The role of the fullback: expanding or contracting?

Sam @ WWAHT — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 14:00:15 -0000

Do you think he's worried, or excited, or just a healthy mix of both?

It appears that Ohio State is actually considering going with a true freshman starter at the fullback position. Once a spot of utmost importance on the Ohio State football team, the fullback has been restricted almost exclusively to blocking out of the I-formation; a key guy on iso runs but essentially a non-factor in every other aspect of the game. When Jermil Martin made the move to tailback, I was a little surprised; I hadn't heard of, or even imagined him as anything but a blocker, but apparently, he can move, and will be invaluable in short-yardage situations as a tailback. Last year, Ohio State made do at FB with converted TE Brandon Smith and Curtis Terry. This year, the only position on the team where a true freshman is likely to start is fullback, and that true freshman is Adam Homan, Ross's younger brother and another guy who can play both linebacker and fullback.

But if Ohio State's going to be deploying more spread formations this year, how much is this going to matter? Well, if the stays say anything, it's "not much":

Last year, Brandon Smith caught 7 passes out the fullback position for 72 yards.

The year before, Tyler Whaley caught 1 pass for 4 yards.

Stan White Jr. caught 8 balls for 57 yards during Troy Smith's senior year.

That's 16 passes for 133 yards over the course of 3 years.

The rushing numbers are even uglier: fullbacks as a whole have notched one carry over the past three seasons.

This is part of a general trend across college football that de-emphasizes the fullback in favor of three-, four- and five-wide receiver sets. It's a symptom of the "spread of the spread", and it won't be changing anytime soon. It's interesting to note, however, that when Ohio State was its most "spready", fullbacks (and by fullbacks I mean Stan White Jr by his own damn self) had their most productive year outside of the 2004 "Branden Joe experiment", in which he notched 50 carries listed as a "fullback" on the roster, but really as the go-to guy in short yardage situations, since Mo Hall and Lydell Ross were too busy tripping over themselves to pick up first downs consistently.

That's why I find the whole Homan deal interesting; when the offense was operating out of mostly three- and four-wide sets in 2006, the statistics seem to indicate that the fullback was on the field in some capacity* a bit more often than he was in both '07 and '08. Most are expecting this offense to at least look, formation and philopshy-wise, like the '06 one. Could that mean big things (and by big things I mean 10 catches for 57 yards and a touchdown) for the true freshman Adam Homan in '09? Or has the position been essentially eliminated from the gameplan, making a true freshman starter merely a minor concern in short yardage situations?

*A caveat about Stan White Jr: he did see time at TE, but I don't actually recall him catching passes from that position in '06

SB Nation - Brandon Smith

The role of the fullback: expanding or contracting?