NFL draft: Diminutive Donnel Pumphrey tries to buck odds with toughness, versatility
MOBILE, Ala. — The smallest player at the 2017 Senior Bowl carries one of the biggest college football résumés into town with him.
And though his frame is small, San Diego State running back Donnel Pumphrey has enough width and strength in his shoulders to carry it, just as he did his Aztec teammates during a brilliant career. The 5-foot-8, 169-pound Pumphrey is the all-time leading rusher in NCAA history, surpassing Ron Dayne’s record set in 1999 (although his bowl game totals were not included), and has been a beacon of light for a once-dormant SDSU program.
“When we came in as freshmen, our class, we wanted to set a legacy,” Pumphrey told Shutdown Corner, “and that’s what we did.”
With each year, the quick, strong and fierce rusher rose the charts and put up historic rushing numbers, averaging 1,884.3 yards the past three seasons and topping the 2,000 mark this past season. He also scored 62 rushing TDs in his career and finished 10th in the Heisman Trophy voting this season. Despite a big campaign by the school, Pumphrey finished behind three other running backs and a defensive lineman.
Pumphrey said the only enjoyment he got out of the Heisman buzz was seeing his teammates and the school get recognized.
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“He’s 100 percent right about that,” San Diego State offensive guard Nico Siragusa said. “We’d be like, ‘Bro, you’re getting all this attention!’ And he’d be like, ‘No, we all are.’ He really wanted us to enjoy it more than he did, and we absolutely loved the attention. He couldn’t have cared less about himself.”
“I just wanted to be sure my teammates got the credit they deserved for our success,” Pumphrey said, and he can point to a pair of 11-3 seasons the past two years and blowout bowl game wins over Cincinnati and Houston as proof that he and the Aztecs reached some terrific heights.
As for the NFL, however, there are questions. Pumphrey’s weight, frankly, is a problem. A college career that saw him touch the ball 1,168 times includes a lot of damage on such a small frame, although Pumphrey didn’t miss a single game in his career. He said he could count on one hand the number of practices he ever missed, too.
But for track-minded NFL evaluators, there are just not a lot of comps out there, body-wise, to point to for players who had extended success. Forget Darren Sproles, who carries 20-plus pounds over what Pumphrey does. The only two who compare over the past two decades are Warrick Dunn (180 pounds) and Dexter McCluster (175).
“When it’s time to get down, I get down. I try to make guys miss as much as possible,” Pumphrey said. “I do what I have to do when they call my number.”
Add to the equation the fact that Pumphrey was not asked to do things he might have to in the NFL, such as return punts (zero returns in college) and catch passes (he had only 99 receptions over four seasons). He returned a mere five kickoffs in college, too. Pumprey said he’s trying to add as many skills to his repertoire as he can with the NFL looking on. He caught several punts in practice on Tuesday and is working on his pass-catching and pass-blocking skills before the draft.
“Those are things teams might want me to do, so I am spending as much time between now and then to try to harness them,” Pumphrey said. “Just because I wasn’t asked to do those things a lot in college doesn’t mean I can’t do them.”
Asked if the 40-yard dash might mean more for a player such as him with some physical limitations, Pumphrey smiled and paused a moment before answering.
“Yeah, it’s important, I guess … but you never really run 40 yards in a straight line in football. Maybe on a kickoff coverage or something,” he said. “I will try to run as fast as I can. But more importantly, I am trying to showcase my ability as a football player. The rest of that testing stuff is what it is.”
Pumphrey doesn’t have an idea where he’ll be picked in the NFL draft. He has heard as high as Round 2, but he admits some people say he’ll last until Day 3, somewhere between Rounds 4 and 7. But he hopes that one team will fall in love with his toughness — make no mistake, the Aztecs were a power-run team and Pumphrey did a lot of work inside — as well as his ability to improve on the other aspects, such as receiving, returning and blitz pick-up.
“I would never doubt him,” Siragusa said. “I’ve watched him carry us for four years, every game, so why would I? The guy is a horse, man.”
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When asked which NFL coach he wanted to play for, Pumphrey didn’t hesitate, answering the question like he was trying to blast through a quickly closing hole in the defense.
“Bill Belichick, no question,” Pumphrey said. “They’re the best run organization in football. I just love the way they run things.”
One of Belichick’s favorite phrases is, “The more you can do, the more you can do.” Pumphrey smiled when he heard that. “There you go … I am trying to do it all, and I hope someone gives me a chance.”
Also told that Belichick is famous for taking players whom other teams have overlooked for what they can’t do, Pumphrey said he hopes teams don’t perceive his question marks as negatives but rather as “opportunities for me to prove that my size isn’t a negative. My weight is just a number, and I am not going to let that prevent me from doing something I know I can do.”
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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!
