Running Back

Vision

• Very decisive getting downhill once he hole opens up

• Spots the cutback lane decently well

• Jump cuts well to find the lane

• Will look to bounce outside unnecessarily instead of riding the designed run lane

• Panics a bit when facing immediate penetration

• Needs to be more patient at times. Will miss late opening of the lane looking to cutback and make something happen 

Play Speed

• Excellent acceleration to hit the gap when he sees the lane

• Bursts through the hole in a flash but doesn't always trust his speed to shoot the gap before it closes

• Decent long speed but will be caught from behind 

Elusiveness

• Shifty. Effective one-cut ability to elude the defender in space

• Not the most fluid player but efficient moves in space to quickly elude the rusher and get upfield

• Excellent jump cut to shake the defender in tight spaces

• Needs to keep his eyes up better when getting through his gap. Looks to muscle through too many situations 

Power

• Thick frame with tons of lower body strength. Tough to bring down without meeting him head-on

• Nice leg drive to high step out of ankle tackles and push the pile

• Does well to fall forward

• Would like to see him use his size advantage at the second level better. Looks to elude contact more often than power through it. Not quick enough. Needs to use his power more. When he does, he’s hard to stop

• Needs to get downhill at the goal-line. Too much dancing in the backfield looking for lanes that will never come 

Contact Balance

• Works through traffic decently well. Decent balance into the second level

• Good lower body strength to weather low tackle attempts well 

Ball Security

• Conservative on the exchange

• Covers up when he senses contact in space

• 2 fumbles, 1 lost in 238 carries 

Catching

• Natural hands catcher

• Needs to do better drifting into space better

• A little passive to the catch point and will allow the defender to undercut him 

Pass Protection

• Strong chips

• Spots the blitz very well and can slide across the formation to pick it up

• Ducks head at the point of contact and will have the occasional whiff

• Looks to shoulder through the defender instead of latching on 

Production

• 2023: 11 G, 187 Car, 1139 Yds, 6.1 Avg., 10 TDs

• 25 Rec, 286 Yds, 1 TD

• Career (3 seasons): 238 Car, 1479 Yds, 6.2 Avg., 16 TDs

• 28 Rec, 335 Yds, 2 TDs

• One-year starter 

Miscellaneous Notes

• Games Watched: Kansas, Alabama, Oklahoma

• TCU (2023) Kansas (2022)

• Injury History: ACL tear (2023, season), Hernia (2022)

• ST Value: Good speed, good motor

• What kind of back is he? (Every down, SUB, COP): Every down back 

Vision

• Indesicive and too slow to process. Needs to see the hole quicker and hit it with speed

• Needs ot fine the best lane in space for the maximum amount of yards. Too often looking for the big play and will miss the first down

• Too quick to bounce outside. Needs to follow the blocking for open lanes

• Misses wide open cut back lanes

Play Speed

• Dangerous speed in space to turn a big play into a scoring play

• Not the quickest first step. Takes a little too long to get up to full speed at times

• A little slow through the hole

Elusiveness

• Efficient in space to shake the man 1-on-1 and get upfield quickly

• Loose hips and quick change of direction to get defenders tackling air in space

• Typically able to make the first man miss

Power

• Maintains speed with through contact in space

• Flashes some grit to power through the hole and grind out yards

• Lacks the lower body strength to consistently break tackles in space

• Below average leg drive at the point of contact

Contact Balance

• Gets knees up decently well to break through low tackle attempts

• Sippery at the line of scrimmage. Need to wrap up or he’ll run through or bounce off the defender

• Extends the play with excellent balance after contact for some rugby scrums driving for more yardage

• Runs too high

Ball Security

• Rarely two hands on the ball

• Had some exchange trouble in Tennessee’s RPO scheme

• 5 fumbles last two seasons 

Catching

• Given swing passes and screens

• Quick adjustment to balls off his frame.

