Re: He has aspirations of playing in the NFL...

CU Medallion [64519]

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He has aspirations of playing in the NFL...

May 17, 2019, 8:20 AM

and so he's obviously trying to enhance his draft status.

I'm not sure Oklahoma or Bama are realistic options for him. Much like Clemson, there is a lot of competition at the position. The Sooners return both Trey Sermon and Kennedy Brooks (two of the Big 12's top rushers) who combined for over 2,000 yards last season. OU also adds one of the top JUCO running backs in the country in Rhamondre Stevenson. While Bama lost top ball carriers Damien Harris and Josh Jacobs, they still have Najee Harris who will be the featured back along with freshman 5-star recruit Trey Sanders.

That apparently leaves Virginia Tech or u of 5c.

Virginia Tech returns Deshawn McClease, Jalen Holston, Terius Wheatley, and they have incoming freshmen Tahj Gary and Keshawn King. Virginia Tech’s ground game was slightly more effective in 2018 (4.4 yards per carry) versus 2017 (3.86 yards), but it still wasn’t very reliable particularly in short-yardage situations. Tech finished 11th in the conference on third and short (1-3 yards) yardage situations with a first down conversion percentage of 56 percent. The Hokies have plenty of talent at the position, but they need to get more out of the group. Interestingly, Virginia Tech hasn’t had a running back average 15 carries a game in three years under coach Justin Fuente (he prefers to spread the carries around more). The team’s leading rusher during that span is actually former starting quarterback Jerod Evans. Based on VT's lack of explosiveness on the ground (an issue that needs to be addressed), Feaster would likely be the featured back in the offense from day one. Another issue for VT is the OL. While they have a nice collection of talent on the OL (returning four with at least some starting experience), it might take a few weeks for the line to get rolling as coaches sort out positions and find the best combination of talent.

With respect to the DirtPeckers...well...it's pretty much Dowdle (who has been injury prone) and not much else. U of 5c didn't really have a featured back last year. They seemed content to go with the “hot hand” approach, as in whoever was doing the best stayed in which makes it harder for a guy to get into a rhythm or get into the flow of running the ball. The WormPullers would like to identify two main backs and try to ride those the hardest. Dowdle, Denson and A.J. Turner who also repped at cornerback for the first five practices just in case USC needs him there, seem to be the three most likely candidates for those roles. u of 5c does return three starters on what can only be described as a pretty weak OL which also explains why they struggled to run the ball against the better defenses they faced. 2019 will be no different. Similar to VT, Feaster would likely be the top RB for the Cawks from day one but could see his YPC plummet because he doesn't know the system as well and because he doesn't have a good O-line to block for him.

We shall see !!!