Better Know a Freshman: Tyrion Davis-Price

LSU may need to start printing the shirts for another positional moniker after staking claim to DBU. The past decade has been kind to LSU at running back, which some of that success can be attributed to the Les Miles years and his I-formation insistence. Either way, players like Leonard Fournette, Derrius Guice, Alfred Blue, Spencer Ware and several others have found their way to starting and contributing on NFL rosters. That tradition should continue with the two incoming backs: John Emery Jr., who was already profiled here, and Tyrion Davis-Price.

The Story

The recruitment of Tyrion was what you would describe as a short one. A camp visit to Baton Rouge the summer before his junior season was all Tyrion needed to know that that short trip down the 110 was the way he wanted to go for college. A who’s who of top college football programs continued to offer and keep up their pursuit, but it was all for naught, as Davis-Price knew where he wanted to be.

The Numbers

110 - 101 = Franchise Player. One of the best players to come along in years, if not decades. Odds of having a player in this category every year is slim. This prospect has “can’t miss” talent.

100 - 98 = Five-star prospect. One of the top 30 players in the nation. This player has excellent pro-potential and should emerge as one of the best in the country before the end of his career. There will be 32 prospects ranked in this range in every football class to mirror the first round of the NFL Draft.

97 - 90 = Four-star prospect. One of the top 300 players in the nation. This prospect will be an impact-player for his college team. He is an All-American candidate who is projected to play professionally.

89 - 80 = Three-star prospect. One of the top 10% players in the nation. This player will develop into a reliable starter for his college team and is among the best players in his region of the country. Many three-stars have significant pro potential.

79 - below = Two-star prospect. This player makes up the bulk of Division I rosters. He may have little pro-potential, but is likely to become a role player for his respective school.

247 Composite Rating: ****

247 Composite Ranking: .9399

Davis-Price used a strong summer camp season before his junior year to place himself in the 150s among national recruits. He would gravitate around that area before finishing his senior season with 2,556 rushing yards and 31 touchdowns to finish at 139.

The Film

At 6-1 and 235 pounds in high school, Davis-Price was a handful to deal with for any opposing defenses. It didn’t help the defense’s case that he had a guy like Kardell Thomas to run behind. A one-cut back at his core, Davis-Price shows a good bit of shiftiness for someone at his weight, and his mindset to run with purpose means anyone in front of him is about to find out that physics are not in his favor. He shows pretty good patience to let the play develop in front of him before making the choice to accelerate, getting into his strong suit as a downhill runner. There’s an ability to read his blocks that also helps his case and make him a pain to bring down.

The Future

Since arriving on campus, Davis-Price has dropped nine pounds from his senior playing weight to a more defined 226 pounds. The staff knows he will be an integral part of this offense once the rigors of conference play rears its head. With Clyde Edwards-Helaire a senior this year and the likely starter when the team takes the field against Georgia Southern, there will be plenty more opportunity in 2020. While Edwards-Helaire provides an ability to do a little bit of everything, the style of him, Emery Jr., Davis-Price and Chris Curry all compliment each other. Expect to see Davis-Price fairly often this year as a precursor of the next in line at RBU (I can attempt to start this right?).

High End: Provides a two-headed monster with Emery Jr. once Edwards-Helaire departs, creating a true “thunder & lightning” combo that hasn’t really been seen in Louisiana since the Chuck Muncie and Tony Galbreath backfield (Okay, maybe Ingram-Kamara fit that mold, but I wanted to show off my old school chops with the original nickname earners).

Low End: The only thing that could derail this career path is an injury. There is a drive in Davis-Price that wouldn’t allow him to falter in his attempt to be an every-down back.

Realistic: See “High End” barring something unforeseen.