Opinions seem to vary on Lache Seastrunk’s impact on the college game.
Seastrunk rushed for Temple records of 4,217 yards and 52 TDs.
Photo by Kyle Dantzler
CBS Recruiting expert Tom Lemming said the 5-foot-10, 178-pound running back from Temple, Texas is the No. 2 recruit in the country and the closest player talent-wise to Reggie Bush he’s seen in the past five years. He noted his 10.33-second speed in the 100-meter dash, acceleration, excellent hands and ability to cut on a dime.
“Explosive should be his middle name,” Lemming said.
Texas recruiting expert Randy Rodgers believes Seastrunk will be a role player in college, a specialty player who is too small to run consistently between the tackles.
“He’s like Percy Harvin, a slot receiver who will run the fly sweep, return kicks, do all those kind of things to utilize his speed,” Rodgers said. “But I can’t see him getting more than six to nine touches a game. That’s my opinion any way.”
Rodgers and Lemming have been in the recruiting game/assessment business more than three decades each.
Travis Stewart, a staff writer for Dave Campbell Football Magazine, hasn’t been around nearly as long but he’s been to more Temple games.
He respects both men and their views and actually sits somewhere in the middle.
“Lache Seastrunk is the kind of guy that on any given play he’s a touchdown ready to happen,” Stewart said. “He’s got unbelievable sprinter speed.
“At Temple he was in an offense (Wing T) that probably wasn’t suited best for him. He’s be better fit in a system with four wideouts and him as the single back. He needs to work out of space.
“ Whatever school lands him, that offensive coordinator is going to have a lot of fun options. He’s going to be one lucky duck.”
Stewart wasn’t trying to make a pun. It’s just a coincidence the Oregon Ducks is one of Seastrunk’s finalist.
He said this week that he’ll announce his college choice during a school ceremony on Wednesday.
Seastrunk told reporters heading into the U.S. Army All-American Bowl his finalist in alphabetical order were Auburn, LSU, Memphis, Oregon and Southern California.
Rodgers, who doesn’t make practice of predicting where kids will end up, said “I don’t know but I think it will be somewhere glamorous, a big-name place. But it won’t be in Texas.”
Stewart said Baylor – neither glamorous or out of the Lone Star state – is still in the running, but considers LSU the leader, noting that Seastrunk might be a perfect replacement for Trindon Holiday.
How Seastrunk is planned to be used could go a long way in his decision process. At the All-American Bowl he got just four touches. At the Aloha Prep Bowl last month in Honolulu, Seastrunk was run out of the spread and rushed for 146 yards and a touchdown leading the Mainland team to a 26-6 win.
Here’s a breakdown of his finalist and a percentage of where we think he’ll land.
USC (five percent): At a 7-on-7 camp this summer, Seastrunk was overheard saying that USC was his “dream school.” But the Lane Kiffin-for-Pete Carroll trade wasn't even up, so Seastrunk cancelled his official visit to Southern California last week.
Baylor (10 percent): Despite a superlative recruiting job that has kept Seastrunk still considering the home state, he’ll want to branch out wider.
Auburn (15 percent): Though a good fit athletically, there seems to be a logjam here with elite running back recruits Marcus Lattimore and Mike Dyer still eye-balling the Tigers.
Memphis (20 percent): A strong tie with new Memphis head coach Larry Porter – a former running backs coach at LSU – makes this a very viable option. Seastrunk’s closest ties to LSU were when Porter was recruiting him. Relationships, not programs, tend to decide these things.
LSU (20 percent): Speaking of relationships, Seastrunk’s girlfriend reportedly attends LSU. That could certainly be a factor. Porter’s replacement Frank Wilson hasn’t yet developed the rapport with Seastrunk which doesn’t bode well for the LSU. The notion of replacing Holiday does.
Oregon (30 percent): Stewart had it right the first time. Oregon’s offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich will be a lucky Duck to land Seastrunk, who had a terrific visit in Eugene and was befriended by fellow Texan LaMichael James. The key is that Seastrunk is tailor-made for the Ducks’ wide-open spread attack. We’ve heard he already made a mums commitment to Oregon and that’s why he immediately canceled his trip to USC.
