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Rivals · 2028 Class · RB · Darrik Ward Jr.
CrandallCrandall Pirates
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Darrik Ward Jr.

Darrik Ward Jr.

Crandall, TXCrandall
Jersey
#22
Pos
RB
HT / WT
5-10 / 185
Class
2028
NIL Valuation
—
Rivals Industry
83.67
NATL
#772
POS
#50
ST
#94
Rivals
84
NATL
—
POS
#81
ST
#139
ESPN
—
NATL
—
POS
—
ST
—
247
87
NATL
—
POS
#41
ST
#77
The Journey
Class of 2028
Crandall Pirates
2026 – 2026
HIGH SCHOOL
RPM Top 2View All
  1. 1SMU13%
  2. 2TCU11%

Film

HIGHLIGHTS · ANALYSIS · COMMIT FILM

No videos uploaded for this player yet.

Team Predictions

Industry Consensus · RPM Picks
All TeamsAll Predictions
Team
Prediction
Recruited By
Distance
Class Rank
Draft Pos (5yr)
Draft Total (5yr)
SMU
OFFERED
13.1%
—
25 mi
10
1
4
TCU
OFFERED
11.5%
—
54 mi
—
1
16
Oklahoma
OFFERED
9.8%
—
188 mi
6
1
17
Arizona
OFFERED
8.2%
—
848 mi
—
1
11
Vanderbilt
OFFERED
8.2%
—
603 mi
—
0
2
SMUOFFERED
—
13.1%
TCUOFFERED
—
11.5%
OklahomaOFFERED
—
9.8%
ArizonaOFFERED
—
8.2%
VanderbiltOFFERED
—
8.2%

Latest News

Rivals Network · Premium Coverage
All News
It’s starting to feel like the good old days again, isn’t it? As someone who covered the Pokes for a few years back in the day, including the 2011 campaign, I’ve sorely missed the times when OSU handled teams they were supposed to handle with little drama - Much like this past Saturday against Central Florida. It was a sound win in my opinion, with a ton of credit to Scott Frost and his squad in their performance. They schemed up a chaotic RPO, misdirection scheme that even I couldn’t follow well from the stands. It kept the Knights around much longer than I expected, and proved a great test for the Oklahoma State defense. But now the lights of a South Texas Saturday night await, and beneath them an underrated (or properly rated?) Houston Cougars squad hungry for validation. What can we expect out of the Cougs this week? Here’s what I’m watching. The turnover battle QB Conner Weigman has led an efficient passing attack, tossing his lone interception this season in their opener against Oregon State. Even with the blemish, he’s completing passes at a 66.7% clip while ranking 30th in the nation in Yards Per Attempt – A few spots behind OSU QB Drew Mestemaker in that category. Outside of a sloppy win in Week 1, along with exchanging single mistakes with UCF two weeks ago, Houston is winning games and turnover margin. This includes 3 fumbles gained and 5 INT’s forced, while losing 3/1 on offense. Oklahoma State has seemed to right the ship on turnovers after losing the margin in their first two games, but this past Saturday revolved around an early fumble on their opening drive, then another that went their way in a UCF backwards pass they returned for a touchdown. Houston’s style could stress this more than any matchup this season, and I’d be shocked if it isn’t talked about in every meeting in Stillwater this week. Keep the three-headed monster at bay While Weigman’s success is easily the headline for Houston so far this season, he’s had some help – Especially from running backs Re’Shaun Sanford II and Makhi Hughes. The 5’9, speedy Sanford complements a more imposing, 6-foot Hughes in their rushing attack, and the results have been nearly perfectly balanced to result in 791 rush yards and 5 TD’s. In the passing game, tight end Patrick Overmyer is becoming a gamebreaker. He exploded for 4 TD’s against Kansas State this past Saturday, and has totaled 400 yards on 33 receptions for the year. Overmyer leads the team in receiving, while it’s a thin category after him. PFF doesn’t have another Houston receiver ranked in the top 100 in college football (Amare Thomas ranks 111th), but the team has six legitimate targets in the passing game, including both running backs. Houston wants to stress the linebackers and safeties when they have the ball, and the Cowboys have the players to counter that approach. In a perfect world, the Pokes force their attack to the perimeter where Houston’s tools aren’t as proven, but don’t expect that to be an easy task. Mestemaker & Co. against CB1? OSU QB Drew Mestemaker and his band of receivers have imposed their will on everyone they’ve faced since Week 2’s opening kickoff, but they have one of the year’s tougher tests on Saturday night. Though it hasn’t translated into NFL Draft prospect hype yet, Houston’s Jalen Mayo is the #2-rated cornerback in FBS this season, and #4 in all of college football – the same ranking he finished 2025 with when he was with Stephen F. Austin. So far, he’s been trusted to handle 1/3 of the field by himself for Houston, and fits the definition of a boundary-erasing CB that makes defending a passing attack substantially easier. His matchup this week is all but guaranteed to be Justin Bowick, the 6’5 burner who’s lined up outside in 92% of snaps for the Pokes this season. While I don’t think anyone can completely remove Bowick from a game, especially when Mestemaker is on the other end of that connection, I do expect Wyatt Young and the other chess pieces Eric Morris has to reap the benefits. We’ll find out Saturday night. But hey – At least we’re having fun again, right?
Oklahoma State is catching fire and recruits are bought in: 'Being a contender definitely gives them a leg up'
Sam Spiegelman10/24/26
predicting-smu-to-land-a-key-transfer-target
Mustangs positioned to capitalize as multiple blue-chip visitors visit SMU for Boston College game
Sam Spiegelman10/1/26

