247Sports
Louisville sent shockwaves through the 2023 recruiting cycle Monday afternoon when the Cardinals landed a commitment from 247Sports Composite five-star running back
Rueben Owens out of
El Campo (Texas). A top 20 overall recruit in the Top247 rankings, Owens is the nation's No. 1 running back in the 2023 class and No. 2 overall prospect in the talent-rich Lone Star State.
Owens' monstrous production increase year-over-year saw him jump from 1,511 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns as a sophomore in fall 2020 to 2,989 yards and 46 touchdowns in his fall 2021 junior campaign. Additionally, his already excellent yards per carry rate of 10.79 in 2020 rose even higher this past fall, when he averaged 12.05 yards per carry.
Owens -- the 2021 Texas Sports Writers Association Class 4A Co-Offensive Player of the Year -- enters his senior season with 5,308 rushing yards and 76 touchdowns, in addition to 20 receptions for 366 yards and three scores over the last two seasons.
The 5-foot-11, 190-pound Owens is a natural big-play back with home run-hitting athleticism and high-volume physical capabilities. His increasingly impressive track and field profile includes a quartet of sub-11.00 100-meter times this spring: 10.68, 10.72, 10.87, and 10.95. He won bronze for the second consecutive year at the Texas Class 4A state track and field championships in the long jump, which saw him leap 23 feet, 1/4 inch in May. That followed his 22-10 3/4 bronze-winning long jump in May 2021.
Rueben Owens in action at El Campo last November.
Photo: Mark Cooley
