For nearly every program in the country, the importance of the running back has gradually gone the way of the buffalo in terms of workload. Do not mistake this to mean that the back itself has lost its importance, though; in fact you could argue that scouting and recruiting the back is more important than ever with so many teams equally using two and three backs a game. Instead of planning on having your one feature back (plus a back-up) for the season coaches will tell you now that you need a minimum of four ready-to-play backs.

The Todd Gurleys and Melvin Gordons aside, the workhorse back is gone for several reasons. Offenses are simply more nuanced now. It's not 26-power and 31-trap, follow-your-blockers-football anymore. It's still important to have a guy who can go between the tackles with power and pad-level; it's just now you also need a skill-set suited for the shotgun, the spread and the pass game. What's the big difference? Here are some examples.

In a traditional backfield set like the I-formation, the RB is getting at minimum a seven-yard running start before he gets the ball due to his depth pre-snap. By comparison, when you run out of the shotgun, the QB is turning and handing the ball to the RB next to him and he gets one step of momentum into his carry. Further, running zone or option concepts involves the back, as a primary function, making an explosive cut and/or making people miss in space. Compare that to the primary task of following a blocker through a hole and traffic. Most offenses will require both of these skill sets depending on the situation; few humans are capable of them singularly, let alone in tandem. Hence, this is why schools are often filling their skill-set needs by committee, versus the good old fashioned feature back.

When it comes to recruiting backs, one interesting thing to note is that, maybe more than any other position, you can still find the 'senior eval' athlete -- a prospect who bursts on to the scene as a senior, well after most recruits. I think part of this is that running backs don't have to be freaks of physical stature like some other positions; therefore, they don't stand out to coaches in the same way a 6-foot-5 sophomore does. Because of this, you can find a 5-fout-10, 180-pound kid as a senior who needed an extra summer to get coordinated and explosive.

Measurables: Backs can come in quite an array of height-weight combos and it is usually secondary to their skill sets and films. The one thing that is discouraged, besides obviously being heavy and slow (although Texas A&M's Jorvorskie Lane played RB at 286 pounds!) is height. You will not find many RBs eclipsing the 6-foot-1 range. Michigan's Ty Isaac and NFL great Steven Jackson are some recent exceptions, but the prevailing thought with backs in this 6-foot-2, 6-foot-3 range is that it keeps them from running low and provides too much of a tackling target. The wheel house for recruiting high schoolers is between 5-foot-10 and 6-foot, and between 180 and 200 pounds. Going heavier than that requires caution; they might blow up once they're in your strength program… or at the training.

Everything in the preceding paragraph is forgivable, amendable, or completely irrelevant if a back has 'move skills'. College coaches do not put a lot of stock into high school 40 times due to all the variables of testing -- unless they're the ones testing, of course. So, attending a college's camp so they can time a back for themselves is vital. If you get a kid at a handheld time of 4.5 (give or take a little), that's D1 fast (in general, handheld times are about .2-.3 slower than the electronic times you see at the NFL combine). A high school 4.5 is really much closer to a 4.75. An additional (and underrated by the public!) metric is the broad jump. Anything north of the 9-foot mark is a good indicator of an explosive prospect.

Running: As was already covered, RB success doesn't look the same from one to the next. Every back can have a different skill set and still find success. It makes the scouting of a back a little different than other positions. The first box to check when throwing on RB film is how decisive he is. If it's a power run, is he sticking on the hip of his blocker with speed and body lean as they hit the hole, or his he tip-toeing looking for another way? If it's a zone, does he waste too much time looking for a cutback lane? Basically, does he know where to go, and does he exhibit the correct blend of patience and hair-on-fire? This is one huge element of what makes a back 'natural' or 'instinctive'.

Once you determine this trait, look at the skill set of getting through the first level of defenders. Does he have the speed to turn the corner? Can he make the explosive cut against the grain of pursuit? Does he run with pad level and body lean into contact, and does he run through contact? Once he breaks into space behind the line there are more questions. Can he avoid contact, or does he prefer to run through it? What moves does he use to avoid contact? Does he avoid contact to fault? And of course, can he be 'hawked' or chased down from behind? After all that, does he exhibit ball security? However the back is successful on film -- power, move skills, or a blend -- he must not give up the ball.

Blocking and receiving: New freshmen are always so shocked at the importance placed on blocking and receiving assignments. I mean, I get it: if I was a new back on campus, I'd probably mentally check out of meetings when they drifted into this seemingly dull area. Unfortunately, it's a great way to make the offensive staff madder than hell when you blow a blocking assignment.

Backs that can't block don't get the rock. If coaches are being honest, no one is really expecting a RB to kick-step and strike like a tackle, and no one is really expecting a starting caliber receiver, either. But, if you can bring effort and know the correct place to pick up your block or know the correct place to line up and route to run, you give your team a one-player advantage. Think of it: a back who can block is an extra offensive lineman, and a back who can moonlight as a receiver is one more guy to cover. It creates excellent personnel matchups when you can effectively block with six or motion a back out into a fourth receiver with the same group of players.

Looking for this ability in a recruit is pretty clear-cut to evaluate. You want a kid who has a chip on his shoulder and competes as a blocker. You also want a kid who exhibits, on film or in person, the ability to catch and be explosive enough to run a route tree. College summer camps again are key here since this part of the equation may be missing on tape, depending on what a high school is asking their athlete to do.

Not to be left out is getting to know the recruit and his personality. Is he too much of a prima donna to want to do these things when he's not getting the carry? The goal is to find a prospect with unquestioned running ability that has the desire to block and catch. The dream is to find one who can do all three.

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