'The only way sometimes is over the top': Inside NFL players' art of hurdling defenders
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. â Jessie Bates knew heâd be hearing from friends and family.
He wasnât the first NFL defender to find himself caught beneath a Kareem Hunt hurdle. In fact, the Bengalsâ rookie safety out of Wake Forest wasnât even the first line of defense against the Chiefs running back with 8:32 to go in the first quarter of Cincinnatiâs Week 7 loss to Kansas City.
But when Hunt spun out of Bengals cornerback Dre Kirkpatrickâs tackle, he charged forward, broke two tackles and leaped over Bates.
Batesâ Wake Forest group text lit up after the game.
âHey Jessie,â Bates told USA TODAY Sports one friend wrote. âYouâre a human hurdle now?â
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Hunt smiled when he heard the jab.
âHonestly, itâs just an instinct,â the second-year running back said. âThe only way sometimes is over top.â
Running backs across the league agree.
Rookie first-round running backs the last four years have wowed with highlight reels of hurdles, from the Ramsâ Todd Gurley in 2015, to the Cowboysâ Ezekiel Elliott in 2016, the Panthersâ Christian McCaffrey in 2017 and now the Giantsâ Saquon Barkley.
Monday night, two of the leagueâs most prominent hurdlers in Gurley and Hunt face off with their high-octane, 9-1 offenses in Los Angeles.
Defenses, beware.
âItâs a huge challenge,â said Cowboys safety Jeff Heath, who caught Gurley mid-hurdle last season. âItâs a whole other way they can make you miss.â
âIt makes you second guess on how to tackle them,â said Chiefs safety Ron Parker, who will keep his eyes peeled for Gurley on Monday. âIf it do happen, you just like canât believe it happened to you.
âCanât believe heâs trying to hurdle you.â
But frequently, league stars are.
Hurdlers often say their decision is spontaneous, but they identified a few catalysts that can encourage them to jump.
Barkley studies how low defenders tackle during film review. Elliott seeks out one-on-one matchups when the chance drops that heâll be tackled midair or on landing. Hunt hits top speeds that preclude a juke or cut, and crowded lanes when, as he said, the only clear way is up.
âYou picture people like Saquon, Zeke â theyâre thicker guys,â Vikings wide receiver Stefon Diggs told USA TODAY Sports. âDBs get tired of tackling those guys.â
The muscle memory is there, says Hunt, from early hurdling days. Take Elliott, who began hurdling on the track team in middle school. His mom hurdled in college at Missouri. In high school, he won state titles in the 110-meter and 300-meter hurdles.
âEzekiel was, right off, just natural,â his mom Dawn Elliott told USA TODAY Sports by phone.
But through middle school, high school and two years at Ohio State, Elliott limited his hurdles to the track. He told Dawn repeatedly he wanted to hurdle a person. As a junior on the Ohio State gridiron, he finally did.
Hunt and Barkley each hurdled defenders as early as high school, with Barkleyâs first jump landing in the end zone.
This season, Barkley has hurdled defenders from the Saints, Eagles, Jaguars and 49ers. Hunt jumped Bates with the Bengals and, three weeks later, Broncos safety Will Parks for six points. Elliott hurdled Eagles rookie Tre Sullivan in a division matchup Nov. 9. The acrobatics took the Cowboys from the 40 yard line to the Eaglesâ 8, setting up a field goal to send the Cowboys ahead 6-3.
Dawnâs phone blew up, texts ârollingâ in.
âI was like, âWow,ââ Dawn said. âThen they kept showing the replay and I was like, âI donât believe this kid.ââ
Neither did Cowboys pass-rushing great DeMarcus Ware.
âI told Zeke he needs to stop jumping,â Ware said. âWe need him the whole season.
âBut if he can do those things and make those big plays, thatâs the reason why they brought him in here â to move those chains.â
Hurdling, as Ware worries, invites danger.
Barkleyâs mom doesnât like when he hurdles; Huntâs family tells him they âdonât want me to do it that much.â Dawn Elliott says she gets nervous, though Zeke insists sheâs more âone of those moms whoâs like, eh, rub some dirt on it.â
Then there are the offensive linemen.
Itâs impressive, Cowboys center Travis Frederick (who is out with an illness) and Chiefs right tackle Mitch Schwartz say. But âthose are people that are our charges to protect,â Frederick adds. âWe cringe a bit.â
Defenders are beginning to anticipate the move, reminding each other to tackle strong and hit with solid technique against the heavier backs who can escape from arm tackles like Hunt did vs. Cincinnati.
Bates jokes heâs â0 for 1â all time vs. NFL hurdlers thanks to Hunt, though in college he did grab a leaping Tulane backâs foot and trip him.
Hunt learned what that felt like last week against Arizona, when Cardinals safety Budda Baker reacted quickly enough to essentially body-slam him in midair, limiting Hunt to 6 yards on 2nd-and-16, forcing the Chiefs to punt on the drive.
âI ainât never been caught before like that,â Hunt told Baker after the play, impressed. âYou watched film.â
Then Baker told Hunt not to try it again, Hunt said, laughing, âtalking his little smack.â
âYou got it, you won,â Hunt responded.
But not trying it again?
âIâm back,â Hunt said.
Follow Jori Epstein on Twitter: @JoriEpstein
Contributing: Trysta Krick and Art Stapleton