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August 28, 2000
A Run On Talent
by Paul Hammons
HoustonProFootball.com
There’s certainly no problem focusing on the running backs when you watch a football game they’re generally the focal point of a good offense.
If you have a quality runner in the backfield, he will either carry the ball, catch the ball (or at least be a potential target to catch the ball) or serve as a decoy of some sort on just about every play. The trick is figuring out which one of these guys is going to be doing it for a living come 2002. After all, there are a lot of backs that rack up 1,000-yard seasons only to get lost in the shuffle on draft day.
So when watching for a top pick out of the backfield, look for a player that is multidimensional catching, running and blocking. Look for someone that doesn’t have to check out of the lineup in “specialty” situations such as third and long or third and short.
Watch how he runs, whether it’s with authority and confidence or whether he always seems to be running where there isn’t a hole. Big runs aren’t always an indicator, although they obviously are a plus. Look at what he did to break off that run did the defense stack up against the run on a short-yardage play and end up getting burned, or did the running back get a decent hole and then do the damage on his own, breaking tackles and making people miss as opposed to simply outrunning people down the field? There are plenty of fast running backs, but there aren’t very many great running backs.
With that in mind, here’s some projections as far as the top running backs for the 2002 draft which, bear in mind, is a stretch at this point. Expect several players around the league to step into the spotlight this year as a wave of top senior running backs head to the NFL. Some we already know about: for example, Ken Simonton (5’7″, 175) set a Pac-10 sophomore record last year with 1,486 yards rushing for Oregon State, while Deon Burnett (5’11”, 212) was the top freshman rusher in that league with 974 yards for Washington State.
Another runner you may not have heard of, Avon Coburn (5’8″, 190) of West Virginia, was the top freshman rusher last season with 1,138 yards. Then there’s Cedric Cobbs (6’2″, 220), who’s getting all-conference talk as a sophomore at Arkansas after averaging 5.8 yards per carry as a freshman. Look for thousand-yard rushers Damian Anderson (5’11”, 208, Northwestern) and Derrick Nix (6’1″, 223, Southern Miss) to get some looks as well.
A few other guys that haven’t put up big numbers yet but may step up in the next two years include USC sophomore Sultan McCullough (6’0″, 185), Nebraska sophomore Dahrran Diedrick, (6’0″, 220), Wisconsin junior (and Ron Dayne replacement) Michael Bennett (5’11”,) and Colorado’s Marcus Houston (6’2″, 205), one of the nation’s most decorated high school athletes, entering his true freshman year in Denver.
If you want bruisers, one to watch might be sophomore T.J. Duckett of Michigan State, who had 600-plus yards rushing and 10 TDs as a freshman last year. He’s playing at tailback, but at 250 pounds, he’s got fullback power. Another top fullback is junior Ja’mar Toombs (6’0, 275) of Texas A&M, who had 693 yards and nine touchdowns last year. But he’ll have to shore up his blocking skills in order to make the jump to the next level.
Paul Hammons served as a sportswriter for various and sundry publications (only one of which is now defunct) before leaving the lucrative world of journalism for his MBA and a shot at a big-screen TV and more time in front of Saturday afternoon college football. He currently resides in Plano and spends his days wondering why he couldn’t have been born six inches taller and a few steps faster in the 40.
