Yesterday, we turned the clocks back to the 1950's to honor a player who literally did everything but serve as a player-coach, the one and only Bobby Mulgado. With 26 days until the start of the season, we jump ahead half a century to had a brief yet dominant career in the maroon and gold, Ryan Torain.
Unrecruited out of Shawnee Mission Northwest High School in Shawnee KS, Ryan attended Butler County Community College for two years, playing in the junior college national championship game as a freshman in 2004 for NJCAA Hall of Fame coach Troy Morrell. Upon transferring to Arizona State, Ryan found himself sharing the rushing load with Keegan Herring for the first few weeks before taking the reins following a breakout 191 yard performance in Week 4 at Cal, the first of four 100 yard games on the season.
He ended the season with 1,229 rushing yards, becoming the first Sun Devil to run for over 1,000 yards since Delvon Flowers in 2001. He found the end zone 7 times on the ground, and added 18 catches for 205 yards and 3 touchdowns, producing (then) the 4th best rushing total in Pac-10 history for a player in his debut season. His stellar season saw him earn second-team All-Pac-10 honors, despite an up-and-down 7-6 season for the Devils.
Top ASU Rushing Seasons/Pac-10 and Pac-12
— DevilsDigest.com (@DevilsDigest) November 4, 2018
1,229-Ryan Torain (2006/13 games)
1,174-J.R. Redmond (1999/11 games)
1,113-Eno Benjamin (.@eno_benjamin5) (2018/9 games)
1,111-Mario Bates (1993/11 games)
1,104-Demario Richard (2015/12 games)
1,081-D.J. Foster (2014/13 games)
Expectations for Torain were high in 2007 with a changing of the guard as the Dennis Erickson era started, as Mel Kiper listed Ryan as his second best senior running back to start the season. The preseason accolades were well deserved, as Ryan rushed for at least 90 yards in each of his first 5 games of the season, breaking the 100 yard mark three times against San Jose State, Stanford, and Washington State.
However in Week 7 against Washington, Ryan's season and collegiate career came to an abrupt end after suffering a foot fracture in the first quarter. His 553 yards and 5 touchdowns had him projected as a Maxwell Award finalist, and proved to be difficult to replicate as the Devils struggled down the stretch to a 10-3 record after starting the season 8-0.
The early end to his senior season did not scare NFL teams away, as the Denver Broncos selected Ryan in the 5th round (139th overall) in the 2008 NFL Draft. Injuries plagued his career in his 4 seasons, limiting him to just 22 games (10 starts) between the Broncos, Washington, and New York Giants from 2008-2012. When healthy, his performance was what Sun Devil fans came to expect, putting up 742 yards and scoring 4 touchdowns in 10 games for Washington in his strongest season in 2010.
The Sun Devils were strong in the running back room in the mid-to-late 2000's, but Ryan Torain's journey from JUCO to the NCAA sets him apart from his teammates as we honor his brief but memorable career with 26 days until the season opener.