re: Official In-Season Practice, Injury Reports and Press Conferences Thread: 12-0

Posted on 10/11/16 at 9:21 am to TideSaint

Posted by TideSaint

Hill Country

Member since Sep 2008

75885 posts

Posted on 10/11/16 at 9:21 am to TideSaint

quote:
Joshua Jacobs

The 2016 season wasn’t even supposed to be Jacobs’ time to shine. As just a 3-star true freshman coming in behind two 5-stars, most figured his playing time would come during blowouts. On Saturday, not only was that not the case, he gave us the 56-yard run above in the Tide’s first offensive series.

What was most impressive about that run was how fluid Jacobs was in and out of his jukes. Notice how he turned a change-of-direction move into an acceleration — he never lost speed while trying to make defenders miss. From his first step through the trenches, Jacobs was running at top speed. The only reason he didn’t score is because Razorbacks DB Henre’ Toliver (who weighs nearly 20 fewer pounds than Jacobs) had the angle and was able to get his arms out to push him out of bounds.

Fans knew the 228-pound Scarbrough was going to be the “smash” of this running back unit. It looks like Jacobs has solidified himself as the dash to complement.

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Posted by TideSaint

Hill Country

Member since Sep 2008

75885 posts

Posted on 10/11/16 at 9:22 am to TideSaint

quote:
Damien Harris

Despite the amount talent on the depth chart, Harris is the team’s feature back — and for good reason. Regardless of how well the other two do, Harris will get the majority of the carries because of plays like the one above.

Harris is the type of player who can put all of the skills a running back could have together in one run at any time. However, what justifies him getting the majority of carries is the vision he has to see open space before it’s even there. Harris does everything right in the run above. He was patient within the original plan of the blocking scheme, but once he noticed a greater potential for yards, he was quick to cut the other way and up the field.

Having a deep talent pool at one position is a blessing, but if an offensive coordinator mixes it up too much, it actually can be a hindrance to the offense as a whole (see Florida and its rotation of four running backs). Alabama is handling its talent pool correctly by making sure Harris is the go-to guy.