'Like A Video Game': Jimbo Fisher Raves About RB De'Von Achane Ahead of Rookie Season
When Texas A&M Aggies head coach Jimbo Fisher started recruiting running back De'Von Achane out of Fort Bend Marshall High School in Missouri City, TX. the first question he had: is he playing against good competition?
Well, with 2018 and 2019 state championship appearances, Achane was competing against some of the best the Lone Star state had to offer, and Fisher got to see first hand the ball-carrier's abilities in one of Fort Bend Marshall's playoff games.
"It was just like a video game," Fisher said. "He had an 80-yard run and it gets called back. OK, so it's first-and-15 on the 15. Well, guess what, he had an 85-yard run on the next play. He had 165 yards in two carries and only got credit for one. Every time he touched it, you didn't take your eyes off of him because you knew what could happen."
As Achane embarks on his NFL journey after being selected with the No. 84 overall pick in the third round of the 2023 draft by the Miami Dolphins, Fisher joined host Travis Wingfield of the "Drive Time" podcast to discuss his all-around abilities as a player and a person.
"He's a very unassuming guy," Fisher said. "He's easy to coach. He comes to work every day, and it is about team. He wants to play well so his team can do well. It's not the vice versa where, 'I want to do well so I can do well.' He really truly believes in that, and that's the way he approaches each and every day."
Achane arrived to College Station and his intelligence, ability to retain information and instincts impressed Fisher from day one, he said.
He played in eight of the Aggies' 10 games during his COVID-19-shortened 2020 freshman season, but waited his turn behind Isaiah Spiller, who is now with the Los Angeles Chargers.
The 5-9, 185-pound running back split carries with Spiller his sophomore season and, despite getting 49 less runs, his nine touchdowns and seven yards per carry both led the Aggies in 2021.
He took the reins in his junior season and blossomed into one of the top backs in the Southeastern Conference, rushing for 1,102 yards and eight touchdowns.
"People always say, 'He's such a track guy. He can really run.' No, he's a football player who ran track," Fisher said. "When you watch him play, there's times you say, 'Man, is he really that fast?' because he doesn't play out of control. He's so under control until he doesn't have to be and use his speed. It's natural for him to do the things on the football field when it comes out."
However, the underrated aspect of Achane's game that shouldn't go unnoticed is his ability to catch the football. In 2022, he had the third-most receptions with 36 for 196 yards and three touchdowns.
Fisher said he has a receiver's route tree progression.
"He doesn't have good hands. He has excellent hands," Fisher said. "He has a great ability to judge the ball in the deep part of the field. He can catch the go balls and the post, and we had a lot of things that we tried to get him the ball at."
As for the biggest question mark on a running back making the jump from one level of football to the next — can he pass block? — Fisher said Achane has that down pat due to the pro-style offense that Texas A&M runs.
Fisher said with his track and field experience Achane understands leverage and how to thrust upward with power behind his blocks.
The Aggies' head coach said that a full offseason of strength training will pay dividends for the rookie running back.
"He's a shorter guy, but he's a stocky, well-built, strong player," Fisher said. "Now, with the continual offseason of heavy weights, because he was in track so much, he never got that as much in college. I think it's even going to excel to him because he understands how to play low to high. He can use that size. Guys are going to try to overpower him, but he's much stronger and he understands leverage."
Follow Casey Smith on Twitter @casey_smith2419
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