FSU Football: Looking at how Tribe20 performed against Georgia Tech

Offense

Just like last year, there were not a whole lot of freshmen who saw playing time on offense. Running back Lawrence Toafili, a four-star from Ft. Myers, did get a bit of playing time and reeled in a reception that went for twelve yards. Watch the play below.

Toafili does a good job here on the crossing screen of waiting for his blocker to get out and following them for the first down. While a burst of speed from the freshman would’ve gotten a bigger gain, but still a well-designed play for the offense. While Toafili got more snaps, these were the only snaps he recorded in the game.

No other true freshmen saw playing time on offense, including freshman offensive linemen Robert Scott and Thomas Schrader. This was surprising since both were listed in the ‘two-deep’ before the week started, and there were several injuries on the o-line, but neither saw the field.

While technically not freshmen, running backs Jashuan Corbin and La’Damian Webb are both newcomers, so they count for this article (I checked the rule book, I promise). Webb, the JUCO product from Jones County, led the way in terms of yards with 39 on 13 carries. Corbin, the Texas A&M transfer, went for 18 yards on just six carries. Corbin was also the featured receiver out of the two, catching eight passes for 55 yards.

It seems for the first time since 2010, FSU does not have a ‘generational’-type running back on the roster. After Freeman, Cook, and Akers, it’s understandable that FSU fans have high-expectations for the running back room. Although neither was particularly impressive against the Jackets, they were not helped by subpar-blocking (especially after injuries) and a one-dimensional offense. There were, however, a few positives from the pair.

Take this catch and run from Corbin in the 1st. While it’s true there might be a missed assignment on this play (Corbin might have been supposed to ‘chip’ the linebacker, but it doesn’t look like it), he does a very good job in space here. Uncovered, he gets the first down and makes a defender miss for extra yardage. While his production carrying the ball could’ve been much better, Corbin is dangerous in open space, and involving him in the passing game should be a major plus for the offense.

Webb had more carries than Corbin, and more yards, although both had the same yards-per-carry. While the yards were tough to come by, Webb did do a decent job of getting yard during the game. Take this example before the end of the first half, where Webb gets six yards.

Here, it’s an outside zone where Webb’s aiming point is to the outside of the tight end, behind Corbin, whose the lead blocker. However, the right guard washes down the lineman, who occupies the gap. Instead of forcing it outside, Webb does a good job of reading his blocks and cutting it upfield for a decent play.