The 2024 preseason football camp is underway and GSEagles.com is catching up with each of the 10 position coaches early in August to get their take on their position room. Up first is running backs coach Taylor Reed.
Q: Who were some guys that stood out on the field for you and then have also turned around and really attacked the off-season?
TR: Great question. Whenever you talk about this room, you've got to start with Jalen White. Obviously, the guy who came back for a fifth year is a big part of the room. When you talk about attacking the off-season, he's put on 20 pounds since the bowl game. He ended the season around 199, which is a little light for him. But with Coach Heiss and his staff, he's really done a really good job attacking the offseason and putting on the proper weight. He's playing really confident right now.
OJ Arnold is another guy similar to Jalen in terms of putting on weight. OJ is a guy who was a little bit light last year, but he had some ankle injuries. He missed a couple of games. I think you saw flashes of OJ early in the season with that burst and how he can change a game for you. And he's been another guy that has put on some proper weight. He's gained, I think, six to seven pounds since then.
And what really impressed me was those two guys who led our room; they put it on themselves so that after every practice and after every PRP, they got themselves ready. They go to the weight room and do their own ankle flexibility. They do their own training. They understand at this level, availability is the best ability. So those two guys have really stood out.
Regarding some of those other guys, we have a deep room, which is awesome as a coach. So the next guys up are guys you saw flashes of last year. Is it David Mbadinga? Is it Terrance Gibbs? Is it a young guy like J'Shawn Anderson? I think all those guys have taken steps in the right direction. They've all done a really good job this off-season, and now I'm excited to watch them in fall camp.
Q: You touched on it a bit, but Jalen has been banged up a little bit at the end of the past two years. But on the bright side, you've had plenty of depth to where you've been able to put some guys in and still be productive. Can you talk about the depth of that room?
TR: It makes it fun as a coach. Having that depth and having a senior leader like Jalen on the sideline giving those guys tidbits and pointers and coaching them through things helps give us that depth. You want Jalen White in the game, and you want OJ in the game.
Still, when one of those guys might go down with a nick or bruise, you feel confident in those guys stepping in, whether it is David, Terrance or J'Shawn, and then we've seen flashes of some other guys, even another walk on like Jamarian Samuel. We've got a couple of good young guys and a couple of good freshmen here, too.
Q: Who are some young guys that Eagle Nation needs to be aware of?
TR: We brought in two scholarship players from in-state. One right down the road from Benedictine is Bryce Baker. He has been as professional as it gets as a true freshman that's come in. He attacks the meeting room. He's attacked these PRPs. I'm excited to watch him in fall camp.
And then you have a guy like Taeo Todd from Troup County, who had a season-ending injury his senior year. So he's been fighting the injury bug but is just now coming along and practicing. He has that burst, and you'll be excited to watch him.
And then we brought in another Allan Woods II, a walk-on that got here early, and you see flashes of being like David Mbadinga. Is he a guy that can produce as a walk-on? So those three guys have been freshmen that just got here. And then, as I mentioned, Jamarian Samuel and Robert Edwards III have also done really good jobs.
Q: Jalen White is getting a lot of recognition. PFF named him the most draftable player in the Sun Belt, and he came back for a fifth year. How big was it to get him back, and what makes him so special?
TR: Man, when you get asked questions about Jalen White, it's hard not to smile. He's a special person; he's a great leader. He is kind of the glue that holds this room together right now. He's fun as a coach. He's enjoyable to coach because he does it the right way. He cares. He brings up his teammates; he's always helping others. He's not selfish one bit. For him to come back for another year is a testament to him, and I can't wait to watch him this year.
Q: Can you go down your roster and give me one asset each brings that makes them unique?
TR: Okay. Jalen White, to be a 220-pound back and over six feet tall, has really good ball skills and a really good burst for a guy his size. You've seen his physicality and ability to separate at that size. When you see OJ Arnold, he's a guy that's kind of the change-of-pace back that has really good ball skills. He can catch the ball of the backfield. He can do a lot of things. You've seen him throw a touchdown. You've seen him catch a touchdown. You've seen him run a touchdown. He's an extremely intelligent guy, too.
David Mbadinga is probably the most quick-twitch person in our room. He has the best change of direction within the box. So, as far as make-them-miss ability, that's David for you. Terrance Gibbs is another big back like Jalen, who's just improved every single spring to summer to fall camp. Ever since I've been here, he's consistently improving. So he's another guy who is hard to tackle when he's downhill. To be a big back, you would think he can't catch a ball out of the backfield, but he might have the best hands in the running back room.
J'Shawn Anderson was a freshman this past year who redshirted. He had a good spring and rolled it into a good summer. He's another good-size running back who still can make you miss. Jamarian Samuel was a walk-on who really stepped up when guys were a little bit dinged up. He's the one that came along in spring ball, and I'm excited to see what he does at this camp. Robert Edwards III was a walk-on who's come along, and he's an extremely intelligent kid that you trust to put in the game.
For the freshmen, we'll start with Bryce Baker. He's a bigger back that's physical. He runs like a big back but can still catch the ball of the backfield. Taeo Todd, I think, is going to have the ability to be a great change of direction back. He played quarterback in high school, so I think he sees the game really well. And Allan Woods II is a guy who can burst, change direction, and catch the ball out of the backfield. He's also a very hard worker too.
Q: This offense has evolved over the past two years to more passing as opposed to what it was in the past with running. Is it hard to get these guys to buy in, or do they know that everybody's keyed in on the pass, which opens up the run game, and they've got to take advantage of our opportunities?
TR: Right. You nailed it right there. Being with a team that does throw the ball as much as we do, you can see from the box counts that we get that we do get favorable box counts in the run game, and those guys have seen it. Those guys get it. Jalen White would've been a 1,000-yard rusher the past two seasons if he'd stayed healthy. So I think the numbers and the stats are there, and they see that. But they don't really care about that. These guys love playing ball. They love that locker room. They love playing for each other and moving forward; I think their best football is in front of them.
Q: What are the top priorities for preparing the running back room for that Boise opener?
TR: We've got a new offensive coordinator from last year, and I think it's continuing to establish the identity we developed in the spring. It goes to our head coach being tough, disciplined, and united. I think it's all of us together. We have to put our best foot forward and stack good days to try to improve ourselves each and every day and buy into what we want to do and who we want to be on offense.
Up Next: The Linebackers
