College football has always been a game of copycats. When something works, everyone tries to steal it and make it their own. The latest trend sweeping through the sport is taking your biggest offensive linemen and letting them carry the football. It started making serious waves this season when Alabama offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb began deploying 6-foot-7, 366-pound left tackle Kadyn Proctor in short-yardage situations, lining him up as a running back in what the Tide calls their “Krispy” package. 

Now, Clemson’s $115 million head coach Dabo Swinney appears to be borrowing a page from Kalen DeBoer’s playbook, unleashing his own massive freshman tackle, Brayden Jacobs, in jumbo packages that have Tigers fans both confused and absolutely loving it.​​ Clemson true freshman offensive lineman Brayden Jacobs recently revealed that he and Dabo Swinney have been having some fun with the jumbo package concept. “He and Dabo Swinney joked that they needed to make Jacobs (6-7, 355) the RB in their jumbo packages,” Chapel Fowler reported. “But he says he loves playing as a FB in that package and gets ‘super excited’ whenever he’s called in on a 4th and 1.” 

Brayden is the son of former NFL bruiser Brandon Jacobs, who himself ran over defenders at 6-foot-4, 264 pounds during his playing days with the Giants. Brayden is somehow even bigger than his dad. He made his collegiate debut against No. 9 LSU, playing one snap as a sixth lineman to help bulldoze a path for Adam Randall to reach the end zone.  More recently, Brayden lined up at fullback alongside fellow lineman Walker Parks in a jumbo package that saw defensive lineman Peter Woods take the handoff and rumble for two yards, practically untouched.​ And now, he is eyeing Woods’ role in such short-yardage situations.

For Clemson, the running back position has been an issue since the preseason. They’ve had their fair share of struggles with the position, and they were so thin that they had to rely on Adam Randall as their RB. Adam plays wide receiver as his main position. The blueprint for all this madness comes straight from Alabama, where Proctor has become something of a folk hero for his ability to move mountains in short yardage. During the Crimson Tide’s Week 7 matchup against No. 14 Missouri, DeBoer and Grubb dialed up the wildcat formation with Proctor, all 366 pounds of him, lined up at quarterback.

On 3rd-and-1 from the Missouri 5-yard line late in the third quarter, Proctor took the direct snap and powered forward for two yards to convert the first down. He literally went airborne at one point and nearly scored a touchdown before being stopped at the one-yard line. The conversion extended a crucial drive that ended in a go-ahead field goal, giving Alabama a 20-17 lead. 

It wasn’t even Proctor’s first rodeo. He’d already caught a screen pass for yardage against Georgia and rumbled for a first down against Vanderbilt earlier in the season.​​ What makes this trend so brilliant is how defenders absolutely hate it. Think about being a 210-pound linebacker tasked with stopping a 355-pound offensive tackle who’s running downhill at you with a full head of steam. It’s the football equivalent of standing on train tracks and trying to stop a freight train with your bare hands. For Brayden Jacobs, who was ranked as the No. 159 overall recruit and No. 15 offensive tackle in the 2025 class, the jumbo package gives him a chance to channel his father’s running back DNA while still developing as a tackle.

Freshman making a case, but keeping the veteran is still the plan

For all the talk about Jacobs playing fullback in jumbo packages and helping Woods rumble for short yardage, there’s a bigger conversation happening behind the scenes. And that conversation still involves actual playing time at left tackle. When asked if Brayden Jacobs has played well enough to push redshirt senior Tristan Leigh for the starting job, Dabo Swinney was quick to pump the brakes. “He’s played one game,” Swinney said. “In that moment, he played really well. We have a ton of confidence in Tristan and Blake Miller. We have to get Tristan to 100 percent.” 

That one game was Clemson’s recent matchup against Boston College. Jacobs got an extended run at left tackle after Leigh, who’s been battling an ankle injury since the LSU opener back in early September, didn’t practice much during the week and was ultimately held out of the game.​ 

Leigh’s ankle issues have been a lingering problem dating back to Week 1, when he got dinged up against LSU and subsequently missed the Troy game while hobbling around in a walking boot. He eventually returned to action, but clearly hasn’t been at full strength. That is a major concern for an offensive line that’s tied for 128th nationally in rushing offense.

Jacobs’ stepping in against Boston College was a necessity. And the 6-foot-7, 330-pound true freshman from Milton High School in Georgia held his own. Swinney admitted afterward, “We have more confidence in Brayden now because he has finally taken it to game day. That certainly was big for him the other night.” Still, this isn’t a changing-of-the-guard situation just yet. As Swinney pointed out, “They’ll have their hands full this week with those defensive ends,” referring to the challenge of SMU ahead. For now, Brayden Jacobs is the insurance policy, but if Leigh’s ankle doesn’t cooperate, that insurance policy might become the starter sooner than anyone expected.