Clemson spotlight: Alex Pearson
One of the things many would like to see more out of in the Clemson offense in 2007 is the use of fullback in short-yardage, ball-carrying situations. And upcoming junior Alex Pearson can fit the bill nicely.
Brief stats:
Position: Fullback
Depth Chart: First Team
Size: 6-foot-2, 245 pounds.
Speed: 4.7 seconds in the 40.
2006 stats:
-Played in all 13 games, started twice.
-Four pass receptions for 27 yards.
-Scored two touchdowns.
Other tidbits:
-Used more as a blocking back, he was a big reason Clemson was fifth in the nation in scoring offense.
-Benches 405 pounds and can get 27 reps of 225; he is most definitely among the strongest Tigers.
-Played linebacker in high school.
Remember big, bruising fullbacks Clemson used to use from time to time, such as jawbreakers like Kevin Mack, Chris Lancaster and Jeff McCall? More recently, Chad Jasmin ended up fitting the mold very well, despite the fact he started out more like a pure running back but ended up growing so much in size that he was able to be used in classic fullback fashion. He was always exciting to watch, because when he got the ball you knew there was some poor defender who was about to get steamrolled.
These guys were big, tough backs who weren't relegated to just blocking. Certainly, they aren't used a lot in running situations, particularly now in Clemson's case when it has one of the best backfield tandems in the nation in James Davis and C.J. Spiller. But when called upon, and the need was clearly there, these were ballers who bulled their way for first downs in critical short-yardage situations when the regular backs were unable.
Modern running backs usually fall into one of two categories: First, through sheer toughness they can bounce off a hit and scamper around the defenders and take off from there, like James Davis; second, they are so fast and quick they can shake and bake their way around defenders, going completely untouched and making defenders look ridiculous (Spiller).
But there is that third type of back who, when wrapped up, outright drags two or three defensive linemen or linebackers for anywhere between 2 and 5 yards. These aren't fast backs by any means, but they are much larger than your average ball-carrier and much stronger, usually the size of linebackers. And Pearson is more than up for the task.
As stated above, he's being used more now as a blocking back only, which is rather tragic. Because from what little that was seen of him last season, he does have good hands, can catch and has decent running abilities. And at 245 pounds, he has all the makings to be the next Lancaster or Jasmin. But he must get the ball some, at least sparingly. Because there were times last season he could've been used like that and most likely have been very effective. The Virginia Tech game comes to mind.
Pearson should line up behind quarterback Cullen Harper (or Willy Korn) in a second-and-4 situation, for instance, and simply have the QB hand the ball off to him and let him take it up the middle, just to see what he can do. Because this way, if he can't get it done for some reason, you still have an extra down to go back to the conventional playbook with. Add to this Clemson's new running backs coach, Andre Powell, and Pearson could be used in this regard, at least periodically.
Not only does this add another dimension to the running game itself, it also opens up the offensive scheme a bit more in third-and-5 situations. Facing that, many offenses will default to passing. But with a back like Pearson, it's not out of the question to hand it off to him and let him get the yardage if the other backs, for whatever reason, aren't producing.
Having a back like Pearson lining up behind the quarterback will make any defense more respectful of your offense. It's like the defenders see one of their own on the opposing offense. Which Pearson basically is, given his past experience at linebacker. Even the largest and best defensive line, like Virginia Tech's, will more than likely have to call upon the LBs to help take this big ball-carrier down.
The use of a running fullback is what many Tiger fans would like to see more of from Clemson. No disrespect to James Davis and Spiller -- they're two of the very best in college football -- but the Pearson factor will amp up the Tigers' running attack much more.
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