• Body catcher

Pass Protection

• Willing blocker. Picks up the blitz well with a solid anchor to negate speed-to-power

• Poor angles facing up penetrating IDLs

• Lunges and will have ugly whiffs

Production

• 2023: 12 G, 137 Car, 1013 Yds, 7.4 Avg., 4 TDs

• 22 Rec, 141 Yds, 0 TDs

• Career (3 seasons): 368 Car, 2297 Yds, 6.2 Avg., 18 TDs

• 30 Rec, 171 Yds, 0 TDs 

Miscellaneous Notes

•  Games Watched: Kentucky, Florida, UCONN, Georgia (2023) Akron (2022)

• Injury History: Undisclosed (2023-2024, missed senior bowl), Undisclosed (2023)

• ST Value: Good speed, good motor

• What kind of back is he? (Every down, SUB, COP): Everydown back

Vision

• Takes what’s given. Doesn’t sacrifice yardage looking for the big play

• Manipulates and sets up blocks very well at the second level

• Will miss cutback lanes

• Far too quick to follow the scheme right into the arms of the defender

• Impatient. Needs to allow blocks to develop more. Too often running into the back of his own linemen and falling down 

Play Speed

• Good long speed to beat everyone to the corner and able to win the race to the endzone 

Elusiveness

• Slippery at the second level to dart behind blocks and work upfield

• Not a lot of wiggle in his game. North-south 

Power

• Tough gritty runner who gets downhill quickly and to grind out yards through contact

• Can be stood up at the line in short-yardage situations

• Needs good blocking in front of him. Won’t create his own holes

• Small frame limits his ability to shed DLs

• Needs to keep legs churning through contact. Too easily tackle when he has the leverage on the defender 

Contact Balance

• Can take big jolts and stay upright

• Needs to maneuver foot trash better. Too many slip ups

• Goes down a little too easily at the line of scrimmage. Needs to power through more arm tackles

• Needs to do better dropping his weight before contact. Runs a little high through the hole 

Ball Security

• Poor brace for impact. Needs to put two hands on the ball. Can be jolted free by a defender’s shoulder on the ball 

Catching

• Body catcher

• Struggles to get separation on LBs consistently

• Not going to make many contested catches 

Pass Protection

• Enthusiastic putting his body in the way

• Picks up the blitz well. Good eyes and jumps the gap well

• Plays big and can knock the rusher off balance

• Small size limits his effectiveness against DTs and bigger EDGE rushers. Very poor anchor when meeting the rusher head on

• Not a thumper when chipping 

Production

• 2023: 15 G, 258 Car, 1245 Yds, 4.8 Avg., 27 TDs

• 16 Rec, 117 Yds, 1 TDs

• Career: Career (4 seasons): 675 Car, 3737 Yds, 5.5 Avg., 58 TDs

• 56 Rec, 411 Yds, 3 TDs

  • Heavy workload 

Miscellaneous Notes

•  Games Watched: Penn State, Ohio State, Alabama, Minnesota (2023) Iowa (2022)

• Injury History: Knee Meniscus Tear (2022), Ankle (2021)

• ST Value: Great motor, good speed

• What kind of back is he? (Every down, SUB, COP): COP back

Vision

• Sets up and maneuvers blocks very well downfield. Great vision for seeing the lane for big scoring plays

• Excellent getting skinny to take advantage of any sliver of daylight that he sees

• Indecisive

• Will have ugly misses of wide open lanes. Needs to be more patient and allow blocks to develop more

• Too quickly looks for the cutback and abandons the designed gap. Needs to be a little more patient here 

Play Speed

• Excellent straight-line long speed to run away from the pack for long TDs

• Takes a while for him to build up to full speed through the hole 

Elusiveness

• Good vision and quickness in space enough to run away from the LB 1-on-1

• North-south runner in space. Not shifty in space or going to look to run around the defender often

