Baylor Bears running back Lache Seastrunk (25) runs the ball in the second quarter against the Central Florida Knights during the Fiesta Bowl at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Baylor Bears star running back Lache Seastrunk had quite the college career, and he finished his junior year with a monster 1,177 yards and 11 touchdowns and showed plenty of improvement as a rusher. Seastrunk has great speed and solid vision, and he’s one of the more underrated running back prospects in the 2014 NFL Draft. The RB position is pretty wide open when it comes to pre-draft evaluations, and the two most highly-regarded running backs seem to be Ohio State Buckeyes star Carlos Hyde, West Virginia Mountaineers well-rounded back Charles Sims, Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon, Arizona’s top-producer Ka’Deem Carey, and Auburn’s elite Tre Mason.
Hyde and LSU Tigers product Jeremy Hill are generally regarded as the two most powerful backs in the class, but Second Round Stats’s Greg Peshek tweeted out an extremely interesting nugget: Lache Seastrunk broke as many tackles per carry as Hill and Hyde did. That’s a somewhat surprising stat for some, but it speaks to Seastrunk’s elusiveness and ability to force missed tackles. He has all the traits you look for in a feature back, and I would honestly rather have Seastrunk than Hill. While Hill is solid, Seastrunk’s speed seals the deal for me.
It will be interesting to see which RBs emerge in the pre-draft process, and Seastrunk is one of those guys to keep a close eye on. Peshek does an incredible job of using analytics to evaluate draft prospects and give us crucial insight, so this stat is definitely one to keep in mind. He isn’t saying that Seastrunk is better than Hill or Hyde, but it’s a notice to take a look at the Baylor product with a more favorable eye regarding his ability to break tackles.