Swarm247 Board

Prior to spring practice, here were my thoughts about the A Back position:

We can go 13 deep at the A-Back position. Allowing that we have 2 starting A-Backs that means we have a depth chart that goes 6 deep with one to grow on. Speaking of growing, one thing that catches your eye is the size of our A-Backs. Only 3 of them are 6 foot tall and only one of them currently goes over 200 lbs. I’m not sure if that profile is by design or just by circumstance, but it seems we have a whole bunch of smaller body type players pigeon holed into the A-Back position.

When you look at the 13 you can see that 4 of them are walk ons and 2 of them are incoming freshmen who will mostly likely redshirt, so that cuts that number down to 7 or so who have a somewhat better shot of being in the mix for 2011. Even so that means we can go 3 deep at the position without breaking a sweat.

When I looked at this group my analysis led me to the conclusion that while we have several good players at the position, we do not have one great player. Maybe this will be the year to see some greatness emerge from our A-Back group.

Here is how I would rank order the group. This is just my opinion:

Orwin Smith – 6’ 206 lb. Junior – showed last year that he has some playmaking potential and actually made quite a few. He also had some fumbles that really hurt the team at crucial times last year. My feeling is that Orwin will only get better and will be one of our best players next year.

Roddy Jones – 5’10” 194 lb. Senior – probably one of our best perimeter blockers, Roddy showed he could stick his foot in the ground and bust up field for a few more crucial yards as opposed to just washing out of bounds with the flow of the tide of defenders pursuing him. He too had some critical fumbles last year that we just have to eliminate if we are going to get better. We need some strong leadership from Roddy this year.

Embry Peeples – 5’10” 173 lb. Senior – Embry shows flashes but has had difficulty sustaining success on the field. Some believe him to be one of our better receivers out of the backfield. I’m sure he will continue to get a lot of work this coming season.

Jason Bostic – 5’10” 165 lb. Sophomore – I put Jason here because of some uncertainty around Marcus Wright due to missed time last year. Bostic actually got in on a few plays and showed some burst. He also ran back some kicks. I think Jason will have to put on some serious weight and really work on his blocking skills if he wants to move up the charts at this position.

Marcus Wright – 5’ 7” 173 lb. Senior – Marcus and Embry are kind of interchangeable in my way of thinking about the A Back position. He was hurt in a motor scooter accident last year and missed the second half of the season. I’m not sure if he would qualify for a medical redshirt or not; or even if he would have an interest in applying for one. Marcus was a pretty good blocker and good ball carrier so his return will certainly add strength to the position.

Robert Godhigh – 5’7” 181 lb. redshirt Sophomore – a really strong young man who walked on a few years back. I think he has some legit talent and has just been waiting on an opportunity to play. He may be playing some special teams but I am not 100% sure on that.

Jamal Paige – 5’8” 182 lb. redshirt Junior – Jamal gets some reps in practice and looks pretty good when he is in there. Again I think he has some talent but not enough to clearly separate him from the pack.

Deon Hill – 6’ 195 lb. redshirt Freshman – there is a little bit of buzz about Deon going round indicating he might be a real good one based on his showing on the scout team last year. He certainly looks the part and he comes from the same school that brought us Orwin Smith. I look for Deon to get some snaps this coming season. I would move him up higher on my list but I want to see him earn it first.

Tony Zenon – 5’8” 160 lb. redshirt Freshman – another guy that is getting some favorable press of his performance on the practice squad last season. He is built like a Mack truck and if can put on just a bit more weight, I think he will be an equivalent talent to Marcus Wright or Embry Peeples.

Deshon Scott – 5’10” 189 lb. redshirt Sophomore – I really don’t anything about Deshon. He is a walkon and for now is slotted at this position.

Sam McNearney – 5’6” 160 lb. redshirt freshman – same as Deshon Scott.

Broderick Snoddy – 5’9” 190 lb. true freshman – unless Broderick comes in and just blows everybody away, he will most likely take a redshirt in 2011. He seems to be cut from the same mold as 90% of our other A-Backs so I think it will get down to how bad does he want it and just how good is he.

Chris Milton – 6’ 175 lb. true freshman – as you can see Chris could actually become one of our bigger A-Backs. He has some versatility and even though he will get his first look at this position, he certainly has potential to play many other spots on the team. Again, I would foresee a likely redshirt year for Chris in 2011.

So there you have it, a quick look at the 13 guys currently slotted to compete for the A-Back position next season. I hope at least one or two will emerge to be real playmakers and help us break some explosion plays on offense. I think you will see a continued emphasis on ball handling, blocking and hard running from our coaching staff to get this group performing up to expectations.

For the long haul, I wonder if Coach Johnson will try to recruit bigger players for the A-Back position. It just seems with the blocking requirements and the lack of a standout performer at this position in his program to date, that he might reassess the type of back he goes after to play this position going forward. I would be interested to hear my fellow Tech fans thoughts on this question.

Post spring view:

Well not much changed as a result of spring practice. Walk on Deshon Scott is no longer on the roster. Orwin and Roddy still look to be the starters. Embry, Marcus and BJ got some reps but really did not move the needle too much. Deon Hill and Tony Z got a pretty good bit of work but again they did not clearly distinguish themselves as guys that could take it to the house with any touch of the ball. I would move them up past Godhigh and Paige and at par with Wright and Bostic.

The one encouraging thing I saw was the increased use of the A Backs in the passing game. I noticed they were used often in crossing patterns and were usually wide open even thought the passing to them usually made them stop and make a circus catch to gain any yardage. I think you can see that is a play that has a lot of potential if we can get worked into our repertoire and go to it with some degree of frequency.

Again, we just have too many bodies at this position. Nine is plenty and 12 is clearly overkill. I hope we shift our recruiting focus to offensive and defensive linemen and back off the A back types going forward.

Go Jackets!