Ryan Torain eagerly grabbed the phone at his Overland Park home Sunday afternoon. The news was exactly what he wanted to hear.
“They said, ‘Ryan, are you ready to be the star running back of the Denver Broncos?’ ” recalled Torain, a former Shawnee Mission Northwest star.
“I said, ‘Yes, sir!’ ”
And just like that, Torain, who played at Arizona State, was selected in the fifth round of Sunday’s NFL draft.
Torain’s selection capped an arduous recovery from surgery to repair torn ligaments in his left foot, an injury known as LisFranc. Until suffering the injury during the sixth game of the 2007 season, Torain, a 6-foot, 215-pounder, was considered among the Pacific-10 Conference’s top running backs.
As a junior, he had carried 223 times for 1,229 yards — the eighth-most yards in a season in Arizona State history — with seven touchdowns rushing and three receiving.
“I’m 100 percent,” said Torain, who ran a disappointing time at the NFL scouting combine in a premature effort to impress teams. “Rehab went amazing. I had a new surgery where they put buttons in my foot to tie it together. In the past, they used screws and you would have to have two surgeries. I had that new surgery, and it healed up faster.”
While the injury certainly cost him in a draft filled with junior running backs, Torain couldn’t have asked for a better situation in Denver. Having grown up in Kansas City, he’s familiar with the procession of successful running backs taken by Denver in the latter rounds of the draft.
Hall of Fame candidate Terrell Davis and Mike Anderson, a 1,400-yard rusher in 2000, were sixth-round draft picks; and the club’s leading rusher last season, Selvin Young, was an undrafted free agent from Texas.
“It’s a great system,” Torain said. “They’re a great running team, a great place to be. It’s a great atmosphere, great fans, you couldn’t ask for better.”
Before his injury, Torain was off to a good start as a senior, reeling off three 100-yard games in his first five outings, plus a remarkable effort against Oregon State in which he not only rushed for 91 yards but also caught touchdown passes of 48 and 7 yards and had a 41-yard touchdown run in a span of 6 minutes, 45 seconds in a come-from-behind victory over the Beavers.
That’s why Torain believes his talents are an ideal fit for the Broncos’ system.
“I am very versatile,” he said. “I can catch out of the backfield, I can line up as a receiver, and I run down hill. I can make guys miss, and I feel like I can do great things for this team.”
Join the discussion
Share your observations and experiences about news. Lively, open debate is the goal, but please refrain from personal attacks or comments that are racist, vulgar or otherwise inappropriate. If you see an inappropriate comment, please click the "Report as violation" link to notify a KansasCity.com editor. Thanks for your feedback.