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Bruins RB
DeShaun Foster
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Editor’s note: This is the second in a series of articles previewing the top NFL
prospects, by position, for the 2002 draft.
For years it seemed like if you took a running back in the first round, the odds were
heavily in your favor, and if you took one at the top of the round, you had a good chance
of getting a star.
In recent years, however, taking a running back in the first round has turned into a
giant crapshoot, and the odds don’t drop much when it comes to selecting one at the
top of the round. It now seems like for every Marshall Faulk or Edgerrin James, you have a
Blair Thomas or a Curtis Enis.
In 1995, Ki-Jana Carter was the first player drafted, and Terrell Davis was the 196th
pick. For years it seemed that if Penn State had a special back you could draft in the
first two rounds, that was the safest way to go. Lenny Moore, Franco Harris, Lydell
Mitchell and Curt Warner were all difference-makers, and John Cappalletti was a solid,
workmanlike pro. In recent years, though, every Penn State back taken in the first round
(Thomas, D.J. Dozier, Carter and Enis) has been a huge bust.
This year, teams picking at the top of the first round may not have to face the giant
RB gamble, since it does not look as if there will be a running back in the same class
with the elite linemen available. Top underclassmen generally go first at running back,
and this year’s top underclassmen, such as Virginia Tech’s Lee Suggs and
Arkansas’ Cedric Cobbs, have fallen by the wayside, while Michigan State’s T.J.
Duckett, who had his best game last week against Michigan, and South Carolina’s Derek
Watson have had up-and-down years. Boston College’s William Green has emerged of the
underclassmen but still could use another year in school.
Of the senior backs, only UCLA’s DeShaun Foster really seems to
have stepped up big time, but he has a big-time fumbling problem.
Going into the season, Foster was considered a big question mark in a conference in
which Oregon State’s Ken Simonton was winning rushing crowns and awards and getting
most of the ink. However, Foster has emerged as the one back who could go very early,
while Simonton played so poorly early in the year, some scouts now question if he will
even be drafted. Foster fits the mold the scouts look for in an NFL back — a poor
man’s Jamal Lewis — but Simonton never has. Coming into this season, Simonton
was a guy you could count on to crank out the 100-yard games. Foster’s durability,
meanwhile, was a major concern, and he was hardly a model of consistency. But aside from a
disappointing four-fumble game against Ohio State, Foster has looked like he could be a
special back, and he had a monster game against Washington, rushing for over 300 yards and
four scores. At about 6-0 and 220 pounds with 4.5-4.6 speed in the 40-yard dash, Foster
has the look of an NFL running back. His tough, downhill running style and ability to make
yardage after contact further endears him to NFL scouts. A powerful and determined runner
with good in-line vision and a burst of speed, Foster can get low and keep his pads down
and gain a lot of yardage after contact. Even when he does not break the tackle, he
generally can fall forward for an extra yard or two. His determination is really special,
and he also catches the ball well. However, Foster’s ball security has always been a
problem, and it cropped up again in the Washington game. Foster tends to hold the ball out
loosely and does not a very good job of protecting it. Some backs who do this will lose
something as runners when they start protecting it the right way. To date, he has had most
of his big games early in the year and then gotten hurt and/or worn down later in the
season. Foster is not an overly elusive runner and does not always get his pads down. When
he doesn’t, he takes an incredible pounding. Going into this year, he had never had a
1,000-yard season or an injury-free season, and in both ’99 and 2000, he averaged
under 4.0 yards per carry.
Going into this season, Oregon State’s Ken Simonton was the most
productive back in the Pacific-10. Playing in a wide-open spread offense for Mike Riley
and Dennis Erickson, he rushed for over 1,000 yards as a redshirt freshman, 1,486 in
’99 and 1,559 last year, and his average per carry had gone from 4.6 to 5.1 to 5.5,
respectively. At 5-7 and 190 pounds, he does not have the ideal size for an NFL back, but
his balance, run skills and vision have made him a very hard man to tackle, and he
compensates for average long-range speed with quickness and an explosive burst. While
Simonton isn’t a real jitterbug, he never seems to let tacklers get a clean shot at
him. While he’s not a big weight-room guy, he is a functionally strong runner with a
well-developed lower body and a very determined ballcarrier who ran better inside than
outside. However, in most games thus far this season, he has looked like a short and not
very fast back who could not make tacklers miss or make yardage on his own. Granted, he is
playing behind a poor line, but his determination and quickness seem like they really have
fallen off.
Northwestern’s Damien Anderson has not fallen off the way
Simonton has, but Anderson has not made his senior year his best. Going into this season,
one of the biggest questions concerning both Anderson and Simonton was how much the spread
offenses they played in contributed to their great success and whether they could function
effectively in a pro-style offense. At a shade under 5-10 and 210 pounds with big,
muscular thighs and legs, Anderson has enough size to be an every-down back in the NFL.
