Ex-Gophers running back Bucky Irving about to get huge role with Bucs

It's Bucky Irving time for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Oct 3, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Bucky Irving (7) runs with the ball against the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Bucky Irving's rise since signing with the University of Minnesota in December 2020 has been impressive. He was a four-star running back coming out of high school in Illinois and he chose the Gophers over offers from the likes of Michigan, Wisconsin and South Carolina.

Irving played just one season with the Gophers — he rushed for 699 yards and four touchdowns — before entering the transfer portal and landing with the Oregon Ducks. He rushed for 2,238 yards and averaged 6.5 yards per carry with the Ducks and found himself celebrating in the end zone 21 times (five receiving).

He's now in the NFL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who selected him in the fourth round of the 2024 draft. Just like in college, he continues to show off incredible burst and shiftiness in the NFL. He's carried the ball just 44 times through five games but he has 247 yards to show for it. That's an average of 5.6 yards per carry, which puts him among the best per-carry running backs in the league.

And now his opportunity with the Bucs is expanding with news that No. 1 running back Rachaad White is considered doubtful for Sunday's game against the Saints because of a sprained foot.

Could it be a breakout game for Irving on the turf inside the Superdome? There's definitely a chance because the Saints rank 27th in Pro Football Focus's rushing defense grades and evidence of getting smoked by a shifty back exists with Saquon Barkley torching them for 147 yards on 17 carries in Week 3.

Irving is considered more of an Oregon Duck than a Minnesota Gopher, but he donned the maroon and gold so Gophers fans will undoubtedly be rooting him on when he is the No. 1 runner for the Bucs on Sunday.