Vote: Who is the top returning high school running back in New Jersey heading into 2025?

These are 10 running backs that we've identified heading into the 2025 season

St John Vianney QB Zach Labarca hands off to Abdul Turay as Wall football defeats St. John Vianney 36-26 on 9/20/2024 / Larry Murphy / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

New Jersey high school football doesn’t have spring football practices, but regardless the Garden State consistently produces some of the top talent coming out of the Northeast United States.

Things kick off in the Garden State on August 28 at The Battle at the Beach 2025 Classic, a day that will feature a four-game affair and include national powers Bergen Catholic, East St. Louis (Illinois,) and IMG Academy (Florida).

The following is a list and voting poll of top returning New Jersey running backs heading into the 2025 spring. Take a look at our nominees and then vote in our poll that’s at the bottom of the page.

Know of another? Send a note to jbeisser86@gmail.com with some details on your nominee.

Voting will conclude Thursday, May 1st, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time.

Reed Kauderer, Demarest

Kauderer was New Jersey’s 11th-ranked rusher in 2024 with 1,592 yards on 176 carries, to go with 26 touchdowns. He rumbled for 100-plus yards in eight of the Norsemen’s nine games, with his top performance coming when he pounded the rock 38 times for a whopping 305 yards and five scores vs. Fair Lawn. He has also had a 247-yard, four-touchdown effort, which came on an astounding 44 carries against North Bergen, and a 19-carry, 225-yard, four-touchdown game against Tenafly.

Najee Calhoun, Bergen Catholic

Calhoun made headlines when he announced he was transferring from Donovan Catholic to Bergen Catholic, the No. 1 team in the final . Just a junior in 2025, Calhoun is fresh off a sophomore season that saw him rush for 1,293 yards and nine touchdowns. He exploded for 272 yards on 20 carries with four touchdowns vs. Rumson-Fairhaven. Look for his recruiting profile to rise now that he is a Crusader.

Chase Enlow, The Hun School

Enlow was projected to be one of the state’s best as a sophomore before suffering a torn ACL in week two that sidelined him for the rest of the season. He was off to a blazing start to his 2024 campaign, scoring seven touchdowns (four rushing, three receiving) in those two games. Hun, the No. 3 team in the High School on SI State Poll, with Enlow back in the fold, will look to make a run at the No. 1 spot this season.

Aamir Dunbar, Cedar Creek

The consistent and durable Dunbar has eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark in each of the last two seasons and will enter his senior year with 2,688 yards to his credit on 425 carries (6.3 yard avg.) He had a career day vs. Absegami last season, racing for 207 yards on just 20 carries with two scores. For the season, he hammered his way to seven 100-yard plus games.

Abdul Turay, St. John Vianney

Turay was the leading rusher and scorer in New Jersey as a sophomore last year, rumbling for a jaw-dropping 2,517 yards on 297 carries (8.5-yard avg.) He was also the state leader in points with 222 points on the strength of a state-best 37 touchdowns. He eclipsed the 100-yard mark in 12 of the Lancers’ 13 games and shattered the 200-yard barrier seven times with a high of 255 yards on 31 carries vs. St. Joseph’s (Metuchen.)

Jerron Martress, High Point

Martress ranked eighth in the state in rushing with 1671 yards on 267 carries, to go along with a school-record 26 touchdowns. His top game was a 20-carry, 232-yard effort vs. Vernon. He also enjoyed a 218-yard day on 31 attempts with four touchdowns against Whippany Park. For the season, he had 100-plus rushing yards in nine of the Wildcats’ 11 games.

Justin Griffin, Passaic

Griffin finished ninth in the New Jersey rushing race with 1,625 yards on 200 carries, to go with nine touchdowns. He rushed for 100 yards or more on six occasions, highlighted by a 200-yard game, which came on just nine carries, to go with three touchdowns in the season-opening win over Belleville. His second-highest output came in week two vs. Barringer when he totaled 172 yards on just 17 touches.

Randall “RJ” Blount, Pennsauken

Blount is coming off a season where he was New Jersey’s 13th-best ground-gainer with 1,585 yards on 208 carries with nine touchdowns. His signature game came vs. Eastern when he garnered an eye-opening 346 yards and six touchdowns on 33 carries. He also broke the 200-yard plateau on three other occasions. For the season, he finished with seven 100-plus rushing days.

Jonah Glenn, Jackson Memorial

Despite being slowed by a hamstring injury for part of the season, Glenn still managed to rush for 968 yards on 120 carries with seven touchdowns. The injury didn’t allow him to match his sophomore campaign when he emphatically burst onto the Jersey Shore scene with a monster 186-carry, 1,494-yard, 14-touchdown season. If fully healthy, he supplied an explosive dimension to the Jaguars’ backfield.

Kellen Murray, Rumson-Fairhaven

Murray enjoyed a breakout season and was ranked 14th in the Garden State a year ago with 1,581 yards on 213 attempts to go with a whopping 32 touchdowns. His high-water mark came against Manchester when he accumulated 212 yards on just 17 carries with four touchdowns. All told, he had six 150-plus rushing games to his credit. The Bulldogs finished the 2024 season ranked as the No. 13 team in the High School on SI State Poll.