Poll results: Best running back in 2013 class?
Derrick Green |
Derrick Green – 78%
My thoughts are pretty clear from these guys’ commitment posts and the general attitude toward these players that Green would be my choice as the top running back in the 2013 class. Green has steadily improved throughout his high school career, going from guard to eventually being one of the top few backs in the class. He has the size, speed, and attitude to carry that success into college. I don’t think he’ll be the greatest back in the history of college football or anything, but I do think he will have a good career in the winged helmet.
DeVeon Smith – 17%
Smith is a guy who’s a little smaller than Green, and while he runs with an attitude, he lacks some big-play capability because of a lack of speed. Big runs out of Smith are going to have to come on the heels of several broken tackles. Some people like to compare Smith to Mike Hart, but Hart had to break a lot of tackles to become Michigan’s all-time leading rusher because of a lack of explosive speed; if Smith lacks some of the vision and toughness that Hart had, he’s going to struggle to become the lead guy.
Wyatt Shallman – 3%
Shallman had been insistent that he was recruited to be a tailback, but as time has gone on, it seems more and more clear that he will end up as a fullback or H-back, or maybe somewhere else entirely; after all, he did play defensive end as a high schooler. Shallman has a chance to be an effective player, but chances are slim that his career will surpass either of the aforementioned backs’.