Former Lobo running back Jhurell Pressley signed to a contract with the Atlanta Falcons on Wednesday following an injury and the subsequent release of running back B.J. Daniels, according to the team’s website.
Pressley, who was a member of the Falcons practice team last season, originally signed with the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent following the 2016 NFL Draft.
After being released by the Vikings last September, he was claimed on waivers by the Green Bay Packers, but didn’t stick there either.
Pressley has never appeared in an NFL regular season game, but showed promise during the preseason. He returned a kickoff for a touchdown while trying to make the squad for the Vikings.
He has speed and agility that make him a threat to reel off big plays, something he did often during his career at UNM.
In four years at New Mexico, golobos.com statistics show that Pressley played in 50 games, rushing for 2,725 yards on just 394 attempts, a healthy average of nearly seven yards per carry.
He also caught 18 passes during his tenure with the Lobos, which was good for 220 yards and one touchdown. In 2014 he lead the NCAA in rushing yards per attempt with 9.5 yards per attempt.
The 6.9 yards per attempt he averaged in his career is the best in Mountain West history, per sports-reference.com/cfb statistics.
Pressley is expected to wear 35 for the Falcons, though he is a longshot to make the Falcons 53-man roster. The Falcons carried three running backs on their depth chart last season, but already have plenty of depth behind starter DeVonta Freeman. But Pressley will at least have the opportunity to break through.
Cameron Goeldner is a freelance reporter for the Daily Lobo. He contributes to baseball, football, basketball and track and field reporting. He can be contacted at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @goeldfinger.
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