• Not elusive at the LOS. More of a straight-line runner through the gap

• Early penetration will typically result in a TFL 

Power

• Gritty runner to churn out extra yards after contact. Lethal in goal-line situations

• Quick, effective stiff arm

• Can be completely knocked backward by bigger and more physical defenders

• Does not possess the size or natural play strength to impose himself against interior defensive linemen. Can be thrown around a bit

• Slim frame and lack of consistent leg drive to push the pile more 

Contact Balance

• Will take some big hits but stay on his feet and fight for more yardage. Excellent motor with the ball in his hands

• Runs a little high even when bracing for contact. Too easily slowed down or taken down at the line

• Tripped up too easily 

Ball Security

• 2 fumbles, 1 lost in his career 

Catching

• Runs to space well

• Nice tracking tight windows.

• Excellent adjustment to balls off his frame. Effective on back shoulders

• Needs to work himself open when the play breaks down 

Pass Protection

• Poor understanding of angles and setting the edge of the pocket, allowing for easy bend around the corner and pressure on his QB

• Willingness to put himself in the way of free rushers comes and goes 

Production

• 2023: 13 G, 156 Car, 906 Yds, 5.8 Avg, 14 TDs

• 20 Rec, 227 Yds, 1 TDs

• Career (4 seasons): 316 Car, 1918 Yds, 6.1 Avg, 24 TDs

• 33 Rec, 371 Yds, 1 TD 

Miscellaneous Notes

• Games Watched: Virginia Tech, Miami, Clemson, LSU (2023) Boston College (2022)

• Injury History: ACL/MCL/LCL/Hamstring/Meniscus tear (2020)

• ST Value: Great speed, great motor. Likely an upside ST player

• What kind of back is he? (Every down, SUB, COP): SUB back

• Misc.: Oregon -> Florida State transfer (2021) 

Vision

• Good patience to allow blocks to develop and jump cut into the lane

• Needs to be more decisive at times when the blocking falls apart. Looks for opening that result in bad losses. Needs to put his head down and use his power to push the pile

• Slow to see the cut-back lane

• Slow to bounce the play. Does not trust his speed

Play Speed

• When he gets up to full speed, he can pull away from the pack. Great long strides

• Slow acceleration out of his cut

• Slow through the hole

• Slow to get up to top speed. Not going to beat many to the corner

Elusiveness

• Not a fluid runner in space. Slow change of direction

• Slow to react and elude early penetration

Power

• Looks to run through defenders. Does not shy away from contact

• Runs through arm tackles with ease

• Never stops driving his legs

• Strong upper body to bully tacklers in space

• Can be stood up at the goalline

Contact Balance

• Manuevers traffic well. Rarely slips up

• Need to go low on him or he’ll bounce off and break free

• Contact does not seem to affect him at times

Ball Security

• Very poor covering up at the point of contact

• Leaves himself open to strips when fighting for extra yards

Catching

• Reliable volume target

• Struggles to catch and turn well. Poor awareness of the field around him

• Small catch radius

Pass Protection

• Excellent picking up the overload blitz

• Good sustain after the point of contact

• Steps inline and rides the EMOL off the up the side of the pocket well. Excellent footwork

• Cut blocker, allowing the defender to weather the hit and pressure the QB

• Decent on chips but comes in a little high

• Drops a weak anchor. Can be pushed back into his quarterback

Production

• 2023: 11 G, 181 Car, 984 Yds, 5.4 Avg., 12 TDs

• 28 Rec, 132 Yds, 0 TDs

• Career (3 seasons): 597 Car, 3494 Yds, 5.9 Avg., 35 TDs

• 49 Rec, 275 Yds, 0 TDs 

Miscellaneous Notes

•  Games Watched: Buffalo, Ohio State, Iowa, Illinois (2023) Purdue (2022)

• Injury History: Lower left leg (2023), Shoulder (2022), Ankle (2022, missed one game)

• ST Value: Poor speed, average motor

• What kind of back is he? (Every down, SUB, COP): Every down back