Running back Mar’Keise Irving is a Golden Gopher. The four-star prospect from Country Club Hills, IL had offers from most of the Big Ten schools but committed verbally to Minnesota in May.
As a junior at Hillcrest High School, Irving rushed for 1,733 yards and 22 touchdowns. He also had 405 yards and four touchdowns receiving, and a punt return touchdown. Illinois was among the states that did not play high school sports this fall due to the pandemic, so those are the most recent stats available for Irving. Allen Trieu of 247sports.com wrote this about him in February (full report here):
“Compact back… A very good athlete who has excellent short-area elusiveness. Does a nice job of breaking tackles and staying on his feet through contact. Runs through arm tackles, has a nice stiff-arm and also runs with determination… solid as a pass catcher but can still improve in that department. Can play in any scheme and has a skill set that projects well to college.”
At 5-10 and 175 pounds, Irving will definitely need to bulk up to run the ball in the Big Ten. Mohamed Ibrahim, for example, is also 5’10”, but is listed as weighing 210. Not every running back needs to have quite that level of bulk, but like most 18-year-olds, Irving can definitely stand to add some. (I should note, his Twitter bio @bucky_buckets, lists his weight at 185 pounds).
Currently, the Gophers have eight running backs on the roster. All have eligibility remaining, although Ibrahim will almost certainly forego his to enter the NFL draft. Judging by the latter part of the 2020 season, Cam Wiley is likely to see the bulk of the carries next fall. Treyson Potts and Bryce Williams would appear to be next in line. It would surprise me to see Mar’Keise Irving as a regular in the lineup before 2022 at the earliest. I would not be surprised if he contributes on special teams before that.
(Photo courtesy ChicagoTribune.com)
