120 Players You Need To
Know
Georgia Tech RB Jonathan Dwyer
By
Richard Cirminiello
Who is Jonathan Dwyer?
… It’s been too long, more than a decade in fact, since
college football had a truly great option running back. Dwyer is
about to fill that void. An instant star in Georgia Tech’s
newly-minted option offense, he led the ACC in rushing and was
virtually unstoppable over the final month of the regular season.
Blending brute force with great wheels, he ran for 1,395 yards,
while averaging almost seven yards a carry. Along with the shiftier
Roddy Jones, he helps give the Yellow Jackets a dynamite running
tandem and a legitimate shot of winning a league title in Paul
Johnson’s second year. Coming out of Kell (Ga.) High School, Dwyer
could have gone just about anywhere in the country. The lure of
staying close to home and getting a great education, however, made a
difficult decision a bit easier for him to make. A little off the
radar last year on a national scale, he’s on the tarmac and about to
lift off into an entirely new level of notoriety in 2009.
Jonathan Dwyer’s best game so
far was … last Nov. 29 at Georgia. Really, you can take the
entire month of November, when Dwyer summarily ripped through some
of the ACC’s best defenses. Playing such a big role in the
long-overdue upset of the Dawgs, though, had special meaning. He
needed just 20 carries to rush for 144 yards and two scores,
including a 60-yarder to get the rally started just after halftime.
Why you should care
about Jonathan Dwyer? … As the reigning ACC Player of the Year,
Dwyer will begin his third season in Atlanta as one of the best
backs in the country. Tailor-made to be the B-back, or feature back,
in Paul Johnson’s option offense, he’s going to pile up massive
numbers on the ground again, and likely get in the discussion for
the Heisman and other national honors.
Positives about Jonathan
Dwyer … At a bruising 6-0 and 230 pounds, Dwyer has the power to
run people over and the blazing speed to jet right past them. He is
a load to wrap up and tackle, and deceptively fast once he gets into
the open field. He has the leg drive and north-south running style
to be nearly unstoppable in short yardage.
Negatives about Jonathan
Dwyer …Dwyer has one direction when he picks up a head of steam,
and is not the type of back that’ll make people miss in the open
field. Even when the Jackets were throwing a little more in 2007, he
wasn’t considered a threat as a receiver out of the backfield. Yeah,
it’s not so important in this offense, but it could be a bigger
issue when it’s time to get in front of NFL scouts.
A cool thing about Jonathan
Dwyer you probably didn’t know … Dwyer relishes his position as
a role model in the area, particularly enjoying working with young
kids in need of guidance. He’s active in his church back home in
Marietta, and has been a big brother in the past.
Career Statistics
2007: 82 carries for 436 yards and nine touchdowns
2008: 200
carries for 1,395 yards and 12 touchdowns