05-15-2020, 08:54 PM
(05-15-2020, 04:29 PM)Goose Wrote: Stanford also hasn't been able to recruit running backs that could pound it up the gut, mostly because high schools don't do that anymore either. CMAC was great, but he couldn't do that. BL was great, but he couldn't do that either. Shaw always said how good they were as inside runners. It was wishful thinking. They could run inside occasionally, but not at will.
"Pound it up the gut" is more a function of how fast a RB can get to the hole and how good your OL is at creating that hole. I assure you that it's not as much a matter of running through contact as avoiding contact. (How are you defining 'inside runs' btw? Only A-gap runs? Between the tackles?)
Stanford can run the ball successfully if they have a healthy OL with proper S&C. Period. There is no reason why Austin Jones won't look like the next Stepfan Taylor if the OL is healthy and blows defenders off the ball each snap. The rules haven't changed to disadvantage the run game, and the run game will always be the preferred offensive paradigm if a team can execute their blocking.