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

#51
#51
I often think of how good he would be if our O line was juniors, seniors and fifth year seniors.
 
#53
#53
I am disappointed that he did not break all the records......all of them...........in the first game
 
#54
#54
Hurd has been impressive running behind a bad offensive line. I'm impressed by his strength and toughness for a true freshman. Give him a year in the weight room and he will be even stronger. And give him some decent blocking and he's going really show his skills. The guy has had very little room to run all year.
 
#55
#55
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#56
#56
The one thing I have noticed, has nothing to do with ability, only character, is he hands the ball to the officials after the play. I even noticed one time as he was returning to the LOS and unknowingly kicked the football while it was on the ground, leaned down picked it up and then handed the ball to the official. I wish more players did this.
 
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#57
#57
He also has the second most receptions on the team with 33. I don't see him having that many in the future, but I can see AK getting about half of those. The future is bright. I also wish that they would incorporate a pistol similar to the one LSU runs with the quick toss to allow him to run down hill toward the los.
 
#59
#59
What surprises me is a thread about what you are disappointed in seeing from a true freshman tailback in the SEC.
 
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#60
#60
I would like to see what he would do behind a really good offensive line. Chubb is a beast at Georgia but they also have a very good O-Line. These 2 plus Fournette may end up being the Barry Sanders vs Emmitt Smith debate for the SEC the next few years. If so-so had that offensive line he would be ...
 
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#62
#62
Nothing disappointed me. He is a true freshman who is a leader on the team, takes pride in pass blocking, and will be a stud after a full year in S&C.
 
#63
#63
Nothing! I love the way he plays with guts on the field.

But I do think he would have been much better in an I-formation or a true running system. He is a better down hill runner than a spread formation finesse player.
 
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#64
#64
What has surprised me? His ability to pass-block. That isn't something you can teach quickly to a freshman and he has surpassed all expectations, which is huge given the current status of our O-line and his ability to buy our QB's more time.

What has disappointed me? Basically nothing. You mention his speed? Remember how big his is. He's not going to appear like McCluster, who's much much smaller. Big guys just don't really appear to be that fast, even though they are. I'm not saying he's a track star, but he's deceptively fast.

Oh and allow me to mention the "IT" factor. He has IT. BIG time.
 
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#65
#65
1. What has surprised me? The kids a boss and has the ability to do incredible things.

2. What has disappointed me? That atrocious thing Tennessee calls an offensive line that kills nearly every running and passing play we throw at someone. If he had a mature O line who could block who knows the #'s he could put up.
 
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#66
#66
Kid needs an o line and another year under his belt. He's tough but needs more weight. Spreading his weight over that lanky body will give him the ability to hammer through some of those tackles. If he can stay healthy, he's going to be another legendary UT running back.
 
#67
#67
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.


LOL surprised he's not playing Tight End!

Dude is a beast. He is getting better as the season goes and that's rare for a freshman!

:loco:

Tennesseeduke
 
#69
#69
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

A QB with a mudhole stomped in him usually does not make for flashy WR #s. Dobbs came in and rescued us, but his strength is not passing accuracy.

The main problem is that our OL as a unit is flat out horrible. Our Pro-Style QB is lucky to not be bedridden for life. Our dual-threat QB is not about down the field big receiving yards at this point in his young career.

On top of that we now have lost two of the original starters at WR, the best backup was out with injury for several games, and another in the two-deep is a true FR who is having growing pains.
 
#70
#70
Surprised our coach didn't get him a full back lead on short downs or goal line plays to pound the ball for first downs or TD's. Other than that kid has played great for true freshmen.
 
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#71
#71
Who said he goes down on first contact a high percentage of the time?
"They said" is not a good source.

Without a head of steam he goes down pretty easily. Watch a game and you'll see.

If he's 8 yards down field he's trucking someone but hitting the hole he rarely overpowers defenders.

He's got to learn to put his foot in the ground and go bettwr. He tries to string plays out to the edge too often IMO and against SEC defenses that's hard. It's not HS where he can beat everyone to the corner.
 
#72
#72
While OU, LSU, UGA, Wisconsin,Ark all start Seniors,juniors and 5th year o linemen, Hurd will break records once our oline has experience and depth, considering the circumstances, he has surprised me a lot, gonna be a good next three years for UT backs!
 
#73
#73
I expected a lot more from Hurd. He is doing well for a true freshman but we needed someone like Chubb. I think he will get better the next few years but he doesn't have the overall speed, fluid, quick lateral movement and leg drive like Chubb. He will be good but never elite.
 
#74
#74
anyone who finds something negative to say about Jalen Hurd should probably STFU and go cheer for Vandy
 
#75
#75
I expected a lot more from Hurd. He is doing well for a true freshman but we needed someone like Chubb. I think he will get better the next few years but he doesn't have the overall speed, fluid, quick lateral movement and leg drive like Chubb. He will be good but never elite.

woww, really?
 

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