Oregon State RB Ryan McCants had a strong scrimmage Friday afternoon with three rushing TDs and an aggressive approach.
He attacked the hole and found an extra gear in the open field. McCants even leveled a few tacklers.
“I’m really happy for him,” coach Mike Riley said. “He looked confident again and got tougher as the day went on.”
That’s the kind of running people expected of McCants when they first saw him. At 6-foot-1, 228 pounds he can be a bruiser.
However, he’s yet to show that kind of potential. Dealing with a knee injury from the end of last spring practice didn’t help.
Maybe this is the beginning of his turnaround.
“I think I did pretty well,” McCants said. “With the competition we got going on it’s a chance to show coach what you can do. You can’t take a play off or for granted out here.”
McCants knows there are many areas to improve to get back on the field on a regular basis. There’s pass blocking, receiving and ball security.
He still runs a little tall through traffic, which can be dangerous for the ball. And there were three dropped passes in the scrimmage – one would have needed a spectacular play to make.
Five more spring practices remain and a spring game. McCants needs to make a move because it appeared Jovan Stevenson had the lead for the backup RB spot through the first three weeks.
“I’ve improved a lot, but I had a couple of dropped balls that ticked me off,” McCants “But I’ll get in, watch the film and try to make those plays next time.”
2 comments
aaron_ says:
Apr 18, 2010
I'd love to see McCants put it all together and get out on the field and punish some tacklers. He has great potential.
coachtk9 says:
Apr 19, 2010
definitely. i think overall we'll be fine with the combination of McCants, Stevenson, Jenkins. but it would be really nice, especially for him, if Ryan is able to reach some of that potential. it would make the Beavs so much better to have a sure handed power runner and a back up just about like Quizz.