Deji Karim, RB, Southern Illinois

[ayjackson]

5'11 and 205 pounds. Karim toted the rock 240 times for 1694 yards and scored 18 TDs in 2009.

According to PFT.com, he ran the 40 in 4.37 seconds, had a vertical of 43 inches, a 20 yard shuttle time of 4.05 seconds, and a 6.67 second mark in the three-cone drill....those would have all placed him first or second among all RBs at the combine.

Any thoughts on this kid?

 

[patsinthesnow]

All those 7ths have to go somewhere.

 

[WaterfallJumper]

If you read through the list of sleepers or late-round gems in other threads, you'll see that I've been promoting this kid for several months now. He's one of my favorite running backs in the draft, and I think he'd be a perfect Faulk understudy. In fact, I think he has starter upside with potential to be the next MJD or Ray Rice. Great player.

One note: he's actually about 5'8 #210; the numbers you listed were on the school website and not accurate.

 

[WaterfallJumper]

A few brief highlights for those who have never seen Karim play:

Skip to the 6:05 minute mark to watch a few plays from Texas vs Nation. YouTube - Saturday Sports Extra 2-5-10

At :52 and 1:52 you can see a couple nice plays. I know he got tripped up on that return, but in the same game he also had a 92 yard kick return. 2:14 is a touchdown where he stays really low and quick. 3:05 has a really sweet screen pass where he breaks tackles and makes guys miss. YouTube - Western Illinois Univerity vs Southern Illinois Univerity Football 2009

Nothing truly spectacular, but enough to intrigue me. I wish he'd had better blocking the Texas vs Nation game; he was hit in the backfield by two guys on the first goal-line attempt, and then was forced inside when his blocker guy pushed back into his face on the second, and eventually was picked up by the linebackers.

Still, his ability to catch the ball, run inside and outside, and return makes him one of the more well-rounded backs in this draft, and his 4.3 speed and 43" vertical show some major explosiveness to go along with his power. I think he's a good third-down guy (high-effort blocker) with starter upside. Oh, and now the Patriots have officially shown some interest, according to his draft diary, so I'm pretty pleased.

 

[MetalBleachers]

Interview with Southern Illinois RB Deji Karim | Patriots Daily

 

[BradyBranch39]

At :52 and 1:52 you can see a couple nice plays. I know he got tripped up on that return, but in the same game he also had a 92 yard kick return. 2:14 is a touchdown where he stays really low and quick. 3:05 has a really sweet screen pass where he breaks tackles and makes guys miss. YouTube - Western Illinois Univerity vs Southern Illinois Univerity Football 2009:

Watched this the other day after reading the PFT article. He looks good enough to draft in the 6th. Thought he was a little bit Sproles/Turner/MJD.