As offenses become more wide open and pass-heavy, the fullback has inched closer and closer to extinction.
Not at Purdue. Not for Alexander Horvath.
As Purdue continues to work on establishing bigger formations and two-back packages more, the redshirt freshman has seen his responsibilities increase within Jeff Brohm's offense.
"It's not just about blocking because we have such a wide variety of packages and plays we can run so there is a lot of different things that I need to understand," Horvath said. "Sometimes it's a lot to handle but I like my role here for sure. It's so different than the fullback at a lot of other schools."
Horvath was the primary lead blocker and fullback for 11 snaps Saturday's in Purdue's 42-28 victory at Nebraska in which the Boilermakers felt the need to establish the run early and often. The 240-pounder was in when Purdue went with only one tight end and received a very similar run blocking grade from Pro Football Focus analysts as Purdue's tight end and offensive linemen Saturday.
"Earlier in the week, they had made some comments that had fired us up and so with it being on the road, we knew we needed to shut everybody up early in that game," Horvath said. "We had some running plays that we ran five or six times successfully in that game."
For the fullback to get a double-digit number of offensive snaps is not something Horvath was expecting going into this preseason camp. But with Richie Worship out indefinitely, Horvath has carved out an instant role as the power back in Brohm's offense that consistently steals concepts and plays from various college and NFL playbooks.
"You're talking about a dude that is 6-foot-1, 235 to 240 pounds and a real strong guy," Purdue tailback Markell Jones said. "Zander is definitely somebody that whenever given the opportunity can have a breakout performance because of how much work he puts in."
Horvath, who carried the ball 14 times for 75 yards and recorded five receptions for 65 yards in the spring scrimmage, has also established himself as a reliable pass blocker out of the backfield with the first-team offense. With Horvath on the field for most of Purdue's first possession vs. Missouri, the Boilermaker offense drove in quick-strike fashion for an early touchdown.
"He's a young guy so sometimes he still gets a little anxious when he gets out on the field but I've been pleasantly surprised with the role we have him in right now," Barclay said on Sept. 18. "At some point, I'd like to see him get the ball in his hands just to see what he can do."
Barclay's wish was granted at Nebraska.
When David Blough speaks to the selflessness of the tailbacks, Horvath is the perfect example. Until last weekend, Horvath had never touched the football in a game during 22 snaps of action. Blough decided to change that in this previous weekend.
On an ad-lib check-down to the fullback, Blough found Horvath for a 22-yard pass play, turning a near sack into a big play. Horvath said the reception was "surprising" because when he turned around nobody was behind him waiting to make the tackle.
"I turned around and nobody was within 10 yards of me. The first instinct was just to get up the field," Horvath said. "Normally I make that catch and I'm bracing myself for getting hit."
Horvath continues to be on every special teams unit except for field goal block and is part of the "bigger bodies" that Brohm says he wants to see on kick return coverage units in future years.
"A lot of people come in and take it for granted that it's just special teams and it's only one play," Horvath said. "What if that one play helps us win or lose a game?"
The final step for Mishawaka native could be getting carries, which teammates and his position coach say is a possibility the remainder of the 2018 season. Whether in short-yardage situations or possibly as a dive play out of Purdue two-back system, Barclay noted Horvath was getting such touches in preseason camp practices and scrimmages. Horvath has been Purdue's lone healthy running back at times in his career, and thus its "featured" back for part of last spring, and at certain times in preseason camp.
"The time may come this year but if not, that's fine and I'll just keep working," Horvath said. "It may come next year, too, but I've got to keep waiting for my time to come."
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