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John DeShazier: Alvin Kamara comes into Saints training camp with high expectations

John DeShazier
Senior Writer
NewOrleansSaints.com

http://www.neworleanssaints.com/asse...Kamara_CP8.jpg

Reggie Bush.

Darren Sproles.

Alvin Kamara?

The less-than-certain punctuation is because we don’t yet know about Kamara, the New Orleans Saints’ third-round draft pick (No. 67 overall) this year.

It’s because it’s too early to say whether the former Tennessee standout is worthy of placement on the list of multi-purpose backs to have flourished in New Orleans since Coach Sean Payton was hired in 2006.

It’s because while Bush and Sproles earned their cheers, respect and positions in the satellite-back hierarchy through highlight-reel plays and grunt-work willingness, Kamara hasn’t yet faced his NFL indoctrination.

But the baptism truly begins now, in training camp, which starts Thursday with an 8:50 a.m. practice.

And Kamara will enter this phase of his development already favorably having been compared to Bush and Sproles by no less of an authority than Payton, who selected Bush with the No. 2 overall pick in 2006, helped recruit Sproles as a free agent in 2011, and watched each produce record-setting seasons in the roles that the Saints designed.

For Bush, that meant a team-leading 88 receptions in 2006, a rookie record for NFL running backs, en route to 294 catches (for 2,142 yards and 12 touchdowns), 524 carries (for 2,090 yards and 17 touchdowns), and 92 punt returns (for 720 yards and four touchdowns) in five seasons as a Saint.

For Sproles, it equated to an NFL-record 2,696 all-purpose yards – 603 rushing, 710 receiving, 294 on punt returns and 1,089 on kickoff returns – in 2011, his first year as a Saint. Sproles had 10 touchdowns that season, and in three seasons as a Saint, he ran 188 times for 1,067 yards and five touchdowns, caught 232 passes for 1,981 yards and 16 scores, returned 70 kickoffs for 1,827 yards and returned 81 punts for 671 yards and a touchdown.

For Kamara, it means the expectations that come attached with being the “next” one.

“I kind of tried to tune it out,” Kamara said of the comparisons. “I’ve got to come in and … learning a new system, I tried to block that out and take what’s on my plate and learn and do what I’ve got to do.”

Kamara’s plate is full and by all accounts, he’s eating and digesting.

It’s no surprise to see him streaking down the sideline, on a wheel route, pulling away from an overmatched linebacker while hauling in a deep pass, appearing to be as much of a receiver as the actual receivers. Or to see him catch a pass a few yards beyond the line of scrimmage, feint inside, spin outside and pretzel a defender who may or may not have been unsuspecting, but likely hadn’t been subjected to many dip-in, spin-out-the-back-door moves like that at any time, on any level.

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