Since he declared for the draft I’ve been seeing comments like “well, he was an okay change of pace back when Tavion went off the field”. TJ has absolutely been more than that. His hard, physical running style combined with home run threat has been a huge addition to this team.
– When nobody else on offense wanted to hold onto the ball vs Washington State, TJ came in and essentially won the game for us. Finished with 10 carries for 117 yards plus the go ahead TD in the 4th Q.
– Averaged RB team high 7 yards per carry vs ASU.
– Averaged RB team high 7.6 yards per carry vs UCLA
– Broke Utah record for longest TD run ever (96 yards vs Stanford) with one of the best open field stiff arms you’ll ever see
– Was the MVP vs Arizona. After AZ blocked the punt to cut the lead to two in the 4th Q, with Tavion and Bernard injured, Pledger carried us down the field and scored to put the game away. Finished with 119 yds and 2 TDs.
– Made something out of nothing multiple times in both Oregon games. (I felt he was our best RB in the first half of the CCG — at least as far as how hard he was running).
It’s no secret Tavion has been amazing for us. TJ hasn’t gotten nearly the yards, touches, or TDs as Tavion, but he’s been an extremely valuable addition for us this year. I hope we see a heavy dose of him vs Ohio State. Pledger runs similarly to Oregon’s Verdell, who was huge for them when they beat tOSU.
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