Countdown to Kickoff: 60 Days (Craig Nelson)
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Written By Alex Compton (@Alexncompton)
#60
The Hoosier Huddle Countdown to Kick-off has begun! There are now 60 days until the Indiana Hoosiers kick-off the 2017 season against the Ohio State Buckeyes. That seems like a long way away and I suppose it is, but this countdown will fly by and it will be football season before we know it! Today’s countdown takes a look at #60 Craig Nelson.
Craig Nelson (Freshman)
-Height: 5’10”
-Weight: 185 pounds
-Hometown: Miami, Florida
-Position: Running Back
What makes guys like Darren Sproles, Christian McCaffrey, Ty Montgomery and our own Tevin Coleman such valuable NFL assets? Their ability to keep defenses on their toes due to their Swiss Army knife talents. Indiana has a few guys like this on the roster currently when you look at Devonte Williams and Camion Patrick, but I think the Hoosiers added a really solid under the radar prospect in Craig Nelson as well. He has very similar versatility to those two guys, and he will be a really interesting guy to keep an eye on throughout his career.
For starters, I want to come out and say that I think Nelson will probably redshirt this year. IU has a sizable amount of playmakers getting ready to contribute this fall, so burning a year on Nelson when he may not play much at all just wouldn’t make sense. Another reason why a redshirt makes sense is due to the fact that he is basically still learning how to play running back. At Booker T. Washington high school in Miami, Nelson played corner and receiver before actually switching to running back, which is why his only other offer was to Idaho. I wrote about Nelson on the night he committed and said this about him:
“Nelson's upside is centered around his versatility, as he commonly lined up in the slot in high school in addition to taking his usual carries as a back. Mike DeBord has to like the pickup, as getting running backs involved in the passing game is something he focuses on. He ran for over a thousand yards as a senior, in addition to racking up 15 TD's on the ground. IU could be getting a real sleeper here, as Nelson flew under the radar as a running back prospect because he played defensive back until his junior year, and was initially behind two seniors on the depth chart that season when he finally switched to running back.”
“While it may take some time for Nelson to develop, there is no doubt that the Hoosiers are getting a talented, coachable prospect with plenty of good backs to learn from. Nelson's game is attractive due to his breakaway speed and ability to finish runs with real strength in the hole.”
Down the line, I think Nelson will be a guy you see returning kicks as well as catching screens and taking jet sweeps. With the size and speed to matchup favorably against a bunch of different defensive looks, Mike DeBord has a nice playmaker to fit into IU’s equation on offense moving forward. I expect Nelson to be a big play back for IU at some point, just probably not next year due to the great depth the Hoosiers will have at back. If you take one thing from this article, let is be this- keep an eye on Craig Nelson.