6’2″ – 213 lbs. – 4.55
Touched the ball over 120 times as a freshman, then saw his usage jump to just under 180 touches as a sophomore and just under 220 as a junior before declaring for the draft. Team captain. Big back who was asked to handle a pretty heavy load and did a lot of his work from shotgun looks; primarily runs up the middle and off-tackle. When he finds a lane, is an explosive back with the deep speed to hit home runs; broke six gains of sixty or more yards this past season which accounted for over thirty percent of his yardage on the ground. However, thus far his physical and athletic gifts are more impressive than his feel for the game. More of a feast-or-famine back than a consistent gainer; can lack decisiveness at times, leading to him getting hit near the line of scrimmage fairly often. Seems to have a little bit of trouble recognizing cutback lanes, causing him to run into congestion and get bogged down, although he flashes the footwork to shuffle or make jump-cuts to make it through the holes which present themselves. Runs a little bit upright because of his height, but is fairly powerful back who demonstrates good leg drive after contact which gives him the ability to churn out some extra yardage; was trusted with handling the ball in short-yardage situations. Also stayed on the field on passing downs, where he looked comfortable serving as either a blocker or receiver. Has the type of frame to translate his blitz pickup skills to the next level. Does a good job of staying on his feet and absorbing opponents’ power, with good awareness to identify rushers to engage. Also led the way on some designed quarterback draws and handles his responsibilities with the requisite competitiveness and physicality. A reliable receiver out of the backfield; typically released into the flats and served as a safety valve. Has the type of frame to present difficulties for opposing cornerbacks on the boundaries. A little bit of a difficult evaluation because he offers a big frame, natural power, the deep speed to hit home runs, and value as a blocker, but who was inconsistent on a game-to-game basis, looking dominant in some contests and tentative in others. At his best when he’s hitting the hole with decisiveness and running behind his pads.
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