ATL All Day
Fansided

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets: Who Replaces Zach Laskey at B-back?

By Jonathan Savitske

facebooktwitterreddit

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets lost star B-back Zach Laskey after his eligibility ran its course at the end of the 2014 season.

Laskey is currently at training camp with the St. Louis Rams, attempting to secure a spot on Jeff Fisher’s opening day roster behind the likes of Tre Mason and Todd Gurley. His production will be difficult for Paul Johnson and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets to fill in the 2015 season. Last year, Laskey rushed for 851 yards and 9 touchdowns, while averaging over 5 yards per carry.

-= Related: Jabari Hunt-Days Reinstated, Bolsters Tech Defense =-

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets will have to rely on the contributions of a young B-back corps in order for Paul Johnson’s triple option offense to be as effective as it was during the 2014 campaign in which the Ramblin’ Wreck won 11 games. The AJC’s Ken Sugiura reports the competition for starting B-back at Yellow Jackets’ camp has been narrowed to three candidates: Marcus Allen, Patrick Skov and Marcus Marshall.

More from ATL All Day

Allen, Skov and Marshall are all young players with much to learn. Marcus Allen the most experienced player in this inexperienced group of the three potential B-backs, having several practices under his belt at the position before the beginning of training camp.

Patrick Skov is a candidate that shows more potential than Allen in my opinion. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets B-back’s coach Bryan Cook compared Skov to the 6’1” 218 lb. Laskey, as Skov is 6’1” as well and weighs 235 lbs. Cook hopes that Skov will not only mirror Laskey’s physiology, but also his game, having a penchant for positive carries and not getting tackled for a loss.

More from Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

The candidate with the highest potential but also the least amount of experience in the group is Marcus Marshall. Marshall possesses excellent acceleration and great feet, which would be a great asset in the fast moving offense of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.

The B-back position functions very similarily to the fullback position in an I-Formation, having to block for the quarterback and A-back, while also possessing the requisite speed to run the ball if given to them. Allen, Skov and Marshall possess the size to be effective B-backs, put will only gain experience with more playing time.

My best guess would be that Paul Johnson goes with the more experienced Marcus Allen to begin the year at B-back, but will utilize all three players in a committee system to better ascertain where their strengths lie. Skov sounds like Laskey, which is enough to get me excited to see how he plays this season. The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets open the 2015 season against the 2014 SWAC Champion Alcorn State Braves in Week 1.

Next: Paul Johnson Not Happy After Tech's First Scrimmage

More from ATL All Day

Home/Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets