The most surprising thing to happen in Georgia Tech’s 35-10 win over Virginia on Saturday may not have been the lopsided result against a solid Cavs’ defense.
Instead, it may have been that one of the Cavaliers caught and tackled Tech A-back Broderick Snoddy from behind to end a 24-yard run that seemed destined to become a 73-yard touchdown.
Snoddy, an All-ACC track performer, thought he was headed to the end zone before the defender got enough of his thigh to trip him as he was hitting top gear.
“I didn’t know where he came from,” Snoddy said. “When I saw the daylight I was trying to hit it. He got my legs.”
A starter for the first time, Snoddy finished with 52 yards on seven carries. He started in place of the injured Charles Perkins because the week before he set a career-high with 82 yards and three touchdowns in the 56-28 win over Pittsburgh.
Though coach Paul Johnson said Snoddy played better at Pittsburgh than at Virginia, his speed provides the offense what the coaches hoped it would when they moved him from B-back to A-back in the spring. For the season, he has rushed for 195 yards and has averaged 9.3 yards per carry.
“We wanted to get him to play some to utilize his speed,” Johnson said. “We weren’t hitting as many big plays on the perimeter as we felt like were there.”
Switching positions was easy. Getting into games was more difficult.
Snoddy said it took a renewed focus in the film room and practice field to earn the trust of the coaches. Injuries to some of the other A-backs also created openings that Snoddy has burst through, just like that run last week.
His teammates didn’t let him forget that he was tackled from behind.
“Come on man, all that speed you got and you let him catch you?” Tony Zenon said.
It would seem that A-back would be a natural fit for someone with as much straight-line speed as Snoddy. Once an A-back gets the pitch on the outside, if the play is blocked correctly he usually has one cut to make before he can continue as if he were running down a track lane. It’s much different than the pinball style that can be needed at B-back, Snoddy’s position when he signed in 2011 after a standout career at Carrollton High.
A-back seems to better fit Snoddy’s style. He said he can make a cut if necessary, but his instinct is to keep going straight.
Snoddy said his speed comes from his mother, Lynn. He doesn’t know how fast he is, just that he’s fast enough. But he won four races during the indoor track season last year and set a school record in the 60 meters as a redshirt freshman.
That speed is crucial, Zenon says, for Tech’s offense because it stretches every part of a defense as they try to chase him down on the triple-option or counter-option plays.
A Dean’s List student, Snoddy isn’t sure if his future is in football, track or another area related to his major of business management.
For now, he wants to continue working on his blocking on the perimeter and playing A-back or B-back as he continues to secure a consistent spot in either rotation.
“Whichever Coach wants me to play,” he said. “I’m trying to be coachable.”
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