Russell is no Skyler Green.. he isnt going to fake anyone out or beat them to the edge... but he does have straightline speed... I like the shotgun qb draw... give him a hole and with his size he can move the ball 5-7 yards down the field... no Vince Young scramble, but a nice gain none-the-less... This is actually one of my favorite plays in college football... Its really made for a qb like Marcus Randall (who didnt get enough oppurtunities to run it... we should have had a completely different offensive gameplan for Randall.. would have made both qb's more effective)... The best thing about this play is it eliminates the qb as a wasted man.. on a typical running play, the qb hands the ball off, and other than a fake rollout, his job is done... when the qb runs the ball, all 11 men on the field are involved in getting the rock down the field.. its ol' school football, and i love it..
I only like it as a last resort to a busted pass play, unless the defense is specifically giving it to you by dropping everyone off the LOS. Besides picking up 5 yards, it also plants a seed in the D's head that it just may happen..and if you're ever in a game and you need to freeze a LB for a split second as he's going into coverage, the threat of him comign up just may do the trick. It's very difficult to point out when a LB hesitates a split second, and if you do it's even more difficult to say why. But it's very possible in the future a over the middle will open up just enough to make a 1st down completion because of a LB staying home just a tad too long because he has seen film of it happening and it's planted in his head.
What i didn't like was how addai and russell both went to the line at the same time. Then the second time they tried the play, they both went up to the line before the snap and alabama knew what was coming. Poker tell if you ask me. Eric
