Texas State football continues to make waves in the college football world as they land former Rice running back, Taji “Primetime” Atkins. The Bobcats are clearly not done upgrading their roster, specifically their running back room. This was a move that was on the top of the offseason bullet point to-do list after losing star running back Ismail Mahdi to the Arizona Wildcats. Last week, I was writing about a 4-way QB battle to look out for. Now, it may look like we have a running back battle on our hands. Some may see it as an added depth piece to the room. Let’s dive in and talk about what we can expect heading into the season.
Taji Atkins joins Lincoln Pare, Torrance Burgess Jr. and Greg Burrell in the running back room. Lincoln Pare holds the most experience out of the group as the Redshirt Senior accounted for 554 yards and 8 touchdowns last season. Pare saw an uptick in volume in the last two games of the season, exploding for 143 yards and 2 touchdowns against North Texas in the Servpro First Responder bowl game. He will likely be the starter come week 1 due to this momentum and his experience in this backfield, but I hear Head Coach GJ Kinne has a plan to utilize all the skills held in this running back room. Taji Atkins, along with Torrance Burgess Jr. and Greg Burell, will have their shot at proving themselves and earning more playing time. At the same time, they should all be ready to run onto the field at any given moment during an offensive possession this season. Let’s focus on my personal favorite and most recent signing, Taji Atkins.
Taji Atkins’ speed and versatility stick out the most when you look at the film. His style is similar to Christian McCaffrey (let’s hope). Small but strong, fast but patient. I know it’s silly to compare him to an NFL star, but the way he runs and can get incorporated in the pass game gets me pumped to envision what could be. His freshman season was unfortunately cut short due to injury after 5 games. Throughout those 5 games, he rushed for 158 yards on 24 carries (6.6 yards/carry), including a season-best 91 yards and 2 touchdowns versus Texas Southern. He’s healthy now and looking better than before. Take a look at his offseason transformation:
Atkins may be undersized but has obviously been working hard on improving that this offseason. He seems ecstatic to join the Bobcats and the program they’re building, which is all we can hope for. This pickup doesn’t jump out at you on paper, but it has the potential to be a sneaky good move. Taji Atkins averaged 14.5 yards/carry and ran for 36 touchdowns his Senior year of high school. We know the potential is there – we just have to uncover it and utilize it wisely. That’s going to rely a lot on GJ Kinne and his coaching staff, but I’m excited to see how it plays out. Check out his freshman film from Rice:
It’s an exciting time for Bobcat fans as we have a lot to root for. I can’t wait to see how this running back room leans on each other. The possibility of pairing them with dual threat quarterback, Brad Jackson, gets my blood pumping. Let’s hope it all comes together week 1 vs. Eastern Michigan.