We continue to roll out, update, tweak, edit and revisit ourprojections and previews prior to your fantasy draft. And while doing so we're going to occasionally take a more-detailed look at some of the nation's more intriguing stars for 2012.
The players featured over the next month or so may not be the top player at their respective positions, but they'll be ones that caused the most discussion around our roundtable or appear poised for a breakout or letdown campaign.
Breakdowns of college football's top offensive stars can of course be found in the CFFInsider.com 2012 Draft Kit.
2012 Position Rank: 3rd ranked Sleeper back for 2012
2012 Draft Kit Preview:
Ed Wesley's premature departure from the program opens things up a bit for Tucker, however he'll still have to share with Waymon James. Still there are 120 carries up for grabs and the bulk of those should be split between Tucker and James. Tucker was also the preferred red zone option, which led to his 12 TDs in 2011. More carries, plus a goal line vulture equals the potential for a big spike in production.
Extended Analysis:
Counting on TCU running backs for fantasy production has not been a wise move in the past. Yes they like to pound the football, but coach Gary Patterson is a firm believer in rotating players on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. Things get interesting though with the departure of Wesley, leaving Tucker and James to shoulder the load. Aundre Dean is the biggest threat to make this a three-headed monster, but Dean hasn't been much of a factor the last three years, leading me to believe it is Tucker's and James' show.
As mentioned above, the key difference between Tucker and James is red zone carries. Tucker has 71 red zone carries the last two seasons, compared to James' 45. Things get even more interesting when you look at carries inside the five, where Tucker has 20 in two years, compared to James' 10. James might edge Tucker out in yards, but it is pretty clear who the preferred back is near the goal line.
Still Patterson's history of keeping guys fresh is a concern, which keeps Tucker firmly in the sleeper category.
Final Thought:
Tucker looks like a good mid-round investment as a RB2/3. He has 27 touchdowns in his career and the mid-teens in TDs is very much in his wheelhouse. Tucker went in the 11th round in the CFFinsider BCS-only mock draft and a 17th rounder in the Athlon all-124 mock draft this spring. I think that is a steal in both cases.