Onterio McCalebb - "Race to Space"

[StatTiger 3,188]

Onterio McCalebb was a 4-star running back recruited out of Florida. Auburn signed him based on his speed, and he played from 2009-2012. He was never intended to be a full-time starter at RB because of his size. He always found it difficult to add weight to his 168-pound frame. Playing primarily in Gus Malzahn's offense from 2009-2011, McCalebb carved out his own contribution as a role or utility player. Malzahn schemed to place him into space to take advantage of his speed. Despite averaging only ten touches (All-Purpose) per game, McCalebb finished his Auburn career with 4566 All-Purpose yards.

McCalebb ranks 4th all-time at Auburn in this category, which I found to be an amazing statistic, considering his limited touches. He played a significant role in Auburn going undefeated during the 2010 season. Some were critical of his performance because he tended to slip and fall during some of his runs, but his career numbers speak volumes of his production. The video highlights in this production demonstrate how exciting McCalebb was at Auburn but note the statistical data provided, which hammers home just how much he contributed to the Auburn offense. I cannot think of another "role player" on offense that had the impact Onterio McCalebb did within the Auburn offense.

https://youtu.be/zBFsRVd8kus

[bigbird 60,453]

I loved watching him play. He always had fun.

[bigbird 60,453]

Also...where the heck are those type of run plays? We haven't seen them in years. KMart and Shivers would've torn up the field with those type.

[fredst 9,064]

19 minutes ago, bigbird said:

Also...where the heck are those type of run plays? We haven't seen them in years. KMart and Shivers would've torn up the field with those type.

Exactly. McCalebb was critical to the success in 2010 but Gus seems to have abandoned that role in his offense. OM run against LSU 2010 was just as exciting as that Cam run, given the situation. And,  Eric Smith blocking.....just damn

[StatTiger 3,188]

20 minutes ago, fredst said:

Exactly. McCalebb was critical to the success in 2010 but Gus seems to have abandoned that role in his offense. OM run against LSU 2010 was just as exciting as that Cam run, given the situation. And,  Eric Smith blocking.....just damn

Having a 6-5, 250 QB in 2010 to defend kind of opened things up. I am sure we will see plenty of elements of 2010 should Gatewood start this season. Newton and McCalebb made for a great inside-outside combination. I would imagine Gatewood and Shivers would pressure opposing defenses too.

[McLoofus 35,182]

8 minutes ago, StatTiger said:

Having a 6-5, 250 QB in 2010 to defend kind of opened things up. I am sure we will see plenty of elements of 2010 should Gatewood start this season. Newton and McCalebb made for a great inside-outside combination. I would imagine Gatewood and Shivers would pressure opposing defenses too.

I've opined same. Referring strictly to metrics and what *flashes* we've seen, I feel like we match up with the 2010 and 2014 rosters at the skill positions better than we have in any other year that Gus has been here. 

If only we had a Pugh or a Dismukes...

[CCTAU 3,301]

Fastest player to thesideline EVAR!

[StatTiger 3,188]

7 hours ago, CCTAU said:

Fastest player to thesideline EVAR!

Probably because the majority of his attempts were speed sweeps.

[jared52 4,354]

13 hours ago, bigbird said:

Also...where the heck are those type of run plays? We haven't seen them in years. KMart and Shivers would've torn up the field with those type.

You are the football guy, but is it possible that defenses have taken that away somehow? I know if you take it away, you open something else up, and I do recall getting Schwartz the ball on the edge like that happened a couple of times, but maybe he had issues in practice holding on to the ball which made Gus/Chip less willing to use that play? Or maybe it didn't fit the overall scheme of the offense?

Just some WAGs.

[Sizzle 3,909]

He really made the most of his touches. Imagine trying to chase Cam and Michael Dyer around all game long. Then in the 4th quarter you unleash your fastest player to put the game away😅

[Maverick.AU 13,279]

Man, I remember that miss st play like it was yesterday! Omac was one of my favorite players, not only with how he played, but how he carried himself. Here’s to hoping we use Shivers to his full potential this year 🤞 

[McLoofus 35,182]

15 minutes ago, Sizzle said:

He really made the most of his touches. Imagine trying to chase Cam and Michael Dyer around all game long. Then in the 4th quarter you unleash your fastest player to put the game away😅

Yeah. We had that in 2013-14, too. Haven't had it since. Haven't been able to make the defense have to guess. Not convinced we've even tried. Having Joey, a couple solid RBs, a couple speed guys, some versatile guys like Joiner, Schenker and hopefully Wilson... there's a chance we get back to some of that stuff. 

