Yards before contact. If you go back and watch some of the game tape from years gone by, you’ll notice there was a period of time where it was common to see a Georgia running back getting well beyond the line of scrimmage before initial contact was made. Partly thanks to having a unicorn like Darnell Washington, who was a third tackle out there that helped to pave the way for a big run while defenses were being held honest by Bowers, McConkey, et al.
Here’s something I thought, but now have the data to prove it…last season wasn’t a good one for the rushing game. In an article on Nate Frazier’s ceiling, there was this on how Frazier can improve:
Secondarily, outside of the big run against Clemson where he broke through an arm tackle, if a defender got his hands on Frazier, he often went down. He only averaged 2.81 yards after contact per attempt. While on the surface that might not appear bad, he was 95th out of 110 Power 4 running backs with at 75 carries.
Why is that number so vital, especially at Georgia? Primarily because creating yards before contact (i.e. a blocking and scheme measure) is not something Georgia has been great at doing. Over the last six seasons, only once has over 45 percent of Georgia’s rushing yards come before contact (2022 = 47 percent). The first championship season in 2021 was actually the worst during this stretch, as only 38 percent of yards were before contact.
I’ve referenced the 2022 season as a high point, but didn’t realize it had been that bad, especially in 2021, during the golden era of Georgia offense under the leadership of Monken.
More on Frazier:
As a team, Georgia’s 2.74 yards after contact per attempt was the lowest in the six-year span and only time it has been below 3.00.
Will another year of age and strength and conditioning help Frazier in that regard? Or does his running style lend itself to him going down easier when a defender actually does get their hands on him? We shall see.
But if Frazier is able to average around 3.50 yards after contact per attempt or better to go with the vision, cutting, and burst he’s already shown, he’ll put himself on the short list of best running backs in all of college football.
Overall, it’s a neat read, which you can find here:
No doubt Bobo has a lot on his mind this year, but Searels and company also have a great deal of pressure to perform. If line play can improve and remain consistent, healthy, and gelled, Frazier could have a breakout season…along with any other healthy back we’ve got.
Although the article focuses on Frazier’s YAC, if our backs are easier to take down, the pressure on the offensive line and scheme needs to be on getting the back downhill and across the line of scrimmage well in advance of them being touched.
Or maybe some offseason conditioning and strength training will reverse these numbers in 2025.
I am curious what qualifies as contact in their metric, because someone just barely getting a hand on his pads as he runs past them is a bit different from having to meet an unblocked inside LB head on. Without looking at tape, I seem to remember a lot of stonewalls in front of him last season.
Exactly. First contact from a safety or corner is a little different than no hole and a wall of lineman in front of you.
The ‘21 team had a 5.4 yard rushing average. ‘24 was down to a 4.1 yard average. I’m not sure what difference it makes to compare yards after contact. We’re still talking about 5-star and 4-star talent for the most part.
I think it reflects how much our offensive coaching has deteriorated rather than the abilities of any specific RB.
The last year out YPC was that low was the first year after CSS last visit to Athens.
Yards before contact is all about blocking. Some vision from the RB matter for sure, but mostly its blocking.
Yards AFTER contact is all about talent. Even if blocked perfectly every running play to a back has at least two defenders unaccounted for. (The qb and the rb with the ball aren’t blocking and they got 11 and we got 9 blockers.)
If you’re going to make explosive plays the ball carrier has to:
Out run folks
Make folks miss
Run folks the fuck over
Frazier is a good effort kid and a solid contributor, but in 2024 he wasn’t near what our typical RB1 has been over the years.
I don’t know who will step up and be “that guy”, but we need one or two. Without that I think you need Gunner running some designed plays with him and going with 11 vs 10 a fair bit.
Harrumph. This type of analysis is what happens during the off season when you have a lot of spare time, a computer and access to statistics, and you’re fretting about the coming season. Yes, more yards before and after contact would be great, and certainly Gunner will appreciate better line play, but we won back to back championships with less than stellar stats in both cases. I ain’t worried.
We have a non-elite OC and a non-elite Oline coach. What do you expect?
This is going to be another year wandering in the wilderness. It sucks.
Before Kirby can truly transform into Saban 2.0 he will have to learn how to cut dead weight faster, even if that dead weight was your college roommate.
Regarding “offensive coaching has deteriorated” and “non-elite OC and Oline coach” talk, it is pretty damn amazing these deteriorated nonelites delivered a frigging SEC Championship having played the most difficult SEC schedule we have ever played.