JaTarvious Whitlow Breakdown

[StatTiger 3,188]

The sophomore running back had a great spring camp, and the coaches are excited about his potential for this upcoming season. For a player who was more of an athlete at the HS level, he displayed plenty of "true" running back attributes during his freshman season at Auburn. He is still learning the position but is catching on very quickly. Like all freshman players, he made mistakes last season, and his effort was questioned at times. This season he appears to be mentally tougher and knows there are high expectations regarding his effort on and off the field. Physically, he is stronger and faster than last season, which could pay off big for the Auburn offense in 2019.

The offensive line should be better in 2019, and he will share the backfield with a more athletic quarterback than Jarrett Stidham. The running threat at the QB position will open things up for all of Auburn's RB's. Coach Malzahn placed a strong emphasis on the running game this spring, with the intent of being a much more physical squad in 2019.

Inside the Numbers: (Ratio of plays of at least 15-yards)

Stephen Davis ................... 9.0
JaTarvious Whitlow ........ 10.3
Cameron Artis-Payne ..... 10.7
Ronnie Brown ................... 11.0
Michael Dyer ..................... 12.6
James Bostic ..................... 13.5
Kamryn Pettway .............. 13.7
Ben Tate .............................. 14.1
Carnell Williams .............. 14.3
Tre Mason .......................... 14.9
Kerryon Johnson ............. 16.9
Rudi Johnson ................... 17.0
Kenny Irons ...................... 17.7
Peyton Barber .................. 19.8

Last season Whitlow made 16 impact plays on 165 offensive touches. His current ratio of 10.3 is a great start to his career. If he can remain fairly healthy during 2019, I expect him to be one of the top RB's in the conference.

Video:

 

 

[alexava 6,973]

I like him. Last year he was very raw. He’s going to be more experienced, have a more experienced Oline and I think he’s got better competition for carries. 

[gravejd 3,270]

He was easily our best option at RB last season. I expect he will be again this year. I'm not sure why some folks on here are down on him and say he isn't a "game-changer". He looks to have good vision, can make the cuts, and has lots of speed. He's not Swartz fast but not many are

[Percolator 51]

Thank you so much for this breakdown. I don't know why some people on this board are down on Boobie. I see an elite back given the direction that he is hopefully now being given. Some have said he is in the same mold as Peyton Barber but I say Boobie is a better back. At the 4 minute mark, I see a back that can take it to the next level. 

Edited May 3, 2019 by Percolator

[AuburnNTexas 7,140]

I expect Boobie to be better this year because of having played last year and being healthy and getting stronger and faster. The one area we need from Boobie and all of our backs is the ability to pick up 2 or 3 yards even when the blocking is not there. When our 1st run gets stuffed for no gain or a 1 yard loss The next play will be a bubble screen which the other team is expecting. When backs like Barber and others managed to get positive yardage even when hit at line of scrimmage Gus can then run again or do something other than a bubble screen. It makes our Offense less predictable and that is where we have shined in the past.

[McLoofus 35,182]

24 minutes ago, AuburnNTexas said:

I expect Boobie to be better this year because of having played last year and being healthy and getting stronger and faster. The one area we need from Boobie and all of our backs is the ability to pick up 2 or 3 yards even when the blocking is not there. When our 1st run gets stuffed for no gain or a 1 yard loss The next play will be a bubble screen which the other team is expecting. When backs like Barber and others managed to get positive yardage even when hit at line of scrimmage Gus can then run again or do something other than a bubble screen. It makes our Offense less predictable and that is where we have shined in the past.

Big reason why Joey might get the nod IMO. Hard to imagine what that 2010 offense would've looked like if it weren't for the ultimate pile pusher taking snaps. 

[Zeek 16,649]

2 hours ago, Percolator said:

Thank you so much for this breakdown. I don't know why some people on this board are down on Boobie. I see an elite back given the direction that he is hopefully now being given. Some have said he is in the same mold as Peyton Barber but I say Boobie is a better back. At the 4 minute mark, I see a back that can take it to the next level. 

I think that people forget he was a freshman last year because he's definitely not built like one. Really hope he dominates on the ground and makes life easier for whichever young quarterback we have starting.

[Auctoritas 2,828]

Hey @stattiger, just for clarification - your ratio, is that career for each? Or, each by "sophomore" (i.e., comparable point in experience)?

[fredst 9,064]

After looking at that list....damn, CAP was under appreciated (at least by me)

[bigbird 60,512]

3 hours ago, AuburnNTexas said:

I expect Boobie to be better this year because of having played last year and being healthy and getting stronger and faster. 

I expect him to be better this year because the OL will be better. It'll be tough to discern how much of that improvement is due to his or the OL's development.

[AuburnNTexas 7,140]

13 minutes ago, bigbird said:

I expect him to be better this year because the OL will be better. It'll be tough to discern how much of that improvement is due to his or the OL's development.

Totally agree with that.  My point was in the past even when we have had good O-Lines sometimes they didn't get a push. Some of our feature backs KJ, Peyton, etc. found a way to still pick up a few yards. KJ by somehow making them miss when they had a clean shot others by just driving forward after being hit in the hole and picking up yardage. I think that Boobee with a year of maturity and a better understanding of the position will be able to turn the no gains into small gains which is big. That also means that when there is a good O-Line push from an improved line he will able to tack a few more on the end of a good run for the same reason.

[SumterAubie 3,031]

4 hours ago, bigbird said:

I expect him to be better this year because the OL will be better. It'll be tough to discern how much of that improvement is due to his or the OL's development.

As long as there is development...And improvement. 

[Tigger1985 806]

I think the addition of Caddy as running back coach will pay big dividends. Our OL has to do better as they were hit and miss last year. I expect Boobie will be a hoss this year.

[AUpreacherman22 3,885]

Boobie certainly has a lot of tools to be a successful RB in this league!   His continued development, plus a better OL (and our young WRs are more experienced and should be better at the downfield blocking) should yield positive results in the fall   

One thing I noticed that I hope he improves is he seems to take contact too high too often.  (That TD vs UW is one example of how he has the balance and strength to overcome it at times) but it does cost him yards at other times.  

[abw0004 10,110]

Loved the video breakdown.  Thank you for putting that together

[Barnacle 9,064]

On 5/3/2019 at 4:32 PM, bigbird said:

I expect him to be better this year because the OL will be better. It'll be tough to discern how much of that improvement is due to his or the OL's development.

I think it's reasonable to expect that both he and the offensive line will be better, but that's just me.