The Cardinal Countdown: 71 Days Until Kickoff

#71 Joshua Black

Class: RS Freshman

Ht/Wt: 6-2/290

Position: Offensive Line

Hometown: Stone Mountain, GA

Twitter: @BlackSJoshua

Thoughts: Joshua was one of the first guys to sign last year if I remember correctly. He was a player who the new staff targeted on their arrival and they were able to flip him from Georgia Tech when thay had a coaching change. Joshua appeared in four games last season but was able to maintain his redshirt so he still has four full seasons of eligibility.

When Black came into the program I don’t think anyone, including the staff or Black himself, viewed him as an immediate impact player as they wanted him to put on a little weight (he’s up 20lb from last years official roster) and get adjusted to playing some on the inside of the line. In his highlight tape below you’ll see he was predominately at tackle in high school but Ledford spoke on NSD last year about using him on the interior of the line at multiple spots, which one may assume means at both guard spots but I’ve also read he was getting some reps at center as well. Another thing Ledford called out was his athleticism and the ability to use a player like Joshua in his zone blocking scheme and putting him in a position to help block on that second level because he could get down field. I discussed it last year during the block of O-line players but there is no doubt the staff is looking for slimmer, more athletic guys in the trenches than the big boys teams have used in the past just to fill up space. In fact, since the new staff arrived I only counted two O-line commitments, including the new 2021 commits, that were over 300lb (Baynes/Brown).

Times they are a changing. If you cant get to that second level to place a block consistently it will be tough to see the field in this offense, but I think Black can.

Sweet Tweet:

I’ll let J Black carry the jokes for today.