Zach Line FB??

[warhawk46]

Nfldraftscout.com has Line listed as their #3 Fullback for the 2013 NFL Draft...<div>
</div><div>The outstanding RUNNING BACK just lead his conference in rushing, was 12th in the nation I believe as a sophomore!</div><div>
</div><div>Will he be a 1,000 yard running back in the NFL? I don't know. It sure wouldn't surprise me if he was given the chance and did... But he will certainly be much better than all sorts of back-up running backs of the appropriate skin color the league deems necessary.</div><div>
</div><div>Makes me sick...</div>

 

[whiteathlete33]

They certainly will try to convert him to fullback. The reason is he's 235lbs and if you are white that means just put on another 10lbs and you are a human battering ram. Players like Ron Dayne, Jamal Lewis, Michael Turner,and Jerome Bettis were all shorter and heavier than Line and you never heard anything about them being converted to fullbacks. Of course they will use the excuse that Line is slow and doesn't have breakaway speed. In that case Turner, Bettis, and Dayne were are also slow.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

Nfl draft scout.com must have been listening to that bowl game announcer who kept calling Zach a FB. This is no doubt intentionally designed to keep him from being an NFL RB and another great example of the caste system in action.

 

[warhawk46]

I didn't see the SMU bowl game, but it does not surprise me that the announcer intentionally called him a fullback. See Line, being a sophomore, has a couple more seasons to bend the caste-media over and f**k them in the ass... They are putting out their damage control early.<div>
</div><div>My God, the MSM simply cannot stand this last year. Gerhart should have won the Heisman, Hillis athletically leaps over the caste-system notion that whites can't dominate the NFL at running back, Woodhead with his 4.37 speed in the 40 punks "superior" black athletes on a weekly basis and even a 250 lbs John Kuhn makes big play after big play for the Pack...</div><div>
</div><div>Can't also have a sophomore white running back tearing up the NCAA now can we?? So they decide to call him a fullback and hope the DWFs don't notice the facts.</div>

 

[PhillyBirds]

Par for the course, unfortunately.

 

[icsept]

Who was the last college fullback to rush for 1,400 yards at 6 yards per carry? And who would be dumb enough to use that guy as a lead blocker?

 

[snow]

everyone thinks its easier to run in those types of offenses because defenders are spread out. It can actually be harder to get consistent gains. In a regular defense everything is lined up tight so the defenders are closer together and usually blocked by the line and a tight end, andsometimes afullback to go along with that. So you get through the hole and there aren't many guys in the open field, usually 2cornerbacks and a safety.In an offense like the run and shoot, the defenders are often unblocked (depending on how good your wide receivers are at blocking, and they usually line up with 4 receiver sets at SMU) and free to tackle, so runningbacks have to be quicker after hitting the hole. Go look at most passing spread offenses like Texas Tech, even Texas, rarely do they have a back go over 1,000 yards. Their backs get the occasional big play on a draw or something like that to draw the defense off guard. Zach Line runs well on any type of play that is called. For a 235 pound guyto have that many 20+ yard runs in that offense is amazing, I don't recall the wide receiver blocking being that great when compared to a team like Oregon, who is run first but still has multiple wide receiver sets, the wide receivers are great blockers in that offense, espescially Maehl, but isn't the case with SMU.I have never seen a fullback that quick and shifty. I don't recall many 230 pound TAILbacks being that shifty. They will try and discredit him and say he got the yards because of the offense, but as I just explained, that isn't the case. Yes he can pass block, but when has the guy ever been a run blocker?

From what he has shown as a sophomore at SMU, I definetly think he can be a 1,000 yard runner in the NFL, if given the chance.

I think the last fullback to come close was Kyle Eckel, but was a fullback only because he lined up closerto the line of scrimmage in the triple option. He was constantly put at fullback in the NFL and is the reason why he hasn't amounted to much. Only New England used him at tailback, for a few garbage time carries. Every team in the NFL was dumb enough to try Eckel at lead blocker so it wouldn't surprise me with Line, the only difference is that Peyton Hillis has ran for a 1,000 yards and Gerhart has shown promise, both are bigger white runningbacks.

 

[devans]

Who was the last college fullback to rush for 1,400 yards at 6 yards per carry? And who would be dumb enough to use that guy as a lead blocker?

Answer to first question - sorry don't know.
Answer to second question - virtually every NFL team.Edited by: devans

 

[whiteathlete33]

<div>

Who was the last college fullback to rush for 1,400 yards at 6 yards per carry? And who would be dumb enough to use that guy as a lead blocker?

</div>
<div></div>
<div>Answer to first question - sorry don't know. </div>
<div>Answer to second question - virtually every NFL team.</div>

Yea, just like they did to Rob Konrad and dozens of other talented white backs that should have been running backs in the pros.

 

[FootballDad]

Ize bin watchin dis Line cracker an heez jus uh slow jive terky wiff no wiggle, no hops an no sizzel likes my bruvas. So's heez shud be blockin fer a gud playa lik Jatushun Beachum.
-- Director of Scouting, Rivals, Inc.

