Top 2010 backs call West home

By Jeremy Crabtree, special to SI.com, courtesy of Rivals.com

Malcolm Jones' size, speed and strength could earn him the top ranking among 2010 running backs. Courtesy of Rivals.com

Horace Greeley knew what he was talking about when he said, "Go West, young man." In the class of 2010, more and more college programs are going West to find some of the nation's most talented running back prospects.

USC commitments D.J. Morgan of Taft (Woodland Hills, Calif.) and Dillon Baxter of Mission Bay (San Diego, Calif.) are already well-known after shredding the competition this past season in the Golden State. But there are more than 15 running back prospects in the West who already have earned scholarship offers and major college attention.

When Rivals.com releases rankings for the first time in March, Malcolm Jones of Oaks Christian (Westlake Village, Calif.) will most likely end up at the top of the list.

Jones, a 6-foot, 210-pounder, emerged in 2006 when he earned California freshman player of the year honors and played a key role in Oaks Christian's state championship. As a junior, Jones was a first-team all-state selection after he rushed for 1,504 yards and 26 touchdowns. And if Jones wasn't such a threat on offense, he would be one of California's most sought-after linebackers.

"Malcolm has it all for a running back," Oaks Christian coach Bill Redell said. "He has size, strength, speed and quickness. He is also outstanding out of the backfield catching the football. He's such an amazing athlete that he could be a star linebacker in college, too. He's the complete package."

Morgan and Baxter are sure to be highly ranked, and it was easy to see why USC targeted them early. Morgan said USC plans to use him the same way the Trojans currently use Joe McKnight, and Baxter has been the top prospect in San Diego since his freshman season.

California is also home to several other highly touted running backs. Brennan Clay of Scripps Ranch (San Diego), Ricky Seale of Escondido, Dietrich Riley of St. Francis (La Canada), Cameron Roberson of Newbury Park, Trajuan Briggs of Birmingham (Lake Balboa), Deontae Cooper of Citrus Hill (Perris), James McConico of Compton and Anthony Wilkerson of Tustin have received early offers and have the chance to be nationally recruited.

Then there is Jordon James of Corona. In the end, James, a 5-10, 190-pounder, could end up rivaling Jones for the top spot in the state. His name hasn't been mentioned as much as some of his peers, but the college coaches know him. He has received offers from Arizona, California, Colorado, Duke, Oregon, Stanford, Tennessee and Washington. That's not bad for a player who missed a big portion of his junior season because of a broken arm suffered in the first half of the fifth game of the season. At the time, James was leading the state in rushing, and he finished with 1,135 yards and 10 touchdowns in only four and a half games.

"Jordon has everything you could want in a running back," Corona coach John Brandom said. "He's fast, strong, cuts on a dime, runs with power and can score every time he touches the ball. He's explosive, he can accelerate and has great vision.

"I can't think of one negative thing about Jordon. He has outstanding character, and he's a great student, too. He's a five-star if there ever was one."

Outside of California, running back Stephen Nixon of Cimarron (Las Vegas, Nev.) will contend for the top spot in the Nevada rankings, fullback Zach Fogerson of O'Dea (Seattle, Wash.) committed early to Washington and bruising running back Algrenon Brown of Skyline (Salt Lake City, Utah) pledged to BYU last October.

Burnt orange barrage

Texas has racked up 12 commitments after landing Lufkin (Texas) defensive back Carrington Byndom on Monday.

"I looked at what Texas had to offer athletically and academically, and that's where I wanted to be," he said. "I called coach [Mac] McWhorter, who recruits our area. I talked to him for a little bit. He gave me coach Mack Brown's number. I called up coach Brown and I told him, and then I called coach [Duane] Akina, the DB coach, and talked to him."

Byndom also had offers from Missouri, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, LSU, Stanford, Houston and Arkansas. Since his Feb. 8 visit to Texas, he had been contemplating an early commitment, and he decided to put an end to the speculation Monday.

"I've kind of been thinking about it," he said. "I knew I wanted to make my commitment sometime within the next couple weeks. At first I wanted to wait until spring, but as I thought about it, I just didn't want to let a good chance go by."

Etc.

• Virginia is on the 2010 class board thanks to a commitment from Kevin Parks, a 5-7, 185-pound running back from West Rowan (Mount Ulla, N.C.). Parks picked the Cavaliers over offers from East Carolina and Illinois.

• Oklahoma beat out Big 12 foe Baylor on Sunday for a commitment from Pflugerville (Texas) offensive lineman Tyrus Thompson. "They both have great academic programs, and they both have great coaching staffs," Thompson said. "It basically came down to who can get to the championship game, and I want a shot at that ring, so I picked Oklahoma."

• Maryland picked up a commitment early this week from Pittsford (N.Y.) tight end Sean Fitzpatrick. He had 18 receptions for 275 yards and three scores as a junior. He also had an offer from Buffalo and was getting interest from Minnesota, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Syracuse and others.

• Valhalla (El Cajon, Calif.) quarterback Pete Thomas continues to show why he's considered one of the nation's best quarterback prospects. He already had offers from Boston College, Maryland and Northwestern, and added an offer from Arizona State over the weekend. He also attended USC's "Junior Day" on Saturday and came away impressed with what he saw.

For more football recruiting coverage, head to Rivals.com.