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There’s no reason why Sean Tucker shouldn’t be pleased with his performance after last weekend. On Saturday, the Syracuse running back finished with a career-high 207 rushing yards on 26 attempts.

Tucker, who received Atlantic Coast Conference Running Back of the Week honors, wasn’t targeted once on the receiving end, despite head coach Dino Babers’ praise about his ability to turn “passes into home runs.” The Orange still threw the ball to their new receiving core, but Babers said he wanted to use Tucker’s abilities on the ground more.

“We attempted some balls, but we really wanted to run the football. We really wanted to be physical,” Babers said.

Here’s a breakdown of Tucker’s success and the blocking concepts that allowed him to have a career-high game:

First splash play

Early against Boston College, Syracuse looked to establish the inside zone run, a play that keeps Tucker running in the box. The setup allows him to pick up 4-5 yards and sets up the next down, which Babers said is one of Tucker’s greatest strengths.

But Tucker doesn’t just get what’s required of him — he usually gets a lot more. On this play, Tucker breaks for 37 yards, shooting right through the perfect hole created for him by his offensive line.

The right side of the line, and center Airon Servais, are responsible for the entirety of this play. Dakota Davis flushes out the defensive end so Tucker can cut through the hole instead of trying to take the play outside. As Tucker cuts through, Servais perfectly times his hit on the middle linebacker, pushing him completely out of Tucker’s lane.

Babers said he hasn’t seen defenders catch Tucker often, though Elijah Jones does on this play. Still, this was the first play that ignited Syracuse’s rushing attack, paving the momentum for the rest of the game.

To the house

Before the game, Syracuse announced it would be without fullback Chris Elmore against the Eagles. Elmore had been responsible for the key role of Tucker’s lead blocker for the previous few games.

But during the first four games, tight end Maximilian Mang filled Elmore’s role while he was out. Mang returned to his position from the beginning of the season, lining up a few yards in front of Shrader — or to the left or right of him — on the majority of running plays.

The Orange were also able to confuse Boston College even more by motioning Mang to either side of Shrader. This makes it harder for the defense to anticipate where the play is going, but it allows Mang enough time to see where his assignments should take him.

Most of Mang’s and the offensive line’s assignments take them to the linebacker level to pave a path for Tucker. Directly after the snap, Mang goes the opposite way of the offensive line, charging to his right side to block a linebacker.

Chris Bleich also goes to the second level after initially following the rest of his unit, but he cuts right and throws the middle linebacker to the ground. Tucker then uses his speed as the defensive backs try to turn around and catch up. And unlike the first play, this time they can’t.

“We knew they were going to stack the box coming in, so it wasn’t going to be easy but just gotta keep plugging away and soon enough you’ll definitely pop one,” Tucker said postgame.

You gotta be quicker than that

Tucker’s strengths also come with his ability to make up for mistakes at the offensive line, cutting back away from where plays were intended to go. Like the first play, this was an inside zone run that was supposed to go to the left side of the field.

But Tucker keeps his head up and quickly realizes that BC’s defensive line won the battle at the line of scrimmage, so he cuts back right. Syracuse’s receivers weren’t blocking for Tucker since they were running a fake screen route to flush out the defensive backs on that side of the field. Still, Anthony Queeley and Devaughn Cooper turn up at the same time Tucker does, creating a lane down the sideline for their teammate.

Tucker hesitates before each cut, forcing the defender in front of him to make the first move. Two defenders leap at Tucker to try and take him down, so he simply cuts horizontally instead of vertically, sending their bodies flying to the turf.

“Just look at him,” Shrader said about Tucker’s performance. “(He has) a little bit of everything — he can hit the hole; he’s big and strong.”

Tucker makes his way to the right sideline, following the blocks that Cooper and Queeley have set for him. Instead of cutting back inside, he makes the smart play and walks out of bounds, stopping the clock so his teammates can catch their breath after his big play.

Icing on the cake

After Syracuse’s defense made a goal line stand, the Orange needed to convert on a few more big plays to put away the Eagles. With less than four minutes on the clock, Tucker picked up a first down before taking the ball again on this third-and-1 play.

Boston College completely stacks the box, knowing that with this down and distance Syracuse will most likely keep the ball in Tucker’s hands. But Syracuse matches the amount of players on the line, adding tight end Luke Benson and keeping Mang as a lead blocker.

Following the snap, Bleich also pulls from the right side of the line to the second level, laying out another pancake block. Tucker stays patient and goes through Mang and Bleich’s hole, picking up a first down, and stopping any comeback from the Eagles.

Published on November 2, 2021 at 10:24 pm

Contact Anish: asvasude@syr.edu | @anish_vasu