 

[Electric Slide]

With the success of Hillis who was drafted as a fullback being a featured tailback in the NFL, I think the road has been cleared a bit for guys like Line. I know we have setbacks like Hester and Leonard converting back to fullback after flirting with tailback, Line so far has never played as a FB so they really don't have that excuse. Remember, they even tried to consider Toby Gerhart a fullback numerous times but he just kept shooting down that notion.

I think Owen Schmidt could also be a starting tailback in the NFL. I think Hillis, Leonard, Hester, Woodhead, Gerhart, Kuhn, Schmidt, Bolen, and Evans could all be starting feature backs in the NFL.

 

[celticdb15]

Line needs to focus on his straight line speed b\c that will be his number one obstacle if he wants to play in the NFL. If he can run a good 40 time he will have a slightly better chance of being a runner in the league. If he doesn't he could have a hard time since white runningbacks are held to higher expectations than their black opposties at RB..

*I know Leonard ran a good 40 but I think the thing that held him backwas his vision and at times he ran hesitant..

 

[FootballDad]

Line needs to focus on his straight line speed b\c that will be his number one obstacle if he wants to play in the NFL. If he can run a good 40 time he will have a slightly better chance of being a runner in the league. If he doesn't he could have a hard time since white runningbacks are held to higher expectations than their black opposties at RB..

*I know Leonard ran a good 40 but I think the thing that held him backwas his vision and at times he ran hesitant..

It was primarily because he "took one for the team" and was a voluntary fullback blocking for pudgy Ray Rice during his senior year, and if you're white, "once a fullback, always a fullback." Only Hillis has overcome this so far. I thought as a junior playing tailback at Rutgers that Leonard was exceptional. His year as a fullback gave him a lot of bad habits, he seemed to lose his lateral game to some extent. Edited by: FootballDad

 

[celticdb15]

Line needs to focus on his straight line speed b\c that will be his number one obstacle if he wants to play in the NFL. If he can run a good 40 time he will have a slightly better chance of being a runner in the league. If he doesn't he could have a hard time since white runningbacks are held to higher expectations than their black opposties at RB..

*I know Leonard ran a good 40 but I think the thing that held him backwas his vision and at times he ran hesitant..

It was primarily because he "took one for the team" and was a voluntary fullback blocking for pudgy Ray Rice during his senior year, and if you're white, "once a fullback, always a fullback." Only Hillis has overcome this so far. I thought as a junior playing tailback at Rutgers that Leonard was exceptional. His year as a fullback gave him a lot of bad habits, he seemed to lose his lateral game to some extent.

Good point. White players need to realize that there is no glory in being a battering ram in the modern day NFL. I hope other white runningbacks continue to make it clear that they are specifically runningbacks and that RB is the onlyposition they will play. Learn from all the guys who were forced to the fullback position because they were team players.

 

[ToughJ.Riggins]

I'd agree with Celtic on Leonard. He's a good athlete with nice measurables for the position, but has never had great vision as a runner or natural instincts and patience. This applies to his college career as well to some extent. Leonard's best YPC in college was 4.5 I believe playing both FB and backup HB as a senior- that was after Rutgers' team had improved a lot. Earlier in his career playing tailback on over-matched teams his best year was 4.3 YPC if I recall, but with natural instincts he would have done better with his athleticism. Leonard is also not powerful enough to find a nitch as a bulldozer with his lack of special patience, instincts and vision, so he really doesn't have a nitch in the NFL other than as a rotational runner. He's proved to be a reliable third down receiving back, but is best used a role player as a rusher. Then again Benson lacks ability as a runner himself. Of course, I wouldn't be surprised if Leonard would outproduce paltry Benson with the same carries, but Unstarvin Marvin won't let that happen.

Line is more like a slightly poorer version of Gerhart. He won't blow you away with dazzling twists, turns, jukes, jives and jump cuts, but is patient and hits his top speed quickly. He doesn't waste time and makes his one or two quick cut/read and then explodes to the hole and uses his balance quick feet and power to fight off arm tackles and takes what the defense gives him. In today's NFL their are few RBs that make most of their yards to the outside due to defensive speed. Bigger backs have an important role in today's NFL.

Of course we also have some white scatbacks to look out for in Woodhead, McGuffie, and McDaniel. And I won't stop fighting for Cory McCaffrey and Nile Knapp to get a shot until it is clear they have given up football for good. Although a higher percentage of elite white tailback talent are powerbacks with an X-Y agility style, we still have our share of X-Z scatbacks.

How do you guys like my Nickname for Marvin Lewis in "Unstarvin" Marvin?Edited by: ToughJ.Riggins

 

[snow]

Brian Leonard seems like he has decent vision to me. When has he ever gotten the chance to run behind a solid oline not in the fullback spot or in shotgun formation where he has to run at an angle before he gets the handoff?

