New Orleans Saints' Mark Ingram Is the Future of the Team

We’ve seen very little from Mark Ingram in a New Orleans Saints' uniform, but he has the potential to be one of the greatest running backs to ever put on that Saints' uniform.

I can see the Deuce McAllister fanatics' faces turning red through the computer, but hear me out for a minute.

We all know Ingram possesses both size and speed, but he also possesses that hard-work mentality that separates the great players from the good.

Ingram has already received the best coaching that college football has to offer under Nick Saban at Alabama and he knows what it’s like to play on a very large stage.

If you don’t think SEC football is a large stage, then you need to look again, because football is a religion when it comes to the south. I know, I know, it’s cliché and all, but it’s true.

Playing in the SEC against the greatest athletes that college has to offer will help Ingram as he faces the greatest athletes in the world every Sunday. He has a great supporting cast around him, and I believe that will help him as far as production goes.

I don’t expect Ingram to shoot out of a cannon and have a season like Arian Foster had a year ago, but I do expect him to get a good amount of touches and produce for the offense.

The Saints are loaded at running back this year, so Ingram doesn’t have to be the hero and carry the entire load by himself. But anyway, let’s get back to talking about the long term and what Ingram can mean to this franchise.

I believe Ingram is already a fan favorite.

Most Saints fans are LSU fans, and LSU fans can’t help but respect what Ingram did at Alabama. Ingram became the first Alabama player to win the Heisman Trophy in 2009 and had a stellar career there.

Saints fans were absolutely thrilled when the Saints traded to draft Ingram, and it’s easy to see why. Already as a Saint, Ingram has impressed with a nice 14-yard touchdown run in the first preseason game and he also drug Roman Harper into the end zone in a goal-line situation at practice.

Ingram has the power and speed an NFL back needs and has the desire to go along with it.

As a Saints fan, I expect big things out of Ingram in his career as a Saint, and you should too.