Mississippi State running back Vick Ballard was never really the biggest recruit coming out of high school or junior college. Prior to opting for junior college, the Mississippi native was set to attend Jackson State.
But Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College may have been the best thing to ever happen to Ballard.
After a stellar sophomore season as a JUCO player, Ballard found himself with an offer from Mississippi State, but there wasn’t much interest from other SEC teams. He isn’t afraid to deny it, nor does he have any hard feelings. The senior running back is just glad to be in the SEC.
“I’m just glad I’m here in an SEC program,” said Ballard thankfully.
Come the middle of September, several SEC teams may be wishing they would have shown more interest in Ballard.
Last season, Ballard set a single-season record for the Dawgs with 20 touchdowns. That was with nervous surrounding him all year, though.
This is what running backs coach [URL=”http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news?slug=rivals-1240961″]Greg Knox told Rivals.com[/URL]:
“Vick was more relaxed this spring as far as knowing what he was doing. We also saw a more confident Ballard. He knew how to do things and when to do it. We also saw his leadership role. When you have more knowledge and confidence then that is when the leadership starts to show.”
With his comfort level starting to soar, Ballard could be very dangerous coming into August. He isn’t the sexiest pick, as more people are dominating talks with Trent Richardson and Marcus Lattimore.
The 5-foot-11 Ballard could very easily come into the picture, but he assured the media he isn’t worried about ranking the backs in the conference.
“In my opinion, you can’t put us one, two, three, four overall. For me, I just try to be as balanced as I can so I can stay on the field.”
Vick Ballard is set to explode into the SEC picture as one of the top running backs.
It’s hard to imagine that a guy that wasn’t really comfortable achieved the things he did last season. With another year under his belt, Ballard could do big things for Dan Mullen’s team.
Can Vick Ballard improve on last season? You tell us…
Follow Garrett Tucker on Twitter [URL=”https://twitter.com/#%21/GTuckersports”]@GTuckersports[/URL] for more info on SEC Media Days.
