In Mississippi, the tradition of producing standout running backs continues to develop with emerging talents in high school football. Long recognized for its contributions to the position, the state has seen a succession of notable players leave their mark at both collegiate and professional levels.
Sports writer Rick Cleveland reflected on this legacy when he wrote in 2016 from Batesville: “These eyes saw Walter Payton play at Columbia High School. These eyes saw Marcus Dupree play at Philadelphia. They saw Jerious Norwood play at Brandon, Deuce McAllister at Morton and Jimmy Johns at Brookhaven. But these eyes have never seen a better Mississippi high school football player than Cam Akers, Clinton’s 17-year-old wunderkind, whom I saw in person for the first time here Thursday night.”
Cam Akers went on to become one of the top prospects in his recruiting class and played three seasons at Florida State before entering the National Football League as a second-round pick in 2020.
Tyson Robinson, a four-star running back prospect in the 2027 class from Brandon, Mississippi, recalled watching Akers compete against his brother’s team during his childhood and expressed admiration for both Akers and Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinee Walter Payton. Robinson said: “When I was growing up, Cam Akers played against my brother so he was one of the big ones (…) He is really well known and then Walter Payton is a great. Those two are the big trendsetters in Mississippi. Watching him on the field was crazy. He played my brother one time and the game was tight but Cam just took over. He was playing quarterback, running back, he was the greatest show on turf.”
The state remains active in producing highly regarded talent despite its modest population size relative to many urban areas. While Payton is often recognized as among the best running backs ever and Deuce McAllister retains records at Ole Miss, more recent names continue to attract national attention.
Robinson pointed out his connection to Payton’s hometown through family ties: “We know his relatives well (…) I watched him a little bit on YouTube and it was just like, man, he was tough.”
Another young player drawing interest is Zaiden Jernagin from Louisville High School in Mississippi’s 2028 class. After accumulating over 2,200 all-purpose yards with 31 touchdowns during his freshman season and earning recognition as a top-rated running back nationally, Jernagin described how he first wanted to play receiver after seeing an iconic catch by Odell Beckham Jr.: “When I was younger, I really wanted to play receiver because the first time I watched football was in that game when Odell had that one-handed catch and I always wanted to replicate that catch (…) In Little League we always ran the ball, so that’s how I became a running back.”
Mississippi State has shown particular interest due to Jernagin’s proximity while Alabama remains among his dream schools due to its history with developing running backs.
Robinson summarized Mississippi’s reputation by stating: “Running back is really the main position here (…) Running back and d-line are the big two in Mississippi but we produce running backs down here.”
