GBK Post-Practice (9/19) Video Interview: Sr. RB, Jakobi Buchanan
Anyone who follows Army knows of the offensive contributions of Jakobi Buchanan over the past 4 years, as the Black Knights have been a national rushing force running their traditional triple-option offense.
But before we log into JB’s latest trend in the first three games of the 2023 football campaign, let’s take a quick review of how it all started.
Buchanan was recruited from St. Charles, Missouri in 2018. He had a 5.4 rating as an RB from Rivals at the time and he spent a year at USMAPS before entering West Point in 2019.
The 6-foot-0, 255-pounder appeared in 3 games in his plebe season with 19 rushing attempts for 88 yards.
He moved into the starting rotation at fullback in 2020, appearing in 11 games with 111 rushing attempts for 474 yards and 6 TDs. He established himself as the go to guy in short-yardage situations and earned a national reputation for never being stopped for a loss.
He continued his success in the 2021 season, appearing in all 13 games with 136 carries for 504 yards and 12 TDs.
He fought through some nagging injuries in 2022 with 11 appearances in 12 games. His production dipped a bit to 81 carries for 335 yards and 6 TDs, but he also had his longest run from scrimmage that season with a 55-yard carry in the Villanova game.
There were some questions as to how Buchanan would fit into newly hired offensive coordinator Drew Thatcher’s new offensive scheme as he is much larger than the running backs Thatcher has been used to working with. Buchanan has appeared in all three games and continues in his role as an effective short-yardage running back, either carrying the ball or blocking (almost as an extra lineman) for quarterback Bryson Daily.
His YPC average in the opening game against ULM was a disappointing 14 yards in 6 carries, and it didn’t improve against Delaware State with just 13 yards in 7 attempts, but he played a key role in the conversion of 6 4th down attempts against UTSA and recorded a season-high 30 yards in 8 attempts with 1 TD.
But in the end, his overall contribution has been very noticeable and can’t be tied specifically to offensive stats … just ask those defensive ends and inside linebackers who have to take on his vicious blocks.
After Tuesday’s practice, the senior running back chatted with GBK’s Joe Iacono. Let’s hear what he had to say surrounding this season, his role and looking forward.
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