NFL Draft Early Look: Shock Linwood, RB, Baylor Bears
The Baylor Bears have had plenty of offensive stars over the last couple of years, including Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III in the 2011-12 season, and running back Shock Linwood hopes to carry on that proud tradition of playmakers.
Linwood, a redshirt junior, rushed for 1,252 yards and 16 touchdowns in his sophomore season after a freshman year that earned him Freshman All-American status.
Now a Doak Walker award candidate and one of the top returning running backs in the Big 12 conference, expectations are high on Linwood, who will now be expected to literally carry the Baylor offense with senior quarterback Bryce Petty departed to the NFL (drafted by the New York Jets).
In the offense that Baylor runs, there’s plenty of read-option style running happening, which I think hinders the potential of Linwood a bit, even though he’s still put up great numbers. To me, he doesn’t seem like an inside runner as much as he is a guy who can make you miss on the perimeter and in the open field.
To me, Linwood is not overly unlike Ronnie Hillman of the Denver Broncos, in that he’s capable of running inside when absolutely needed, but he’s much better utilizing his speed and quickness in the open field.
Watching that game tape, it’s easy to see sort of the whole of Linwood’s game, but there’s definitely more to the story. He’s explosive through the hole and when the blocks are set up right, he’s hard to track down because he’s so shifty. You hear this term thrown around all the time anymore but he’s got great lateral agility.
In case that’s never been explained to you, that just means he moves side-to-side really well. He’s really good at stopping on a dime, making a cut, and re-establishing full speed in a hurry. That kind of acceleration is going to get him noticed by NFL scouts, and I think he’s going to make a living with those kinds of runs in the NFL.
Despite being just 5-9, 200 pounds (listed) he’s pretty slippery and tough to tackle just with the defender’s arms.
I’m excited to see how Linwood has improved this season. He didn’t catch a lot of passes but he’s got a reputation of being a very versatile back. If we see growth in him as a receiver as well as a runner, there’s no doubt in my mind he could leave school a year early and make his way onto an NFL roster in 2016.