Second of an 11-part series. Coming tomorrow: wide receivers.

The words most commonly associated with Israel Abanikanda are “big” and “fast.”

The numbers speak for themselves: The Pittsburgh running back, 5-foot-10 and 216 pounds, recently ran a 4.41 40-yard dash and completed a 41-inch vertical jump on his Pro Day.

“Izzy is big and he can run,” said Pitt special teams coordinator and running back coach Andre Powell. “He’s only going to get bigger.”

Abanikanda brings a lot of baggage into the upcoming NFL draft — good baggage.

He acquired several accolades during the 2022 season, his junior year, leading FBS (excluding kickers) with 128 points scored and racking up the most (nine) 100-yard rushing games in a season at Pitt since Dion Lewis had 10 in 2009.

Making it into the NFL has been Abanikanda’s dream since he was little, which has made for “a great experience,” he said, yet a “nervous” one. That’s because this isn’t just a chance for Abanikanda — it’s also an opportunity for his family.

Growing up in Brooklyn and attending Abraham Lincoln High School — at which he won New York’s Gatorade Player of the Year — Abanikanda watched as others around him went down a different path. He witnessed people die or go to prison.

“Just doing the wrong things. Just being out there in the street because how Brooklyn is — a lot of things going on that will lead you the wrong way,” Abanikanda said. “So, you need to have a strong mindset to stick to the right path and do what you got to do.”

Abanikanda, however, was born into a football family: His father, Saidi, played football at Georgia Tech and his brother, Michael, played at Buffalo and Temple.

Ever since Abanikanda committed to the sport, his family trained him every day, teaching him how to put in the extra work to make something of himself outside of Brooklyn.

It worked, as Abanikanda totaled 1,431 yards over 239 carries and scored 21 total touchdowns this past season.

Now, he is two weeks away from a life-altering event, the NFL draft.

“I wasn’t expecting this at all,” he said. “I was actually thinking about doing another year.”

But the game was starting to slow down for Abanikanda, which he took as a sign that he needed to move on to keep improving.

“I didn’t want them to continue to live this lifestyle,” he said of his family. “When we were growing up in Brooklyn and how everything is, I wanted to change my whole family life and my life. I felt like this was the year to do it.”

Abanikanda hopes to stay close to his family.

Maybe he will find his NFL home in New York if he lands on the radar for the Giants, amid their Saquon Barkley franchise-tag dilemma, or the Jets.

Pitt offensive coordinator and quarterback coach Frank Cignetti Jr., who has 11 years of NFL coaching experience, in which he was surrounded by some of the league’s best backs, such as Todd Gurley, Ricky Williams and Frank Gore, noted a player needs the skill set, work ethic, durability, and love for the game, not only to make it, but also to stick around.

“I think his best days are in front of him,” he said of Abanikanda.

In two games last season, Abanikanda outran the opposing team in total yardage — 154 rushing yards against Tennessee’s 91 and 320 yards against Virginia Tech’s 126.

“He could hit home runs as a running back,” Cignetti said. “He could take it the distance.”

Abanikanda noted the need to improve on pass protection, but Powell said his preparation, maturity and vision have improved over the years.

“Prior to this past year, he did not have a full conceptual understanding of what people around him were doing,” Powell said. “For example, on a run play, he did not have a full understanding of where the lines work and who they were working to.”

When drafted, Abanikanda will join the elite company of running backs coming out of Pitt, such as Tony Dorsett, LeSean McCoy, Curtis Martin and James Connor.

“I just want to be the next,” Abanikanda said. “I just want to be the next great running back to leave Pitt to go to the NFL.”