Overview

Position: RB

College: Virginia Tech

Class: Senior

Age: 22

 

Measurables

Height: 5’9 1/4″

Weight: 206 lbs.

Arm length: 29 1/2″

Hand size: 9”

 

Athletic testing

40-yard dash: 4.32 sec.

10-yard split: 1.49 sec.

Vertical jump: 40.5”

Broad jump: 130.0”

Bench press: N/A

3-cone drill: N/A

Short shuttle: 4.41 sec.

 

Strengths

Top-tier speed and explosiveness. Solid build with a low center of gravity. Threat to break long plays every time he gets in the open field. Rips defenses for big gains with a huge hole to run through. Takes it the distance when he gets to the second level with no one there to stop him. Heavy usage on sweep plays. Runs fast in the open field and will roll through tackle attempts. Great contact balance and keeps his feet versus low tackle attempts. Quick and elusive breaking tackles in close quarters. Terrific acceleration and easily captures the corner with a path. Knows how to weave and accelerate through blocks near the sideline. Excellent cutback ability on sweep plays. Will stick his foot in the ground and make a defender miss while maintaining speed getting downhill. Extremely quick juke move in the open field. Effective juke move to cutback versus cornerbacks on outside runs. Handled plenty of shotgun tosses. Fast sticking his foot in the ground and accelerating through the hole when he sees it. Will press a run and reconsider when seeing a clearer path. Shows physicality running downhill between the tackles. Sheds arm tackles on the second level. Tough and will absorb contact to finish runs. Physical to take on defenders down the sideline rather than going out of bounds. Decisive as an inside runner on goal-to-go situations. Used on motion handoffs. Excellent hands with the ability to catch down the field. Too fast for linebackers on wheel routes. Dangerous on flare screens. Outstanding as a pass blocker. Squares up and stones defenders in pass protection. Used as a lead blocker on quarterback runs and various designed rushes. Great accuracy and physicality blocking in space.

 

Weaknesses

Only used on shotgun runs in a spread attack. Patience can be improved letting things develop. Sometimes slow seeing rush lanes inside. Very inconsistent vision and feel between the tackles when things aren’t clear. Doesn’t have great second-level vision behind the line of scrimmage. Inconsistent feel for getting into open space as a runner. Seems he can fully bounce outside runs to the sideline more often with better anticipatory vision. Ball security is a huge issue. Seems to carry the ball too loose making ball-carrier moves and in the open field. Has the ability to do more but didn’t run complex routes.

 

NFL comparison

Justice Hill

 

Conclusion

Overall, Tuten is an explosive, big-play running back who will impact opponents with his speed whenever he’s on the field. Tuten might not be a workhorse at the next level, but there is untapped potential as a receiver and he already blocks at a high level.

 

Big Board ranking: #80 | Positional ranking: #11