Maryland’s LaMont Jordan was catching the eyes of scouts as a true freshman and surprised many by staying in school after rushing for 306 yards in the last game of his junior year and being hampered by academic problems. As a result of those academic problems, he sat out the spring and went to summer school to get eligible for the fall. As a student, Jordan’s biggest problem is he tends to get lazy and lackadaisical. Those problems also carry over to football at times when it comes to offseason conditioning, which is one reason why he generally is a slow starter. When Jordan is at his best, you see a bigger back with the speed to take the ball all the way. He is a runner who can run over you or make you miss as well as a power back with some finesse and explosive speed. He catches the ball well, can pass-block and rarely fumbles. However, there are other times when he does too much hunting and pecking, is too slow to hit the hole and does not do a great job of getting out of tight spots.

Another back who is very hard to judge right now and could do himself a world of good at the Senior Bowl is Texas Christian’s LaDainian Tomlinson. Last year Tomlinson, not Ron Dayne, led the nation in rushing, and this year he is in the running for the Heisman Trophy. However, the biggest problem scouts have with Tomlinson is the nature of the TCU offense. It is a great option-running team with a terrific line that often wipes out the opposing defense. Tomlinson often gets option pitches near the sideline and has a lot of clear sailing before he gets touched. While he appears to be built for power at 5-10 and 220 pounds with a well-put-together and muscular body and good timed speed, he is not a great inside runner at this point in terms of creativity and breaking tackles inside. Some scouts say he can be a good inside runner as long as he bends his knees and runs under his pads, which is something he does not have to do on many pitches when he is not getting hit on the option. Speedwise, he runs about a 4.5 in the 40-yard dash, but some scouts do not feel he has top speed, while others say he has deceptive speed and is plenty fast. While he is not often a receiving target, Tomlinson catches pitches well and appears to have good hands. He also is an unselfish player who will block.

While Michigan’s Anthony Thomas is not a burner or a superelusive back, he is a very productive back who improves every year and really impresses scouts with his toughness and extra-effort running. Last year Thomas learned to run lower and under his pads when he rushed for 1,257 yards and 16 scores, which was almost Michigan’s entire rushing total. He is well ahead of last year’s pace this season. At 225 pounds, Thomas is a power runner who can be his own blocker. While not really creative, he picks his hole well and is a decisive runner. He is durable, productive, tough and pretty versatile. He seems to catch the ball well, will block and can return kickoffs.

Tennessee’s Jamal Lewis, the first back taken in the 2000 draft, generally started ahead of Travis Henry last season except when he was hurt. However, the Volunteers’ offense seemed to be more effective when it featured Henry instead of Lewis. While Henry does not have Lewis’ speed, hands or skills, he is the ultimate blue-collar type of back. As a power runner, he rarely goes down on first contact and gains over half his yardage after he first gets hit. Henry runs with a low center of gravity and is hard to knock off his feet. He breaks tackles with his legs and seems to have terrific contact balance. While he’s no burner, Henry has improved his speed.

Nebraska’s Dan Alexander has almost freakish size, speed and power, but he is a straight-line type of runner who does not have a lot of wiggle and has torn both his right and left anterior cruciate ligaments while at Nebraska.

Kansas State’s David Allen is a terrific punt returner who missed a lot of time early this year with right-knee and ankle injuries suffered in the Martin Luther King Classic.