All-First Coast football: Bartram Trail's Laython Biddle raced to Florida rushing title

Laython Biddle wasn't in Kansas anymore.

Arriving in Florida two and a half years ago, he learned that football life in the Sunshine State was a little different from anything he'd seen before.

Faster secondaries. Bigger linemen. Tougher hits.

"I think the biggest thing [about coming to Florida] was the speed, coming from Kansas," he said. "When you're playing down here, everyone's so fast and everyone's so big."

So to make it at running back, Biddle knew he would have to work harder than ever. He got the message.

More than 4,000 career yards, a couple of Florida High School Athletic Association regional final appearances and a state rushing title later, the Bartram Trail senior running back is the Times-Union's All-First Coast offensive player of the year for football in 2023. He's the third Bears All-First Coast player of the year winner, following quarterback Kyle Parker in 2007 and cornerback Tre'Vez Johnson in 2019.

Biddle helped carry the Bears to the FHSAA Class 4S regional final for the second consecutive year, rushing for 2,298 yards and 26 touchdowns.

"I've always gone out there and tried to prove I'm great, doing the things that are really hard," he said. "That's what drives me, going out there and trying to be the best."

When Cory Johns arrived at Bear Stadium last January from Nature Coast Tech to take over as the second head football coach in Bartram Trail history, he knew he was getting a team with a productive running back. He just didn't know how productive.

"His vision and his understanding of the offense and where the run is supposed to go really stand out," Johns said. "He's got the improvisation and the lateral quickness to be able to move quickly and hit the holes that open up quick."

When the postseason closed, there was Biddle, atop the state rushing charts as Northeast Florida's first rushing champion since Yulee's Derrick Henry closed his record-smashing high school career in 2012.

"It's been great to get that," Biddle said. "I knew it was a high goal, but once I got there, I felt proud not just for me but for the team."

RUNNING BACK ON THE MOVE

As a young athlete from a military family that covered a lot of territory, Biddle grew up relishing competition, no matter the location. He got his first taste of the gridiron in a flag football league at age 7.

"I always liked just going out there, hitting and scoring," he said.

During his freshman year at Lawrence Free State High School in Kansas, he competed in not only football but also baseball and wrestling, winning several competitions in the 160-pound class on the mat.

He hasn't always lined up at running back, either, spending some of his earlier years at linebacker and not fully converting to the offensive backfield until after his arrival in St. Johns County.

Once he realized the move to running back was best for him, Biddle went full-speed into mastering the ground game. That meant studying NFL ball carriers like Christian McCaffrey, Saquon Barkley and Nick Chubb. It meant mastering the playbook. It meant work, lots of work.

"He brings a hard work ethic," Johns said. "He never missed anything [with workouts], even if he was away at a college camp or something."

That work ethic, Johns said, also helped him develop versatility to excel in a range of situations.

"Some running backs are better in zone or gap schemes, some are better running inside or outside," Johns said. "He's good at all of those things, and that's rare."

Fortunately, at Bartram Trail, he's had plenty of help from an offensive line that includes several Bears on course to return for 2024 in guard Jimmy Huck, center Zach Marshall and tackle Nick Spicer. This rushing title, Biddle emphasizes, isn't all about him.

"That's the main reason we were so productive," Biddle said. "They trust me, I trust them, and we got stuff done."

FLORIDA'S BEST, PLAYING AGAINST THE BEST

The numbers stand out. But they don't tell the whole story.

Biddle kept churning out the yards, week after week, against the punishing schedules that Bartram Trail has lined up fall after fall, whether this year under Johns or in previous campaigns under now-retired Darrell Sutherland.

So even after a 29-touchdown junior campaign in 2022, he wasn't going to allow complacency to set in.

"Last year, I knew I had to work on everything," he said. "I had to get stronger, had to get faster, had to learn a lot of new stuff, new plays, new routes."

The effort paid off: 203 yards against Class 3S champion Daytona Beach Mainland, 228 against 3S runner-up St. Augustine, 296 against Fleming Island, 172 against national superpower IMG Academy, 248 against Class 4M finalist Mandarin and 169 on the road at Niceville in postseason.

"You're talking about state championship-level teams," Johns said. "If we'd played lesser opponents, he could have had 3,000."

But no Biddle performance stands out quite like his first-round playoff trip to Navarre. After a five-hour journey to a Panhandle foe that couldn't quit scoring, the Bears' back never slowed down, hammering the line 32 times for a career-high 322 yards and six touchdowns to boost Bartram Trail to the 67-55 win in an unforgettable performance.

So the obvious question: Why hasn't he drawn more recruiting buzz? Although he briefly committed to Navy early in the fall, the senior's recruitment remains open entering 2024.

For Johns, whose past backs include FBS signees Markenzy Pierre (Syracuse) and Christian Cromer (Navy), Biddle brings more skills to the field than analysts might initially suspect.

"People underestimate his lateral quickness," Johns said. "It's hard to get a feel for that before you watch him live. I think that's what sets good backs apart from great backs."

When the traditional national signing day rolls around in February, Biddle is determined to make his mark once more in college.

He's already dominated the game in a new home once. Why not another round?

"I'm just going to do what I've got to do to get out there and prove myself again," he said, "this time at the next level."

ALL-FIRST COAST OFFENSIVE FOOTBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Laython Biddle

Senior, Bartram Trail

Age: 17

Resume: Won Florida rushing title with 2,198 rushing yards on 302 carries, for 26 touchdowns. … Gained 4,122 rushing yards in his Bartram Trail career. … Scored 57 rushing touchdowns and one receiving in three seasons. … Still evaluating college options ahead of February's traditional National Signing Day.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: All-First Coast football: Laython Biddle, offensive player of the year