High school football: Every state's greatest running back

Elijah Mitchell had one of the best debuts for a rookie running back in NFL history, rushing for 104 yards for the San Francisco 49ers last week. However, Mitchell still needs to gain about 12,150 yards to supplant another Louisiana native as the top running back in the state.

Marshall Faulk, who played at George Washington Carver in New Orleans, is the all-time leading professional rusher from Louisiana, gaining 12,279 yards and making seven Super Bowls. He's one of 31 running backs in NFL history with over 10,000 career rushing yards and one of 13 10,000-yard rushers on the MaxPreps list of the greatest pro running back from each state.

Members of the list are those who gained the most rushing yards during their NFL career. Some states were not included because they did not have a qualifying rusher. They included Alaska, District of Columbia, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. Source of rushing yardage statistics was Pro-Football-Reference.com.
Every state's greatest running back

Alabama
Antowain Smith, Elmore County (Eclectic)
Yards: 6,881
Pro Bowls: 0

Arizona
Paul Robinson, Marana (Tucson)
Yards: 2,947
Pro Bowls: 2



Arkansas
DeAngelo Williams, Wynne
Yards: 8,096
Pro Bowls: 1

California
Marcus Allen, Lincoln (San Diego)
Yards: 12,243
Pro Bowls: 6

Colorado
Christian McCaffrey, Valor Christian (Highlands Ranch)
Yards: 3,243
Pro Bowls: 1

Connecticut
Floyd Little, Hillhouse (New Haven)
Yards: 6,323
Pro Bowls: 5

Delaware
Tim Wilson, De La Warr (Newcastle)
Yards: 1,414
Pro Bowls: 0

Florida
Emmitt Smith, Escambia (Pensacola)
Yards: 18,355
Pro Bowls: 8



Georgia
Jamal Lewis, Douglass (Atlanta)
Yards: 10,607
Pro Bowls: 1

Hawaii
Adrian Murrell, Leilehua (Wahiawa)
Yards: 5,199
Pro Bowls: 0

Idaho
Merrill Hoge, Highland (Pocatello)
Yards: 3,139
Pro Bowls: 0

Illinois
Mike Pruitt, Phillips (Chicago)
Yards: 7,378
Pro Bowls: 2

Indiana
Lamar Smith, Fort Wayne South Side
Yards: 4,853
Pro Bowls: 0

Iowa
Roger Craig, Davenport Central
Yards: 8,189
Pro Bowls: 4



Kansas
Barry Sanders, North (Wichita)
Yards: 15,269
Pro Bowls: 10

Kentucky
Shaun Alexander, Boone County (Florence)
Yards: 9,453
Pro Bowls: 3

Louisiana
Marshall Faulk, Carver Collegiate Academy (New Orleans)
Yards: 12,279
Pro Bowls: 7

Maryland
Brian Westbrook, DeMatha (Hyattsville)
Yards: 6,335
Pro Bowls: 2

Massachusetts
Joe Morris, Ayer Shirley (Ayer)
Yards: 5,585
Pro Bowls: 2

Michigan
Jerome Bettis, Mackenzie (Detroit)
Yards: 13,662
Pro Bowls: 6



Minnesota
Marion Barber, Wayzata (Plymouth)
Yards: 4,780
Pro Bowls: 1

Mississippi
Walter Payton, Columbia
Yards: 16,726
Pro Bowls: 9

Missouri
Ezekiel Elliott, Burroughs (St. Louis)
Yards: 6,417
Pro Bowls: 3

Montana
Milt Popovich, Butte
Yards: 233
Pro Bowls: 0

Nebraska
Ahman Green, Omaha Central (Omaha)
Yards: 9,205
Pro Bowls: 4

Nevada
Steven Jackson, Eldorado (Las Vegas)
Yards: 11,438
Pro Bowls: 3



New Jersey
Franco Harris, Rancocas Valley (Mt. Holly)
Yards: 12,120
Pro Bowls: 9

New Mexico
Jerry Nuzum, Clovis
Yards: 930
Pro Bowls: 0

New York
Jim Brown, Manhasset
Yards: 12,312
Pro Bowls: 9

North Carolina
Todd Gurley, Tarboro
Yards: 6,082
Pro Bowls: 3

North Dakota
Dave Osborn, Cando
Yards: 4,336
Pro Bowls: 1

Ohio
Larry Csonka, Stow-Munroe Falls (Stow)
Yards: 8,081
Pro Bowls: 5



Oklahoma
Felix Jones, Booker T. Washington (Tulsa)
Yards: 2,912
Pro Bowls: 0

Oregon
Amos Marsh, Wallowa
Yards: 3,22
Pro Bowls: 0

Pennsylvania
Curtis Martin, Allderice (Pittsburgh)
Yards: 14,101
Pro Bowls: 5

Rhode Island
Mark Van Eeghen, Cranston West (Cranston)
Yards: 6,651
Pro Bowls: 0

South Carolina
Stephen Davis, Spartanburg
Yards: 8,052
Pro Bowls: 3

South Dakota
Pug Manders, Milbank
Yards: 2,712
Pro Bowls: 3



Tennessee
Reggie Cobb, Knoxville Central (Knoxville)
Yards: 3,743
Pro Bowls: 0

Texas
Adrian Peterson, Palestine
Yards: 14,820
Pro Bowls: 7

Utah
Fred Gehrke, South (Salt Lake City)
Yards: 1,664
Pro Bowls: 0

Virginia
Thomas Jones, Powell Valley (Big Stone Gap)
Yards: 10,591
Pro Bowls: 1

Washington
Corey Dillon, Franklin (Seattle)
Yards: 11,241
Pro Bowls: 4

West Virginia
Curt Warner, Pineville
Yards: 6,844
Pro Bowls: 3



Wisconsin
Melvin Gordon, Kenosha Bradford
Yards: 5,327
Pro Bowls: 2

Wyoming
Jerry Hill, Lingle-Fort Laramie (Lingle)
Yards: 2,668
Pro Bowls: 0