New Orleans Saints Forums - blackandgold.com - NewOrleansSaints.com John DeShazier: Sleaker, stronger Mark Ingram will be on display in Black and Gold Scrimmage

The Mark Ingram we see before us in training camp is the one New Orleans Saints fans have been waiting to see, and the one Ingram says he always has been.

The sleeker, stronger, more explosive model that has wowed during offseason workouts, and will be on display Saturday in the Black and Gold Scrimmage that begins at 8:50 a.m. at the Saints’ practice facility, simply is the one Ingram has known the last several years. That one who ran for 1,699 yards and 24 touchdowns as a high school senior, and for 1,658 yards and 17 touchdowns as a college sophomore, when he won the Heisman Trophy at Alabama.

“I’m the Mark Ingram I’ve always been,” he said. “I can do the same things I’ve been doing since high school, Alabama. I’m the same player. I’ve just been getting better, just been improving, trying to be bigger and faster and stronger every year. I’m the same player I’ve been for a long time.

“I just toned down a little bit, worked a lot on being more explosive. Managing the injuries my first year (a season-ending toe injury required surgery), and coming back I didn’t have a chance to work on all my explosion and things like that (last year).

“I just had a healthy offseason, had a lot of time to train before I came into training camp, and I’ve just been working on being more explosive, been working on my speed, my strength. That was my focus coming into camp, being in great shape.”

Without question, his 215 pounds are well distributed over a 5-foot-9 frame. There appears to be a greater acceleration now for the former first-round pick (No. 28 overall in 2011).

Add that to Ingram’s ability to be a power runner – he led the Saints in rushing attempts (156), yards (602) and touchdowns (five) – and the result could be the complete NFL back that Ingram aspires to be.

“Here’s the thing I’m seeing in him – (he’s) very decisive,” Saints running backs coach Dan Roushar said. “I think he’s been pretty consistent in his reads, so I think his decision making has been very good. I think he’s been running with authority. I don’t see him trying to make big runs by himself.

“I think he’s running within the scheme and attacking things the way he needs to. Those things are a real positive to me. Certainly, there’s a lot of room for improvement for each of us, but I like his work ethic. I like the way he’s coming out and approaching the game.

“I think one of the things you saw (last year), he started slower than he wanted to coming off injury, different things, ailment. But as the year went on, you saw him get better and better and better. I think he got more comfortable, the game slowed down for him.”

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