B-Back 2014, Revisited

[stylee]

Laskey was going to be the starter anyway, but most seemed to expect that Custis would get a decent amount of carries.

I'm probably alone in liking Snoddy at BB. Does he move back and take the #2 spot? Or is it going to be Laskey, Connors, and Wilson?

Is Leggett talented enough to avoid a redshirt and take carries from one of those guys?

 

[OldJacketFan]

I think we need to keep an eye on Donovan. he's a tough son of a gun and runs with an attitude!

 

[TampaGT]

I think we will most likely see Laskey, laskey and more laskey, unless somebody really steps up in camp. With that said I really like Wilson in the spring game he seemed to run hard. I think Leggett is talented enough, I think it will be a question of how quick he gets up to speed in terms of the learning the O.

 

[AE 87]

I liked Snoddy at Bback, but expect Laskey will get the bulk of carries and #2 will be used like Lyons.

 

[gtg936g]

Snoddy needs to stay at Aback IMO. I think we need to use his speed on the perimeter vs trying to break tackles. Laskey, Wilson, and Leggett would be my top 3.

I have come to the conclusion that redshirting has no advantage outside of sitting people out due to injuries. The conventional wisdom is that they learn what it takes to be successful and it gives us depth. I think that philosophy is flawed as we end up keeping guys on scholarship awaiting the light to turn on while we could be bringing in more talent that could see the field. Kallon is an example. I also think that at the end of a redshirt year very few of the folks are in football shape. I honestly think it hurts more than it helps.

 

[GTRX7]

Any chance Perkins goes back there?

 

[4shotB]

I have come to the conclusion that redshirting has no advantage outside of sitting people out due to injuries. The conventional wisdom is that they learn what it takes to be successful and it gives us depth. I think that philosophy is flawed as we end up keeping guys on scholarship awaiting the light to turn on while we could be bringing in more talent that could see the field. Kallon is an example. I also think that at the end of a redshirt year very few of the folks are in football shape. I honestly think it hurts more than it helps.

I live in Tennessee. today I heard on the radio that it is likely that UT will start 6-8 true freshmen. watch what kind of year they have. outside of the Calvin Johnson/Herschel Walker/ Maurice Clarrett types of specimens, there are very few kids who are real impact players as true FR. Especially true on the line of scrimmage. The fact that you are recruiting kids who "need for the light to come on" is a recruiting flaw imo. Recruit FB players who have demonstrated productivity (i.e. the light is already on). Give them a year of strength and conditioning as RS Fr. your program will benefit imo.

 

[gtg936g]

I live in Tennessee. today I heard on the radio that it is likely that UT will start 6-8 true freshmen. watch what kind of year they have. outside of the Calvin Johnson/Herschel Walker/ Maurice Clarrett types of specimens, there are very few kids who are real impact players as true FR. Especially true on the line of scrimmage. The fact that you are recruiting kids who "need for the light to come on" is a recruiting flaw imo. Recruit FB players who have demonstrated productivity (i.e. the light is already on). Give them a year of strength and conditioning as RS Fr. your program will benefit imo.

I do not disagree with your point about true freshmen being ready to start. I think it is more beneficial for them to get playing time and be ready from a depth perspective.

All players need the light to come on from an execution perspective. In HS most guys can get away with mistakes if they have the physical talent to play at a D1 level.

I did not mean to derail the thread here. I think redshirting anyone at the BBack position would be a mistake. Get them some reps on the field so they are ready when needed.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

I do not disagree with your point about true freshmen being ready to start. I think it is more beneficial for them to get playing time and be ready from a depth perspective.

All players need the light to come on from an execution perspective. In HS most guys can get away with mistakes if they have the physical talent to play at a D1 level.

I did not mean to derail the thread here. I think redshirting anyone at the BBack position would be a mistake. Get them some reps on the field so they are ready when needed.

I think redshirting is probably more beneficial for some positions than others. The way CPJ plays it is the way I'd play it. If a kid can contribute as a freshman, play him. However, most kids are better as a 5th yr senior than they are as a true frosh. Not only that, but they're much more likely to be a starter as a 5th yr senior and be way more productive than how they'd be used as a freshman.

