This weekend, as the Stanford Cardinal gear up for UC Davis, it will be without All-American running back Bryce Love.
Two years ago, we received a taste of what Love was capable of when Christian McCaffrey sat out against Notre Dame. On October 15th, Love dashed for 129 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries, averaging 5.6 yards per touch.
It was the first time the former 4-star recruit was able to truly strut in the limelight, giving a glimpse of what was to come. Now it is the turn of the Mcallen, Texas native (Trevor Speights) to perform in the absence of the starter. Because of the limited snaps he has seen in college, time to hit the high school tape and see what we can expect from Speights.
Three takes from the tape
1 - Speights is especially potent when getting out on the edge off a pitch. Swinging the ball outside seems to be his sweet spot. After Love struggled against San Diego State, the Cardinal made a dedicated effort to get him outside and in space when they played USC. There, Love took advantage of one on one tacklers, creating his own blocks in space and breaking free for both his first touchdown and first 50-yard run of the season.
Speights can capitalize on the same type of plays, breaking to the outside and hitting another gear in the open.
2 - Running through holes the offensive line creates is a particular art, but an exceptional back runs with patience. Going back to high school, Speights does a great job waiting for the hole that is supposed to open up, not merely diving into the first gap but letting the play fully develop. He is not a panic runner, antsy to get north and south. This style speaks to both a solid football IQ and fantastic field awareness, sensing where players are on the field and understanding the time he has to sit on a play.
Stanford pulls guards and tackles on plenty of pitches and counters, meaning Speights’ patience on the run will be critical against UC Davis.
3 - “You drive for show, and you putt for dough,” is an old golf saying, an ideology that running backs can apply to rushing and blocking. The back who can save his quarterback from the blitzing free safety is the back who stays on the field.
Speights has blocked plenty, playing for a high school that went to the quarterback keeper pretty consistently. On many such designed runs, Speights filled the role as the lead blocker who set the edge, something he did with success.
Speights taking the backfield not only gives Stanford a dynamic runner, but also another blocker. He will be able to pick up blocking assignments without botching them, key in any system, and justifying a higher snap count.
The assessment comes with a grain of salt. The points made here are based on a lot of high school tape and a small college sample size. But the reasons Stanford admired Speights out of high school are the same reasons to get excited about him headed into week three. Love stepped up big when the team turned to him; Speights is in position to take advantage of the same opportunity.
Comments
Yes, it's show time.
Speights has the speed and the power. Does he have the instincts?
As an aside on blocking. I think KJ got after him when Speights failed to make a block during the USC game.
By Blackjoy on 09.14.18 4:06pm
Ditto. I think we've seen the power...
…and the speed, but it’s the vision that needs game time reps. Hope he has a killer game…
By Plan Man on 09.14.18 6:04pm
This could be the moment - for the Offensive Brain Trust
In two prior games, we’ve seen an opening drive that had a balance of running and passing. It looked like a Cadillac cruising down the freeway. One drive ended in a missed FG; the other in a TD. After that, samo-samo; two runs, 3d down pass; almost no success. In both games, we got the ball with just seconds left on the clock, and BOOM! – drove to a TD (passing being the predominant mode of attack).
Maybe we’re so good that we only need one score, at most two, to win. Maybe ball control – running the clock – is the true key to winning football. Maybe David Shaw goes into a mystic trance where two plays pulsate in his mind to the exclusion of all other material things. Maybe we ought to move on from Page One of the storied Playbook, and try something from both Page Two and Page Three.
I don’t know. We’ve won two games against good opponents playing essentially a two-note symphony on offense (I will not criticize the D; they are far better than I had hoped to see). I recall a time when our offense was far more varied than it has become over the last four years. They were very successful, those teams, and for the most part lost only to teams that were of NC caliber. It seems to me that having a tested ability to mix things up, vary the tune, is important when the team is in a really tough game (like WSU last year, where we varied not a whit and lost).
By jafco99 on 09.14.18 7:00pm