Vote: Who is the top running back in the 2025 Minnesota high school football season?

Read through the candidates and cast your vote!

Lakeville South High School / Jeff Lawler

The 2025 Minnesota high school football is here, and High School On SI is highlighting some of the top talent by position entering the season. Today, we look at the top running backs in the state.

Fans will get an opportunity to vote on who they think is the best. Read through the nominees and cast your vote. There are many outstanding players in Minnesota, and these lists are not intended to be comprehensive.

Voting will close on September 16 at 11:59 p.m. PT. You can vote as many times as you wish. The poll is at the bottom of the page.

Editor’s Note: High School on SI voting polls are intended to be a fun way to create fan engagement and express support for your favorite high school athletes and teams. Unless expressly noted, there are no awards for winning the voting. Our primary focus is to highlight the abilities and accomplishments of all the athletes and teams included in our poll.

Vote: Who is the top running back in the 2025 Minnesota high school football season?

Caleb Francois, Sr., Minnetonka

Francois converted from quarterback to running back for the Skippers, and in two games he has rushed for 332 yards on 41 attempts with seven touchdowns. He is committed to Iowa State as a running back. 

"Caleb's size, speed and athletic ability make him tough to bring down and a threat on every play," Minnetonka head coach Mark Esch said.

Caleb Kamara, Sr., Burnsville 

Kamara is a very fast running back who had an ankle injury cut his junior season short last year. Burnsville moves down to Class 5A this season. 

Lamari Brown, Sr., Spring Lake Park

Brown had 1,113 rushing yards last season and ten touchdowns. In two games in 2025, Brown has 202 rushing yards in 29 attempts and three touchdowns.

Mason Spence, Sr., Zimmerman

Spence has 346 rushing yards on 27 carries in two games, including 22 yards in a win against Providence Academy. He had 1,014 rushing yards last season. 

Carson Turner, Sr., Shakopee

Back from a knee injury, Carson Turner has 175 yards in 29 attempts through two games this season. He also has two touchdowns. 

Emilio Rosario Matias, Sr., Stillwater

In 36 rushing attempts in 2025, Rosario Matias has 152 yards and one touchdown. Last season, Rosario Matias was Stillwater’s MVP with 1,205 rushing yards and 14 rushing touchdowns. 

James Engle, Sr., Maple Grove

Engle has had a great start to the 2025 season. He has 53 carries in two games with 326 rushing yards and three touchdowns. 

Taye Reich, Jr., Moorhead

Reich is a playmaker with the ball in his hands. He has 29 rushing attempts for 225 yards and four touchdowns. He also has two receptions for 73 yards and one touchdown. He has scholarship offers from Minnesota, Kansas State and North Dakota.

Martin Sleen, Jr., Hermantown

Last season, Sleen had 1,623 rushing yards for 12.4 yards per carry and 24 touchdowns. This season, in two games, Sleen has 275 rushing yards for 16.2 yards per carry and eight touchdowns, in large part to an 89-0 win against Proctor. 

Zack Shatek, Jr., Hastings 

Shatek is Hasting’s workhorse. He has 61 carries in two games, and he has 591 rushing yards and eight touchdowns. 

Chase Bjorgaard, Sr., Edina

Bjorgaard has 39 carries for 324 yards and five touchdowns in 2025. He’s coming off a strong 2024 season where he had 1,164 yards and ten touchdowns. 

Malik Abdi, Sr., Stewartville

Abdi has an impressive number of carries through two games. He has 62 rushing attempts for 409 yards and three touchdowns in games against Benilde-St. Margaret’s and Totino-Grace. 

Conner Lund, So., Warroad

Lund is an underclassmen with 37 rushing attempts for 367 yards and four touchdowns in two games. 

Jayden Barnum, Sr., Brainerd

Barnum is Brainerd’s go-to running back with 28 carries and 226 yards and five touchdowns through two games. In 2024, he had 803 rushing yards and nine touchdowns. 

Nic Swanson, Sr., Lakeville South

Swanson has started his senior season well with 325 yards and two touchdowns on 39 carries.

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Stats according to varsity.startribune.com

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