.

Crowell plays his football in Jackson, a small town of 4,748 that is found in southwest Alabama, 65 miles north of Mobile, population 182,595.

There's no disputing that California, Texas and Alabama play high-caliber high school football throughout those states.

It will be interesting to see who turns out to be the best of this gilded running-back foursome once they reach the FBS level.

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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