Pre draft article on JJ Arrington

[Russ Smith]

I had seen most of this before but not the chainsaw bit.

Big talent comes in small package
Cal's J.J. Arrington may be the best runner no one's heard or seen.
By JEFFREY MARTIN
Daily Record/Sunday News
Friday, April 22, 2005

He was the only running back in the nation to run for 2,000 yards last season.
Ever heard of California's J.J. Arrington?

He nearly sliced off the big toe on his right foot seven years ago with a chain saw.

He was best known as a hard-hitting defensive back at Northern Nashville High in North Carolina.

He originally committed to Oregon while in junior college at the College of the Canyons, but his letter-of-intent was voided (more on that later) and he decided to sign with the Golden Bears.

He averaged seven yards a carry in 2004, earning first-team All-American honors in the process.

And now, with the NFL Draft a day away, J.J. Arrington is likely to be a second- or third-round pick, even though he's considered just a shade below the trio of Ronnie Brown, Carnell "Cadillac" Williams and Cedric Benson.

"I have no clue where I'll be drafted," Arrington told the San Francisco Chronicle.

For a team like the Philadelphia Eagles, who own the 31st and 35th picks in the draft, the 5-foot-9, 214-pound Arrington might be considered an upgrade over its present personnel. The Eagles worked him out individually, but so did Miami, Jacksonville and Tampa Bay.

All of those teams don't seem to mind that he's only 5-foot-9.

Of course, Kansas City's Priest Holmes, whom Arrington is often compared to, hasn't been slowed by a lack of height.

Besides, Arrington's 4.4 time in the 40 alleviated a lot of their concerns.

Others, however, remain unconvinced.

"I just wish he were a little bigger," Oakland Raiders scout Jon Kingdom told the San Francisco Chronicle.

Arrington, much like Holmes, runs with power between the tackles. He shows great acceleration and, even though it was a large part of Cal's offense, he has the ability to catch the ball out of the backfield.

It's something he'll have to improve, but he has shown the willingness to work.

He used to chop wood with his father, joining him before and after school.

Perhaps that's why the colleges weren't interested.

Not heavily recruited in high school and with a low SAT score, Arrington traveled across to the country to California. At the College of the Canyons, he was hardly a star, but he performed well enough to attract Oregon and Cal.

He signed with the Ducks, but because the junior college signing deadline had passed and an Oregon assistant urged Arrington to wrongly sign his father's name and alter the date, the letter-of-intent was voided.

He ended up in Berkeley, where he sat for a year.

But last season, he became a star.

Maybe not a household name, but a legitimate star.

Maybe a second-round draft pick.

"I feel if I'm two inches taller, six feet, I'd be the first running back taken," said Arrington.

Reach Jeffrey Martin at 771-2080 or [email protected]

 

[CronosCard]

"..And in this corner.."

Russ, I am in a bit of a quandry about JJ Arrington.. The 2 times I saw a whole game of his, he looked like he had 10 yard wide holes to run through, and no contact by a defensive player until he was at 8-10 yds.. Sure he looked very fast, but I did not see sudden-ness in his running style..
I'm not worried at all about his size like alot of others, we need go no further than #22 in red the last 2 years, isn't JJ actually heavier than Emmitt? So that isn't an issue, but Carnell Williams and Darren Sproles are two backs with
what I mean by that "suddenness" to illustrate it to you. "Was he a product of the system" like people said about the offense Cal played, and how will his skills translate to the BSF[bigger-stronger-faster]-NFL game? What I do, then, is to listen to the more senior posters of this sight and their enthusiasm, as they watched him play last year, and rely on my iron-clad belief in Dennis Green..

Help me along, someone, would you? I've been waiting for the Cards to break out with a big time back since the Johnnie Johnson days, lived through the Hearst-Thomasjones night-sweats, lived through years of "we could have had Eddy George and we picked who?" "Shaun Alexander-Ahman Green and we picked who?" heartaches, and I'm being so careful not to let hyperbole twist my thoughts into JJ becoming "The Next..." instead of the "First, and only, JJ Arrington" ok you can lock the door up, Dr...

