August 11, 2010 Alex Brown

d.alex.brown@gmail.com

    Practice is in full swing. No more shells — we’re in pads and running into each other. Finally.
    It seems that with almost every program, every season, the defense is ahead of the offense early in camp. But that’s no surprise at Georgia Southern this year because of the new system being installed. The triple option is far from new to Eagle fans who have been around for a while, but it’s completely foreign for many players on the field.
    Fortunately, the guy who will touch the ball the most is also the one with the most experience. Junior quarterback Jaybo Shaw will look to use his game experience he got at Georgia Tech to help this offensive transition run smoothly.
    At this point in the fall, freshman Ezayi Youyoute has earned the backup role and is running with the second team offense. Behind Youyoute on the depth chart is freshman Jerick McKinnon from Marietta. Both guys are very capable, but young.
    With none of these three guys on the roster during the spring, senior transfer Jawaun Luckey made a case for some playing time as he looked good at quarterback. Coach Jeff Monken and his staff know the Eagles can’t afford to let his speed and athleticism sit on the bench as a second-string quarterback. So he has been moved to A-back where he should get plenty of opportunities to have the ball in his hands.
    If you’re not familiar with this system, an A-back (also called slotback) is typically a quicker guy who will mostly get the ball on the corners. This is usually your pitch man.
    Many of the guys who are listed as A-backs on this year’s roster were wide receivers in last year’s pass-happy scheme. Darreion Robinson, Nico Hickey, Johnathan Bryant, and J.J. Wilcox are among the returning players who will join Luckey as A-backs.
    The fullback, or B-back, will get most of his yardage between the tackles. The frontrunner for the starting fullback job is junior Zeke Rozier. Hot on his heels are two freshmen, Robert Brown and Aaron Fisher.
    Rozier and Brown are similarly built — both are about six feet tall and weigh around 200 pounds. Fisher is cut more from the Jermaine Austin mold for those who were around in the early 2000s. He has a low center of gravity and has tremendous lower body strength.
    The wide receivers in this offense are primarily used for blocking. Southern should line up with no more than two wide receivers on the field at a time in most situations. Having a guy with good hands who can make catches when his number is called is crucial to this offense’s success. If the defense cheats up to stop the run, a pass over the top could lead to some big plays.
    Chris Hatcher left no shortage of receivers on this roster after recruiting for four- and five-wide formations. So Tyler Sumner, Mitchell Williford, Nick Kyles, Patrick Barker and company are going to be relied on to block cornerbacks to give the quarterbacks and pitch men time and space to get around the corner. Although their number of touches will likely be reduced, every time the ball comes their way will have the potential to be a big play.
    It’s become evident that freshmen and newcomers to the program will have to contribute if this offense is going to put up points this season. But look for it to take a couple of games to get everybody on the same page.
    Hopefully the defense is up to the task of keeping Southern in those games when the offense isn’t clicking.
    We’ll look at that side of the ball next week.

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