Chris Rodriguez (UK Athletics Photo)
Pro Football Focus might not think as highly of Kentucky running back Chris Rodriguez as what Kentucky football recruiting coordinator Vince Marrow does, but it still puts Rodriguez in a lofty position going into the 2020 season.
Pro Football Focus ranks the talented Kentucky player as the nation’s No. 8 running back going into next season.
“We probably have got the best running back in the country on our roster,” Marrow said recently.
Rodriguez finished the 2020 season as the second-highest-graded running back and ranked second to North Carolina’s Javonte Williams among Power Five backs in percentage of runs that picked up a first down or touchdown.
“When it came to those inside-zone runs that Kentucky loves so much, Rodriguez jumped to first in rushing grade nationwide,” Pro Football Focus’s Anthony Treash wrote.
As a sophomore in 2020, Rodriguez ran for 785 yards and 11 touchdowns on just 119 carries in nine games. He finished sixth in the SEC in rushing yards and 17th nationally despite missing two games. He was first in the SEC with 6.6 yards per attempt.
He showed he was more than just a power runner with scoring jaunts of 79 and 74 yards last season.
His consistency is also impressive. He has gone for 100 or more yards in six of his last 13 games. In UK’s TaxSlayer Bowl victory over North Carolina State, he rushed for 84 yards and two scores on 17 carries, including a 26-yard touchdown run with 2:55 to play that sealed the win.
New Kentucky running backs coach John Settle praised the running back’s intensity and willingness to learn.
“He’s a guy that wants to be very good,” Settle said.
New offensive coordinator Liam Coen is a believer, too.
“Chris Rodriguez needs to touch the ball as many times as possible,” Coen said. “It’s my job and our job as an offensive staff to find different ways for him to touch the football as opposed to just turning around and giving him the ball.”
Marrow thinks UK has other good backs but knows Rodriguez is the team’s bell cow.
“He’s a guy that can do everything you want. He was good last year but he will be even better this year. Just wait and see,” Marrow said.