[1auburn1 1,110]

He was quick to the sideline his  first couple of years. He would drive me insane by running OOB anytime a defender got within 5 yds of him.    Preserving the small frame, I understand, but as I recall, Bo got in his face in 2010 and told him to put his foot in the ground and get upfield more.    The results were spectacular.

[Mims44 1,867]

No joke, I didn't look at who posted the thread and just assumed it was about McCalebb going to outer space.

I got real excited, for a second.

[ALLINtheFamily 77]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ALLINtheFamily 77]

[Sizzle 3,909]

1 hour ago, McLoofus said:

Yeah. We had that in 2013-14, too. Haven't had it since. Haven't been able to make the defense have to guess. Not convinced we've even tried. Having Joey, a couple solid RBs, a couple speed guys, some versatile guys like Joiner, Schenker and hopefully Wilson... there's a chance we get back to some of that stuff. 

There’s only 1 Cam and only 1 Nick Marshall. The stress they put on defenses made everything easier for everybody. None of the other QB’s we’ve had put that same fear in defenses. Don’t think the other QB’s could take hits like Cam and Nick either

[McLoofus 35,182]

6 minutes ago, Sizzle said:

There’s only 1 Cam and only 1 Nick Marshall. The stress they put on defenses made everything easier for everybody. None of the other QB’s we’ve had put that same fear in defenses. Don’t think the other QB’s could take hits like Cam and Nick either

Yup. And hopefully we'll get to say there's only 1 Joey. 

[Scotty2Hotty 520]

1 hour ago, McLoofus said:

Yup. And hopefully we'll get to say there's only 1 Joey. 

Or two Nix’s. Or two Bo’s.

[McLoofus 35,182]

9 minutes ago, Scotty2Hotty said:

Or two Nix’s. Or two Bo’s.

Well played!

[WalkingCarpet 1,379]

OMac's high school and my high school were in the same district and him and I are close enough in age to have been in high school at the same time. My junior year they played us on our field and it was either 49 or 56-0 at the half. OMac had at least five touchdowns. This was more than 10 years ago so I don't remember all the specifics. He was FAST in college but in high school it looked like everyone else was running in sand. A friend of mine actually ended up on one of his highlight tapes after he totally whiffed on a tackle and got juked out of his cleats. He went to Auburn too and would tell that story to anyone who would listen. I think this is the tape from the game.

[AU64 10,122]

One of my all time favorite players and made an impact when playing for some of the poorer teams in recent years after all the seniors left following the 2010 championship.    Never understood the complaining about his running of bounds....live to fight another day....just plain smart of him IMO.  Had speed and good vision to find the openings....and hit them.    I hope Stove will be able to do that again this year.

[Eagle Eye 7 2,535]

21 hours ago, StatTiger said:

Having a 6-5, 250 QB in 2010 to defend kind of opened things up. I am sure we will see plenty of elements of 2010 should Gatewood start this season. Newton and McCalebb made for a great inside-outside combination. I would imagine Gatewood and Shivers would pressure opposing defenses too.

Really you can have a 250 inside QB like Cam with a scat back like OM or a fast outside QB like Marshall and a strong inside RB like he had with Tre and Cap. If you use the option there actually has to be a real Dual threat. So Joey with Worm or Flash or Bo with his passing and Boobie up the middle. Jason didn’t really give us a true dual threat.

[meh130 1,043]

On 7/16/2019 at 9:45 PM, StatTiger said:

Having a 6-5, 250 QB in 2010 to defend kind of opened things up. I am sure we will see plenty of elements of 2010 should Gatewood start this season. Newton and McCalebb made for a great inside-outside combination. I would imagine Gatewood and Shivers would pressure opposing defenses too.

This. OMac was the perfect complement for Cam.

What was more impressive was how we tended to use OMac in the first half, and then after the defense was worn out running east and west, we ran Mike Dyer between the tackles in the second half, only to throw OMac back in for a change up once or twice.

We were able to do the change ups some with Corey Grant in 2013 and 2014, but Nick Marshall was a edge threat better teamed with inside runners like Tre Mason and CAP.