Jalen Hurd. What has surprised/disappointed you about him in his first year?

#1

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#1
For me, the things that have pleasantly surprised me about Jalen are...

1.) His toughness. The guy runs angry and I've seen on many occasions where the person who tackled him looked like they were hurting afterwards. He's also shown remarkable durability in spite of the fact that our offense has leaned on him so much this year.

2.) His pass blocking ability. This is usually the biggest development area with a freshman running back. However Hurd is doing a very solid job pass blocking for a freshman.

3.) His grasp of the offense. You don't see very many missed assignments on Jalen's part aside from that end zone fumble he had early in the year.

4.) His maturity. He seem like a good leader in that offense and I believe he's earned the respect of his team mates.


Now the things that have disappointed me....

1.) His lack of break away speed. I guess my expectations were too high but I somehow thought Jalen would end up being more explosive/dynamic. I thought he had the kind of skill set that would bring some long breakaway runs but it turns out he's not that kind of back at all.

2.) His lack of being able to break a lot of tackles. I know early in the year they told a stat on Jalen the said he went down on first contact a high percentage of the time. I don't know if that stat has changed much since then but given Jalen's size and strength, that surprised somewhat.
 
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#2
#2
What has surprised me is how good he is to be a freshman. I watched film on him and I know he was highly ranked but you're never sure as to how it will translate to big time college football. What has disappointed me? Not much. Kid is a gamer and tough as nails.
 
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#3
#3
your thoughts are 100% on the money. jalen will break more tackles once he bulks up more in the weight room.
 
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#5
#5
For me, the things that have pleasantly surprised me about Jalen are...

1.) His toughness. The guy runs angry and I've seen on many occasions where the person who tackled him looked like they were hurting afterwards. He's also shown remarkable durability in spite of the fact that our offense has leaned on him so much this year.

2.) His pass blocking ability. This is usually the biggest development area with a freshman running back. However Hurd is doing a very solid job pass blocking for a freshman.

3.) His grasp of the offense. You don't see very many missed assignments on Jalen's part aside from that end zone fumble he had early in the year.

4.) His maturity. He seem like a good leader in that offense and I believe he's earned the respect of his team mates.


Now the things that have disappointed me....

1.) His lack of break away speed. I guess my expectations were too high but I somehow thought Jalen would end up being more explosive/dynamic. I thought he had the kind of skill set that would bring some long breakaway runs but it turns out he's not that kind of back at all.

2.) His lack of being able to break a lot of tackles. I know early in the year they told a stat on Jalen the said he went down on first contact a high percentage of the time. I don't know if that stat has changed much since then but given Jalen's size and strength, that surprised somewhat.

Jalen has shown extreme toughness for a freshman.
He's more of a north/south runner who's still getting used to the game. IMHO, he's actually being used to wear out the defense and open up the passing game.
Also, he's the best back we have...right now. He'll get better with another year in the weight room and program.
He'll be a great 1-2 punch with Kamara.

GO VOLS!
 
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#6
#6
Who said he goes down on first contact a high percentage of the time?
"They said" is not a good source.
 
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#7
#7
For me, the things that have pleasantly surprised me about Jalen are...

1.) His toughness. The guy runs angry and I've seen on many occasions where the person who tackled him looked like they were hurting afterwards. He's also shown remarkable durability in spite of the fact that our offense has leaned on him so much this year.

2.) His pass blocking ability. This is usually the biggest development area with a freshman running back. However Hurd is doing a very solid job pass blocking for a freshman.

3.) His grasp of the offense. You don't see very many missed assignments on Jalen's part aside from that end zone fumble he had early in the year.

4.) His maturity. He seem like a good leader in that offense and I believe he's earned the respect of his team mates.


Now the things that have disappointed me....

1.) His lack of break away speed. I guess my expectations were too high but I somehow thought Jalen would end up being more explosive/dynamic. I thought he had the kind of skill set that would bring some long breakaway runs but it turns out he's not that kind of back at all.

2.) His lack of being able to break a lot of tackles. I know early in the year they told a stat on Jalen the said he went down on first contact a high percentage of the time. I don't know if that stat has changed much since then but given Jalen's size and strength, that surprised somewhat.


Overall I agree with you except for your last point. I think his ability to break tackles has improved significantly over the last half of the season. And sometimes he just drags defenders for extra yardage. Young man does not go down easy.
 
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#9
#9
For me, the things that have pleasantly surprised me about Jalen are...

1.) His toughness. The guy runs angry and I've seen on many occasions where the person who tackled him looked like they were hurting afterwards. He's also shown remarkable durability in spite of the fact that our offense has leaned on him so much this year.

