4 overreactions from Texas football’s complete team win over WVU
Jaylan Ford is capable of being the best run-stopper on this team
One of the hottest takes I think I’ve had throughout the season so far is saying that junior linebacker Jaylan Ford could be a more potent run-stopper on a consistent basis for Texas than senior standout DeMarvion Overshown. But I do believe there is some validity to this statement for a couple of seasons.
First and foremost, Ford is showing a more consistent ability to find the ball-carrier and stick to his lane assignments when playing his natural linebacker position up the middle compared to that of Diamonte Tucker-Dorsey and/or Overshown.
Ford proved in the wins over the UTSA Roadrunners and West Virginia that he can be one of the most consistent run stoppers in the Big 12 among linebackers.
In those two games, Ford registered a whopping eight run stops, good for best in the Big 12 among linebackers during that timeframe. He also registered the third-best run defense grade in the Big 12 among linebackers in Weeks 3 and 5 and had the highest run stop percentage.
Ford benefitted from the movement that Texas was able to get along the line of scrimmage defending the run. We continued to see the likes of senior nose tackles Keondre Coburn and T’Vondre Sweat along with sophomore nose tackle Byron Murphy effectively move bodies off the line of scrimmage along the interior.
One interesting stat is that Ford was responsible for four run stops (which constitute “successful” plays on run defense for Texas) on just 26 true rushing attempts by the Mountaineers. He also had a run stop percentage of 17.4, which is his best of the season so far.
Next. 3 offensive standouts from the win over West Virginia. dark
Texas looks to have found an excellent linebacker duo, especially defending the run, in Overshown and Ford. These two combined for more than a half-dozen run stops and two tackles for loss on run plays in this game. If this is the type of play we can expect from these two moving forward, the Texas linebackers will continue to be a force to be reckoned with for the rest of the season.