Entering the 2016 season, expectations were high for Travon McMillian after an impressive 2015 season with 1,042 rushing yards and 7 touchdowns while not becoming the starter until weeks into the season. McMillian didn't have the best spring, which included Deshawn McClease taking some first team reps over McMillian, but all indications were that he had a strong summer that helped him regain his confidence and lock down the job as the primary back.
McMillian did have a big game against Tennessee with 127 rushing yards on 14 carries including a 69-yard touchdown run, but after that big performance in the Hokies' second game, McMillian slowly but steadily started to lose carries and confidence. There continued to be moments where it looked like McMillian was ready to get back to the level that he was at last year especially after he was dominant on Thursday night at Lane Stadium with 131 rushing yards on 18 carries against Miami.
Despite that big game, McMillian's confidence continued to be inconsistent throughout the season while fumbles were an issue throughout with early fumbles against Notre Dame and Virginia sending the redshirt sophomore tailback into Justin Fuente's dog house with McMillian rarely playing against Notre Dame after his early fumble and only coming in the second half with the game out of reach against Virginia after his first quarter fumble in that game.
The biggest issue that McMillian had this season was an issue with confidence that had plagued him in the spring and allowed McClease to earn first team reps over McMillian.
Part of the reason for McMillian's lack of confidence seemed to be the fact that McMillian didn't seem that comfortable in the new offensive scheme. Part of that was that McMillian wasn't that patient as a runner in many games and would not wait that extra second to see if a hole for him was going to develop. While it is good to have a running back that doesn't wait too long and ends up costing himself too many yards, McMillian's lack of patience prevented him from being nearly as productive as he could have been.
Another potential reason for his lack of confidence may have been the fact that he struggled to consistently get 15 to 20 carries a game while ending up in the dog house during the final 2 games against Notre Dame and Virginia due to fumble issues.
However, the fact that two of the main reasons for Travon McMillian's struggles were due to a lack of confidence, and a lack of comfort in the new offensive scheme shows that McMillian stills has a bright future in Blacksburg, and the potential to get back to being the productive back he showed he could be in 2015 and at times this season including against Miami, North Carolina, and Duke.
As long as McMillian stays healthy, he should receive a lot of reps this spring at running back especially early in the spring as Deshawn McClease begins working to get back on the field and as Marshawn Williams recovers from his recent surgery. Getting these extra reps will be very important for McMillian with this spring being a great opportunity to adjust more to this offensive scheme after playing in it this past fall.
What we definitely do know is that McMillian still has the talent to be the very good running back that he was two years ago especially athletically as someone with great speed while also being able to be a physical runner between the trenches to get some of the tough yards. McMillian is still more of a speed than power guy, but he is a talented all-around guy that also showed once again this year that he can make things happen in the passing game with 10 catches for 118 yards and 3 touchdowns this season.
The biggest thing with McMillian is his burst and downhill running style that allows him to explode through a hole that he is able to take advantage of and the downhill running style that he uses to put his head down and fight for extra yards as he did on his 27-yard touchdown run against Clemson in which he brought a Clemson defender with him for the final several yards of his run instead of trying to dance around the Clemson player.
However, that on its own won't allow Travon McMillian to get back to being the 1,000+ yard rusher that he was in 2015 and if he doesn't improve in a few areas this offseason, guys like Deshawn McClease, Marshawn Williams, and Jalen Holston will all be ready to take some playing time from him.
First, McMillian must adapt himself more to the offensive scheme that Justin Fuente runs, and improve his patience in waiting for holes to open up. McMillian's failure to consistently adjust to Fuente's offensive scheme this season was disappointing, but he showed at times that he can be very successful when he does run with patience instead of just putting his head down immediately and if he can do that more consistently, he'll be able to do a lot of big things next year.
Another issue for McMillian has been his blocking which has below-average for a collegiate running back and has forced Sam Rogers into action more on passing downs than McMillian due largely to his inadequacy in blocking. Looking ahead to next season, McMillian's playing time will decline if he is unable to be a complete running back that can block with the Hokies having Steven Peoples who can take on a Sam Rogers-like role along with young guys like Deshawn McClease who will be eager to take playing time.
More than anything else, McMillian has to rebuild his confidence as a running back because if he doesn't, he'll be headed down the depth chart with young guys like McClease and Jalen Holston ready to come in and wrestle time away from McMillian.
The talent is still there for Travon McMillian especially after he still averaged a solid 4.7 yards per carry this season, but McMillian must run with confidence, protect the football, and put some effort into becoming a reasonable blocker or else the Hokies will move on to other guys like McClease and Holston who fit Justin Fuente's offensive scheme and in the case of Holston, were recruited by Fuente and his offensive staff.
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