Jimbo Fisher on Kenyon Green: ‘He’s a Throwback’
At some point, Jimbo Fisher figured Kenyon Green would push back, even if it was just a little bit.
Green started the season at right tackle. But, two games in, thanks to injuries, Fisher and the staff asked Green to move to right guard leading into the New Mexico game.
Two weeks later, there were more injuries. Heading into the Mississippi State game, Green was asked to play left guard.
Then, entering the Alabama game, the staff moved him to left tackle. In six weeks, Green had migrated from the extreme right side of the Aggies’ offensive line to the extreme left side.
And what did Green reply every time he was asked to move?
“Okay, yes sir,” Fisher said. “He's a throwback.”
As the Aggies enter this weekend’s game against Missouri, who knows where Fisher is going to line up Green. But, as evidenced by Green’s inclusion on the Lombardi Award semifinal list on Wednesday, it really doesn’t matter.
Green is going to give the Aggies high-quality play. And Fisher knows why.
It’s about concepts, not positions.
“He understands conceptually what's going on within the play, which allows him to move,” Fisher said. “You're not memorizing. When you memorize, it's hard man, and that's the way certain guys have to learn. Certain guys memorize their job and that's it. Other guys can understand the whole concept.
“I think Kenyon really understands conceptually what he has to do across the board based off what we do, and that allows him to be moved.”
Fisher didn’t envision his best offensive linemen becoming a jack-of-all-trades this season, but the rash of injuries forced his hand. But, to be fair to Green, moving around isn’t new to him. He crashed the starting lineup as a freshman in 2019 at right guard, earning All-SEC Freshman Team honors. Last season, Green slid over to left guard and earned consensus All-America honors.
But this is the first time in which Green has had to move around this much during the season. Playing four different offensive line positions in six games is not the norm in college football.
But, along with his conceptual understanding of what the Aggies want offensively, Green also has the attitude for such game-to-game adjustments, according to Fisher.
"He’s always gonna tell you, ‘Wherever the team needs from me,’ and that's not cliché,” Fisher said. “He is one of the most selfless, great players I've ever been around, as far as his willingness to do whatever his team needs him to do.”
Green’s burst of versatility could help his NFL Draft stock, too. Green is a third-year college player, which means he’s eligible for the NFL Draft in 2022. ProFootballNetwork.com already considers the 6-foot-4, 325-pounder to be the No. 1 guard in the 2022 Draft class, should he elect to leave school early. NFL Draft Bible’s latest mock draft has Green going No. 14 overall to Philadelphia.
Fisher told reporters on Monday that he believes Green would make a good tackle in the NFL, noting Green’s arm length and leg strength. But, Fisher said that Green playing four positions this season will improve his stock in the eyes of NFL scouts, even though that wasn’t the intention.
“What he’s doing now is increasing his value at the next level,” Fisher said. “Because people are gonna see him do different things, and you have to do that up there. You can't find those guys, and you can only keep eight on a rotation in the NFL that are active at the time (on game day). You got a guy that can play two or three positions, the value of his stock goes through the roof.”
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