Cleveland Browns 2014 third-round pick Terrance West has had a rocky start to his career. Matter of fact, West is not with the Browns anymore as he has bounced around playing for the Tennessee Titans and now Baltimore Ravens.
But how did West get to this point? To answer this question, let’s go back to when West was a playmaker at Towson University. At Towson, West was a dynamic and powerful running back, rushing for a ridiculous 2,509 yards and 42 touchdowns in 2013. The rushing yards and touchdowns were FCS single-season records as West was named Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year along with being a finalist for the Walter Payton Award (the FCS equivalent of the Heisman).
After having such an amazing season and racking up the accolades, the junior made an unprecedented move by declaring for the 2014 NFL Draft.
Usually, when it comes to small-school players such as West, they stay all four-years to improve their draft stock. But for West, what else did he have to prove? He was a three-time All-American, CAA Player of the Year, and helped Towson reached the playoffs. It was time for the 5-foot-10, 225 pound back to take his talents to the NFL.
Furthermore, West’s eye-popping 2013 statistical season also garnered him a tremendous amount of buzz heading into the draft. NFL.com pegged West as a Carlos Hyde/Jeremy Hill type running back and projected him to go in rounds 3-4.
Nevertheless, that projection would come true as the Browns selected West with the 94th overall pick in the third round. West would join a backfield consisting of him, Ben Tate, and Isaiah Crowell. The Tate experience did not last long in Cleveland as both Crowell and West outplayed him.
Despite West only starting in six games, he led the Browns in rushing yards with 673 on 171 carries and four touchdowns. After coming off a solid rookie season, it seemed like West would have a prominent role in the Browns’ backfield in 2015, but that never came to fruition.
On Sept. 6 of that year, the Browns traded West to the Titans for a seventh-round pick. Cleveland noted West’s inconsistency on the field and that he had to grow up off the field. However with Tennessee, West still couldn’t get it together as he only played in two games with the Titans rushing for 51 yards.
Consequently, the Titans did not feel he was worth the trouble and waived him in November. With his career starting to spiral out of control, it looked like the former FCS standout was on his to becoming a bust until he latched on with the Baltimore Ravens late last season.
For West, this was a homecoming as he was back in the state where he played both his high school and college ball. Last season with the Ravens, he had 180 rushing yards on 46 carries in six games.
Fast forward to this offseason and West is a different type player on a mission to prove that he belongs in the NFL. Earlier this summer, it was reported that West is in the best shape of his life and has a chance to compete for the starting running back job with incumbent Justin Forsett.
To back up this claim, West got off to a good start in his preseason debut last Thursday, rushing for 25 yards on nine carries with two touchdowns. The touchdowns are important because it reminded everyone of his days at Towson, where he showed the cutback, speed, and ability to bounce the run to the outside.
West now has three more games to show that he belongs a part of a crowded running back committee. The odds are stacked against him, but they were stacked against being a small school player declaring for the draft. This is West’s chance to shine and score an opportunity to be a contributor on his hometown team.
