Top MAC Football Players Of 2014: No.4 BGSU Tailback Travis Greene

Our Top 50 countdown is beginning to wind down and this means we are starting to get to the best of the best in the MAC.  Bowling Green running back Travis Greene is not only one of the best running backs in the MAC, but one of the overall best players. Checking in at No. 4, Greene has shown the explosiveness and the consistency that will head the Falcon backfield yet again in 2014.

Greene took over the starting job for the Falcons in 2013 after high school teammate, and good friend Anthon Samuel transferred after the 2012 season. Greene is a converted wide receiver who has ultimately found his home in the BG backfield. Seeing little to no action at wide receiver in 2012, Green's elusiveness and agility helped make the transition from wide-out to running back much easier.  The results of this transition are displayed by the outstanding numbers that he put up during 2013 season.  Greene smashed the single season BG rushing record, a record that had stood since 1951.Greene's 1,594 yards destroyed the previous record of 1,444 yards making him the outright single-season rushing leader in BG history.  Averaging almost six yards-per-carry, and racking up 11 touchdowns, Greene was a second team All-MAC selection.  His 1,749 all purpose yards ranks second all-time for BG and his whopping 5.7 yards per carry is the 10th best all-time in school history.  Needless to say, Greene's sophomore season was one for the BG record books.

Greene spoke with fellow Hustle Belt about his performance last fall:

I don't want to be complacent about how I finished last year. I believe that you're as good as your last game, and the bowl game was not a good game for me. This offseason was about working hard and accomplishing the goals that I set for myself.

Greene also spoke on how exactly a successful season would be classified through his game personally and for his team.

I set my goal list to rush for 2,000 yards and want to score a touchdown in every single game.  For the team I want to repeat as MAC champions and go undefeated.  I believe that we can win every game and put ourselves in a position for a berth into the Final Four Playoff.

Greene has very high goals for this 2014 BG Falcon team, but what exactly would goals be if they were set any lower than being the best?

The most significant aspect of Greene's game that was seen last year from a fan's perspective was the way he was able to bounce off of tacklers and extend plays after first contact. I remember multiple times when defenses would lay big hits on the 5-foot-10, 185-pound tailback, but he would just bounce back a yard or two and turn the play into a positive gain. Greene's ability to bounce off of tackles and slip through defenders is exactly what makes him a special tailback.  The BG backfield should be loaded this year with young talent, but look for Greene to be the work-horse and the leader of the group again.

Greene will be a redshirt junior this season for the Falcons and in Dino Baber's up-tempo system, he could even post bigger numbers than last year.  When you throw a back like Greene into a system with Matt Johnson at quarterback, and haveBabers running the show, the amount of offensive output should be absolutely ridiculous.  One can only think that Greene will see even more action than he did last year because of this up-tempo offense, giving him the ability to have another outstanding year.