George Atkinson spent Easter weekend in Palo Alto, close to his Northern California home and also competing in the Stanford Invitational track meet. Atkinson won his heat in the 100m dash, qualifying for the finals with a 10.61 sprint. He finished sixth in the final heat, clocking a 10.69. Atkinson also participated in the 200m dash, clocking a 21.53 run, eight in a field of almost 50 sprinters.
Of course, none of the other sprinters in Palo Alto are 6-1, 210 pound running backs in the middle of spring football practice. Atkinson’s elite speed, not to mention his impressive size and ability to play in space, will be a very intriguing piece of the Irish offense next fall, especially with the depth at the tailback position allowing him to play from the slot and move around the field.
Head coach Brian Kelly has made it known that he sees Atkinson as a running back first, and while he doesn’t have an elite set of hands, there will be plenty of opportunities to get the ball out in space and make plays, not to mention create some favorable match-ups when the Irish can potentially put Cierre Wood, Theo Riddick, Amir Carlisle and Atkinson on the field at once.
Sure, it’d be great if there weren’t a ton of unanswered questions at the outside receiving positions. But Atkinson — who has the size to line up outside — might be too good of an athlete to keep off the field, playing out of position or not.