 

[Metcalf Rules]

He was best known as a hard-hitting defensive back at Northern Nashville High in North Carolina.

Hey if he can't make it as a running back, maybe he can be a defensive back!

Just kidding, I'm glad the Cardinals drafted him and I think he's going to be a solid running bak in the NFL.

 

[JeffGollin]

I am in a bit of a quandry about JJ Arrington.. The 2 times I saw a whole game of his, he looked like he had 10 yard wide holes to run through, and no contact by a defensive player until he was at 8-10 yds..
I was thinking about that.

Last year, the Cardinals added an offensive play to its arsenal that the Giants have gotten rich on during three of four decades. It involved letting the RB chip block and then sneak out past the LOS into the secondary over the middle to grab an outlet pass. They threw it to Joe Morrison. They threw it to Tony Galbreath. And, more recently, they threw it to Dave Meggett.

In the last Madden version where you could design plays, I used to call the play: "30 Meggett."

Enter Lavar Arrington. Visualize Arrington sneaking out into a vacated short secondary to grab outlet passes from Warner and McCown.

Home Run City. With no tacklers crowding him, how different is that from running through 10 yard wide holes?

Anyway, that was what I was thinking.

 

[Russ Smith]

Russ, I am in a bit of a quandry about JJ Arrington.. The 2 times I saw a whole game of his, he looked like he had 10 yard wide holes to run through, and no contact by a defensive player until he was at 8-10 yds.. Sure he looked very fast, but I did not see sudden-ness in his running style..
I'm not worried at all about his size like alot of others, we need go no further than #22 in red the last 2 years, isn't JJ actually heavier than Emmitt? So that isn't an issue, but Carnell Williams and Darren Sproles are two backs with
what I mean by that "suddenness" to illustrate it to you. "Was he a product of the system" like people said about the offense Cal played, and how will his skills translate to the BSF[bigger-stronger-faster]-NFL game? What I do, then, is to listen to the more senior posters of this sight and their enthusiasm, as they watched him play last year, and rely on my iron-clad belief in Dennis Green..

...

Nobody is a sure thing but understand this, Cal had 4 new starters on their OL last year, 3 of them first time starters, a 4th moved to a new position. The prior year Echemandu, who was a sprinter on the track team, didn't come close to doing what Arrington did last year. Echemandu had a better OL, AND he had a team with healthy WR's so that teams couldn't cheat their safeties up and he still wasn't close to JJ last year.

Yeah he had holes but he's also really good at finding holes and let's face it, when you see highlight packages most often the RB has a big hole, or it wouldn't be a highlight.

I think he'll be very good, next Emmitt, no way wouldn't put that label on any young RB, but I think we'll be very happy with him.

 

[JPlay]

I am in a bit of a quandry about JJ Arrington.. The 2 times I saw a whole game of his, he looked like he had 10 yard wide holes to run through, and no contact by a defensive player until he was at 8-10 yds..
I was thinking about that.

Last year, the Cardinals added an offensive play to its arsenal that the Giants have gotten rich on during three of four decades. It involved letting the RB chip block and then sneak out past the LOS into the secondary over the middle to grab an outlet pass. They threw it to Joe Morrison. They threw it to Tony Galbreath. And, more recently, they threw it to Dave Meggett.

In the last Madden version where you could design plays, I used to call the play: "30 Meggett."

Enter Lavar Arrington. Visualize Arrington sneaking out into a vacated short secondary to grab outlet passes from Warner and McCown.

Home Run City. With no tacklers crowding him, how different is that from running through 10 yard wide holes?

Anyway, that was what I was thinking.

That is the worst arguement I've ever heard. I never, ever seen a team that leaves huge gaping holes every play. Maybe once in a few times, but a majority of the time it's up to the back to make moves and find the seams.