And while he’s not a true sprinter in the O.J. Simpson mold, he broke as many long
runs as any back in the country last year, when he rushed for almost 2,000 yards and 22
scores. Nobody benefits more from playing in a spread offense than Anderson, who can see a
hole quickly and explode through it but does not do a good job of making tacklers miss or
stringing moves together. Most of Anderson’s long runs come when he hits a crease
cleanly and explodes through it. You rarely will see him make tacklers miss in the open
field, but he does do a nice job of angling away from the pursuit. He is very tough and
determined and will not go down easily. Anderson often has the luxury of open running
lanes and creases because the Wildcats’ offense does such a good job of spreading out
the defense, but he is a bit of a straight-line runner who must gather to cut. His biggest
negatives probably come in the passing game, where he really looks stiff and awkward
trying to catch the ball and is not a very good pass protector.
North Dakota State’s Lamar Gordon is hard to really judge because
he is facing Division II competition and is on a very strong team that often overpowers
its opponents. He also benefits from playing for a run-oriented team that will run the
option. However, this is not to say he doesn’t have some excellent qualities, and
with a good postseason (the Senior Bowl could really help him), he will be one of the top
backs in the draft. At 6-1 and 218 pounds, Gordon has adequate size. He appears to have
excellent speed and regularly runs away from defenders at the Division II level, but most
of the players he is going against are a good step slower than Division I players, and you
may have a classic case of a big fish in a small pond and a fast guy going against slow
players. Gordon can be quick to the hole and sometimes gets outside so fast he has a hard
time cutting back upfield because he is a little out of control. He runs hard and can make
tacklers miss. He shows good vision and at times will juke and string moves together. He
is not used much in the passing game, but he appears to have adequate-plus hands. On the
downside, he tends to run too upright with his pads too high, and at times, he looks like
he is a narrow-based runner. He also will run out of control at times when he is running
wide and can be shoved out of bounds. While he is willing to block, he is not a tough,
determined blocker, and on occasion, you don’t see great toughness when it comes to
finishing runs.
Miami (Fla.) has loads of good running backs, which is why Najeh Davenport
is playing fullback and not running back this fall. Davenport looks like a classic
fullback or one-back and is a great-looking athlete who passes the eyeball test the minute
he enters the room. He is a big, fluid athlete with deceptive speed, quick feet, soft
hands and good balance. When he runs with determination, he can be a load, but he is the
type of runner who needs a hole. Davenport is blocking better this year, but he still has
a little bit of a featured back’s personality and is not going to be your classic
lead blocker in an I-formation offense. However, he can be a fullback in a split
backfield, a one-back or a tailback, and he might also be an H-back. He can move the pile
at times and get outside but is at his best running off-tackle. Since he never has carried
more than 65 times in a season, durability is an X-factor.
Georgia Southern’s Adrian Peterson has rare productivity, but it
remains to be seen how well he will translate it to the next level. As a 5-9¾, 210-pound
fullback in an option offense, Peterson rushed for 2,606 yards and 34 touchdowns as a
redshirt freshman, 2,704 and 40 scores in ’99 and 2,056 and 19 last year, when you
include all of Georgia Southern’s playoff games. Since he generally plays a 15-game
season, you have to admire his durability and staying power. But you also have to wonder
how much the system and playing on a team that dominates its level plays into his
production. Peterson, whose brother, Mike, is a very good linebacker for the Colts, has
good speed for a fullback and breaks long runs at this level. He has very good lower-body
strength and balance, but at his size, he is not a classic NFL fullback and really does
not do much blocking in the Georgia Southern system. Peterson shows very good run vision
and pick in the line, but he is not elusive in the open field and will get run down from
behind. In short, while he is a great college back, it is very hard to determine how he
will fit in an NFL offense. A game like the Senior Bowl could really help scouts get a
handle on him. Or as one scout said, "We have to find out if he can be another
William Andrews, if he is just a product of the system or if he falls somewhere in
between."
Iowa’s Ladell Betts is a good, solid all-around back when he runs
north-south and does not do any dancing while getting to the line. Betts, who does tend to
get too cute at times, lacks a really special quality and is not that sudden or explosive,
but he has good vision and can catch the ball. Last year Iowa had 1,090 net rushing yards,
and Betts had all of them.
Iowa State’s Ennis Haywood is a quicker than fast back who is
quick to and through the hole and can make the first tackler miss. But he can get caught
from behind and is not a great outside runner. His hands are adequate but not special.
Haywood is a very determined, productive runner who shows excellent vision and quick feet
running inside and at times will be his own blocker. He does a good job of finishing his
blocks and has a really big heart. If he played for Nebraska, he would probably be a
2000-yard rusher and Heisman Trophy candidate.
Toledo is pushing Chester Taylor for the Heisman, and while he does
have skill and talent, he is not that special. Taylor has good quickness, balance and
vision, quick north-south moves and big and fairly soft hands. He finished seventh in the
nation in rushing last year and is now going for his third consecutive 1,000-yard season.
However, he has had ankle problems throughout his career and is not that big, fast or
elusive.
Virginia’s Antwoine Womack may petition the NCAA for a sixth year
of eligibility because of an ankle injury suffered in the opener that could keep him out
for the rest of the season, or very close to it. Womack has had a checkered college career
and sat out the season in ’99. He has run skills and weight-room numbers but really
needs a lot of work on his blocking and pass-catching. Another year in Al Groh’s
offense could really help him.
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