Earlier this week, former NFL running back Reggie Bush made headlines when he said Steelers rookie running back Anthony McFarland could be better than Le'Veon Bell.
McFarland, a fourth-round draft pick, heard the praise. He's humbled by it.
But he also isn't allowing it to go to his head.
"It means a lot coming from him," McFarland said Saturday of Bush, a former Heisman Trophy winner and 1,000-yard rusher in the NFL. "But I haven’t played a down in the NFL yet. That doesn’t really mean too much to me because I have to go out and I have to get it done."
He'll do it in the same number worn by Bell, who rushed for 5,336 yards in five seasons with the Steelers from 2013 through 2017.
The Steelers announced earlier this week McFarland will wear No. 26. He initially wanted 25 but knew fellow rookie and former University of Maryland teammate Antoine Brooks would want that number, which he wore for the Terrapins. So McFarland went for the next best thing.
"I’ve always been a big fan of Le’Veon Bell. He’s always been the best running back in the league ever since I’ve been watching him in college and high school. He’s been a top back," McFarland said. "I don’t want people to think that I want to be better than Le’Veon. That’s not the type of person I am. If anything, I look up to him. I idolize him. I watch his game. I study his film as somebody who has been in the league a long time. There was no disrespect."
None taken.
But there has been seemingly some disrespect thrown McFarland's way from some fans. He's been compared to former Steelers running backs Dri Archer and Chris Rainey, a pair of mid-round draft picks in recent years who haven't worked out. Another report, since debunked in a number circles, quoted an anonymous scout questioning his character both on and off the field.
The comparisons might be relevant because, like Archer and Rainey, McFarland's calling card is his speed. But that's where they end. Archer weighed 174 pounds, while Rainey was 178. McFarland checked in at 208 pounds at 5-foot-8 at the NFL Scouting Combine in February.
Yes, he ran a 4.44-second 40-yard dash, but speed is hardly his only attribute.
"He’s still a downhill runner," said Brooks. "But if you don’t get him down, he’s going to burn you. Obviously, that speed, he’s going to use that attitude and aggression he has to get whatever he’s going to get.
"You never know what Anthony McFarland is going to give you. He’s a Jack-of-all-trades. I can’t wait until he shows it to you all."
In just two years at Maryland, McFarland rushed for 1,636 yards and averaged 6.8 yards per attempt. He also caught 24 passes for another 199 yards working against Big Ten competition.
But the "small back" moniker has been stuck on him.
"I know I’m not the only small back in the NFL if people want to look at me like that," McFarland said. "Ultimately, it really doesn’t matter to me. I’ve seen all different types of sizes of running backs getting it done. It’s about how bad you want it. It doesn’t matter about the size. It matters about the heart you have. Me being little, I really don’t take that to heart too much."
To McFarland's point, the Panthers' Christian McCaffrey weighs 205 pounds. The Vikings' Dalvin Cook is 210 pounds. The NFL is littered with running backs who have been similar in size to McFarland who have succeeded.
It's really not all that different from the case of Devin Bush. At 5-foot-11, 234 pounds, Bush was considered by some to be too small to play inside linebacker in the NFL. The Steelers made Bush the 10th pick in the 2019 draft, and he led the team in tackles.
McFarland and Bush have a history. They faced each other in 2018 when McFarland was a rookie at Maryland and Bush was in his final season at Michigan.
McFarland was still just a part-time player then but was coming off back-to-back 100-yard games against Temple and Minnesota, despite getting a combined 17 rushing attempts in those games.
Michigan limited McFarland to 34 yards on nine carries and one catch for seven yards. But the young running back gained the respect of Bush.
"I just remember him flying around the whole game. There was a play he tackled me on. He started laughing and I started laughing and went back to the huddle," McFarland said. "I feel like he’s a good person. After the game, he came up to me and told me how much he respected my game and to keep working hard. That meant a lot coming from a guy like that. I’m excited to be his teammate."
McFarland said at the time, Bush's trash talk was the funniest he had ever heard in his life.
But that's all in the past now. Bush is excited to welcome McFarland to the fold, as well.
Soon after McFarland was drafted by the Steelers, Bush tweeted this:
Past is the past let’s work!! @AnttMacc_
— Devin Bush ll (@_Dbush11) April 25, 2020
"It was kind of like my welcome to college," McFarland said. "I took it and moved on."
Kind of like everything else in his life.
McFarland will be added to a running backs room that includes incumbent starter James Conner along with backups Jaylen Samuels, Benny Snell and Kerrith Whyte.
Where he fits into that equation remains to be seen. But he won't back down from a challenge, no matter what the Steelers ask of him, even though he knows he's missing valuable time on the practice field thanks to the league being shut down because of the coronavirus outbreak.
"Everybody is in the same boat right now," McFarland said. "I wouldn’t see it as (being) behind. It’s all up to you. It’s all about learning and getting into the playbook every day.
"I’m looking forward to that. Anywhere I can be reliable on special teams, I’m going to do it. At the end of the day, it’s football."
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