
Kelly Kline/Icon SMI
"That's what people do. They leap, and hope to God they can fly, because otherwise you just drop like a rock, wondering the whole way down, why in the hell did I jump?"
-- Alex "Hitch" Hitchens (Will Smith), Hitch
College football loves its fads. The spread, hip-bump and personalized eye black stickers are everywhere. But the most entertaining of trends to take over the game lately is all about daring, timing and basically demoralizing an opponent. It's The Leap. It's been around, but after Michigan freshman running back Sam McGuffie took over YouTube with his Gummi Bears-like exploits, it seems everyone has added the move to their repertoire. The Tenth Power has sorted through the film, both grainy and HD, and come up with the 10 best leaps of '08.
1. Knowshon Moreno, RB, Georgia. Moreno delivered this jaw-dropping leap against Central Michigan and then trumped it with a flight from four yards out against Arizona State that would traumatize Ted Striker.
2. Chris "Beanie" Wells, RB, Ohio State. Beanie's first entry against Minnesota was impressive, but his leap over and Illinois cornerback Donsay Hardeman is arguably the run of the year. What bum toe?
3. LeGarrette Blount, RB, Oregon. Jumping over one guy not enough? Blount hurdled both a Boise State player and one of his own linemen on a TD run. He also a pair of leaps over one defender (ho-hum) against Purdue and Washington State.
4. Chase Coffman, TE, Missouri. Coffman gets this spot for volume alone -- and for being the only non-RB. At 6-foot-6, he can almost step over a defender going low for a tackle and he has leaps against Illinois, Southeast Missouri State and Texas.
5. Roy Helu, RB, Nebraska. Two guys from the Big 12 North? Yes, there is life in the conference's other division. The Cornhuskers' Mr. Electric is having a breakout season that's included a pair of leaps in back-to-back weeks against Oklahoma and Kansas (at the 4:07 mark).
6. C.J. Gable, RB, USC. We can't have a list of Leaps without a Trojan, can we? We'll call it the Reggie Bush Rule. Speaking of Bush, Gable's leap against Stanford (1:51), looked sort of familiar, didn't it?
7. Andre Brown, RB, North Carolina State. Brown's leap wasn't the most impressive, but it was all about the timing. He hurdled a East Carolina defender (0:42) on a 16-yard run in overtime, then scored the game-winning TD a play later.
8. John Clay, RB, Wisconsin. The Badgers' other bowling ball running back could barely keep his balance after his entry against Ohio State, but still, he delivered there's no discounting it was a rare highlight for Wisconsin this season.
9. Ryan Mathews, RB, Fresno State. Anyone (UCLA), anywhere (the Rose Bowl), anytime (the third quarter), as Mathews jumped over a Bruins defender for a 49-yards touchdown. Score one for the San Joaquin Valley.
10. Gartrell Johnson, RB, Colorado State. Leaps don't always go as planned. Johnson went airborne, was hit and did a face-plant against UNLV. Hey, it's 10th on the list for a reason.

Damaris Lewis
Brooklyn Decker

Comments (10) Add A Comment
struggling to find something to write about this week Mr Squashhead?
Klee Irwin
Total Comments (1595)
Owen Schmitt's play last year was better than anyone of these ..... He's a monster 260lb runs a low 4.6 40 yard dash
SeanWhitt10
Inwood, WV
Total Comments (269)
I cant believe the comments. I think this was a good, fun article. The links to videos were great (seems to be a "thing" on SI.com now), and who doesnt love a top 10 list?! I mean come on, its the best thing NOT on a stick!
ajwells
Marietta , GA
Total Comments (2)
Just becasue Georgia was the preseason number one "darling" doesn't mean Knowshons leap was any better than anyone elses. Get over it. Georgia is done!
_Janus_
Fort Bragg, NC
Total Comments (579)
Go Bulldogs! Fresno that is!
Luke Fleeman
Visalia, CA
Total Comments (83)
This list is a joke, Coffman has been leaping since he got to Mizzou.
GO TIGERS!!!
tigerguy03
Grandview, MO
Total Comments (1)
Moreno had to push the guy down with his hand to assure clearance. Wells just went straight up over the top. Wells' run is better.
Craig56
Racine , WI
Total Comments (2)
Why does everyonr want to hate on Georgia? Is it because they lost to the #1 and #4 teams in the nation? and not lowly pond scum teams like everyone elses darling teams in the PAC-10 and Big-10?
Martin The Great
Fayetteville, NC
Total Comments (3)
Its not that they lost, its that they got completely and utterly embarrassed on National TV twice in one season. This after we had to listen to how great they were for 7 months after beating a Hawaii team last year that most any of the good teams would have beaten just as badly. I just can't wait to watch GT whip them dawgs lol
OhioDore
Total Comments (125)
Yes, we know that Georgia got blown out twice by the #1 and #4 teams. It still does not explain why the majority of fans want to see us go down. The media really hyped my Dawgs and got us all very hopeful of a special season. I just don't get it, a lot of people are very happy to see us get beat down. We have a great coach, it's a great school, and we have some talented players, and I'm proud to be a Georgia fan. It's cool to see Moreno get some attention. Now, Mr. OhioDore, go out and kick your family dog, when it looks at you, tell it to quit being so happy. Seems that's what you like to do.
Joel Rusche
Greenwood, SC
Total Comments (8)
Comment
Remember to keep your posts clean. Profanity will get filtered, and offensive comments will be removed.