Ameer Abdullah

While his size will immediately turn some off, Abdullah is extremely talented and polished with the ball in his hands and few run harder or more energetic, reminding of a better version of Andre Ellington and has the skill set to have a Warrick Dunn-type career at the next level. Arguably the top senior running back prospect in the 2015 draft class, Abdullah might have been the best player in all of college football who didn't seem to get much national attention. He led the Big Ten in rushing last season with 1,690 yards on the ground, averaging 130 yards per game and 6.0 yards per rush. With 1,611 rushing yards in 2014, Abdullah closed his career with 4,588 yards, second in Nebraska history behind only Mike Rozier (4,780). He also tied the school single-season record with four 200-yard rushing games as a senior.

ahmad bradshaw, colts -- coming out of marshall, bradshaw was measured at 5-10, 192 pounds and put on close to 20 pounds to become much more of a pile mover as a pro. both won in college through superb vision, decisiveness, balance, effort and quickness. abdullah has room on his frame to pack on 5-8 pounds comfortably and develop into a very similarly used player as bradshaw has been throughout his career.

--Dane Brugler & Brandon Thorn

strengths

Much tougher than he looks and lowers his pads at the point of attack. Accelerates quickly and runs with his feet on fire, controlling his momentum well to make sharp cuts and elude in the open field.

flexible ankles and runs low to the ground with springs in his calves to make explosive jump-cuts without losing speed. he has active feet and sees the field well to make proper reads and pick through the line of scrimmage without any hesitation and always appears two steps ahead.

Quick-thinking runner with natural ballcarrier instincts and an excellent sense of his surroundings to force poor angles with his multiple gears. Reliable hands out of the backfield and gives up his body in pass protection, despite limitations in that area.

abdullah is a first-class person off the field as well with a well-respected, grounded personality and works his tail off in the weight room.

WEAKNESSES

abdullah has a leaner-than-ideal upper and lower body build. ball security has been an issue. clearly limited as a blocker and lack of length, size and strength are exposed when attempting to sustain or do much to stop blitzers. has difficulty recognizing where pressure is coming from and gets uprooted at the point of attack when he squares up with the rusher.

Compares to

Abdullah was a running and receiving threat for Homewood High School and Coach Dickey Wright. Abdullah rushed for 1,800 yards and 24 touchdowns, while catching 33 passes for 515 yards as a senior. He also scored four touchdowns on punt returns to help Homewood to a 6-4 record. Abdullah was named the South region player of the year by the Birmingham News. He scored the winning TD in the Mississippi-Alabama All-Star Classic, and was selected to participate in the Offense-Defense All-American bowl, where he starred as a defensive back. As a junior, Abdullah rushed for more than 1,000 yards and had 24 catches for more than 200 yards. Rivals.com ranked him as one of the top 20 “athlete” prospects in the country and one of the top 10 players in Alabama. He was also ranked as one of the nation’s top 60 running backs by Scout.com. Abdullah chose Nebraska after also visiting Tennessee and Vanderbilt, and he had a host of offers including USC, Texas A&M and South Carolina.

Ameer is the son of Kareem and Aisha Abdullah, and he was born on June 13, 1993. Abdullah has volunteered time with a Nebraska Sportsmanship Rally, team hospital visits, the Belmont Rec Center, Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital and with Husker Heroes. He was honored as a Nebraska Student-Athlete HERO Award winner. Abdullah is a history major, and he earned spots on the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll in the fall and spring semesters of 2012-13.