2015 NFL Draft: Top 10 Running Backs

7. Tevin Coleman, Indiana

Just like it is tough for basketball players to get any recognition at football schools like Alabama, it is equally tough for a football player to get any sort of acknowledgment playing at a traditional basketball school like Indiana. Unless you do something special, you will not be in an abyss of irrelevance. Tevin Coleman knows that feeling.

Playing football at Indiana has been both beneficial and frustrating for Coleman: beneficial because he was leaned on heavily to make that Indiana offense work, frustrating because no one knew how productive he was other than people who really followed the program.

Nonetheless, NFL teams still took notice.

Coleman grinded his way 2,036 yards rushing with 15 touchdowns in a Big 10 conference that was gearing up to stop him every week. He also managed 7.5 carries all while nursing a broken big toe for half the season. There is no teaching toughness like that.

Aside from his ability to fight through injuries, Coleman can fight through initial contact and accelerates to top speed quickly. He has a thinner frame than a traditional running back so he can squeeze into tighter gaps to find open space. He also provides a great target in the passing game with his reliable hands that caught 25 passes this past season.

However, his thinner body type can prove to be a problem when he goes against NFL players next season. He has had ball security issues in past, fumbling the ball four times in 2014, and provides a bigger target for defenders to take down.

Nevertheless, his ability to catch passes and his potential as a pass blocker will have him sought after by NFL teams looking for a complementary back that can develop into a full-time starter. Not bad for a football player from a basketball school.

Projected Pick: higher third round

Next: Latest product off the Alabama assembly line