Kansas City Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles and Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell might be finished for the season with injuries, but they're still at the top of Florida State running back Dalvin Cook's mind when it comes to his own style.
The FSU star named those two as the NFL backs whom he most resembles on the field.
"Guys that run with patience, and, you know, just know when to do things at the right time," Cook told Campus Insiders.
Cook won't get a chance to prove he can be as productive on Sundays as either Charles or Bell until 2017, at the earliest. As a true sophomore, he's still a season away from meeting the minimum criteria for being granted draft entry. Until then, he'll be one of the college game's dominant offensive players as long as he's healthy.
And to him, the best back in the nation.
"In my eyes, yes, I am (the best)," Cook said.
Four running backs from Power Five conferences, all with more rushing yards on the year than Cook, would have the strongest argument against Cook: LSU's Leonard Fournette, Alabama's Derrick Henry, Oregon's Royce Freeman and Ohio State's Ezekiel Elliott. For the year, Cook has 1,231 yards, which ranks No. 8 in the FBS, and is just 152 yards behind Fournette for the lead. But Cook doesn't have to endorse himself, because Clemson coach Dabo Swinney did it for him three weeks ago, saying he'd take the smaller Cook (6-foot, 200 pounds) over the more heralded Fournette (6-1, 230).
After Cook shredded Swinney's defense in a 23-13 loss to the Tigers on Saturday with 194 yards on just 21 carries, suffice it to say that Swinney's opinion hasn't changed.
*Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter **@ChaseGoodbread*.
