INDIANAPOLIS — Longtime Dallas Cowboys vice president of player personnel Gil Brandt was asked this week what running back in this year’s NFL draft he thinks would fit best in the zone blocking scheme the Ravens will run under new offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak.
His answer: Towson running back Terrance West.
The buzz around West has been building during the last few months.
NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah, a former Ravens scout, wrote about being impressed with West earlier this month. So did Evan Silva from Rotoworld, who said West may have the most upside of any running back in this year’s draft. And Brandt had his own compliments for West.
“I think he’s a heck of a running back,” Brandt said.
Not even five years ago, West was without a team, his football future very much in doubt.
West ran for nearly 5,000 yards during his career at Northwestern High School in Baltimore but ended up at prep school because of low SAT scores.
Then, after a year at Fork Union Military Academy, West couldn’t even find a school to join as a walk-on.
Opportunities at Clemson, Maryland and Morgan State each fell through for different reasons, and he spent the 2010 football season working at a Foot Locker-like store in Baltimore without a team to play for or a college to attend.
But West came into contact with Towson in January of 2011, worked out for a Towson position coach later that month and eventually joined the Tigers as a walk-on.
Three years and 4,854 rushing yards later, West is considered one of the top running back prospects in this year’s NFL draft.
“I was trying to walk on anywhere,” West said. “Towson gave me a chance. I walked on at Towson and everything took off from there. Sometimes you would have people say, ‘You’re not going to get your chance,’ but I knew that I was going to get my chance. Once my time came to perform, I did. …
“It makes me appreciate it more. It makes me hungry. When I was walking to catch the bus, I was thinking, ‘I need to show the world what I can do.’ Football is everything. God blessed me with the talent. I’m just glad I’m not letting the talent go to waste.”
West ran for 1,294 yards and 29 touchdowns as a freshman at Towson in 2011, 1,051 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2012 and 2,509 yards and 41 touchdowns as a junior this past season.
He also helped himself at the combine. His 40-yard dash time of 4.54 seconds was the third-best among running backs 220 pounds or heavier.
“He ran pretty well,” NFL.com draft analyst Mike Mayock said. “[He has] heavy production, great vision and balance. I thought he’d [run slower], so I do think he helped himself.”
West estimated last week that he was scheduled to have formal meetings with at least eight teams while at the combine, including the Ravens.
“I would go anywhere right now. But being a Raven, it would be amazing just to play for my home city and play for the Ravens,” West said. “The Ravens, that was my favorite team.”
