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

#26
#26
Should have been @ tight end

So much swagger for a frosh...
 
#27
#27
I like the way he has improved with every game, but on the other hand I just can't figure out what happened to our receivers all year????? Pre season they were hyped pretty high from what I recall
 
#28
#28
The reason while Jalen hasn't broken as many tackles as other backs in the SEC, is because the OL isn't opening the holes necessary to get him to the 2nd level clean. The times he does make it to the 2nd level, it usually takes 2 to bring him down. When he is able to make it to the edge, he runs over and through would be tacklers. In space, he's got the moves to elude and avoid the big hit from safeties and such.
 
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#31
#31
He's consistently turned 3-4 yd gains into 5-7 yds by dragging folks or pushing the pile. Often times, he's hit behind the line of scrimmage or right at it, and turns it into a positive gain.

Once the line develops, he will get into the secondary, make a guy miss, or stiff arm him and show some break away speed.

When is the last time you felt so comfortable with a freshman having the ball in his hands? He's our offense....
 
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#32
#32
Honestly, Jalen does pretty much everything at a high level already. He's a very complete back; as complete of a freshman back I've ever seen. His pass blocking is phenomenal already, his understanding of the offense is great, and he catches the ball very well. He runs through arm tackles, and has dragged defenders for tough yards and first downs on multiple occasions. I don't know how one could think he's not good at breaking tackles, unless you just see him get met by multiple linemen and/or linebackers in the backfield immediately after getting the ball, and think he should be able to just hulk his way out of that. It seems to me that he has plenty of speed. He's gotten around the corner multiple times this year playing the best competition in the country. I think it's too early to say whether or not he has true breakaway speed, because it seems like every run that's gone for more than 10 yards he's had to break tackles to get there, which allows the help to catch up to him by using the correct angle before he gets up to full speed. Once Hurd has some more time in the program, and has an even just serviceable OL, he's going to be downright scary.
 
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#33
#33
Volz4lif3 said:
Tee Martin said he's too soft..
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That's funny coming from a guy that now looks like a marshmallow.
TeeMartin.aurora_standalone.prod_affiliate.79.jpg
 
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#34
#34
FBtime said:
That's funny coming from a guy that now looks like a marshmallow.
TeeMartin.aurora_standalone.prod_affiliate.79.jpg
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Come on man, really? The guys helps us win a NC and this is what he gets? He said one thing about a recruit and all of sudden he goes from VFL to the Stay-Puff Marshmallow Man?

And let's be honest here - being a Vol is one thing, but being employed by someone else (who in turn feeds, clothes, and houses your family via paycheck) is another loyalty dynamic altogether. Can we stop being so soft ourselves?

As for Jalen - dude is solid in every way possible.
 
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#35
#35
His current skill level considering he missed an entire football season....last year. Wow.
 
#37
#37
I have no disappointments. I have been impressed every single play that he's on the field. Great player to have. It's going to be a lot of fun to watch him grow. Just wait until he has a stable around him to wear down the defense as well, and actual holes to run through. Kamara and him are going to be an incredible 1-2 punch that we haven't seen in a while.
 
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#38
#38
If we had a line line with size and experience, he would've had those big break away runs. Its coming.
 
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#41
#41
I think jalen will get better as the line gets better. He is met at the line of scrimmage a lot and when he isn't the line is not getting to the lbs so he is met by them. Once this line can handle their man and shed and get to the lbs jalen will destroy dbs and get much longer runs. He has taken a beating this year and has kept on going. I was really hoping he would break a thousand but he would have to show out next week to get there.
 
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#43
#43
Brave Volunteer said:
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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Not sure I agree. He's FAST, we just rarely see it when we're running this stupid zone read or read option BS. The concept of making the QB and HB both come to a complete stop 6 yards deep in the backfield while the Dline is pushing the center and guard in their lap before handing the ball off is just plain dumb too me. But i've seen him turn on the jets a couple times.

and he's flat out carried some would be tacklers down the field a few times too.

I can't think of anything I'm disappointed with in him.
 
#45
#45
ToptheTerrible said:
Come on man, really? The guys helps us win a NC and this is what he gets? He said one thing about a recruit and all of sudden he goes from VFL to the Stay-Puff Marshmallow Man?

And let's be honest here - being a Vol is one thing, but being employed by someone else (who in turn feeds, clothes, and houses your family via paycheck) is another loyalty dynamic altogether. Can we stop being so soft ourselves?

As for Jalen - dude is solid in every way possible.
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His VFL card has been revoked.(in my book)
 
#46
#46
I've been really impressed with his pass blocking. If anyone remembers his first attempt at pass blocking as a college player. That did not go so well for him. However, it took that one mistake and he learned from it and worked to get better. He seems like a kid that truly learns from his mistakes and works to get better.
 
#47
#47
His ability to catch the ball as a receiver is huge, he has much better hands than I thought. The only negative I see is that he needs another 10-15 pounds, he has a very low body fat % but he needs to get bigger to take the punishment.

At his current size (6'3 and 225ish but looks thinner) he is pretty darned good in the open field. Ask SC's DBs, that spin move for a freshman that size is pretty sick
 
#48
#48
He's got about 750 yds in 2014. Pretty good for a FR with our O Line!! He will just get better!! Hurd, Kamara, Reid & Scott next year will be fun to watch.
 
#49
#49
VOODOOVOL said:
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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This was mentioned on one of the broadcasts 3-4 games ago. At that point, Jalen was the 13th best back in the SEC in yards after contact.
 
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