The young man chasing Derrick Henry and football immortality, amid one of the greatest high school seasons and careers the sport has ever known, is hoping the right people will finally start paying attention.
Search the name “Myles McLaughlin,” and you’ll be dealt an avalanche of stories outlining his legendary, still-unfolding high school career. You’ll read about his 71 touchdowns and 4,768 rushing yards, statistical milestones and national records that have come this season alone and with games yet to be played.
You’ll read plenty about Henry, too, who rushed for an unfathomable 12,124 yards in his legendary high school career before winning a Heisman at Alabama and becoming one of the greatest running backs ever to play in the NFL.
In doing so, you’ll realize McLaughlin, a senior at Knox Community High School in Indiana, is suddenly just 365 yards away from tying Henry’s high school rushing record, which has long felt unbreakable.
What you won’t see, though, is recruiting buzz. In fact, up until earlier this week, 247Sports and Rivals barely acknowledge McLaughlin’s existence and it wasn’t until less than 24 hours before this story went live that he was given a star and recruiting ranking of any kind.
“I used to really want stars next to my name, and it used to bother me,” the senior said, less than 24 hours after beating Angola 28-21 to advance to the 3A semifinals. “But I hope my season this year will help prove people wrong.”
The stars have come, at least to a smaller degree and the interest has slowly begun. But not given the season that is currently unfolding, which is like a video game brought to life.
Technically speaking, McLaughlin plays quarterback for Knox Community, which is a school of less than 1,000 students in the northeast portion of Indiana. But he was born a running back, and his 5’10”, 190-pound build would imply as much.
During his sophomore year, with his team in need of a spark, McLaughlin began moonlighting as a QB. The coaches liked it enough that it essentially became his full-time position in his junior year.
During that season, he ran for 2,830 yards and 42 touchdowns. As it turned out, that was merely a sign of things to come.
“The first couple of times I ran for 450 yards in a game, I was really shocked,” he said. “I had never done it, and no one at the school ever had, either. But as time has gone on, it’s continued to happen and sort of become the new normal.”
McLaughlin takes none of it for granted. It’s hard to keep track of the number of times he praises his coaches and teammates, all along reciting the words “dream” and “grateful.”
Indeed, the numbers are a thing dreams are made of. He has run for 400-plus yards in five games. He’s carried the ball 40-plus times in five games, averaging nearly 11 yards per carry for the season.
His season-high for touchdowns in a single game? That would be 10. It came against Culver Academies in September. His individual yardage high for the season? That would be his 469-yard rushing performance against Jimtown in late October.
McLaughlin also completed his lone pass attempt in that game, which went for 37 yards. While he hasn’t thrown much, McLaughlin has more than 300 passing yards this season, showcasing his ability to throw in the rare instances he’s been asked to do so.
Oh, and he plays defense. In fact, McLaughlin, who lines up at free safety, caught a game-sealing interception with less than a minute remaining in the team’s playoff game on Friday night. It was his eighth of the year, the most on his team.
Despite the abundance of carries and reps, McLaughlin says his body has acclimated. His brutish style will cause his upper body to take on the brunt of the impact, which he feels every now and then. But, thankfully, nothing more.
“I feel great today,” he said. “I love running the ball a lot, and they trust me with it. I enjoy this, and I am doing what I can to win.”
As McLaughlin started shattering Indiana and national records, he’s largely stayed away from the conversation his friends and teammates are having. Even now, when asked if he knows exactly how far he is from Henry’s mark, he’s not quite sure.
He knows he’s within reach, although he doesn’t care to know much more. So far, this mentality has worked just fine. During the actual games, Madden McLaughlin, Myles’ younger brother and ball boy for the Knox football team, will pass along morsels of statistics as historic marks are met.
“He’s my mini-me, and he’s my little calculator,” McLaughlin said of the seventh grader.
As the season has progressed, the updates have gotten more frequent. Family and friends aren’t the only ones to take notice.
Recently, NFL legend Rob Gronkowski took interest in McLaughlin, calling him “a beast” while bestowing praise on a player who has managed to fly under the radar.
“He doesn’t slow down,” Gronkowski added. “When he makes a cut, it is actually at full speed, which is kind of ridiculous.”
And then there’s Henry himself, who has already seen some of his records fall.
Before becoming one of the greatest collegiate and NFL running backs ever to carry a football, Henry was—and still is—widely regarded as the greatest prep running back of all time.
Henry is keenly aware of what is happening, and he’s not dreading it. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.
“Go break it, man,” Henry told Up & Adams when asked about McLaughlin’s pursuit. “Records are meant to be broken.”
Henry took his enthusiasm for McLaughlin’s run a step further. When asked about the story during an interview, Henry recorded a personal message for the youngster that has since been delivered, encouraging him and motivating him to keep pushing.
“It’s pretty incredible,” McLaughlin said. “He wants other kids to do great. To hear Derrick Henry rooting for me, it’s just an amazing feeling.”
The magnitude of what’s transpiring will take some time to unpack. Once upon a time, McLaughlin envisioned he would be committed to his future school before his senior year.
When the recruiting interest didn’t come during his junior year, that plan changed. Although things are suddenly starting to shift.
Just last week, Ball State extended a scholarship offer. On late Sunday night, Murray State did the same.
For McLaughlin, who had a handful of FCS, D-II and D-III offers up until that point, this felt like a moment. Since then, he’s heard from other Division I schools starting to take notice.
“I’m deeply appreciative of all the interest,” he said. “But I am still looking for a home.”
Not terribly long ago, Cam Skattebo, one of the most exciting young backs in the NFL, was in the same position. Like McLaughlin, he still has a largely vacant recruiting profile, representing a similar high school experience and a lack of collegiate interest early on.
Suddenly, things are happening. Slowly but surely.
Sometime on Tuesday, McLaughlin was given a 3-star ranking by 247Sports. He had no idea. In fact, he found out through a text message of the news that the stars he had been searching for had finally arrived.
“It feels really good,” he said. “I wasn’t sure I would ever see them by name, especially this late in my football career. I’ve been working my whole life for this.”
What happens now, of course, will have very little to do with how he plays from this point forward.
Growing up in the state of Indiana, McLaughlin was a Notre Dame fan shortly after birth. That has always been his dream school, and that hasn’t changed regardless of how sluggish the last few years have felt from a recruiting standpoint.
And then there’s Indiana, the hottest football program in America and the place where many of his close friends attend. McLaughlin can only hope that something extraordinary is still to come from within his state.
After all, those thoughts have gotten him this far.
But those thoughts, at least for a little while longer, can wait. As can the buzz surrounding his chase of one of football’s most historic marks.
“My school has never been to the state championship before,” he said. “This senior class has talked about bringing a championship back to Knox for a long time. That’s the only goal.”
A win over Bishop Luers on Friday night will bring McLaughlin one step closer. No matter what happens, he will play this game with the stars he has been running toward this whole time.
Along the way, perhaps he’ll accomplish something no other high school football player has ever done before. Perhaps one of the greatest football seasons ever played will end in storybook fashion.
And maybe, just maybe, the rest of the football world will finally be watching.
