NFL scout: ASU running back Kalen Ballage is overrated
Feb 12, 2018, 2:36 PM | Updated: 3:31 pm
Arizona State's Kalen Ballage (7) runs past Texas Tech defenders for a touchdown during the second half of an NCAA college football game in Tempe, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, FIle)
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, FIle)
After a breakout junior season, including a standout eight-touchdown game against Texas Tech, Kalen Ballage seemed destined to have an incredible senior season for ASU. Unfortunately for the running back, that wasn’t the case.
With the NFL Draft only a couple of months away, Bleacher Report writer Matt Miller says that at least one scout believes that Ballage is one of the most overrated prospects in this year’s draft class.
Ballage scored 15 touchdowns and collected a total of 1,005 yards his junior year but then returned to Tempe for his senior season and only produced 760 yards and six touchdowns. Even after his impressive performance at the Senior Bowl, one scout isn’t buying the hype.
Scout’s Quote: “One good game in college and one good quarter at the Senior Bowl and people think he’s a first-rounder.”
The 6-foot-2, 222 pound running back still has a lot to prove to scouts around the league. The next chance Ballage will have to show off his skills is March 2 at the NFL Combine.
Even if Ballage continues to impress at the combine, Miller believes teams will take a look at the Sun Devil running back as they figure out what held him back in college and if he’s worth the risk.
Now, NFL teams must decide if he was held back by the staff at Arizona State or is a “tester” who can’t play.
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