FSU Football: Should Jacques Patrick have gotten combine invite?

FSU football will have three players participating in the annual event next month, but one of them won’t be on of their two top running backs of late.

When some of the top college players from last season arrive in Indianapolis at the beginning of March for the annual meat market ritual known as the NFL Draft combine, it will again have a garnet and gold feel as three members of the 2018 FSU football team will be running and jumping and answering questions from pro teams.

While it is no shock that the three players who were selected were picked – defensive end Brian Burns, defensive tackle Demarcus Christmas and wide receiver Nyqwan Murray – there is a question as to why one other player wasn’t invited to the annual event.

On social media last week, running backs coach Donte’ Pimpleton raised the question as to why one of his guys – Jacques Patrick – isn’t going to be part of the event.

Patrick later replied by saying that he was “puzzled” as well but vowed to show out before the draft – as FSU football will hold their annual pro day sometime later that month to give Patrick as well as plenty of others their chance to shine.

Now, on the surface the argument for why he shouldn’t have been invited would have been the substantial drop in numbers last season – 108 carries for 378 yards (3.5 YPC average) and one touchdown – as opposed to what took place the year before with 134 carries for 748 yards (5.6 YPC) and seven touchdowns.

Despite that, he was a reliable player who averaged nearly five yards a carry and four touchdowns a season over a four year period where he was either backing up Dalvin Cook or splitting carries with Cam Akers – all behind a FSU football offensive line that was arguably one of the worst in the history of the program and maybe the game of college football.

A betting man would say that some team is going to take a late round pick on Patrick barring an amazing pro day or workout that could up his stock. While he may not be Cook or Devonta Freeman, he someone who will give you quality carried with the durability to go inside and outside.

It will be upsetting not to see him in Indy to show off the talents to a national audience, but FSU football will be just fine when they hear Patrick’s name be called this April by one lucky team.