INDIANAPOLIS — Iowa State star running back David Montgomery checks nearly every box for scouts entering the NFL Scouting Combine.
Size: Montgomery stands 5-foot-10 and weighs 222 pounds. His hands and arms are wide enough and long enough.
Durability: Montgomery missed only one game in three seasons at Iowa State. The week after he was withheld from competition, Montgomery rushed for 189 yards on 29 carries in a manhandling of No. 6 West Virginia.
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Production: Montgomery rushed for more than 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns in his two primary seasons. In each year, he exceeded 250 carries.
Toughness: According to Pro Football Focus, Montgomery made 108 tacklers miss in 2017, the most ever recorded by a running back by the analytics website, and had 885 yards after contact. PFF graded Montgomery as the national leader last year in most missed tackles per rushing attempt (0.39) in 2018.
‘It’ factor: For two consecutive years, Montgomery was an All-Big 12 selection. He also was named a first-team All-American by PFF in 2018
“Montgomery breaks those tackles, he has those powerful hips, those legs drive like jackhammers,” said Dan Shonka, national scout and general manager for Ourlads Scouting Services. “He runs with his chest over his toes. He doesn’t give you much surface to hit. He’s a tough kid, he can run through tackles.”
So, what’s not to like about Montgomery? Nothing yet, perhaps nothing at all. But a few questions linger about the early entry from Cincinnati. At the top is speed. How Montgomery performs in the 40-yard dash might determine whether he’s the first running back selected in the NFL Draft this April or the fifth.
“The biggest question is that flat-out speed,” Shonka said. “Some teams will say he does all these things for you, he’s just not going to take it to the house. Well, how many can take it to the house? If he can get you four yards a carry, five yards and have some 20-yard runs every so often and not get injured, be durable and not lay the ball on the ground, that’s a great track record.”
“I think the combine piece of it for David is going to be really big,” Iowa State coach Matt Campbell said. “I think that his videotape certainly showcases what he brings to the table. The numbers piece will distinguish where on that draft spectrum that I think he will go.”
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Speed is relative for running backs. Quickness, elusiveness and burst at the line of scrimmage matters much more than straight-ahead speed. But a slow 40-yard dash time allows scouts to recalibrate their assessments and perhaps accentuate more negatives on tape.
That said, Montgomery isn’t worried about his 40 time, at least not publicly.
“The time is going to be what the time is going to be, so just going to have fun with it, go run and have fun playing ball,” he said.
With Montgomery’s build and running style, there’s a strong resemblance to former Kansas City Chiefs running back Priest Holmes, who began his career as an undrafted free agent and later won the 2001 NFL rushing crown. Montgomery stands one inch taller and weighs about 10 pounds more than Holmes, but the comparison is apt, Shonka said.
“I was really high with Priest Holmes when I was with the Eagles,” Shonka said, then a team scout. “We could have signed him as a free agent and then our running backs coach didn’t want him so John Wooten, who was our (vice president of player personnel), he called over to (Ravens general manager) Ozzie Newsome and said, ‘Hey, I’ve got a scout here who really likes Priest Holmes.’ Ozzie said, ‘We’ll throw some film on of him.’ Ozzie signed him for $1,000.”
Montgomery’s toughness harkens back to old-time players, of which Holmes (8,172 rushing yards, 86 touchdowns) certainly counts. When Montgomery was young, his grandfather showed him clips of great running backs on an old video cassette recorder. As he became older, Montgomery looked up video highlights on YouTube.
Montgomery rushed for at least 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns in each of the last two seasons. (Jerome Miron / USA TODAY Sports)“I definitely grew up, definitely patterned my game on a lot of Barry Sanders,” Montgomery said. “I love Eric Dickerson. I love Walter Payton. Just those guys, those few guys, how they run, as far as being shifty, being able to shake people, being able to run through people. I tried to pattern my game off those guys, definitely legends who led the way for me.”
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Montgomery’s versatility compares favorably with Holmes, who also was a consistent threat in the passing game. At Iowa State, Montgomery caught 71 passes for 582 yards, and was difficult to corral in the flat. Throughout his career, Montgomery became an every-down back who excelled in any role tossed his way.
In fact, NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah called Montgomery “one of my favorite players in this draft” because of his passion and toughness.
“Vision, patience, stop-start quickness,” Jeremiah said. “He’s got a lot of natural instincts as a runner, and as a pass protector, he’ll miss some cut blocks. That’s an area he can continue to improve and get better, but to me, if he’s fully healthy and passes everything he needs to pass from that standpoint, I think he’s a no-brainer as a second-round pick, and I think he’ll be a day-one starter.”
Outside of blazing speed, Montgomery’s greatest limitation as a running back could come from his actual experience in running the football, Campbell said. At Toledo, Campbell coached another talented running back in Kareem Hunt, who led the NFL in rushing yards in 2017. Their college output was similar.
“(Montgomery has) got the ability to do everything,” Campbell said. “He catches the ball really well. He’s a really good blocker. Ironically, the best thing he can do better is continue to run the ball because I still think he’s becoming a true running back.
“In high school, everything was single-wing and he’s the quarterback and there’s even times where you see sometimes, boom, get north and south like Kareem was a north and south guy. David can get north and south in a hurry, but he’s also got some wiggle. It’s going to be fun to see what happens with him. I think if he runs a good 40 — which my gut feeling is as competitive as he is, is he will — it will be interesting to see where he falls in the draft spectrum. Our feedback was anything from the first back taken to like at worst the third back taken.”
Unlike Hunt, who was dismissed from the Kansas City Chiefs after a video showed him kicking a woman, Montgomery’s off-field behavior was exemplary. He became an Eagle Scout in high school, and routinely worked out late at night on weekends. Montgomery was a semifinalist for the Jason Witten Man of the Year Award, which is given to a player who has exhibited exceptional courage, integrity and sportsmanship both on and off the field.
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Montgomery formed a kinship with Hunter Erb, a boy with multiple congenital heart defects, during his time in Ames.
“That’s something that was sent from God for me,” Montgomery said. “God sent me something to do, a task to handle and it turned into something way bigger than that. Just to be able to be blessed with that young man and that little boy to be there is definitely a blessing in my heart and my hands and I’m definitely grateful.”
Declaring early for the NFL Draft was a difficult decision, Montgomery concedes, because he had to leave his teammates. He felt secure in his decision because of how Iowa State’s coaching staff stood behind him. The most exciting part for Montgomery is how his hometown will react when he is selected.
“It will mean a lot, just being able to give kids back home hope to understand that it’s possible,” Montgomery said. “You’ve just got to have the right mindset and you can’t live to the standards that everybody creates for you. You’ve got to create your own. I was able to create my own and still creating my own trying to live out my dream and give kids back home hope. Definitely, it’s big, and it means a lot.”
(Top photo by Scott Winters / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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