Measurements & Testing

Darrik Ward Jr.Crandall
Top 300 RB AvgAvg. Last 3 Years
NFL Combine DraftedAvg. Last 3 Years
Weight
185Player
210Top 300 Avg
214NFL Combine
88.1%86.4%
Height
5-10Player
5-11Top 300 Avg
5-11NFL Combine
98.6%98.6%
View All

Stats

YearTeamRec YdsRec TDRECGP
2026JRCrandall85178
85178

Latest News

Rivals Network · Premium Coverage
All News
It’s starting to feel like the good old days again, isn’t it? As someone who covered the Pokes for a few years back in the day, including the 2011 campaign, I’ve sorely missed the times when OSU handled teams they were supposed to handle with little drama - Much like this past Saturday against Central Florida. It was a sound win in my opinion, with a ton of credit to Scott Frost and his squad in their performance. They schemed up a chaotic RPO, misdirection scheme that even I couldn’t follow well from the stands. It kept the Knights around much longer than I expected, and proved a great test for the Oklahoma State defense. But now the lights of a South Texas Saturday night await, and beneath them an underrated (or properly rated?) Houston Cougars squad hungry for validation. What can we expect out of the Cougs this week? Here’s what I’m watching. The turnover battle QB Conner Weigman has led an efficient passing attack, tossing his lone interception this season in their opener against Oregon State. Even with the blemish, he’s completing passes at a 66.7% clip while ranking 30th in the nation in Yards Per Attempt – A few spots behind OSU QB Drew Mestemaker in that category. Outside of a sloppy win in Week 1, along with exchanging single mistakes with UCF two weeks ago, Houston is winning games and turnover margin. This includes 3 fumbles gained and 5 INT’s forced, while losing 3/1 on offense. Oklahoma State has seemed to right the ship on turnovers after losing the margin in their first two games, but this past Saturday revolved around an early fumble on their opening drive, then another that went their way in a UCF backwards pass they returned for a touchdown. Houston’s style could stress this more than any matchup this season, and I’d be shocked if it isn’t talked about in every meeting in Stillwater this week. Keep the three-headed monster at bay While Weigman’s success is easily the headline for Houston so far this season, he’s had some help – Especially from running backs Re’Shaun Sanford II and Makhi Hughes. The 5’9, speedy Sanford complements a more imposing, 6-foot Hughes in their rushing attack, and the results have been nearly perfectly balanced to result in 791 rush yards and 5 TD’s. In the passing game, tight end Patrick Overmyer is becoming a gamebreaker. He exploded for 4 TD’s against Kansas State this past Saturday, and has totaled 400 yards on 33 receptions for the year. Overmyer leads the team in receiving, while it’s a thin category after him. PFF doesn’t have another Houston receiver ranked in the top 100 in college football (Amare Thomas ranks 111th), but the team has six legitimate targets in the passing game, including both running backs. Houston wants to stress the linebackers and safeties when they have the ball, and the Cowboys have the players to counter that approach. In a perfect world, the Pokes force their attack to the perimeter where Houston’s tools aren’t as proven, but don’t expect that to be an easy task. Mestemaker & Co. against CB1? OSU QB Drew Mestemaker and his band of receivers have imposed their will on everyone they’ve faced since Week 2’s opening kickoff, but they have one of the year’s tougher tests on Saturday night. Though it hasn’t translated into NFL Draft prospect hype yet, Houston’s Jalen Mayo is the #2-rated cornerback in FBS this season, and #4 in all of college football – the same ranking he finished 2025 with when he was with Stephen F. Austin. So far, he’s been trusted to handle 1/3 of the field by himself for Houston, and fits the definition of a boundary-erasing CB that makes defending a passing attack substantially easier. His matchup this week is all but guaranteed to be Justin Bowick, the 6’5 burner who’s lined up outside in 92% of snaps for the Pokes this season. While I don’t think anyone can completely remove Bowick from a game, especially when Mestemaker is on the other end of that connection, I do expect Wyatt Young and the other chess pieces Eric Morris has to reap the benefits. We’ll find out Saturday night. But hey – At least we’re having fun again, right?
Oklahoma State is catching fire and recruits are bought in: 'Being a contender definitely gives them a leg up'
Sam Spiegelman10/24/26
predicting-smu-to-land-a-key-transfer-target
Mustangs positioned to capitalize as multiple blue-chip visitors visit SMU for Boston College game
Sam Spiegelman10/1/26

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Personal Life

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Contacts

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