2.) His pass blocking ability. This is usually the biggest development area with a freshman running back. However Hurd is doing a very solid job pass blocking for a freshman.

3.) His grasp of the offense. You don't see very many missed assignments on Jalen's part aside from that end zone fumble he had early in the year.

4.) His maturity. He seem like a good leader in that offense and I believe he's earned the respect of his team mates.


Now the things that have disappointed me....

1.) His lack of break away speed. I guess my expectations were too high but I somehow thought Jalen would end up being more explosive/dynamic. I thought he had the kind of skill set that would bring some long breakaway runs but it turns out he's not that kind of back at all.

2.) His lack of being able to break a lot of tackles. I know early in the year they told a stat on Jalen the said he went down on first contact a high percentage of the time. I don't know if that stat has changed much since then but given Jalen's size and strength, that surprised somewhat.

He breaks plenty of tackles. And he drags plenty of tacklers across first down markers multiple times per game. His speed is just fine as well. The one critique that I think is much more appropriate than the ones you mentioned, is his penchant for missing the cut back lane on those zone stretch plays. He has left a lot of yards on the field from missing those cutback lanes. Once he fine tunes that aspect of his vision, he will get a lot more of the long break away type runs, imo.
 
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#10
#10
I think it was obvious in the Mo game that our young OLINE was manhandled and Jalen was throttled. He's a big RB and needs a decent oline that we lack. I'm not sure we got the right oline coach. Want be any excuses for this line next year. For Jalen we going to enjoy him for the next few years.:lolabove:
 
#12
#12
Most people forget he didn't play but 1 game his senior year. I think at the start of the year he was a little rusty. Then he got banged up in the FL game. Not to mention our OL is bad really bad.
 
#13
#13
He has basically become an every down back.

Pass blocking is really good.
He is elusive, but will lower his pads and hit defenders and move the pile.

I can't wait to see him after another year of strength and conditioning.
 
#14
#14
Jalen's stats would be much improved with an experienced O line. I think he's the type of back that you have to hit early before he get's up a head of steam. I believe that Chubb will win the freshman of the year award because of his O line.
 
#15
#15
Very few recruits live up to the volnation hype...JH has come close. Many freshmen RB's have ball security issues. JH hangs on to the ball pretty well. Runs hard and has had a fine year. He shows good speed at times getting to the edge, but like others I don't consistently see 4.3 type speed.

Looking forward to seeing how he develops next season!
 
#16
#16
Your first 4 points are spot on. I have nothing but praise for this young man. For a true freshman to come in after sitting out his senior year, and to have had the impact he has had, behind this line, is incredible. He has faced stiff competition and played through injury. He says and does all of the right things and is only going to get better. For those who want to critique, just ask yourself where this team would be without him.
 
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#17
#17
Though your first 4 points are goos, the other two are contradicting.

Jalen can get faster, and quicker with the right weight program. He's only a freshmen who hasn't had an oline... We'll see Hurd breakaway a lot of TDs in the future, he's still 18-19 years old lol..
 
#18
#18
I'm not disappointed in anything.

For a true freshman that didn't even get to play last season because of a serous injury he's done remarkably well.

Pass blocking was a big surprise at how fast he leaned that.

He catches the ball well out of the backfield too.

Next year we'll still be trying to rebuild our O line so I won't overexpect but I think his true speed will surprise some people when he gets to breakout and really show it.

Top recruits always have a target on them and everyone already knew about him before he even arrived on the hill so he wasn't going to be a surprise to anyone and they gameplanned for him.

Now they're gameplanning for Dobbs too.

These young kids are going to step by step take us back up the SEC mountain before they graduate.

#BrickbyBrick...VFL...GBO!!!
 
#20
#20
Jalen's done great for a true Freshman. He's only going to get better and better with each year
 
#21
#21
Pretty much any run that crossed the Los this season required at least one broken tackle.
 
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#22
#22
I guess my biggest disappointment thus far has been his lack of production and contribution at TE!!! (blue font)

Apart from that, I couldn't be happier! I just hope he sticks around for 3 more years, and doesn't bolt early!
 
#23
#23
I think a part of Hurd's speed is how cautiously and patiently he runs. He reminds me of a bigger and faster Arian Foster. Just a really smooth runner with good size.
 
#24
#24
1. He is at full speed at 2nd step..
2. Bulldozer when needed
3. Surprised he has not a 50+ yard run
 
#25
#25
he has far exceeded anyone's expectations! You just wait til you see him next year with a year in the weight room and the conditioning room. He's gonna be a beast! He was carrying full grown men on his back for first downs in the MO game! How can anyone say that anything about him is disappointing!
 

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