Film Room: Why the Gators Need to Land RB Jahmyr Gibbs

A film room breakdown of talented running back Jahmyr Gibbs and why the Gators need to land him to top off the recruiting class.

In the closing stages of the 2020 recruiting cycle, the Florida Gators are in hot pursuit of a few remaining prospects on the board.

Of the players on that board, none are hotter than the four-star running back out of Dalton High School in Dalton, GA, in Jahmyr Gibbs.

With offers from 28 total schools all around the nation, most notably Alabama and Ohio State, Gibbs is a sought after prospect for many, and Florida remains to be a team he keeps a close eye on approaching his decision date.

Currently committed to Georgia Tech, the Catamounts’ all-purpose back has shown a strong desire to stay close to his hometown.

However, after his official visit last week and an in-home visit by Dan Mullen quickly thereafter, the Gators are making a strong push for who many—including myself— say to be the most talented running back prospect in this years class.

As a senior, Gibbs tallied over 2,500 yards and 40 touchdowns on the ground in just 233 carries.

Averaging ten yards per carrying, Gibbs showed everyone around the country what makes him a top 100 prospect and No. 8 overall running back in the 2020 class.

Standing at 5-9, 191 lbs, Gibbs is a mixture of power and speed. His frame allows him to burst through the hole and break arm tackles with ease while burning the opposition in the open field.

On top of the game-breaking speed and power at the point of contact, Gibbs runs with excellent field vision and a one cut and go mentality that allows him to be a threat to break one to the promise land at any time.

As a prospect that would put the exclamation point on Dan Mullen’s third recruiting class as head coach at the University of Florida, let’s take a look at the areas Gibbs excel at to fully understand why he is so crucial for the Gators to close on.

Film Room

Acceleration & Speed 

In this showing by Gibbs, he exemplifies precisely why he is such a highly coveted recruit for the Gators to land.

If there is anything that catches your eye about the playstyle Gibbs possesses, he can accelerate and decelerate on a dime.

Gibbs continuously uses that skill to leave the would-be tacklers in his dust in his efforts to get into the end zone. Here, Gibbs gives us all a taste of what he can do in the open field.

After escaping the pack of would-be tacklers around the 50-yard line, Gibbs turns on the jets to outrun the rest of those that had a chance to bring him down.

Showing his impeccable track-like speed, he turns what seemed to be a proper angle from the defender closest to his end zone into another player left in his dust as he trots into the end zone for one of his 40 touchdowns on the season.

Vision

On a more level playing field that college is, it’s necessary to have a full scope of where to go with the ball. With Gibbs, you’re getting a guy with stellar field vision who can also act on it very quickly.

Despite being met face to face with two potential tacklers in the backfield, Gibbs can find the hole, split the defenders and take the ball up the middle. On his way, he makes more defenders miss and yet again see himself heading for the end zone in the open field.

By having the vision and awareness to cut up the field after initially wanting to take it outside shows his capability to improvise and let the flow of the game come to him.

Power

With his compact build, Gibbs contains a sneaky power to his 5-9 appearance that is showed in full near the goal line.

On top of his ability to break plays from a distance, he can also muscle his way into the end zone with multiple defenders clinging to him, similar to how he does here.

After appearing to be stuffed at the three-yard line, Gibbs powers his way over the tackler and finds himself adding six to his teams’ scoreboard.

Fighting for the extra yardage and willing his way into the end zone shows his heart and determination to fight to benefit his team. A skill that unteachable and is the definition of the type of player one you want to have on your side.

Receiving

As a player who very rarely saw the ball through the passing game as a high school player, Gibbs still showed flashes of excellence that lead many to think he can be a reliable option out of the backfield.

With only 15 receptions in his senior year, he was able to account for 138 yards in the receiving game.

Where he showcased his receiving talents was All-American Bowl practice, where he was used as an option out of the backfield on multiple occasions. His soft hands and ability to track the football while it’s in the air is impressive and would provide a perfect replacement in Florida’s offense given Lamical Perine’s exit.

Adding a do it all player like Gibbs is, would prove to be massive not just in the run game but the pass as well.

Patience & Physicality

In a similar situation to the play where he showed high acceleration to get into the end zone, Gibbs bounces this ball to the outside but is unable to take it the distance.

The difference in this play that makes it nearly as impressive despite not scoring is his patience in the backfield, along with his willingness to be physical.

Allowing his offensive lineman to set up blocks and spring him free, Gibbs gives them enough time to solidify these blocks so he can break upfield. Getting to the sideline, he is met at the 35 yard line, and rather than stepping out of bounce to avoid the hit, Gibbs lowers his shoulder and initiated the contact on the defender to the extra yardage on the play.

This type of physical play will take him to great heights at the next level strictly because of his

Final Thoughts

With a mixture of track speed and acceleration in and out of cuts, Gibbs is a perfect fit for the Florida offense. A part of Dan Mullen’s system for many years has been the quick, flashy running back who can also be utilized in the passing game.

Similar to how we saw Perine excel in this way, Gibbs has the same ability to be the traditional three-down back Mullen likes to use in a multitude of different ways.

With only a small sample size of his ability catching the football out of the backfield—adding 459 yards on 45 receptions in his high school career—Gibbs has excellent hands and the ball tracking skills to develop as a reliable option in third-down situations.

Gibbs could see early time at Florida with the skill set he already possesses, should he choose to flip. Especially if Lorenzo Lingard—a sophomore running back transfer from Miami—is ruled ineligible for 2020, the early playing time that makes Georgia Tech so intriguing for Gibbs could be presented about the Gators as well.

No matter where the running back goes, he is going to excel in whatever he does. 

However, as a prominent three-down back and one of the best players in this year’s class, the Gators should do everything in their power for Gibbs to make the six-hour trip to Gainesville for the foreseeable future on National Signing Day.