Rivals Five-Star: Breaking down the running backs
INDIANAPOLIS – The stars came out for the 2025 Rivals Five-Star event at the Indianapolis Colts' facility this week. Here we break down the top running backs from the event.
MORE FROM INDY: Highlights and analysis | Teams that should be pleased | Gorney Awards | Biggest surprises | Flip watch | QB analysis
RECRUITING INTEL: Mid-South | Florida | West | Southeast | Midwest
RIVALS FIVE-STAR MEDIA DAY: All the news, notes and interviews | The All-Lobby Team | How solid are the commitments? | Roster
RIVALS FIVE-STAR INTERVIEWS: Jaden O'Neal | Trae Taylor | Chase Calicut | Samu Moala | Jake Kreul | Felix Ojo | Peyton Houston | CJ Sadler | Richard Wesley | JaReylan McCoy | Carter Scruggs | Nolan Wilson | Carson Sneed | Derrek Cooper | Devin Carter | Jayden Wade | Joel Wyatt | Kaden Henderson | Nick Abrams
Cooper came away with positional MVP honors in Indianapolis. The five-star shined in the 1-on-1 portion of Tuesday's camp, then took it to a different level as the most productive pass-catcher out of the backfield in 7-on-7 play.
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Miami is working toward inking the No. 1 class in the country and intends to keep Cooper in South Florida. Georgia and Ohio State are working feverishly to buck the Canes' momentum on the recruiting trail.
Osborne will be playing a lot of football inside the state of Indiana over the next few years. The Texas-based blue-chipper pledged to Notre Dame last month and showcased his three-down skill-set this week at the Rivals Five-Star.
Osborne was fantastic as a pass-catcher, an area of his game less utilized on Friday nights. The Irish verbal is a three-down back that can bash between the tackles and be a workhorse on early downs and also contribute in the passing game.
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Cowley stood out as one of the backs with the best top-end speed in Indianapolis. The 2027 four-star out of Alabama was smooth in and out of breaks, had soft hands and had fantastic wiggle and acceleration with the ball in his hands between various positional drills, 1-on-1 competition and in the 7-on-7 setting.
Auburn is trending up with the in-state blue-chipper, who returned to The Plains earlier this month. Hugh Freeze has been superb keeping top-end talent like Cowley in-state since arriving at Auburn and has a strong chance to repeat in this one, too.
Robinson is another blue-chip running back in the 2027 class. The bruiser from Mississippi is a force in the running game -- able to eat up chunk yardage and run downhill at a high clip. During the week in Indy, Robinson also showcased another aspect of his game -- his pass-catching skills and ability to separate in coverage.
We love the three-down skill-set for Robinson -- and so does Tennessee. The Vols are setting the pace in the 2027 four-star back's recruitment ahead of Oklahoma State and Mississippi State.
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