Rushel Shell 2017 NFL Draft

School:  West Virginia
College Experience: Senior
Height/Weight: 5’9″ /227
All-Star Invite: NFL Combine
Twitter: @MrRushelShell

40 YARD DASH TIME ::4.74
225 BENCH REPS :: 21
VERTICAL LENGTH :: 32 1/2

BROAD JUMP ::
SHUTTLE ::
3-CONE ::

2015 (Redshirt Junior)

  • Played in 13 games and started three
  • WVU’s second-leading rusher with 708 yards on 161 carries, eight touchdowns and a long run of 43 yards
  • Averaged 4.4 yards per carry
  • Ranked No. 9 in the Big 12 in rushing yards (708); also ranks No. 12 in the league in rushing yards per game (54.5) and No. 11 in rushing yards per carry (4.4) and No. 12 in rushing TDs (8)
  • Finished with 16 catches for 101 yards and a long reception of 17 yards
  • Had nine carries for 31 yards and a long run of 14 yards against Arizona State in Cactus Bowl
  • Finished second on the team with 38 yards rushing at Kansas State
  • Rushed for 41 yards against Iowa State, including a nine yard touchdown run
  • WVU Offensive Player of the Game after finishing with 108 yards rushing at Kansas on 14 carries, averaging 7.7 yards a carry; two touchdowns, long of 26 yards
  • Added 53 yards to WVU’s run attack against Texas; finished second on the team with 56 all-purpose yards
  • Career day against Texas Tech, rushing for two touchdowns and finishing with 111 yards on the ground, his first 100-yard rushing game of the season and the fourth of his career
  • Also netted a season-long run of 43 yards against TTU
  • Ran for 46 yards on 15 carries at Baylor
  • Finished with 47 yards rushing against Oklahoma State with\ a long of eight yards; also had a 12-yard catch
  • Netted 72 yards on a season-high 20 carries at Oklahoma; day included a 5-yard TD run, WVU’s first score of game
  • Productive against Maryland, gaining a season-high 77 yards on 15 rushes, also a season high, and scored on a two-yard run
  • Had 110 all-purpose yards against the Terps
  • Also gained a season-high 33 yards on two catches against UMD
  • Gained 42 yards on eight carries, including a six-yard score, against Georgia Southern

2014 (Redshirt Sophomore)

  • Played in 12 games and started eight
  • WVU’s leading rusher with 176 carries for 788 yards and seven touchdowns; had 21 catches for 140 yards
  • Saw action on 477 plays, including 460 on offense
  • Season-high 57 plays at Maryland
  • In the Big 12, ranked No. 5 in rushing yards and No. 6 in rushing yards per game, No. 7 in rushing TDs and No. 15 in all-purpose yards
  • Career day at Iowa State, running for a season-best 146 yards, his third 100-yard rushing game of the season
  • Scored the game’s opening touchdown at ISU on a 54-yard run, the Mountaineers’ longest scoring run of the season
  • Paced team with 62 rushing yards against Kansas State
  • Finished with five carries for 22 yards at Texas, averaging 4.4 yards per carry and a long run of 11 yards
  • Returned to the field against TCU and had a long run of 14 yards
  • Missed Oklahoma State game with injury
  • Three carries before suffering game-ending injury against Baylor
  • Recorded 100 or more rushing yards for the second straight week at Texas Tech, finishing with 110 yards and two touchdowns.
  • Along with Wendell Smallwood (123 yards) at Texas Tech, became the first two WVU running back to have 100 yards rushing each in a game since Pat White (200) and Noel Devine (154) at Louisville in 2008
  • Scored one rushing TD in five straight games from Towson through a season-high two at Texas Tech
  • Registered first 100-yard rushing game as a Mountaineer against Kansas, gaining a game-best 113 yards on 21 attempts
  • Tallied a one-yard rushing TD against the Jayhawks
  • Scored third TD of the season with a five-yard run    vs. Oklahoma; first rushing score against OU in 2014
  • Netted team-best 60 yards rushing against the Sooners, the game’s second-best total
  • Gained a team- and season-best 98 yards rushing at Maryland; day included a 1-yard scoring run on the team’s first drive
  • Scored first TD on a two-yard rush vs. Towson
  • Ran for a game-best 71 yards against the Tigers
  • Earned first career start as a Mountaineer against Alabama
  • Tallied a team-best 38 rushing yards vs. Alabama and caught two passes for 19 yards

