New Syracuse football 5-star running back target had ridiculous junior term

Syracuse football recently got into the recruiting fray for 2023 five-star prospect Rueben Owens ll, who is rated the No. 1 running back in the junior class, according to some recruiting services.

The 5-foot-11, 190-pound Owens, who at one time was verbally committed to Texas but is currently uncommitted, was earlier this year named the 2021 National Junior of the Year by MaxPreps, which is a tremendous honor.

According to a recent article by MaxPreps national football editor Zack Poff, Owens registered some mind-boggling numbers during his recently completed junior campaign.

First and foremost, Owens in 2021 rushed for 2,989 yards, which put him in a tie for sixth nationwide, per the story from Poff. Owens generated an insane 46 rushing touchdowns, the fourth-most across the country.

To top it off, Owens hauled in 15 receptions for 252 yards and two touchdowns. As a junior, he averaged 12.1 yards per carry and 229.9 rushing yards per contest, according to MaxPreps.

Syracuse football recently offered a five-star running back, Rueben Owens ll.

Owens goes to El Campo High School in El Campo, Texas. During his junior stanza, his team finished with a strong 11-2 record, according to the MaxPreps article.

According to his bio on the 247Sports Web site, Owens rushed for 808 yards and eight rushing touchdowns as a freshman in 2019. Last year, in 2020 as a sophomore, he tallied 1,511 rushing yards and 22 rushing scores.

Numerous recruiting services rate Owens as either the No. 1 or No. 2 running back in the 2023 class. He’s also deemed a consensus top-50 overall prospect in this cycle, with the majority of recruiting Web sites placing Owens in the top-25 nationally in 2023.

The Orange faces stiff competition for Owens, with multiple other Atlantic Coast Conference teams having offered him, such as Miami, Louisville, Virginia Tech, Florida State and Georgia Tech.

In total, Owens holds around 40 scholarship offers, including the recent one from the ‘Cuse. Among the giants in college football that have offered Owens are Alabama, Georgia, Michigan, LSU, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Oregon, Texas A&M, Auburn, Baylor, Wisconsin, Houston, Penn State and USC.

"In an evaluation of Owens last February on the 247Sports Web site, regional recruiting analyst Gabe Brooks wrote in part, “On-field play speed is a strength. Flashes impressive short-area suddenness with agility to make defenders miss in the hole. Redirects well and does not gear down much when changing direction. Couples those traits with impressive burst and acceleration to reach top speed quickly. Shows good contact balance at the second level.”"