Jonny Childers = Owen Scmitt?

Walk ons are a very important aspect to any Rich Rodriguez football program. As a former walk-on defensive back for WVU in the mid 80's, Rodriguez recognizes the importance of having a passionate, in-it-only-for-the-love-of-the-sport type of player. And where best to put this type of player than at the most blue collar position on the field: the fullback. Anybody who knows anything about recent West Virginia football knows the name Owen Schmitt, or perhaps better known by his charming moniker "the runaway beer truck." Schmitt was a walk-on for RR at WVU and is now in the NFL with the Seattle Seahawks. He just wants to smash people, and oftentimes himself as made famous in this incident (at the end of this video):



Awesome. A cult figure like that for Meech football would make it that much more fun to watch. With that, I present to you Jonny Childers, walk on from Muskegon Michigan. Feast your eyes:



He just looks like he's ready to break twenty facemasks per season. Childers appears to be in the mold of a RR-type fullback, though at 6-2" 216 lbs he could benefit from a year of two with Barwis (eeee!). From his ESPN writeup:

Childers is a tough, thickly-built, blue-collar fullback prospect who also is an effective inside run plugger when employed at linebacker. Looks a bit like a throwback player and his game lacks a lot of finesse. He has good height and a compact, well-built frame that could bulk up to the 240-pound range while retaining his adequate straight-line speed. More of a battering ram of runner who is effective on quick North-South hitters up the middle. Good initial quicks through the hole for his size and will surprise you now and then with his agility as a runner. Tends to run high though and flashes difficulty sliding through the small creases. YAC is inconsistent. Won't be much more than a short-yardage fullback at the next level but has soft hands out of the backfield and shows the physical tools needed to develop into an effective blocker. Can stalemate defenders but will need to work on leverage and controlling/finishing blocks at the point of attack. Not as powerful or superior at the high school level as you would think as a blocker. Defensively, he is a bit stiff, range is limited to between the tackles but he can blow up the Iso and is difficult to turn at the point of attack. Overall Childers looks good on the hoof and has the physical tools for a mid-major program to mold as a situational fullback

Lack of finesse? Battering ram? Agility as a runner? Perfect. As some of you may know, I have a soft spot for hard working U of M fullbacks (Obi Oligubo is my recent favorite). As long as he doesn't get switched to LB, I would be oh-so-pleased if Childers becomes the next Owen Schmitt. Or better yet, the first Jonny Childers. Keep an eye on this one.

Links

The Owen Schmitt story here