Dallas Cowboys: 5 Big 12 Running Backs For Future
Nov 22, 2014; Norman, OK, USA; Oklahoma Sooners running back Samaje Perine (32) runs past Kansas Jayhawks safety Isaiah Johnson (5) during the game at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Samaje Perine (Soph)– University of Oklahoma (5’10” 235)
In this case, we have to look well into the future, but it’s too much fun not to.
There is no other running back I’m interested in watching this season than Samaje Perine of Oklahoma.
Having just finished a remarkable freshman season at Norman in ’14, Perine won’t be available to the NFL until the 2017 regular season. Not until then will he be three years removed from high school.
But boy, oh boy, what a runner we have here.
A player with this build simply isn’t supposed to have this combination of speed and power at his disposal. The video shows some pretty incredible running – and completely awful tackling as well.
To the point, it sure looks like anybody who doesn’t play on the defensive line would rather pass than get in front of this freight train that often finds itself rolling downhill.
You’re not the one who hits Perine.
He’s the guy hitting you, and obviously he’s got some wheels that make that strength even more devastating in the open field.
Last season he totaled 1713 yards rushing on just 263 carries. The freshman smashed a week-old FBS single-game rushing record when torched Kansas for 427 yards in the rain at Owen Field. It’s ironic that Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon had set the record just days before with 408 against Nebraska.
Now, one game or one great season doesn’t a great running back make. Perine still has some things to prove moving forward and he won’t be a relatively unknown first-year player anymore.
Further, despite those wheels, he’s going to get hit plenty moving forward, and history clearly shows that bigger backs don’t run quite as long as smaller, quicker and more evasive types.
In fact, Perine is already battling an injury as we speak and the season hasn’t even started yet. Who knows what type of player he’ll be by the time he’s ready for the NFL.
But to simply imagine his presence behind an offensive line that should still be quite good in a couple of years is tantalizing, to say the least. Who better to keep Romo’s passing attack as open as possible or provide that bruising element necessary for the development of a new quarterback in Dallas.
Perine is a guy to watch closely this fall.
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