SI All-American Candidate Mar'Keise Irving Highlights and Evaluation
Prospect: Mar'Keise Irving
Status: SI All-American candidate
Vitals: 5-foot-10, 175 pounds
Position: Running Back
School: Country Club Hills (Ill.) Hillcrest
Committed to: Minnesota
Projected Position: Running Back
Frame: Thin and powerful back that carries most of his noticeable weight in his lower half. Will absolutely need to get bigger.
Athleticism: Stop and go back that has power-packed in every pound. Will leave you just as often as he will run over you. He has contact balance like most compact backs should have. He has lightning quick cuts and is in and out of them without losing much speed.
Instincts: Can really play all over as a back. Seems to run stretch zone exceptionally well and delivers his blocks. He understands how to set up defenders and keep them on his upfield shoulder, setting up for a devastating cut. Runs with good patience as well.
Polish: All he really needs is a few more inches and 30 more pounds before he’s a game wrecker in college. He has house call speed in the open field at the high school level and it appears that it will translate. He also runs behind his pads really well, and shows natural hands out of the backfield.
Bottom Line: The backside cuts remind me of D’Andre Swift. He’s not Swift in terms of build, but he’s there in terms of making the first free defender miss. Appears to be a 4.5 to 4.6 runner on tape, but has enough speed to create chunk plays on the next level. PJ Fleck got himself a good one.