It’s fair to say Braylon Heard’s Kentucky debut was memorable.

He only touched the ball twice but made both touches count, rushing for 116 yards and two touchdowns in a 59-14 rout of UT Martin. Heard ran 73 yards to paydirt late in the first quarter to extend the UK lead to 14-0, then took his second carry 43 yards to the house to extend the lead to 21-0 less than two minutes into the second quarter.

Let’s take another look at both runs and then discuss what we watched:

Heard sat out last season after transferring to Kentucky from Nebraska, where he spent two seasons as a Husker. When he finally got on the field for UK, he showed the explosiveness that once earned him the distinction of a four-star recruit.

But what wasn’t as obvious on those two runs was Heard’s field vision and shiftiness between the tackles.

Heard apparently spent most of last season hitting the weight room and working on his flexibility, especially in his hips. It was apparent the work paid off on his first run, as Heard was able to make a subtle but critical move at the line of scrimmage and immediately begin accelerating into the open field.

The entire Kentucky offensive line is flowing to the right on the play, and Heard is looking for a seam to develop as soon as the ball is snapped. When he finds his lane he is already almost by it; but rather than stop his momentum entirely and make a sharp cut back, he rotates his hips and slips inside the back of left guard Zach West (No. 75), maintaining plenty of speed to break away in the open field for a 73-yard score.

He once again demonstrated great field vision on his second and final carry, finding a hole to run through behind a similar blocking scheme to his first run. Heard hits the hole squarely without breaking stride, tucking himself slightly to fit through the opening at the line.

Once in the open field, his speed and athleticism made him almost impossible to catch, but it was the excellent vision and body-control he showed in the backfield that made it all possible.