Much has been written and said about rookie running back Isaac Redman, who scored both TDs in the Steelers first preseason game and recently dominated a goal line drill in practice.
So who is Isaac Redman? We spent the offseason dreaming about Rashard Mendenhall and Frank Summers plowing over tacklers into the end zone, not an undrafted rookie from Bowie State. We wrote extensively about each and every Steelers draft pick and didn’t pay more than a passing glance of attention to the undrafted rookies.
We’re late to jump onto the Redman train, so here’s a few facts that everybody needs to know about him:
Isaac Redman is slow. Or at least slow in the 40 – 4.76. Frank Summers ran 4.63 and Heath Miller ran 4.79. Not the type of speed you’d like to see from your featured back, but I suppose if he’s only used in short yardage situations then it doesn’t much matter.
Isaac Redman rewrote every Bowie State record. Ever. He had a 99-yard TD run and once carried the rock 37 times in a game. Don’t be too impressed though…Bowie State is a Division II school and actually opens up their 2009 season against Slippery Rock.
Look, Redman is a great story and I certainly hope he continues to dominate in short yardage situations. But I’m of the opinion that training camp and preseason performances are generally a terrible indicator of regular season showings. Other than a handful of 3 or 4-yard runs in “fake” games, Redman really doesn’t have anything worth getting excited about.
I’m probably in the majority, but I’m still a lot more eager to see what becomes of Frank Summers than Isaac Redman. Summers dominated better competition in college and I’m not willing to let a couple weeks of training camp over weigh what we saw from both guys in the NCAA.
I understand people probably rained on Willie Parker and James Harrison’s parades when they first starting turning heads in training camp. Maybe Redman will make me look like an idiot. But these types of training camp all-stars with no track record flame out a lot more often than they succeed. It’s just the harsh reality of the NFL and I’m certainly not holding out any hope of Redman being a big factor in the Steelers’ future.
