Schwartz, Leshoure eye Saturday for the running back’s preseason debut

Second-year running back Mikel Leshoure is on pace to play for the Lions this Saturday against the Oakland Raiders, according to MLive.com’s Anwar Richardson.

#Lions coach Jim Schwartz said #NFL RB Mikel Leshoure is on track to play against the #Raiders on Saturday

— Anwar Richardson (@AnwarRichardson) August 22, 2012

This will be Leshoure’s first time ever suiting up as a Detroit Lion on game day. Leshoure missed the entire 2011 season after injuring his Achilles tendon.

July 28, 2012; Allen Park, MI, USA; Detroit Lions running back Mikel Leshoure (25) completes drills during training camp at the Detroit Lions training facility. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-US PRESSWIRE

There will be a ton of critics watching his every move. Questions that people are dying to get answers to include:

• Can he cut left, right or get up field?
• Can he run at full-speed against a live defense?
• Will he be able to sustain a tackle from an opposing team?
• How far away does he look from being 100%?

Most importantly, I’ll be interested to see how comfortable he looks playing actual football. It has been since his junior year at Illinois that he has carried the ball in a meaningful way and I would imagine that getting on the field and staying there will be a priority for Leshoure this year.

I am also curious to see who is going to fill the role of Kevin Smith’s backup in Leshoure’s absence. Leshoure is going to serve a two-game suspension during the regular season because of off-the-field arrests he had earlier this year. I think Stephfon Green is going to be somebody who wants to really impress the coaches and should he play good the next two games, he might earn himself a spot on the practice squad.