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2012 DRAFT PREVIEW: RBs

Overview: The jury is still out on whether the upcoming draft will be a better year for RBs than this past April when Mark Ingram of Alabama was the only back taken in the opening round and was just one of two taken in the top 50 picks. And even Ingram, the 2009 Heisman Trophy winner, lasted deep into this year's first round until he was selected with the 28th pick by New Orleans. What is likely this year, though, is that a back from Alabama could very well be the first RB off the board again as Crimson Tide junior Trent Richardson is actually considered to be a better pro prospect than his former teammate. Richardson is both bigger and faster than Ingram, however, he still has to prove that he can handle the work load of a feature back to guarantee a slot in the top half of the opening round. Same story for Christin Michael of Texas A&M, who like Richardson has top 10-15 physical skills, but has yet to put up monster numbers. Meanwhile, the 2012 RB class took a big hit when Arkansas junior Knile Davis, who could have been the best of the bunch, was lost for the year with an ankle injury

Even with the loss of Davis, though, college football looks like it could be overrun this year with outstanding junior backs. LaMichael James of Oregon, for example, may be a tad small to be considered in the same breath as a pro prospect as Richardson and company, but is a darting scatback with legitimate Heisman propsects, while other top junior RBs include Chris Polk of Washington, Andre Ellington of Clemson, Edwin Baker of Michigan State, Bernard Pierce of Temple, Johnathan Franklin of UCLA, and Wisconsin's Montee Ball. One other junior to watch is Virginia Tech's David Wilson, who backed up Ryan Williams, the 38th player taken this past April, but has 4.4 wheels and could ultimately be the better prospect. Meanwhile, the NFL will also be keeping close tabs on a pair of redshirt sophomore backs in Bryce Brown of Kansas State and Lamar Miller of Miami, both of whom have elite physical skills and will be draft-eligible this coming April. Brown, a 220-pounder with a burst, was the top recruit in the country a couple of years back when he ended up at Tennesss after a soap-operish recruiting process, but ultimately transferred to K-State, while Miller is an electric 215-pounder with 4.4 speed.

There isn't as much special talent among senior RBs still in school, but there is considerable starting with Cyrus Gray of Texas A&M and Dan Herron of Ohio State. Gray isn't all that big, but is a big-play threat with explosive speed, while Herron is a classic plugger who keeps the chains moving. Meanwhile, other senior backs with mid-round potential include speedy Isaiah Pead of Cincinnati, steady Doug Martin of Boise State, Montel Harris of Boston College and Tauren Poole of Tennessee. However, there are a lot of backs out there with the potential to be at least useful complimentary backs at the next level.

Top 20 RB Prospects

#	Player	H/W	School	CL	#	Player	H/W	School	CL
1	Trent Richardson	5-11, 225	Alabama	JR	11	Bernard Pierce	6-0, 220	Temple	JR
2	Christin Michael	5-11, 215	Texas A&M	JR	12	Montel Harris	5-9, 200	Boston College	SR
3	LaMichael James	5-9, 185	Oregon	JR	13	Tauren Poole	5-11, 215	Tennessee	SR
4	Cyrus Clay	5-10, 200	Texas A&M	SR	14	Brandon Bolden	5-10, 225	Mississippi	SR
5	Chris Polk	5-10, 215	Washington	JR	15	Jeff Demps	5-8, 185	Florida	SR
6	Dan Herron	5-10, 205	Ohio State	SR	16	Marc Tyler	5-10, 230	Southern California	SR
7	David Wilson	5-10, 205	Virginia Tech	JR	17	Vick Ballard	5-11, 215	Mississippi State	SR
8	Andre Ellington	5-9, 190	Clemson	JR	18	Jason Ford	6-0, 235	Illinois	SR
9	Isaiah Pead	5-10, 210	Cincinnati	SR	19	Edwin Baker	5-9, 210	Michigan State	JR
10	Doug Martin	5-9, 215	Boise State	SR	20	Lennon Creer	6-0, 215	Louisinana Tech	SR

Sleeper file: Enrique Davis of Mississippi is a former superstar recruit who originally signed with Auburn, but didn’t qualify academically and ended up at Ole Miss where he has been a major disappointment to date, but still has prototype size, speed and quickness with legitimate big-play capabilities. Meanwhile, Bobby Rainey of Western Kentucky is an underrated workhorse who blew up for 1,650 yards and 15 TDs last fall, but hasn't gotten a lot of respect from pro scouts becuase he's short at barely 5-7 and lacks track speed.

Future file: College football hasn't lacked for good young runners in recent years and the upcoming season likely won't be the exception. Indeed, a pretty good case can be made the best two backs in the country are true sophomores Marcus Lattimore of South Carolina and Michael Dyer of Auburn who both ran for over 1,100 yards in their inaugural seasons in major college football last year. Fellow sophs James White of Wisconsin and Eddie Lacey of Alabama also have intriguing potential. Meanwhile, the top redshirt freshman backs include Rod Smith of Ohio State and Lache Seastrunk of Oregon, while Malcolm Brown of Texas and Isaiah Crowell of Georgia headline a good-looking crop of incoming freshman backs.

Fullbacks: FB has is generally something of an afterthought at the draft these days, however, there will be a number of good ones in college football this fall worth at least a look as post-draft free agents including Cody Johnson of Texas, Evan Rodriquez of Temple, Chad Diehl of Clemson, Joe Halahuni of Oregon State, Drake Dunsmore of Northwestern and Devan Ramsey of North Carolina.

If you have comments or suggestions, e-mail the Editor, Great Blue North Draft Report. The GBN can also be reached by phone at (613) 692-1088 or regular mail at 320 Shadehill Crescent, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K2J 0L6.

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