Don’t worry friends, we can’t all be fantasy geniuses like your boy Jobu over here. When I had my draft this year, using my patented ADP draft strategy, I ended up with Peyton Manning and three of the best receivers in the league (Brandon Marshall, Vincent Jackson and Hakeem Nicks), but a little weak at RB (especially after C.J. Spiller’s rough start to the year). However, I had faith in my skills as a pick-up artist, and early on in the game, I picked up Zac Stacy of the St. Louis Rams. Winner, winner… chicken dinner. So who the hell is he? Let’s find out!
Now, in case he stumbles upon this article when I tweet it to him, I’d like to clear up that, when I say “Who the Hell?”, it’s not an insult. It’s because, like many non-Rams fans, and a guy who only casually follows college football (that’s why we have Big League Clu), I simply had never heard of him. I actually originally drafted his teammate, Daryl Richardson, to be my RB2. When Richardson got hurt, and Stacy played in his stead, I made the Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor surprised grunt noise and rolled the dice on the rookie. He has surprised me, and probably a lot of the NFL, completely.
Then again, I feel like this kid has had to deal with ignorance like mine his entire football career. The four-year starter racked up all sorts of awards in high school, most importantly the Division 4A player of the year in Alabama twice. Despite that, and a heap of other awards and ridiculous statistics (5,863 yards, 76 TDs), he was only offered scholarships by two schools; UAB and Vanderbilt. He chose Vanderbilt, often splitting carries with another freshman, Warren Norman until his junior year, when he finally broke out, racking up 1,193 yards and 14 TDs, which are both school records. In 2012, he became the first Vanderbilt rusher to surpass the 1,000 yard mark in two straight years, and left Vandy as it’s all-time leading rusher with 3,143 yards.
Despite these big numbers, he didn’t get drafted until the 5th round, when the Rams took him with the 160th pick of the draft. Boy, does that look like a steal now or what? 159 other guys were taken ahead of him, and he might be outproducing most of them at this point. It’s unfortunate for the Rams that they didn’t put him ahead of Richardson in the depth chart right away, as Stacy didn’t get his first game action until his one carry in Week 1 against the Cardinals. He got his first start in Week 5 against Jacksonville, and hasn’t looked back since. He’s really gained the Rams trust the last two weeks, and has really taken advantage of his playing time, racking up 261 yards and 2 scores in those games (including 134 yards against the vaunted Seahawks D).
Stacy might only be 5’8″, but he’s packed 224 lbs of muscle onto that frame. He harnesses his combination of speed and power well, and has been very difficult for opposing defenses to stop. Unlike his teammate, Richardson, Stacy gets a lot of his yards after first contact, which is a skill that you can’t really teach. You can either take hits, or you can’t. He’s also shown a solid ability to catch the ball, as he caught 6 balls for 51 yards last week too. Stacy has been beastly since taking the reins in St. Louis, and he’s even played through an ankle and a rib injury. Overall, Stacy has run for 537 yards and 3 TDs, and the rest of his season is looking up.
I love Zac Stacy. He really has helped solidify my fantasy football team. In case you were wondering, after making another shrewd pickup in Titans WR Kendall Wright, I traded from my position of strength and sent Nicks packing in a deal for the suddenly surging Stevan Ridley of the Patriots. I also added a suddenly surging (and probably still racist) Riley Cooper to the mix, and now look at me. I’m 8-2 and in first place in my fantasy league. The force is strong with my team, and it all started with Zac Stacy. That’s who the hell he is.
Jeff Curry/USA Today Sports
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@ZSTACY_ Jobu’s Rum has much respect for you. http://t.co/2BPafsk2cm