5’9” – 192 lbs. – 4.50
Carried the ball a total of 146 times over his first three seasons, sustaining season-ending injuries three and six games into his second and third years, respectively, then stepped into a full-time starting role as a junior and ran for 205-1,228-6 (6.0). Followed that up with a monster senior campaign of 266-1,472-23 (5.5). Also caught a total of 45 passes over the past two years, and 57 in total. Fumbled the ball seven times over 693 career touches, including nineteen kick returns, so ball security is standard. On the small side for a pro running back; although he carried the load in each of his last two seasons, teams may have durability concerns with him given his season-ending injuries in 2016 and 2017.
Ran the ball from a shotgun-based offense which appeared to feature a lot of run-pass options. Speed is his primary asset; can hit home runs when he gets a lane; also has good speed to win the edge when running off-tackle. Appears to still be developing his feel for the position. Vision looks questionable and will occasionally run into the backs of offensive linemen or miss opportunities to bounce runs outside; however, flashes patience and the ability to identify opportunities to cut upfield. When he does recognize a lane, does a good job of cutting into the hole for chunks of yardage. Looks pretty elusive one-on-one, whether at the second level, in space in the screen game, or even in the backfield when dealing with early penetration; can sometimes create a few yards where it looked like he was going to take a loss. There’s not much of a power element to his game; lowers his shoulder into contact, but isn’t going to break many tackles, and doesn’t have much lower-body strength to drive his legs and push back defenders to pick up yards after contact.
Receiving ability is a work in progress, although he did stay in on passing downs and catch a fair amount of passes over the past two years. Flashes the ability to pluck throws away from his frame, albeit not consistently; overall, hands look iffy, dropping some catchable throws. Was rarely retained in blitz pickup and doesn’t look like the most physical lead blocker on jet sweeps and other throws of that nature, although he flashes the ability to engage from his feet, sometimes with a shoulder.
Was one of the most productive backs in college football last year, but at this point he looks like someone with more athletic tools than vision and polish. Will need to improve his vision, blocking, and receiving ability in order to make it at the next level. Looks like a late-rounder who might get a chance as a kick returner early on.
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