It looks like the Bucs have found a potential star in the making. That name happens to be Jeremy McNichols. Who is this McNichols you ask? Well, he happens to come from the same place as our star running back Martin came from, Boise State.
In three years at Boise state, McNichols has rushed for 3,205 yards. His last two years he rushed for over 1,000 yards each in the season. Jason Licht said “We do think he has value as a first and second down back. But what jumps out is his hands and his receiving ability on third down.” In his college career, he has caught 103 passes for 1,089 yards. Those numbers for an RB are extraordinary!
Martin and McNichols are almost identical it’s scary. They are both 5’9, Martin is a 9 pounds heavier, but McNichols had a little faster 40 times. By the way, did I mention they both went to Boise state? Did you know Koetter was the head coach at Boise from 98-00? McNichols is going to fit right into the system that Dirk runs now because it’s the same system they ran at Boise.
Boise head coach Brian Harsin said this about McNichols, “As a player, he brings versatility – however you use him. We called him ‘The Weapon’ he was a guy we could do a lot of different things with.” If McNichols goes into this off-season with a hungry attitude, he can really rise up on the depth chart. Sims really could not stay healthy last year and Rodgers did a decent job filling into the starter roll when Doug was out, but McNichols has the most to gain while Doug is suspended the first three games.
I am a huge Doug Martin fan, always have, always will. I am also a realist and Doug has had a lot of injuries. If we can get Jeremy in camp and get him learning more of the system and figure out his role, can you imagine having two Doug Martin type players?
