Florida football: Lamical Perine and the 2020 NFL Draft
A strong showing at the Senior Bowl could set up the former Florida football running back to move up in April’s NFL Draft.
Right now, Florida football running back Lamical Perine isn’t on anyone’s big board when it comes to the 2020 NFL Draft.
And that’s not likely to change anytime soon.
Despite closing his career with a dominant performance in the Capital One Orange Bowl in December, Perine is going to be hampered with a lack of running the ball this past season.
Most draft projections have him going on day 3 of the draft — rounds four through seven.
This past season, Florida football was plagued with a less-than-stellar offensive line, forcing head coach Dan Mullen to rely more on the passing game than on Perine and the rushing attack.
The Gators managed to average just 130 yards on the ground in 2019 after coming off a 2018 campaign where they had 213 yards per game.
In his junior season, Perine had 826 yards on the ground and seven touchdowns. That, compared to 539 yards and just four touchdowns prior to the Orange Bowl against Virginia.
In his senior season, Perine did get involved in Florida’s pass-heavy offense — catching 35 passes for 219 yards and two touchdowns.
Perine led Florida football with 181 yards of total offense in a 36-34 win over No. 24 Virginia in Miami Gardens.
Perine, himself, closed out his career as a Gator with 138 yards on the ground, three touchdowns — including an opening drive, 61-yard touchdown scamper to give Florida football the lead less than a minute into the game.
“Well, he’s one of the best backs in the country and came back for his senior year, and if you just purely look at stats and rushing yards, you might just kind of get a misread on it,” Florida football coach Dan Mullen said after the win. “But the reality is he’s one of the best backs in the country and he showed it out here tonight.”
He picked up two more touchdowns on a 16-yard run and a 10-yard pass from quarterback Kyle Trask. The performance earned Perine the Most Valuable Player honor of the game.
Perine added to his momentum during the Senior Bowl Saturday with a 16-yard touchdown reception from Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert to cap off 79 yards of total offense and being named the South’s MVP for the game.
In the end, however, it’s not likely to be enough to move Perine into a higher draft category.
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That said, whoever picks up Perine and utilizes him is not likely to be disappointed.