2011 Countdown: #53 Fitzgerald Toussaint

Fitzgerald Toussaint tries (unsuccessfully) to outrun BGSU

Name: Fitzgerald Toussaint
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 200 lbs.
High school: Liberty High School in Youngstown, OH
Position: Running back
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #28
Last year: I ranked Toussaint #45 and said he would be a backup running back.  He had 8 carries for 87 yards and 1 touchdown, plus 1 catch for 5 yards.

I have been an unabashed fan of Toussaint since he was recruited in 2009, when I named him Michigan's best offensive recruit.  He looks like he might have gone to the Carlos Brown and Michael Shaw School of Brittleness, having suffered a broken clavicle and a knee injury so far in his short career.  He flashed some skills against Bowling Green in 2010, taking his first career carry 61 yards . . . only to be caught from behind by a BGSU safety.  In fairness to Toussaint, though, he was still wearing a cumbersome knee brace, which seemed to slow him a bit.  He carried the ball on the next play for a 5-yard touchdown, but then missed the next five games with a shoulder injury.  He returned late in the season to play a little bit against Purdue, Ohio State, and Mississippi State.

I still hope for good things from Toussaint, but his injuries have clearly hampered his development.  It's rare to see a running back have any kind of success while wearing a heavy knee brace.  He seems to buried on the depth chart after the spring, and more competition arrives in the fall from Thomas Rawls and Justice Hayes.  In my opinion, he's the second most talented back on the roster, but talent doesn't matter if you can't get out of the training room.  If he can stay healthy, he might be your starting kick returner in 2011, though.

Prediction: Backup running back; kickoff returner