It’s “an Honor” for Bilal Powell to Start at Running Back for the New York Jets

Aug 24, 2013; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets running back Bilal Powell (29) runs against the New York Giants during the second quarter of a preseason game at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Bilal Powell has not been high on the depth chart over the last few years, sitting behind Shonn Greene for most of his career to date with the New York Jets. But as a product of hard work, Powell has moved up in the world, had a great preseason, and is now the starting running back for Sunday’s game.

However, it just kind of happened for Bilal, without him realizing it:

“I was just going with the ones and I guess somebody announced it and I never knew about it,” Powell said of being named the starter, “but it’s an honor. It’s always been a dream, but my biggest thing is just being able to go out and help this team win games and eventually get into the playoffs.”

He knows that his impact on the game will not limited to simply running the football:

“I think the biggest thing is giving him time to go through his reads and make his throws,” Powell said of what he can do to help the second-round pick out of West Virginia. “He’s done a good job up to this point and we just want to protect him and take more pressure off him, allowing him to play loose.”

When a team commits to “competition” to the level that the Jets have, this is one of the great results. Isn’t it exciting to see a guy earn a starting job, rather than have it handed to him? Bilal Powell did just that, and it will be exciting to see him run with it starting this Sunday.