Hasta La Vista, Baby

Courtesy of Detroit News

In the early and mid ninties, one play dominated the NFL landscape.  It was called the "lead draw," and the Dallas Cowboys ran it to perfection. 

Emmitt Smith was the player that received all the accolades and scored all the touchdowns. In Jean-Jacques Taylor's article, which addresses the overwhelming success Smith had with the play, he writes, "In 1995, when Emmitt rushed for a career-high 1,773 yards and a then-record 25 touchdowns, he carried the ball 377 times. Offensive coordinator Ernie Zampese called Lead Draw more than 300 times that season."

Smith received all the attention but - without beautifully executed blocking - Smith would have never have had the chance to smash all those NFL records.  Taylor describes it perfectly: "Left guard Nate Newton blew up one defensive tackle, and the center and right guard blew up the other.  Fullback Daryl Johnston sprinted through the hole and blew up the linebacker. Then Smith, reading Johnston's block, cut left or right. So what if the defense knew it was coming?  They couldn't stop it."

The key to the play was Daryl Johnston's block. The play was so dominating that the Pro Bowl included the fullback position after the Cowboys' breakout season of 1992.  The cheers of Johnston's nickname, "Moooooooose," filled Texas Stadium every time he touched the ball. The Cowboys won three Super Bowls in four years.  The fullback position had achieved "rock star" status.

Fast forward to 2010. Fullbacks in the mold of Johnston are rare, and the best of them (Tony Richardson and Lorenzo Neal) are moving past their prime.  Multiple receiver sets have become a staple for teams, and wide receivers are taking up fullback's roster spots. 

The spread offense has become the prominent style of offense in college, so NFL teams that still use a traditional fullback have little to choose from.


Enter John Conner of Kentucky.  A walk-on that got his start playing special teams, he has developed into a nasty blocker that could give a struggling run game an instant jolt.  Appropriately nicknamed "Terminator", Conner plays with a type of physical reckless abandon that is rarely seen in the NFL anymore.  Conner has visited several teams (including the Lions and Raiders) and will draw interest for his willlingness to play special teams.  He is not expected to be drafted before the fifth round, but I'm guessing his play will exceed where he is selected.


The greatest compliment a scout can give to a prospect is to call him a "football player".  John Conner is just that. Perhaps he could even restore the position to "rock star" status.

 


Every Morning Quarterback by Aharon Williams is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at www.everymorningqb.com.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at www.everymorningqb.com.