2013 (Redshirt Freshman)

  • Redshirted to fulfill NCAA transfer requirements
  • WVU Defensive Scout Team Champion: Oklahoma State
  • Transferred to WVU from Pitt in summer 2013

2012 (Freshman) – Pitt

  • As the primary backup to Ray Graham at Pitt in 2012, rushed for 641 yards and four touchdowns as a true freshman
  • Both of those totals were good for second on the team, and tops among returning backs

High School

  • Played under Coach Dave Vestal at Hopewell High
  • USA TODAY first team All-USA
  • Sports Illustrated and ESPNHS All-American
  • Finished his career as the most prolific rusher in Pennsylvania history
  • Four-time Pennsylvania Sports Writers All-State Class AAA selection, including first-team honors his final three years
  • Pennsylvania Sports Writers and Pennsylvania Football News Class AAA Player of the Year
  • Two-time Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Player of the Year
  • Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Player of the Year
  • Beaver County Times and Tribune-Review Male Athlete of the Year
  • Pittsburgh Post-Gazette West Male Athlete of the Year
  • Two-time winner of the Pittsburgh Athletic Association’s “Mercury Award,” annually presented to the High School Player of the Year
  • Led Hopewell to four WPIAL Class AAA playoff berths, including a title game appearance his sophomore year
  • Selected to play in the Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl at Chase Field in Phoenix
  • Played in the Big 33 Football Classic
  • In four seasons at Hopewell, rushed for a state-record 9,078 yards on 1,107 carries (8.2 avg.)
  • Scored 110 career touchdowns, the most in WPIAL history
  • Set a national record with 39 consecutive 100-yard games, eclipsing former Oklahoma Sooners great Billy Sims’ mark of 38 set in 1975
  • Rushed for 200 yards or more in 25 games
  • In 44 career contests, averaged 206 yards per game
  • Rushed for more than 2,000 yards in each of his final three seasons
  • As a senior, rushed for 2,312 yards on 311 attempts (7.4 avg.) and scored 28 touchdowns
  • His junior year he totaled 2,510 yards and 32 TDs
  • Rushed for 2,740 yards as a sophomore and 1,516 as a freshman

Personal

  • Birthday is September 7
  • Son of Rushel Shell Jr. and Toni Zuccaro
  • One of three children
  • Majoring in sociology and anthropolgy

Shell admits that from an early age he was one of the youngsters with a little bit more athletic ability than the others. He joked that he also was the kid who was overweight and had to run around with a trash bag on to lose weight.

It turns out his athleticism was a lot better than the rest after he became a highly sought after recruit leaving high school. Shell became the leading rusher in Pennsylvania school history in high school. He transferred from Pitt to West Virginia to become a key component to the Mountaineers offensive attack.

“I compare myself to Marshawn Lynch,” Shell says and adds, “I’m not on his level yet or accomplished anything he has but just his size and his mindset I carry into my game.”

Shell runs angry and doesn’t shy away from contact. He does a good job following his blockers and knows how to set up tackles. Shell presses the line and runs hard downhill.

He displays good leg drive with the frame to hammer the football inside. Good vision and sees the cutback lanes. Relatively fresh legs and body entering the NFL with a lighter collegiate workload compared to some of the other running backs in the draft class.

He lacks the perimeter speed to compete on the edges and will struggle to take the ball to the corner in the pros. Shell has enough size and ability to warrant interest in the mid to late rounds of the NFL Draft.

This is an unofficial and independent source of news and information not affiliated with any team(s) or the National Football League (NFL).

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