Auburn's Kam Pettway had a phenomenal breakout year as a third-year sophomore running for 1,123 yards despite not getting a carry in the first game of the season and missing three games. He also had seven touchdowns on the season.
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That kind of effort was good enough to get the young man some serious love from NFL Draft expert Mel Kiper Jr. He believes that Pettway is a mid-round pick. He had this to say during a conference call on Thursday:
"He had that injury late in the year but he was unbelievable up until that point. He just runs over people and he's got some quickness. He's right now, would be in that top 12 running backs. If he was completely healthy all year maybe would have been in that 6-8 range.
"He could have been in the second-third-round discussion had he finished out strong."
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A lot of players would be pretty happy with that and might declare for the Draft, but Pettway isn't like a lot of players. He decided he's going to come back and prove he can be even better next year. He should have some help next season as well with quarterback Jarrett Stidham operating in the pass game.
Pettway had five games where he rushed for 150 or more yards and had a 236-yard rushing game against Ole Miss. The new one-two punch for the Tigers should prove to be one of the most potent offenses this year and could challenge Alabama as SEC West Champions.
