South Jersey has a long history of providing the National Football League with quality running backs, with the late Hall of Famer Franco Harris of Rancocas Valley being the prime example.
Over the past several years, there have been some key local running backs who have made their mark on the NFL.
Salem’s Jonathan Taylor is a two-time Pro Bowl selection in his five seasons with the Indianapolis Colts. He has rushed for 6,013 yards (4.9 avg.) and 51 touchdowns.
More recently, Vineland graduate Isiah Pacheco has played in the Super Bowl all three years for the Kansas City Chiefs. He was a major factor in helping the Chiefs win two of the Super Bowls, but last year was an injury-plagued season for Pacheco as the Chiefs lost in the big game to the Philadelphia Eagles.
This year’s NFL draft, which will run from Thursday to Saturday in Green Bay, should have two South Jersey running backs looking to make their mark.
This is not to suggest that they will attain Taylor-like levels, but both Bhayshul Tuten of Paulsboro and Virginia Tech and LeQuint Allen of Millville and Syracuse, are expected to be mid-round selections, if not higher, and both offer great potential.
Here is a look at the two running backs:
Bhayshul Tuten
5-9, 206 Sr. Virginia Tech, Paulsboro
Background: At Paulsboro he rushed for 3,768 yards (8.8 avg.) and 77 touchdowns and caught 35 passes for 437 yards and seven scores. Paulsboro went 7-0 during Tuten’s COVID-shortened senior season in 2020. During his first two college seasons, Tuten attended North Carolina A&T, where as a sophomore, he rushed for 1,363 yards (6.5 avg). and 13 touchdowns, the fifth best single-season rushing total in school history. Tuten then transferred to Virginia Tech where he played his final two college seasons. This past season he rushed for 1,159 yards (6.3 avg.) and 15 touchdowns. He was a second-team All-ACC selection. At the NFL combine. he really shined, posting the best results among running backs in the 40-yard dash (4.32), 10-yard split (1.49) and vertical (40.50).
Never totally satisfied
Despite his performance at the combine, Tuten said he was happy with the results, but not totally satisfied.
“(The) 4.32 wasn’t my best time,” he said in a phone interview. “I had to make adjustments and could have run better.”
Still, he ran fast enough, and his speed is a major asset.
Between working out and meeting with NFL teams, this has been a hectic, but good time for Tuten.
He played in the Senior Bowl following the season and that was the beginning of meeting with NFL teams. Tuten says during the draft process he has talked to 22 NFL teams.
“It has been pretty busy, and I am soaking it all in,” he said. “It has been a great experience to connect with multiple staffs.”
Tuten says that he has no idea what round he will be selected, but he has received positive feedback from the many teams he has met with.
“Teams have told me they love every aspect of my game, toughness, speed, short burst, explosiveness and I like the contact,” he said.
His former coach at Paulsboro Glenn Howard, couldn’t be happier at Tuten’s success.
“He was a pleasure to coach, very gifted, a very talented athlete, a great football player, great person who comes from a great family,” Howard said. “His parents did an excellent job raising him and instilling great qualifies.”
Howard then put on his old coaching hat and discussed ways teams can utilize Tuten.
“He has great vision, can make people miss and has breakaway speed to go 70-80 yards and has really good hands,” Howard said. “He could be flexed out of the backfield and used as a wide receiver, and he can stay on the field on third downs and pass protect.”
Tuten prides himself on being able to, as Howard noted, do everything. One other thing he did was receive his degree in sociology.
“It means a lot,” he said. “I was able to stay focused on school and now I have something for a lifetime that will help me.”
Now all that is left is for Tuten to find his future destination. When asked what the feeling would be when he hears his name called, Tuten was momentarily stumped.
“I don’t know,” he said. “There will be an excitement and a level of satisfaction where all the hard work has paid off.”
LeQuint Allen
6-0, 204, Jr. Syracuse, Millville
Background: Allen declared for the draft after his junior season. In 39 career games, he rushed for 2,359 yards (4.5 avg.) and 26 touchdowns. Allen also had 119 receptions for 848 yards and six scores. This past season he rushed for 1,021 yards (4.7 avg.) and 16 touchdowns and caught 64 passes for 521 yards and four scores. Allen is one of six running backs in program history to have back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing season and he was an honorable mention All-ACC choice in 2024. As a senior at Millville, he rushed for 1,901 yards (8.3 avg.) and 23 touchdowns while catching 17 passes for 277 yards and three scores. Millville went 12-1 and won the South Jersey Group 4 title that season and Allen was named the Gatorade NJ Player of the Year. Allen won turn 21 until August.
Assessing Allen
Nobody has enjoyed a better front-row seat at seeing Allen than Dennis Thomas, who was his high school coach at Millville and is entering his third season working for Syracuse’s football program. Thomas says he is currently working as the assistant tight ends coach.
“I have probably spoken to about two dozen NFL teams about LeQuint,” Thomas said in a phone interview. “NFL guys really like him.”
Thomas says the highest projection he has heard for Allen is the second round and the lowest is in the fourth or fifth round.
“Do I believe he is a first-day, second-day running back, absolutely,” said Thomas, referring to the first day when the first round takes place and the second day when the second and third rounds are completed. “Whoever gets LeQuint will see he is a first-round running back.”
Thomas was just getting warmed up.
“Whoever gets him will be getting a bargain and he does so much more than just what you see on the field,” Thomas said. “He is a great leader, he has a love for the game, he is an honest individual and a team-first guy.”
Thomas, who was the head coach at Millville for seven seasons, said it didn’t take him long to realize that Allen would be a cut above the rest.
“The first trait he had was his relentlessness and his persistence and a great work ethic,” Thomas said. “Then his athletic ability was really good. He is very athletic, extremely coachable and I knew then and there we had something special.”
Thomas, who is a 1997 Salem graduate, says that Allen’s toughness is another of his major traits.
“If I am at a bar and there are 100 guys wanting to fight me and I have LeQuint on my side, I will be OK,” he said. “I know when we are playing the game of football, no matter who we are playing, he is always ready for the fight, always.”
Marc Narducci is a freelance reporter for the Courier-Post. He can be reached by email at cpvarsity@gmail.com