Taz Bateman continues to give glimpses of his talent as a running back at Georgia State.
He showed some of that burst and toughness last season with 50 carries for 253 yards and a touchdown.
Bateman didn’t do more because he missed six games after suffering an arm injury in the win over New Mexico State in the season’s second game. He’s also a member of one of the deepest position groups on the team. When the squad breaks camps in August, there could be as many as six players competing for carries.
“Everybody is trying to show their worth and what they can do so that when game time comes they can get carries,” he said.
Bateman is working with the first team in the spring because of his versatility. Though 5-foot-8, 191 pounds, he can run, catch and pass-block, which enables to stay him on the field no matter the situation. Bateman said he worked hard on his blocking in the offseason, saying it was more a matter of strength and technique than desire.
“He is not tall, but he is compact and he improved his strength in the offseason, which should help him,” offensive coordinator Luke Huard said.
His long touchdown last Saturday is an example of something else that Huard said Bateman has worked to improve: his decision-making when carrying the ball.
Because of his quickness, Bateman would sometimes run toward the sideline, waiting on a big hole and a lot of space. Sometimes it was there and he would gain a lot of yards. Sometimes he wouldn’t, and he would lose yards (he had 17 yards in lost carries last year). Huard said Bateman is cutting down wasted movement by cutting through the first hole in the spring. While it may not always result in a big play as it did last week, it will also reduce the number of negative plays.
“I’m just trying to win a championship,” Bateman said.
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