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-...rian-Leonard-Highlight-WK-5-vs-Cardinals-2007

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/09000d5d81c1991a/Leonard-huge-4th-down-conversion

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xbyhlc_brian-leonard-leaping-over-nfl-boun_sport

Hes not the type of runner that would do well in any given situation but I think he could succeed getting around 100 to 150 carries, there are certain types of runs and formations that would suit his abilities to where he could average close to 4 yards per carry.

Zach Line has a very quick first step and can succeed in any type of offense, it takes more agility to be able to make the first guy miss like he does out of shotgun formation, usually you want a bigger back like him running downhill by the time he gets the ball, but he is good at being in the shotgun and shifting and then hitting the hole. I actually think Line is quicker in his cuts than Gerhart, but Gerhart has a few other qualities that makes him better at the moment. Line is only a sophomore and could prove to be even better.

Edited by: snow

 

[ToughJ.Riggins]

What I should have said about Benson is that he is a very average tailback at the NFL level, but somehow has managed to remain a featured back. There is a strong possibility that Leonard would outproduce Benson with the same carries, but neither of these guys should be a featured runner in the NFL for the great majority of teams. They both should be role player tailbacks.

Snow, I agree with you on Line having a special first step for a big back. If I'd have to pick the qualities that Gerhart surpasses Line in, I'd say tackle breaking (although still behind Hillis) and vision which Gerhart is an absolute beast in. Line probably cuts more sharply/quicker and is similarly light on his feet for a big back with special balance. Both these guys hit their top speed quicker than most NFL big backs and have nice power, but Line's speed might be a slightly more front loaded and Gerhart's more back loaded. Line's has showed pretty impressive patience and vision himself. Overall Gerhart and Line have many similar qualities I'd say.

 

[dwid]

[TUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqK8NrylPxg[/TUBE]

just a glimpse of what he is capable of. I think he could break the 2k mark if he was given the carries, but another season with close to 1500 would be great as well.

If the Colts were smart they would draft this guy when he comes out, because its hard to get consistent gains running in that type of offense. The guy they recently drafted (Donald Brown) looks like he would only be successful in a more traditional offense with a lead blocker and hasn't done much so far.

 

[JReb1]

Very nice vid dwid! Line definitely has the ability to be a stud RB in
the NFL if he's ever allowed to be a starting RB and not forced to bulk up 25-50
pounds to be a battering ram FB for an inferior RB who has more "upside" and "athleticism."

 

[whiteCB]

Line could help himself by getting rid of that #48 jersey that's reserved for freshmen bottom of the team heap runningbacks and switch to a more HB friendly # of say #28! Remember perception is everything and when Line runs the ball as a #48 people just assume (especially because he's white) its the SMU FB getting a token carry. Maybe someone on here can email the kid to get rid of that morbidly obese jersey number for something that looks a little lighter. Even a number in the 30s would look better.Edited by: whiteCB

 

[Colonel_Reb]

That's a good point, whiteCB. Maybe that is why certain announcers kept calling him a fullback. They forgot their notes and just paid attention to his jersey number.

 

[White Power]

I found this pretty good article on Zach line and how he wasn't offered a scholarship from his native Michigan schools. It tells how he lost weight as to get quicker and now runs in the 4-6 range here is the article enjoy folks.http://sports.espn.go.com/dallas/ncf/columns/story?columnist=durrett_richard&id=5963735Edited by: White Power

 

[PhillyBirds]

Line could help himself by getting rid of that #48 jersey that's reserved for freshmen bottom of the team heap runningbacks and switch to a more HB friendly # of say #28! Remember perception is everything and when Line runs the ball as a #48 people just assume (especially because he's white) its the SMU FB getting a token carry. Maybe someone on here can email the kid to get rid of that morbidly obese jersey number for something that looks a little lighter. Even a number in the 30s would look better.

This is the exact same reason I wanted Hillis to stick to #22 or a similar number. #40 opened the door for lazy Alstott comparisons or a fullback label.Edited by: PhillyBirds

 

[SuperSpeed23]

I agree, its all about image unfortunatly. If you run around with a 21, 22, 23, etc on your jersey no one ever thinks fullback.

 

[whiteCB]

Line could help himself by getting rid of that #48 jersey that's reserved for freshmen bottom of the team heap runningbacks and switch to a more HB friendly # of say #28! Remember perception is everything and when Line runs the ball as a #48 people just assume (especially because he's white) its the SMU FB getting a token carry. Maybe someone on here can email the kid to get rid of that morbidly obese jersey number for something that looks a little lighter. Even a number in the 30s would look better.

This is the exact same reason I wanted Hillis to stick to #22 or a similar number. #40 opened the door for lazy Alstott comparisons or a fullback label.

Yeah I even hate the fact that Brian Leonard is wearing #40. Why doesn't he go back to his college number #23? It's like these coaches in the NFL think its cute and amusing to give the only white RB they're ever coached the Mike Alstott number/treatment; almost like some bizarre form of camaraderie.