Although not the most efficient way to discover talent in the high school ranks, it can be fun to sift through the national statistical leaders in rushing or receiving and look for translatable talent. Most of the top performers each year are players playing abysmal competition or working in gimmicky offenses. But sometimes, an immensely talented player finds their way to the top of these lists, and it can signal a truly special prospect.**
**This was how I originally discovered Ashton Jeanty during his senior season of high school. He had 55 receptions as a junior and 41 as a senior, both totals more than most high school backs have in their careers. Jeanty went on to be my first big win as a recruiting analyst, finishing ~75 spots higher in my rankings than in the 247 Sports Composite.
The hypothesis in this, of course, is similar to scouting for the pros. Guys who produce more in college tend to make better professional players. Those who are also excellent athletes tend to do even better. Understanding that both of these factors are important can lead us to the true gems. Only 12 backs in the 2026 class hit 70th percentile in both athleticism and production metrics. That includes 6 of my final top 10 (EJ Crowell, Javian Osborne, Jonaz Walton, Deshonne Redeaux, Jamal Rule, Amari Latimer). Five of these twelve backs have already made some noise as freshmen.
That brings us to Kingston Allen, the running back currently leading all seniors in rushing. Allen hails from Notre Dame Academy, located in Green Bay, Wisconsin, a private parochial school known more for producing future NFL execs than NFL stars. John Schneider (Seahawks GM) and Eliot Wolf (Patriots VP of Personnel) are both counted among the esteemed alumni base, but there are no former pro football players on the list. Maybe Allen can be the first.
This isn’t Allen’s first year dominating the Fox River Classic Conference. In 13 games as a junior, Allen carried the ball 356 times for 3,436 yards and 57 touchdowns, good for a 99.7th percentile production score in our database at the time this article was published. He’s actually outpacing those marks so far this year (1,406 yards, 26 TDs in 5 games), although he’s not handling the weekly volume that he did last season. As of today, Allen is choosing to stay in-state and attend Wisconsin.
So what kind of player is Allen?
Allen reminds me a bit of Ollie Gordon as a high school prospect. He’s slightly smaller than Gordon, but they are similarly built with thicker torsos and thinner lower halves. Allen will need to continue to build strength and mass over the course of his collegiate career. Like Gordon, Allen possesses some slight hip stiffness that limits his ability to change direction as fluidly as some other backs in the class. As a result, Allen isn’t a particularly special back in space.
What he does specialize in, is sifting through chaos between the tackles. Allen has good vision and instincts as a runner, setting up blocks on the second and third levels with micromovements around the line of scrimmage. His footwork is still a work in progress, but he is typically decisive and gets upfield quickly once he’s identified a hole, making himself skinny to get through even the smallest of creases.
I have questions about his receiving profile, with only six receptions in the past two seasons. His ability as a receiver, or lack thereof, will likely be the difference between him finishing as a good vs great prospect, especially from a fantasy perspective.
Overall, Allen is a very strong running back prospect who currently grades out as a high three star in my grading rubric. Our grading system at Campus2Canton is slightly different than that of the services, with much smaller groupings in the five, four, and three star ranges. Players who have received similar grades in the past few classes include Jamal Rule, Amari Latimer, Chauncey Bowens, and Dylan Edwards. These are backs that project as strong college contributors with room to grow into future pros.
