One Mississippi. Sophomore quarterback Brandon Harris hands the ball off to sophomore running back Leonard Fournette, who powers through a would-be tackle to turn the corner.
Two Mississippi. Sophomore wide receiver John Diarse seals the edge with a punishing block to the safety.
Three Mississippi. Fournette springs free along the sideline for the longest touchdown run of his career.
For Diarse and the rest of the Tigers’ receiving corps, paving the way for Fournette and the other running backs through downfield blocking was a focus during the first fall camp under new wide receivers coach Tony Ball.
“I’ve blocked more this offseason than I’ve done in my whole career,” Diarse said. “It’s very important when you’ve got guys like Leonard Fournette in the backfield … [and other] guys like that who are capable of getting out wide. You got to have your receivers on the perimeter blocking and making it easier for them.”
The focus on blocking may be new to Diarse, but it’s run of the mill for Ball, who spent nine years mentoring physical wide receivers at Georgia like four-time Pro Bowler A.J. Green.
During individual workouts and film sessions, junior wide receiver Travin Dural said the Tigers will work on their techniques and learn which situations they need to take the safety and when to pick up the corner.
The Tigers hope Fournette can build on his historic freshman season with the wideouts opening up running lanes in the secondary.
Despite breaking the freshman rushing record last season, Fournette broke 10 runs for more than 20 yards last season, with only three touchdowns coming against University of Louisiana at Monroe, Texas A&M and Notre Dame.
Comparatively, former LSU running back Jeremy Hill sprung five of his 16 touchdown runs for more than 20 yards behind the dominant blocking duo Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham Jr. in 2013.
For the current Tigers, blocking for Fournette comes with a distinct perk: speed.
“It motivates me, and also it makes me know I won’t have to hold my block long,” said sophomore wide receiver Malachi Dupre. “Because if [Fournette] is going to be gone, he’s going to be gone in a hurry. It makes my job a little easier blocking, having somebody like that running behind you.”
Although the focus on blocking adds another skill to the veteran receivers’ arsenal, the physical approach slowed the game down for the freshman wide receivers and helped them transition to the college game, Diarse said.
Junior cornerback Tre’Davious White said the Tigers’ defensive backs have noticed this change in mentality.
“Those guys are blocking 30 and 40 yards down field,” White said. “Coach Ball is a very energetic coach. He’s on them every play … [Blocking is] a big thing for him coming from Georgia. He’s sold on getting the receivers engaged in blocking, and they’ve been doing a great job at doing that.”
Along with getting physical with defensive backs, blocking downfield for Fournette opens up the play action passing game for Harris, who has only one start under his belt heading into the 2015 season.
“It’s a great feeling knowing that you have someone like that in the backfield,” Dural said. “It does encourage me to block downfield, so he can break those long runs so it can open up the passing game … We can throw double-moves if we want to, given that we can play action people.”
Wide receivers focus on blocking
August 31, 2015
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