Three Up, Three Down: FSU Players’ Rising and Falling Stocks
By David Visser
Melina Vastola-USA TODAY Sports
Trending Up: Dalvin Cook
With Karlos Williams injured, the Mario Pender show was off to an impressive start on Saturday: the redshirt sophomore found the end zone on the ground and through the air. Pender looked to be establishing himself more as RB1b istead of RB2 before being injured, and his 5.1 yards per carry may have done just that.
The only problem for Pender? He wasn’t the best back of the game. Frankly he wasn’t even the best back on his own team, and that’s due to Dalvin Cook. In essentially one half of football, Cook carried the ball 23 times for 122 yards and a score (a 5.3 YPC average).
Cook is extremely instinctual, slipping though the first level effortlessly. After that, he continually got the corner on ‘Cuse defenders thanks to an extra gear he finds time and again. This explosiveness make him the backfield equivalent of Travis Rudolph– he can hurt you from absolutely anywhere.