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Eagles think small rookie back Donnel Pumphrey has big potential | Paul Domowitch

Despite being only 5-8, 175 pounds, he showed his durability by playing 42 straight games and gaining 6,405 rushing yards at San Diego State

AT FIRST GLANCE, and second, and third, Donnel Pumphrey looks like a guy who might have trouble holding his ground against a strong wind.

But before anyone declares that the Eagles' frail-looking 5-8, 175-pound rookie running back is destined to quickly become NFL roadkill, you should keep two things in mind.

One is that size is no guarantor of good health for an NFL running back. Look no further than a couple of lockers down from Pumphrey's at the NovaCare Complex, where Ryan Mathews resides until he recovers sufficiently enough from neck surgery to pass a physical and be released.

Mathews is a seemingly sturdy 6-foot, 220-pounder, yet has broken down more often than an old car.

He's missed 26 of 112 games since the San Diego Chargers selected him with the 12th overall pick in the 2010 draft. He's played more than 13 games in a season only twice. Name a body part, any body part, and Mathews probably has pulled, broken, torn or sprained it.

The other thing to keep in mind is that despite Pumphrey's diminutive size, he was an iron man at San Diego State. A very, very productive iron man.

Never missed a game in four seasons. Averaged 21.5 touches per game. Rushed for an FBS-record 6,405 yards. Had 67 career rushing and receiving touchdowns, eighth most in FBS history.

"I don't want to jinx him, but the guy just doesn't get hurt," NFL Network analyst Brian Baldinger said after the Eagles drafted him in the fourth round. "He started 42 games in a row. There's nobody that's ever played tailback at his level who's started 42 games in a row."

"I just try to be as durable as possible," Pumphrey said Friday after the first day of the Eagles' three-day rookie minicamp. "My offensive linemen in college did a great job of allowing me to get to the next level. My coaches did a great job of telling me when to get down and stuff like that. It helped me a lot."

Eighty-nine picks before the Eagles took Pumphrey last month, they selected cornerback Sidney Jones, who is recovering from a ruptured Achilles' tendon.

Injured it backpedaling at his Pro Day last month. Nobody touched him. Might or might not play this season. Sometimes stuff just happens.

And sometimes it doesn't.

Worst injury Pumphrey had at San Diego State?

"Turf toe, that's about it," he said. "I just tried to take care of my body and stay as healthy as possible."

While lack of size might be Pumphrey's greatest, uh, shortcoming, it also can be argued that it's his greatest strength. Short running backs are tough for defensive linemen and linebackers to locate. They are able to hide behind their offensive linemen.

It's tough to get good, clean hits on them, particularly when they have make-them-miss feet, as Pumphrey does.

"He's 176 pounds soaking wet and has no base at all," Baldinger said. "None. But he does have those feet. He has an unbelievable ability to get through cracks."

"I definitely feel it's an advantage being my size," Pumphrey said. "I can get behind those big linemen, and even make guys miss when I get to the second level."

And much like another undersized Eagles running back, Brian Westbrook, he has a knack for avoiding the big hit.

"I just know when to get down," Pumphrey said.

He learned the value of that early on in his college career.

"My freshman year, we played Ohio State," Pumphrey said, remembering it as if it was yesterday. "My first carry against them, I ran up the middle. (Linebacker) Ryan Shazier met me in the hole. It was my welcome-to-college-football hit. Probably the hardest hit I've ever taken."

Pumphrey survived it, just as he did his 1,058 other rushing attempts.

"I'm only 175-176 pounds, but I play with a big heart," he said. "And that's what it's really all about. I believe in myself.

"People have been telling me I'm too small since Pop Warner. Especially since I play running back. I probably was the smallest running back in college football history maybe. I've been told my whole life (that he's too small).

"That's why I play with a chip on my shoulder every time I take the field. Every time I take the field, I try to play like I'm a big back."

Pumphrey's new Eagles teammate, Darren Sproles, actually is two inches shorter than Pumphrey. But Sproles is a muscular 195 pounds. Pumphrey has a body more along the lines of ex-Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson.

He will quickly find out that NFL defensive players hit a little harder than the defensive players in the Mountain West Conference.

Head coach Doug Pederson clearly has no problem with smaller running backs, though it would be nice to have at least one guy on the roster capable of moving a pile on third-and-1.

Except for Mathews, who almost certainly has played his last down for the Eagles, they don't have a running back taller than 5-10. And the only other back on the roster heavier than 208 is undrafted free agent Corey Clement (220).

Pederson likes versatile run-or-catch backs whom he can move all over the formation and exploit coverage mismatches in the passing game. Pumphrey fits that mold perfectly.

"They had me running routes from the slot today," the rookie said. "It's a plus being versatile. That's what's going to help me - being a versatile back."

The Eagles are cross-training Byron Marshall at both wide receiver and running back. Pederson was asked Friday whether they will do the same with Pumphrey.

"Right now, with any of these rookies, we just want to see how well they understand and pick up our terminology over the weekend," he said. "But I do want to expand and see some of the things that he can do as a receiver; as a guy that we can move in and out of the backfield.

"He's much like Sproles, in that we can utilize him as a receiver at times. So we're just going to see where it goes with him."

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@Pdomo Blog: philly.com/Eaglesblog