How do you know when someone is ready to take on a larger role? It’s a question anyone in a leadership position has asked themselves at some point in time. For Eli Drinkwitz, it was a question he had to ask of himself and his staff over the offseason in regards to Tyler Badie.
Was the 5-foot-8, 195 pound running back really ready for a massive workload?
Badie averaged just seven touches per game a year ago. He finished the season with fewer than 50 carries.
He’s already up to 39 carries in the first two games of the season. He’s touched the ball 52 times in the Tigers’ first two games. I think it’s fair to say he’s done well taking over for Larry Rountree III.
Typically, an increase in volume leads to a decrease in efficiency. It’s hard for any player to be as efficient on 20 touches per game as they might be on five. Badie seems to be breaking the law of averages as often as he breaks the laws of physics.
This is a Tyler Badie appreciation account pic.twitter.com/cJadbWim4U
— Mark Kim (@MarkJKim_) September 12, 2021
Badie averaged 7.6 yards per touch in 2020. He’s averaging a whopping 7.5 yards per touch in 2021. Volume plus efficiency equals production. And, my goodness has Badie been productive. His new role has him leading the country in yards from scrimmage through the first two weeks of the college football season. He just became the first Missouri player in at least the last two decades with 100+ rushing yards and 100+ receiving yards through the first two games of the season.
This begs the question: Just how productive could Badie be in 2021?
Notable Mizzou RBs in their Final Season
Year: | Class: | Running Back: | Rushing Yards: | Receiving Yards: | Yards from Scrimmage: | Yards Per Touch: | Total Touchdowns: |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year: | Class: | Running Back: | Rushing Yards: | Receiving Yards: | Yards from Scrimmage: | Yards Per Touch: | Total Touchdowns: |
2003 | SR | Zack Abron | 1,018 | 171 | 1,189 | 5.3 | 13 |
2004 | JR | Damien Nash | 792 | 176 | 968 | 5.1 | 8 |
2007 | SR | Tony Temple | 1,039 | 68 | 1,107 | 5.7 | 13 |
2009 | JR | Derrick Washington | 865 | 156 | 1,021 | 4.7 | 10 |
2012 | SR | Kendial Lawrence | 1,025 | 114 | 1,139 | 5.2 | 12 |
2013 | JR | Henry Josey | 1,166 | 65 | 1,231 | 6.7 | 17 |
2014 | SR | Marcus Murphy | 924 | 212 | 1,136 | 5.5 | 5 |
2017 | SR | Ish Witter | 1,049 | 87 | 1,136 | 5.7 | 7 |
2020 | SR | Larry Rountree | 972 | 100 | 1,072 | 4.8 | 14 |
2021 | JR | Tyler Badie | 264 | 128 | 392 | 7.5 | 3 |
He’s currently on pace for nearly 1,600 rushing yards, 750 receiving yards and 18 total touchdowns. That seems... unlikely? Let’s use history as a bit of a guide.
According to Sports Reference, Badie is the 10th player in the last 20 years with at least 250 rushing yards and 100 receiving yards through the first two weeks of a season. The last to do so was Christian McCaffrey at Stanford in 2016. The list also include the likes of Ameer Abdullah, Jay Ajayi, Joseph Randle and Steven Jackson.
The nine previous players to accomplish this feat went on to finish with an average of 1500 rushing yards, 350 receiving yards and 21 total touchdowns. If Badie matches those numbers at the end of 2021, it would go down as one of the most productive seasons in the history of Missouri football.
Missouri with some flashy performances yesterday. RB Tyler Badie went off...25x203 yards, 1 TD on the ground...3x40, TD receiving. pic.twitter.com/8sYwWrWgpt
— Jared Stanger (@JaredStanger) September 5, 2021
Okay, maybe we’re getting ahead of ourselves here. Badie’s been excellent, but is he really going to be that productive the rest of the year? It’s hard to say. Regardless, he’s off to an incredible start and one that has only been matched by the best of the best of the last 20 years. Badie’s all-around skill-set is perfect for a creative play-caller such as Eli Drinkwitz. It’ll be interesting to see how the Tigers keep Badie involved as the season evolves and teams start honing in more and more on Mizzou’s star running back.