Maybe the wrong word choice on my part; but what you told us out of your familiarity with him and hopes for him speaks volumes more than the stat-pap I found elsewhere. I watched him use blocks well, accelerate through holes with some burst, show decent lateral movement, and step out of tackles in the highlight tape - confirmation of what you said.
I have a bit of that same bias myself for Montana homeboys on our roster, McCurcheon and (drumroll...) our developing edge player, Hardy. Nobody plays with more heart and internal motivation than Hardy. Too bad he's not ready, right now. But I hope he gets there real fast.