Following Hancock Football's Championship Season Who Will Step Up at Running Back

Football season is upon us, and a new season means new players are taking the field.

This season, it will be up to some of those new players to fill in for athletes who have moved on from Hancock.

No void is bigger than the one left by the departure of reigning offensive player of the year and former Hancock Bulldog running back, Ryheem Skinner. Skinner had a two-year career at Hancock that included, rushing for 2,043 yards and 21 touchdowns. In addition, he was ranked fourth in the state with 1,294 yards on the ground in 2018.

With the talented Skinner moving onto a 4-year university, Hancock now has at least six running backs looking for the an opportunity to fill his shoes.

The first running back fighting to be the new starter this season is sophomore, D.J Whitmill, who came to Hancock after attending North Kansas City High School in Missouri. Whitmill rushed for 1,116 yards on 206 carries, averaged more than 100 yards per game and scored 13 touchdowns in two years on the varsity team at North Kansas City.

The second contender for the starting job is Eddie Battle, a sophomore from Henry County High School in Georgia. Battle rushed for 318 yards and three touchdowns, averaging nearly 30 yards per game last season playing for the Bulldogs. Battle also scored a career-long 51-yard touchdown run last season against LA Harbor. Battle said he wants bring the same talent people saw on that run to the Bulldogs again this season.

Maurice Smith is the next running back looking to fill the position., Smith is a freshman who came to the Bulldogs from Richmond Hill High School in Georgia. In his three-year career on varsity for Richmond Hill, Smith rushed for 31 touchdowns and 2,313 yards, averaging nearly 80 yards a game.

Out of state running back Terrance Raynor is also aiming to start in Skinner's spot this season. Raynor, came to the Bulldogs from Havelock High School in North Carolina. Raynor's senior season for Havelock included rushing for almost 800 yards with 12 touchdowns in just eight games.

Other Bulldog's running backs include locals, Zoran Vargas and Victor Zepeda. Vargas attended San Luis Obispo High School and Zepeda is a former St. Joseph Knight. Both are also multi-sport athletes that looking for an opportunity to help the Bulldog's win their third straight conference title.

The 2019 Bulldogs may be missing some players from the previous championship teams, but the team is looking forward to returning and new players making important contributions this season.