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Kamara makes the list of hardest to tackle by ESPN

Mark4ut2012

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Jan 2, 2012
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I copied and pasted so not the greatest.

Let's have a look at the 10 toughest guys to bring down.


1. Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville


The Heisman Trophy front-runner is difficult to pin down because he brings wide receiver-like elusiveness to the quarterback position. On one run against Florida State this season, I had visions of former Seminoles receiver Peter Warrick because of the way Jackson stacked multiple cuts on top of one another and left two tacklers whiffing at air on a touchdown dash. It's more than just the shiftiness, however. Jackson has angle-breaking acceleration and can still get to the edge even when defenders are in proper position.

Therein lies the scariest part of playing against Jackson -- even plays that are properly executed on the field can result in big gains. Kirk Herbstreit highlighted this well in the Florida State broadcast as there were multiple times in which defenders were in proper position -- or perhaps Jackson made the wrong read in the option game -- but it didn't matter. He was still able to accelerate to the edge to create big plays.

On the season, Jackson has rushed for 744 total yards (excluding sacks), with 564 coming in the designed run game and another 180 on scrambles, and he has forced 26 missed tackles on his 84 runs.

2. Leonard Fournette, RB, LSU


Fournette is not having the expected Heisman-caliber season and he has been banged up, but is there a scarier picture for a defensive back than Fournette bearing down on him in the open field?

Fournette is one year removed from leading the nation with 83 missed tackles forced, and even in a disappointing year he has still forced 13 on his 67 carries and another three on nine receptions. At his best, Fournette is looking to run through tacklers with his five-star power, but he added more quickness to his game last season and showed enough wiggle to get around tacklers. His added ability to put multiple moves together, rather than just using the truck stick, took his game to a whole new level in 2015, and a healthy Fournette is still one of the most difficult to tackle in the nation in 2016.

3. Dalvin Cook, RB, Florida State


While big backs like Fournette are running through defenders, Cook has the speed to run away from them and the wiggle to get around them. His speed is a game-changer: Few running backs can truly take the ball to the house on any given carry, but Cook possesses that ability. His acceleration turns what looks like favorable tackling angles into a breakaway run, and that's what makes him the best big-play running back in the nation. Last season, Cook gained 62.9 percent of his yards on breakaway (15-plus yard) runs, so you probably can't tackle him if you can't catch him. That's what makes Cook a special runner.

4. Christian McCaffrey, RB, Stanford


A running back with slot receiver skills, McCaffrey does more than just make a defender miss in the hole. Part of his ability to avoid tackles involves his patience in setting up blocks in the run game and nifty route running that allows him to run away from defenders in the pass game. He has forced 20 misses on his 63 receptions over the past two years, and last season he finished sixth in the nation with 71 forced misses in the run game.

McCaffrey's skills go well beyond the stats. His ability to set up blocks in Stanford's power running attack puts defenders in just as much of a bind, and McCaffrey then has the explosiveness to take it to the house once he hits the second level. Add in his elusiveness in the return game and there's a reason McCaffrey came into the season as a Heisman favorite.

5. Saquon Barkley, RB, Penn State


Perhaps the shiftiest back in the nation, Barkley nearly broke our elusive rating stat last season as a true freshman. The stat rewards broken tackles and yards after contact and Barkley's 126.7 mark dwarfed the competition among running backs with at least 100 carries. He's back at it this season with the third-most missed tackles forced (31) on his 117 carries as he shows the dynamic ability to make defenders miss in both tight spaces and in the open field. Barkley has forced a missed tackle every 3.8 carries this season, 10th best in the nation.

6. Royce Freeman, RB, Oregon


Few running backs can run like Freeman at 230 pounds, but his combination of size and speed is one of the best in the country. Like Fournette, he can run through or around tacklers and Oregon's scheme usually puts him in favorable position to punish second-level defenders. Last year, Freeman forced the third-most missed tackles among the nation's running backs. This season, he has forced a miss every 2.8 carries to lead all running backs with at least 60 carries.

7. Jamaal Williams, RB, BYU


Williams burst onto the scene this season and established himself as one of the best power runners in the country. He has been a workhorse in BYU's pro-style scheme, ranking second in both rushing attempts with 139 and rushing yards with 866. Tacklers have bounced off Williams this season though he has shown some make-you-miss in the hole, and it all has added up to the most forced missed tackles in the nation, 35.

8. Jabrill Peppers, RB, Michigan


Safety? Linebacker? Running back? Punt returner? Not matter what you call Peppers, he's a great college football player and you won't find many safety/linebacker hybrids doubling up at running back and punt returner. Peppers showed off his running back-like skills with two dynamic punt returns for touchdowns, one of which was called back due to a penalty. Called back or not, we can't un-see the impressive athleticism and think that if he wasn't a full-time defensive player, Peppers could step in and develop into one of the best running backs in the FBS.

9. Alvin Kamara, RB, Tennessee


We had to get Kamara on the list after his dominant performance last weekend against Texas A&M. The Aggies missed an absurd 31 tackles against the Vols and Kamara was responsible for 13 of them -- six in the run game, seven as a receiver. Kamara has the natural athleticism of others on the list, and he complements it with a ferocious attitude with the ball in his hands and that nearly single-handedly carried Tennessee to the upset. Kamara has forced 13 misses in the pass game to lead all FBS running backs this season.

10. Artavis Scott, WR, Clemson


While Scott flashes the ability to go up and catch the ball down the field as a receiver, he's essentially a glorified running back in Clemson's system with much of his work done on jet sweeps and screens. The Tigers feed him the ball early and often and he has rewarded them with the third-most missed tackles forced by a wide receiver last season and the second-most this season with 14 on his 23 receptions. Scott has the speed to get to the edge but also the quicks to make a guy miss and turn a short gain into a productive play.
 
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