Vote: Who are The Top Returning Tampa Bay High School Running Backs for 2025?

We nominate 10 student-athletes who are coming off career years during the 2024 season.

Tampa Catholic's Joshua Balloon Jr. rushed for nearly 700 yards last season. / William Alexander Lawson

With the start of the 2025 Florida high school football season is getting closer, it is time to preview the top returning running backs for the Tampa Bay area. Jefferson's Ronnell Dubose had a career season last year where he rushed for 1,818 yards on 221 carries (8.2 yards per carry) and had 20 rushing touchdowns last season for the Dragons. He also caught 17 passes for 291 yards and found the end zone three times through the air.

As always, we ask you, the fans, to vote on who you think is the top returning high school running back in the Tampa Bay area for the 2025 season.

Voting will end on Sunday, August 10th at 11:59 p.m. PT, where voting is unlimited.

Here are the nominees:

Joshua Balloon Jr, Tampa Catholic (Senior)

The Tampa Catholic football program had a rebuilding season in 2024, but Balloon held the Crusaders' offense in check, where he had 668 rushing yards on 110 carries. In nine games played last season, Balloon had three games where he rushed for over 100 yards.

Preston Beckham, Bloomingdale (Junior)

Beckham had 102 carries for 691 yards (6.8 yards per carry) and found the end zone eight times last season for the Bulls. He had two games last season where he reached the 100-rushing-yard mark and is poised to have a breakout junior season ahead. Look for Bloomingdale to have revamped offense under third-year head coach Patrick Murphy where they finished with just three wins in 2024.

Isaiah Daniel, Tampa Bay Tech (Senior)

Daniel had 77 carries for 585 yards (7.6 yards per carry) and six touchdowns last season for the Titans. His best individual performance came on November 7 where he had 12 carries for 160 yards and two touchdowns against East Bay.

Hezekiah Davis, Jesuit (Junior)

The 5-foot-11, 180-pound junior running back finished his sophomore season with 59 carries for 475 yards (8.1 yards per carry) and found the end zone twice last season for the Tigers. He also is excelling in the classroom, where he will carry a grade point average of 3.7 heading into the upcoming season.

Ronnell Dubose, Jefferson (Senior)

Dubose had a career season last year where he rushed for 1,818 yards on 221 carries (8.2 yards per carry) and had 20 rushing touchdowns last season for the Dragons. He also caught 17 passes for 291 yards and found the end zone three times through the air.

Jaiden Everett, Chamberlain (Senior)

Everett rushed for 856 yards on 135 carries last season for the Storm. He has proved himself he can be one of the top tailbacks in the greater Tampa Bay area this season, where he averaged 6.3 yards per carry last season. Everett found the end zone 13 times last season for the Chiefs, which was the most on the team.

Jaikim Haggans, Newsome (Junior)

The 5-foot-10 junior running back proved he is one of the toughest running backs to bring down at the line of scrimmage, where he rushed for 867 yards on 120 carries (7.2 yards per carry) last season for the Wolves, finding the end zone four times. Haggans also had three games where he went over 100 rushing yards.

Elija Mason, Armwood (Senior)

The 5-foot-11 senior running back started to take his recruitment by storm last season for the Cowboys, picking up a Power 4 offer from Missouri. Mason had 60 carries for 310 yards and five touchdowns on the ground last season. He also had 20 catches for 239 yards and a receiving touchdown through the air.

Keion Moore, Seffner Christian Academy (Senior)

The 5-foot-8 senior running back had 619 rushing yards on 85 carries last season for the Crusaders, averaging 7.3 yards per carry. He also found the end zone 12 times in nine games played, where he also eclipsed the 100-yard mark three times last season.

Ronald Wilson Jr, Lennard (Senior)

As a junior, Wilson rushed for 280 yards, on 83 carries (3.4 yards per carry) and found the end zone just once last season while playing at Sumner High School. He is looking to have a bigger role this season while transitioning into a new offensive scheme at Lennard High School who are coming off a 6-4 campaign in 2024.

Editor’s note: Our corresponding poll is intended to be fun, and we do not set limits on how many times a fan can vote during the competition. This poll is specifically for fans to vote on the players that have been nominated and in no way discredits any other player that may not be mentioned in our poll.

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