Vick Ballard Scouting Report

Ballard tore up junior college for two years then took his talents to Starkville for a pair of successful seasons. The bruising running back rushed 186 yards for 968 yards and an amazing 19 touchdowns as a junior in 2010. As a senior he had 193 carries for 1189 yards and 10 scores. Ballard is also a decent pass-catcher out of the backfield. In his two seasons with the Mississippi State Bulldogs, he made a total of 30 receptions for 193 yards and two touchdowns.

The Pascagoula, MS native stands at 5'11'' and 220 pounds. He generally runs in the 4.5s of the 40-yard dash and he has been clocked as fast as 4.47 from that distance. Ballard can break tackles simply by running through defenders, but he struggles to change direction and elude tacklers. He isn't overly explosive off the ball, so it takes him a decent amount of time to reach top speed. Ballard probably won't ever be a featured running back at the next level, but he will provide valuable depth and could be a serious factor in red-zone situations. Look for him to go off the board in the fifth round of the 2012 NFL Draft.