Vote: Who are the top returning Mississippi high school running backs for 2025?

These are 10 running backs to watch for next season

Tupelo's Jaeden Hill (0) gains yardage against Brandon defenders during the MHSAA 7A championship game in Hattiesburg, Miss., Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. / Barbara Gauntt/Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

One of the main topics of discussion this offseason will be the the top returning high school football players across the country for this upcoming season. As spring football continues for high schools throughout the country, it is time to focus on some of the top returning players in the Magnolia State. These next few recruiting cycles appear to be the best as they have ever been in Mississippi which includes some outstanding running backs who made tremendous strides last season.

These electrifying backs led their teams to fantastic seasons, and they will look to do the same next season. As always, we ask you, the fans, to vote on who you think is the top returning running back in the state of Mississippi.

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.

Voting closes on June 1st, 11:59 p.m.

Here are the nominations:

Jaeden “JJ” Hill, Tupelo

The Mississippi State commit, who is a composite three-star recruit, returns as one of the top returning backs in the state. Last season he rushed for 2,228 yards and finished with 285 receiving yards with 39 total touchdowns. One of his best games of the season last year came in the 35-13 win over Houston. He rushed for 273 yards on 15 carries with five touchdowns.

Jordyn Kees, Loyd Star

The talented sophomore rushed for 2,060 yards with 22 touchdowns on 242 carries last season. His best game of the season came in the 38-14 win over Bogue Chitto where he rushed for 278 yards with three touchdowns on 28 attempts. He also averaged over 10 yards per carry in five games. Kees has already proven in two years as an underclassman that he is one of the best backs in the state, and he will look to further improve upon that in his junior season.

Jordan Stapleton, West Harrison

Last season, Stapleton rushed for 2,003 yards with 23 touchdowns on 170 carries. He also finished with 2,500 all purpose yards with 26 total touchdowns. As the season went along, he became the workhorse for the Hurricanes offense by rushing for over 200 yards in five straight games. He also finished with at least three rushing touchdowns in three of those games.

Travion Mosley, West Lauderdale

Last season, Mosley rushed for 1,825 yards and 19 touchdowns on 256 carries. He had eight games where he rushed for 100 yards, three games where he rushed for over 200 yards, and Mosley averaged at least three games where he averaged at least 10 yards per rush. He also proved reliable in the return game as he averaged 22.6 yards per return in five returns.

Jaheim Campbell, Stringer

As the season went along, Campbell's involvement in the ground came increased, and he carried the ball at least 31 times in four of the last six games. He rushed for 1,809 yards with 22 touchdowns on 288 carries last season. Campbell had nine games where he rushed for 114 yards or more, and he averaged over 10 yards per carry in two games. He also caught seven passes for 63 yards in five games a season ago.

Marcus Flowers Jr, Charleston

The three-star running back who holds offers from Army West Point and recently picked up an offer from Coahoma Community College last week is another top running back in the state to watch for this upcoming season. He rushed for 1,713 yards, accumulated more than 2,200 all-purpose yards and scored 34 touchdowns last season.

Damarius Yates, Kemper County

Yates enters his senior season as one of the top prospects in the state of Mississippi. He is rated as the number seven running back overall on 247Sports and the number 11 running back overall on 247's composite rankings. He finished with 2,069 all-purpose yards and 21 total touchdowns in his junior season. His elite, playmaking ability has garnered attention from numerous Power 4 schools as he holds offers from Ole Miss, Alabama, Auburn, Florida State, Ohio State and many other schools across the country.

Ronde Baker, Terry

The three-star running back who holds offers from schools such as Ole Miss, Southern Miss and South Alabama was another player who had a spectacular season from the backfield. He finished the season with 1,006 yards on 108 carries which was good for eight yards per carry. He also caught 18 passes for 285 yards. He ended the season with 1,291 all-purpose yards with 24 touchdowns.

Christian Alexander, Rosa Fort

After a phenomenal sophomore year, Alexander enters his junior season as one of the top running backs in the state. He also is one of the top running backs in the 2027 class, and he will be looking to prove that further this season. Last year, he finished with 1,596 yards on 192 carries with 20 touchdowns. He also finished with over 2,300 all-purpose yards a season ago.

Zaiden Jernigan, Louisville

As a freshman, Jernigan proved to be one of the best backs in the state a season ago. He finished the 2024 campaign with 1,798 rushing yards with 27 touchdowns on 216 carries. He nearly averaged a first down per rush as he averaged 8.3 yards per carry. He also caught 16 passes for 266 yards and three touchdowns. Jernigan also showed some flashes in the return game as he returned eight kicks for 182 yards and one touchdown. Collectively, he finished the season with 2,246 all-purpose yards with 31 touchdowns.

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