First, if he cannot break the lineup here then what makes you think he would elsewhere?!? TMac was a starter for us and missed critical elements of his overall game to continue getting as much playing time as he desired. Sometimes a change helps light a fire under people's work ethics. TMac is one of the only transfers (out of probably close to a hundred since I started paying attention) that actually succeeded at another school after leaving VT.

Second, as a true freshman everything is faster in the game (mentally and physically). Just because someone is faster than coaches think does not mean his game is complete - how is his blocking, catching out of the backfield, vision, etc??? Just because the coaches complemented one element of his game does not mean he's ready for playing time. Playing as a true freshman at RB is insanely difficult and requires not just the traits I mentioned above but also requires physicality - the ability to take punishing hits from grown @ss men.

He will play when he is ready but running away to another school would be a big mistake when he is a true freshman. I played with an 4-star RB that had amazing numbers in HS but when he came to VT it was clear that despite his physical abilities he could not hit the right hole if it had a welcome sign. There is a lot more to being a RB than being "faster or shiftier" than someone thinks. If he doesn't understand that then he is setting himself up for failure in college and preventing anything beyond.

When coaches say he is fast, shifty, strong, able to break tackles, hit the right hole, block, catch, and take big hits for an entire game and he still isn't playing then I would worry.