College Football

FSU Football: Dalvin Cook Named College Football's Best Runner

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 9:47 p.m. ET

Fansided, Kelvin Hunt/FanSided via Chop Chat

Dec 30, 2016; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Florida State Seminoles running back Dalvin Cook (4) carries the ball during the second half against Michigan Wolverines at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

FSU football star running back Dalvin Cook got snubbed in the Heisman Trophy race. However, the accolades are starting to pile up after his Orange Bowl performance.

It was a travesty that FSU football running back Dalvin Cook wasn’t at least invited to New York as a Heisman Trophy finalist this year.

The crazy thing is his numbers last year were better than the running back that won the Heisman Trophy the previous year, and STILL didn’t get an invite.

Just more proof the Heisman Trophy is not the same award it was years ago. It’s a popularity contest between players the media choose to hype up for the most part.

Anyways, I’m preaching to the choir because FSU fans know how good Dalvin Cook has been the last three years.

Pro Football Focus has awarded Dalvin Cook its “Best Runner” award, basically telling why he’s the best running back in college football.

Nov 26, 2016; Tallahassee, FL, USA; Florida State Seminoles running back Dalvin Cook (4) runs the ball for a touchdown past Florida Gators defensive back Chauncey Gardner Jr. (23) during the first quarter at Doak Campbell Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Melina Vastola-USA TODAY Sports

Pro Football Focus Stats

From their website:

Coming into the year, the big question was who would emerge as the best running back in the nation, with strong candidates in Florida State’s Dalvin Cook, LSU’s Leonard Fournette and Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey. In the end, it was Cook who had the best year, capping off an incredible collegiate career with an impressive three-game stretch to end the year that summed up his play nicely. In games against Syracuse, Florida and Michigan, he averaged 3.7, 4.8 and 6.0 yards after contact per carry, and forced 33 missed tackles. Particularly against Michigan that really is incredible, with 119 of his 145 yards coming after contact and Cook forcing a missed tackle once every two carries.

Cook led all running backs in 2016 with 1,195 yards after contact, the most of any running back in the nation, but also more than all but 31 running backs managed total rushing yards. The best pure runner in the nation, Cook stands out in terms of raw stats, advanced stats and passes the eyeball test too, with plenty of quality runs of four and five yards in his repertoire. In a year when many of the top running backs in the nation didn’t live up to expectations, Cook was able to tie a career best in touchdowns and post career-best numbers in rushing yards and yards after contact. Only Toledo’s Kareem Hunt earned a higher PFF grade among running backs this season than Cook, who put up outstanding numbers against tougher competition.

Wow

I understand it’s hard for media to watch all the games and some have particular conferences they work/root for. However, to overlook the quality of defenses Cook put these numbers up against is tragic.

Oct 29, 2016; Tallahassee, FL, USA; Florida State Seminoles running back Dalvin Cook (4) outruns Clemson linebacker Korrin Wiggins (15) at Doak Campbell Stadium. Clemson won 37-34. Mandatory Credit: Glenn Beil-USA TODAY Sports

Quality of Defenses Faced

FSU football faced a ton of top defenses this season, just as the FSU defense faced a number of the top offenses in the country.

According to S&P+ metrics, here’s a look at the top run defenses he faced:

That’s 54 percent of the FSU football schedule. Dalvin Cook smoked all those defenses aside from the Louisville game where he was still nursing a surgically repaired shoulder.

If You’ve Never Seen Dalvin Cook Play

Hell, even if you’re like me and have watched every FSU football game for the last two decades that video is worth watching.

I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a running back like Dalvin Cook, who could turn the corner at such tight angles and blow by defenders.

Just incredible to watch.

Also, their was noticeable improvement in his ability to become a receivers over his FSU career. In fact, he was second on the team in receptions, and set career highs in receptions and yardage this season.

As coach Jimbo Fisher said, “whoever gets him [in the NFL] will be happy.”

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