Most of our kids are not 3 and dones. Most of our kids won't be going pro at all. Keep them longer and get the most out of their potential. There's more production on the back end than on the front end. That's the theory.

 

[Whiskey_Clear]

Most coaches will tell you that the further away you play from the ball, the easier it is to play as a frosh.

 

[gtg936g]

I think redshirting is probably more beneficial for some positions than others. The way CPJ plays it is the way I'd play it. If a kid can contribute as a freshman, play him. However, most kids are better as a 5th yr senior than they are as a true frosh. Not only that, but they're much more likely to be a starter as a 5th yr senior and be way more productive than how they'd be used as a freshman.

Most of our kids are not 3 and dones. Most of our kids won't be going pro at all. Keep them longer and get the most out of their potential. There's more production on the back end than on the front end. That's the theory.

Redshirting is the logical approach. I just think that our lack of depth at key positions should push us outside the box. For the line positions I would only redshirt in case of injury. I think we consider redshirting like buying a CD, it should mature and be worth more in the future. The down side here is we sometimes carry dead weight for 5 years instead of 4.


Or perhaps only redshirt when you have adequate skill and depth at a certain position.


I think Perkins should stay at Aback as well. He was not able to work his way up the depth chart at BBack.

 

[AE 87]

Perkins was the starter at B Back game 1 2012.

 

[gtg936g]

Perkins was the starter at B Back game 1 2012.

Wasn't that because Sims was hurt? I think Perkins got benched during that game, and we played an injured Sims for part of the game. I have tried to black most of that game out... Lost in OT in Blacksburg.

 

[GTNavyNuke]

I think we need to red shirt as much as possible for players who are still growing. We don't get the 4 and 5 star players who are ready very much. Taking to the extreme, BYU linemen are full grown men with 3 years of red shifting/ missions.

I hear what you are saying gtg, we need to get the best players on the field and increase the recruit turnover ratio to find the better players. It's just that I think that our recruiting is steady enough in capability that we are more likely to get enough better performance out of a 5th year sr than a 4th year sr.

But if we start improving the recruiting a lot, I agree with burning the RS and increasing the flow.

 

[Milwaukee]

Laskey was going to be the starter anyway, but most seemed to expect that Custis would get a decent amount of carries.

I'm probably alone in liking Snoddy at BB. Does he move back and take the #2 spot? Or is it going to be Laskey, Connors, and Wilson?

Is Leggett talented enough to avoid a redshirt and take carries from one of those guys?

I think Snoddy should start at BB because of his explosive speed. We need a homerun threat at BB, not a grinder. BB is THE back in this offense, therefore should be a bigtime playmaker with explosive speed. Too many casual fans associate the BB position with a power fullback.

 

[DCSS]

I think Snoddy should start at BB because of his explosive speed. We need a homerun threat at BB, not a grinder. BB is THE back in this offense, therefore should be a bigtime playmaker with explosive speed. Too many casual fans associate the BB position with a power fullback.

We need both depending on the situation. We possibly have both in a Laskey Snoddy rotation. We were blessed in how Dwyer had break away speed and could grind the tough yards.

 

[daBuzz]

Snoddy's inability to pick up the blitz is going to hamper his chances at B-back.
Perkins could do it, but with his bad shoulder, I'm not sure they want him taking that many hits.
CJ Leggett is probably going to be forced into playing as a B-back very quickly this year.

 

[Longestday]

Don't forget Justin Byran... big, fast, athletic... but not a lot of football experience.

 

[awbuzz]

JB's big enough and quick enough to handle an end if you can get the blocking down.

 

[Techster]

So whatever happened to this guy at BB?



I know they moved him to LB. Was he that terrible at BB that they moved to the opposite side of the LOS? I know he was a higher rated LB recruit than RB recruit.

Holy Crap. From his Bio: majoring in chemical and biomolecular engineering.

One of the few scholly players that's actually a STEM major. Good job, Marcus.