With highly anticipated freshman running back Derrick Henry set to miss the rest of the spring because of a broken leg, the second-team touches in Alabama’s spring A-Day game will likely fall heavily on sophomore Kenyan Drake. And that could prove to be beneficial for Drake, as he works to see playing time in the earlier portions of games next season.
In 2012, he rushed for 281 yards and five touchdowns. But all of his 42 carries came in the second halves and fourth quarters of Alabama’s blowout victories.
He may not have appeared in every game, but he made the most out of his opportunities. Against Arkansas, he carried the ball six times and rushed for 57 yards and one touchdown. In the Crimson Tide’s regular season finale, he rushed a career-high 10 times for 67 yards with a long run of 38 yards.
At 6-foot-1, 201 pounds, Drake provides the Tide with a speedy and elusive weapon in the running game. His style of running is a lot different than what Alabama fans were used to seeing from Trent Richardson, Eddie Lacy and even T.J. Yeldon.
But the change of pace he brings to the offense forces defenses to change their attack, making them waste valuable time substituting players in and out of play. He could be the x-factor for this offense in 2013.
He showed the drive to keep pushing, even when games were completely out-of-hand for the opposing teams. His job will to be perfect and execute will help him woo the coaches into pushing him into the starting rotation of backs.
With the Henry injury and Jalston Fowler and Dee Hart not yet cleared for contact, Drake is the only other option to backup Yeldon in the spring game. He will be facing the first-team defense, but he will also be working with read-option specialist Blake Sims, which proved to be a successful combination last season.
If he gets most of the second-team carries on Saturday, he could surprise a lot of people with his speed out of the backfield. He may not become an overnight sensation, but he could be the talk of Tuscaloosa once the spring game is over.
I predict Drake is one of the offensive stars of the A-Day game, much like Yeldon was in 2012.
