College football has always been a game of copycats. When something works, everyone tries to steal it and make it their own. The latest trend sweeping through the sport is taking your biggest offensive linemen and letting them carry the football. It started making serious waves this season when Alabama offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb began deploying 6-foot-7, 366-pound left tackle Kadyn Proctor in short-yardage situations, lining him up as a running back in what the Tide calls their “Krispy” package.
Now, Clemson’s $115 million head coach Dabo Swinney appears to be borrowing a page from Kalen DeBoer’s playbook, unleashing his own massive freshman tackle, Brayden Jacobs , in jumbo packages that have Tigers fans both confused and absolutely loving it. Clemson true freshman offensiv