Tulane's Matt Forte Will Be Steal of the 2008 NFL Draft

Running under the radar is nothing new for former Tulane runningback Matt Forte.

Coming out of Slidell High School in Slidell, Louisiana, Forte was passed on by most Division I schools, including the mighty LSU Tigers, who are only an hour away.

Forte is quoted as saying, "I chose Tulane because they (the coaches) really wanted me,” on his website MattForte25.com.

Forte split time during his first two seasons, then suffered a knee injury during his junior year.

Many runningbacks struggle to recover from a knee injury, but Forte excelled during his senior season.

As the only offensive weapon on a terrible team, Forte amassed awe-inspiring numbers.

Good teams are expected to destroy inferior competition, and Forte did just that.

Forte had rushing totals of 342, 303, 278, 209, 202, 194, and 171 yards. Forte also gained 73 yards against LSU, which was more yards than the Tigers had surrendered to any team at that point in the season.

All of this is even more impressive considering the major lack of talent surrounding Forte at Tulane. Forte had only three games with less than 25 carries and two games of 40 or more carries.

Aside from the production, Forte has the size and speed to match. He’s a man at 6’2", 223 lbs. He ran a 4.46 second 40-yard dash. His time was faster than Felix Jones and Jonathon Stewart.

Forte is a lot like Stewart and Rashard Mendenhall, except he doesn’t have the exposure. He reminds me of another Louisiana product that has proven to be a quality runningback in the NFL: Brandon Jacobs of the New York Giants.

Most mock drafts have Forte going somewhere in rounds 2-4. He will be a steal, and could allow teams like the Bears or Panthers to address another need earlier in the draft and still get their power back later in the draft.

No matter what, if Forte falls out of the first round, someone will find themselves a gift.