High School and College Career

DeWayne McBride, a 3-star recruit from Vanguard High School, prior to joining the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s (UAB) football program.

In the year 2020, McBride participated in six games as a freshman on the Blazers’ team. During this time, he accrued a total of 439 rushing yards on 47 attempts with no fumbles and an impressive 9.3 yards per carry with four touchdowns. He made no receptions for any yards as a receiver.

In the subsequent year, as a sophomore in 2021, McBride proved his worth once again on the field. He played in 13 games and accomplished an outstanding feat of rushing for 1366 total yards on 204 carries, boasting an impressive 6.7 yards per carry with 13 touchdowns. However, he did have four fumbles during this season. As a receiver, McBride made only three receptions for a total of 19 yards throughout his tenure.

Having established himself as a valuable player, McBride continued to impress in 2022 as a junior on the team. He appeared in 11 games over the course of the season, rushing for an impressive 1702 yards on 233 attempts–an average of 7.3 yards per carry–with 19 touchdowns overall. Throughout this season, he had five fumbles. Despite his outstanding rushing capabilities, McBride only made two receptions for a total of 10 yards before the end of the season.

Overall, McBride’s performances during his time with UAB have been nothing short of impressive. He has demonstrated remarkable consistency and has clearly shown his strengths and weaknesses as a player, despite receiving some criticism in his sophomore year for his fumbles. Nonetheless, his statistics show that he remains a powerful asset to the UAB Blazers football program.

DeWayne McBride Scouting Report Introduction

DeWayne McBride, a highly productive runner for UAB, has officially entered the NFL draft. Over the last two seasons, McBride has dominated Conference USA and has an intriguing blend of size, power, and instincts as a runner. He is known for his very good size for the running back position and his above-average overall athleticism. McBride is also described as a patient running back who understands how to press the line of scrimmage while waiting for his blockers to get to their landmarks and wait for an opening. He displays outstanding vision and instincts as a runner and naturally finds gaps in the line of scrimmage, consistently running to open space when he reaches the second level. Additionally, he is able to locate cutback lanes and has the ability to cut back across the line of scrimmage to hit the hole.

McBride’s short-area burst is regarded as good overall, which he utilizes both when running through the line of scrimmage to hit the hole and when he is in the open field and wants to make a defender miss with a jump-cut or hesitation step. However, he is a downhill runner who is best when he puts his foot in the ground and hits the hole with a head of steam. McBride struggles when he is forced to create on his own at the line of scrimmage as he lacks the lateral agility to make defenders miss when met in the backfield.

Despite his minor shortcomings, the area in which McBride truly excels is his ability to run with power and contact balance. He rarely goes down by the first tackle and runs with excellent pad level and leg drive to consistently push the pile. McBride is likely to be viewed as an excellent backup running back or as the power back in a committee, as he lacks value as a receiver out of the backfield and will likely only be utilized on first and second downs. Additionally, while there are instances of him breaking long runs, he lacks the true home-run speed to be a big-play threat at the next level.

One area of improvement for McBride is ball security, as he has fumbled 11 times over the last two seasons. However, McBride will be a successful NFL back because of his play strength, run instincts, and contact balance. While he may never develop into a feature back, these attributes set him up to be a valuable asset in the NFL.

Strengths

DeWayne McBride ipossesses great balance between the tackles. McBride is able to run behind his pads with enough power to move a pile of defenders. In addition, he has exceptional vision and is able to exploit cut-back lanes effectively.

Watching McBride play, it is clear that he has great patience when running the ball. He is able to let blocks develop before accelerating through gaps in the defense.

One of McBride’s greatest strengths is his exceptional toughness. He is able to run between the tackles, enduring contact with defenders but continuing to gain ground. When he hits top speed, he becomes a load to bring down. His violence in running through tacklers and his natural balance enable him to withstand strong contact from defenders.

Weaknesses

DeWayne McBride’s experience as a football player has mainly been limited to running out of shotgun and pistol formations. He lacks experience in a traditional pro offense. McBride’s ability to change direction is a concern, as he often loses momentum when he gears down. He takes several steps to accelerate back to full speed, which can be detrimental to his performance on the field.

Additionally, McBride’s skills as a receiver are unpolished. He only caught two passes during eleven games in 2022. As a result, McBride may need to leave the field on passing downs. He’s had a history of not keeping the ball secure as well. Not only is his receiving game a potential weakness, but he is also underused as a blocker. His skills in this area are very raw and in need of development from scratch.

DeWayne McBride is the 101st prospect on our draft big board.