Bilal Powell: Is The Louisville Running Back a Valuable NFL Prospect?

Coming into the 2010 college football season, I had Louisville running back Bilal Powell ranked No. 15 among senior running backs in my 2011 NFL Draft Preseason Scouting Guide.

I ranked him much higher than most other NFL Draft sources around the web that I looked at and I pretty much based it off of what I had heard about the athleticism and power that the six foot, 215 pound Florida native possessed.

As I looked over his background and watched some of his tape from his time at Lake Gibson High School, I came away very impressed with what I saw.

Still, how high could I rank a kid who was coming into the year off of a season where he averaged less than four yards a carry, scored just four touchdowns and was looking to play second fiddle to junior Victor Anderson?

The answer—not high enough!

After getting my first true look at Powell in tonight’s match up with Cincinnati, I came away humbled.

Powell is legit!

Sure, I knew that the senior was having himself a great year as he entered this Friday night Big East battle averaging over seven yards a carry with seven rushing touchdowns to his credit, but he really is the type of player that you have to see to believe.

I had Powell ranked as the No. 13 senior running back prospect in my Midseason NFL Draft Report (http://bleacherreport.com/articles/484750-2011-nfl-draft-midseason-report) which was published this week, but after watching his performance tonight, I now realize that ranking is far too silly.

Powell, who rushed for over 200 yards and scored twice in the 35-27 loss, is easily one of the best running backs this senior class has to offer.

You’ve got backs like Oklahoma’s DeMarco Murray, Oklahoma State’s Kendall Hunter, Kansas State’s Daniel Thomas, West Virginia’s Noel Devine, and Notre Dame’s Armando Allen that all look like they can make it at the next level, but Bilal definitely belongs in their company and in the conversation for best senior running back.

Now let’s not make Cincinnati’s defense to be something they’re not, but they did come into this game ranked as the top run defense in the Big East, and Powell absolutely made them look foolish at times.

He has NFL caliber speed and athleticism, and with his size, there’s no denying that he can be a real player in the pros.

Charlie Strong and the rest of the Louisville coaching staff have had nothing but praises for Bilal all season long and you were able to see why tonight.

This Louisville team is nowhere near as bad as the preseason publications would have led you to believe and if Bilal can keep running like he did tonight, every Big East team is going to have their hands full trying to stop him and the Cardinals.

Will have to see how Powell performs throughout the postseason evaluation period, but right now, consider this small-time writer very impressed and awe struck with the performance he just witnessed.

I hope NFL scouts were watching.