With the infusion of new talent every year, it is getting harder and harder for players to stand out at the running back position. The amount of depth at the running back position both in college and in the NFL causes very good players to go almost unnoticed. It is hard to stand out from the rest of the crowd, especially when that crowd has the wealth of talent like the running back position does.

This is something that Boise State running back Jay Ajayi has been facing for quite some time. He goes to a small school that is not a part of the power-five conferences in college football, which limits the amount of attention from the media he can get and he isn’t breaking records like Melvin Gordon III.

However, as many will soon come to find out, Ajayi is an excellent football player whose game can translate into sustained NFL success.

Ajayi is a redshirt junior running back who has a solid frame (6-foot and 216 pounds) to go along with great athletic ability for the position. He is the second all-time leading rusher in Boise State history with single season records in all-purpose yardage. He has recorded 55 total touchdowns and over 3,700 rushing yards, while averaging 5.6 yards per carry in his three years as a contributor for the Broncos.

Ajayi has become a leader for the Broncos, but he is not without some injury and off-the-field warts. In 2011, he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor petit theft charge and tore his ACL, but his record has been clean since.

While Ajayi’s production is nice, it is some of the things he showcases on the field that help separate him from the crowd at the running back position.

Ajayi’s most distinguishable trait on the football field is his incredible lower-body flexibility, which is showcased here:

Ajayi’s unique ankle flexion allows him to make steep cuts to avoid various defenders, especially when the defense gets initial penetration like the play above.

Here is the full play:

Boise State is in a shotgun formation with Ajayi lined up to the quarterback’s right. The play was designed to be an outside zone run to left. However, Ole Miss’ penetration after the snap eliminated the possibility of positive gain the way the run was designed to go. Right when Ajayi gets the ball, he makes an impressive jump cut to his left, away from where the play was designed to go, to avoid the defensive lineman in the backfield.

This would have been a very good play if Ajayi had just got back to the line of scrimmage; however, Ajayi takes it a step further and eludes another defender at the line of scrimmage and then spin his way forward as he is being tackled for a 6-yard gain.

This is what makes Ajayi one of the most elusive running backs in college football; he has the unique ability to change direction as near-impossible angles to elude and avoid defenders, which makes him extremely difficult to bring down in the open field.

Ajayi’s ankle flexion and lateral agility would be worthless, if he didn’t any balance. A player can bend and move wherever they want, but if they don’t have the balance to remain upright after it is all over, there is no point. Luckily for Ajayi, he has spectacular balance as evidenced on this play:

At the snap, the quarterback hands the ball off to Ajayi and he starts running laterally. He is met by a defender one yard behind the line of scrimmage to which he answers with a beautifully timed stiff arm. With no time to breath, Ajayi executes a superb limp-leg spin move to avoid a second defender. Ajayi keeps his balance and heads down the sideline where he performs another marvelous limp-leg spin move in which he kept his balance and fell forward for a couple more yards.

On this play, Ajayi showcased a lot of creativity to avoid the oncoming tacklers and incredible balance to stay upright and remain moving downfield.

While Ajayi’s ability to make defenders miss with lateral agility, balance and elusiveness, he also has great acceleration and burst to hit running lanes in between the tackles.

Here is one example:

On one of the few occasion where Boise State is under center, the quarterback hands the ball off to Ajayi on a play that is destined to follow the pulling guard to the left; however, Ajayi shows impressive cognitive ability to see the open running lane to the right and explode through for the touchdown run.

Ajayi got through the line of scrimmage to the second level and beyond extremely quickly, which showed off his impressive burst. It is one thing for a player to have the vision to see a hole develop in an area where the play isn’t designed to go, it is another to have the athletic ability to accelerate to full speed as quickly as Ajayi did to get through that hole.

Ajayi is not the type of player who plays with a great deal of power. He doesn’t have the lower body strength to run over defenders who push piles, which can limit his effectiveness in short-yardage situations. Instead, he relies on his flexibility, balance, vision and burst to make plays as a running back.

While the most important aspect of a running back is how well he does running the ball, it is becoming increasingly important for running backs to be able to make an impact in the passing game as a receiver out of the backfield and as a blocker in pass protection.

Ajayi is one of the few running backs in college football who has the ability to be a dual-threat in the NFL. He showcases reliable hands as he was extensively utilized as a check-down receiver in Boise State’s passing attack. Ajayi does a good job of catching the ball with his hands and turning upfield quickly to gain positive yards.

While he may be a productive receiver out of the backfield, Ajayi has some bad tendencies in pass protection. Because Ajayi is such an intelligent player, he is almost always in the correct position in pass protection as he understands the different types of protections and he is great at identifying blitzers. However, Ajayi leaves a lot to be desired when he actually makes the block as showcased on this play:

On this play, Ajayi correctly identifies the blitzer and is perfect position to make a block. Nevertheless, Ajayi “catches” the block and makes matters even worse by not engaging with his hands on the defender’s breastplate. This allows the defender to easily walk him back and disengage to put pressure on the quarterback.

This is an issue that manifests itself in all the time when Ajayi is in pass protection. Sometimes, he gets away with it because the defenders aren’t experienced enough to get past him; however, if he continues this bad habit in the pros, he will get beat almost every time.

Overall, Ajayi is an extremely productive running back who projects best to a spread offense (like in Philadelphia or Miami) or a more traditional zone-blocking scheme where he can utilize his balance, flexibility, vision and lateral agility to the best of his ability.

Ajayi has the potential to be a Pro-Bowl caliber running back in the NFL with increased strength in his lower body and better pass blocking. While that would warrant a relatively high pick at any other position, the devaluation of the running back will likely cause Ajayi to fall pass where he should.

At a position where it is extremely difficult to stand out, Ajayi is doing his part to separate himself from the crowd.

Projection: 3rd Round

Games Watched: Ole Miss (2014), Fresno State (2013 & 2014), BYU (2013 & 2014), Colorado State (2014) and Arizona (2014).