John Avery, RB

(5-9 1/2, 184, 4.42) Mississippi

Drafted by: Miami, Pick 29, Round 1, Overall 29

Notes: High- School sprint champion who ran a 6.3 55 meters. Also long-jumped over 24 feet. Went from high school to Northwest Mississippi Community College. Transferred to Mississippi in 1996 and started five of the last six games. In '97, Avery started the opener vs. Central Florida, dislocated his elbow on his second carry and missed the next two games before returning to start seven of the final eight games plus the Motor City Bowl. Carried 181 times for 788 yards and five touchdowns, caught 16 passes for 99 yards and returned 17 kickoffs for 473 yards and two scores in 1996. Ran 166-862-7, caught 19-113-0, had eight punt returns for 46 yards and returned 13 kickoffs for 315 yards and one touchdown in '97.

Positives: Supurb athlete. Extremely quick with excellent speed and acceleration. Can explode through holes in the blink of an eye. Sees holes quickly and knows how to exploit them. Has the speed to get outside. Elusive and almost always can make the first tackler miss. Is a very dangerous kick returner and can catch the ball coming out of the backfield. Is a linebacker's worst nightmare in pass coverage.

Negatives: Is not very big or physical. Does not play with strength or power. Tends to do too much east-west running. Is too quick to bounce the run wide at times.

Summary: Looks like a third down back and return man in a Dave Meggett-type roll. Has more pure speed than Meggett ever had but is not as strong or as tough.