Lawless Republic
Fansided

BYU Football Countdown: Player 40 – Dual threat

By Adam Gibby

PROVO, UT - OCTOBER 6: General view of Powerade drink bottles on the benches prior to the game between the Boise State Broncos and the Brigham Young Cougars at LaVell Edwards Stadium on October 6, 2017 in Provo, Utah. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr./Getty Images) *** Local Caption ***
PROVO, UT - OCTOBER 6: General view of Powerade drink bottles on the benches prior to the game between the Boise State Broncos and the Brigham Young Cougars at LaVell Edwards Stadium on October 6, 2017 in Provo, Utah. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr./Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** /
facebooktwitterreddit
byu football
(Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr./Getty Images) /

BYU Football kicks off in 40 days and the regular season kicks off in just six weeks!

Normally I like to do a short story going into the featured player but this morning I am running late because of a service project, so without further to do, today’s player.

No. 40 Jeff Blanc – Running Back – 1973-1976

Jeff Blanc is often referred to as BYU Football’s first ever dual threat running back. Before Blanc, for BYU and for college football in general running backs were used to run the ball and receivers were used to run the ball and that was just how things were.

Blanc however changed all of that as a great runner and receiver having 3,500 yards between the two over his career.  It helped the Cougars tremendously in their transition to really good seasons behind Gifford Nielsen and Lavell Edwards.

Rankings

Impact A

Blanc didn’t just impact BYU Football, he impacted college football. While he played BYU wasn’t quite at their peak winning 10 and 11 games every season, however they were starting to become a consistent winning team and beside passing the ball quite a bit, they were known for using the running backs in ways different from traditional formations.

Statistics A-

Anytime a player has more than 3,500 yards in a career, that is going to earn a good grade. Jeff Blanc played in every single game as a Cougar and averaged nearly 80 yards per game. He scored 29 career touchdowns with 21 coming on the ground and eight through the air. While he was never a 1,000 yard rusher in any season, in 1974 he had a combined 1,228 yards and ten scores. The only statistic that hurts his ranking here is that his stats actually wend down a bit after his sophomore year because other players were being utilized, suggesting perhaps he didn’t progress as much as he should have/other players.

Memorable Moments B-

There aren’t too many memorable moments for Jeff Blanc without any film to watch or crazy stories but his change and impact on the game is what will be remembered most. There was one game against Wyoming in 1975 that Blanc went off for three touchdowns 240 total yards and was the difference in the game winning 33-20. That same season against New Mexico he scored a touchdown and had a total 158 yards in a one point win over the Lobos.

Home/BYU Football