Film Review: South Alabama

Lisan Al-RB

There’s something of a disconnect between coaches/film people and fans about what makes a running game flourish. The coach brain typically gravitates toward the blockers. After all, even Barry Sanders needed space to run into. The designs and technique up front feel the most determinative of your success, as many of the same running games produce year after year with seemingly random RBs (Kyle Shanahan’s teams, Ole Miss, etc). The fan brain, however, is focused on the guys putting up the stats themselves.

The truth is somewhere in the middle, but nobody can deny that LSU’s running game is very different when Caden Durham carries the ball. The numbers don’t even need to be stated, but Durham is more than doubling every other rusher on the team (with more than 10 carries) in yards/attempt. Against South Carolina (not even this game!), Durham averaged a ridiculous 0.73 EPA/Rush, the next best figure among the RBs was Josh Williams at -0.15, as in negative. The freshman phenom’s improvement every week has been startling, leading to a breakout game Saturday where he looked like an adult playing against children. He hasn’t gotten faster or stronger since August, but his feel for the game has grown with every carry.

There’s more to the Running Back position than people understand, and due to the trend of devaluing the position, few film analysts spend time on it, I certainly haven’t. Plenty of RBs are talented, but why is Caden Durham great, and how does he change LSU’s offense?

Durham’s first carry of the game (2nd touch overall) puts everything he can do on display. Despite his inexperience, his vision is light years better than his teammates, which allows him to anticipate space. Zone runs like the above can be hard mentally for backs because they have less of a defined path than if they were following pullers. It’s on you to read the defenders in the box and pick out a lane. RB vision is taken for granted, but it’s not dissimilar from QB processing and can render otherwise gifted backs ineffective (Kaleb Jackson). The more decisive you are, the more your speed plays up. South Alabama had this defended pretty well but Durham made 86 yards out of about 4.

With both interior defensive linemen crashing into the A-gaps, Durham cuts this back into the open B-gap and plows his way into the endzone. His strength through contact is impressive for a guy only listed at 205 and should improve as he fills out.

The better your back is, the more defenses get punished for mistakes in technique. The linebackers have to track and relate to the pullers, and the SAM and MIKE box this back to the WILL who gets too far over the top on Mason Taylor, which opens up the cutback. Durham presses to the perimeter before reacting and cutting back into space, where his speed maximizes the gain. LSU’s struggles running counter are not just RB-related, but they weren’t helping either.

He can improvise as well. He presses his primary gap but quickly sees nobody in the backside A-gap. He winds it back and is stopped from a huge gain by the blitzing corner who made a great play to bail his front out.

You make your highlights as a RB with the ball in your hands, but you stay on the field by keeping your QB upright. If you are a liability in protection there is simply no way to put you on the field consistently. Durham has mostly been pretty suspect, as you’d expect from a freshman. Not only is this mentally the hardest aspect of the position, but you have to be able to anchor and hold your ground against blitzers. With four rush threats on the ball to the right side of the line, LSU gets into what’s known as a 4×1 half-slide, with the LG to RT sliding to the right side together. This puts Durham on 27. When 27 and the edge rusher (10) twist, Durham passes him off to the tackle and gets ready to take 10. Because only three come from the right side, the LG can come back and help out on the twist, but what’s important is that Durham was able to read this out and get into proper position.

It’s also nice to have a good “get out of jail free” card for your QB. and Durham’s ability with the ball in his hands gives you the chance to turn dead-play checkdowns into explosives. He does a good job scanning his protection assignment after the fake, and “check-releasing” when he realizes he has nobody to take. With 29, the checkdown becomes something to worry about if linebackers get too much depth.

The same idea applies to screens. If you can turn modest plays into explosives, you can flip games. LSU will have to manage his touches due to his immature frame, but they also have no choice but to put him in the driver’s seat.