Spring Position battle - B-Back

[wingsrlevel]

I'd like Snoddy to break out. I think people tend to think he's just not right for BB because of his size; however, I think just running the ball is the biggest requirement for the position. My best BB was skinnier than Snoddy.

He runs the option well. The biggest thing for him is avoiding the lost yardage.

At what point do you look at Snoddy and say "bust" on the football field? He's going into his 4th year at GT and can't see the field. Now he's moving back to AB. Size to me has very little to do with playing BB or AB. All we know about Snoddy at this point is he's very good on the track.
I 'm curious at "The biggest thing for him is avoiding the lost yardage" statement. If this is about Snoddy, when do you quit hoping he will run through the hole and not stop, reverse field or lose yards?

 

[Squints]

At what point do you look at Snoddy and say "bust" on the football field?

I'm going to go with once his career is actually over here. Probably not before that.

 

[Boomergump]

At what point do you look at Snoddy and say "bust" on the football field? He's going into his 4th year at GT and can't see the field. Now he's moving back to AB. Size to me has very little to do with playing BB or AB. All we know about Snoddy at this point is he's very good on the track.
I 'm curious at "The biggest thing for him is avoiding the lost yardage" statement. If this is about Snoddy, when do you quit hoping he will run through the hole and not stop, reverse field or lose yards?

Holy crap. Snoddy has 2 years left to play football here. He is a very fast kid who has made some decent runs from time to time and showed some potential. Calling him a bust? Really? Surely, he hasn't taken things by storm yet, but we still have some time to squeeze blood out of that turnip. Let the kid keep working and see what he can make out of himself.

 

[Shaun Boatwright]

He's pretty close to Allen from what I've seen...hopefully we will get to see this Spring.

Eric you keep repeating this and I'm wondering why you think it? I ask that seriously not trying to be an arse. As I've mentioned before I'm a Lovejoy grad and have seen Custis play probably 15 times in HS against big time competition and I assure you he is not slow. Allen ran a 4.59 at the combine. We have an article linked below that has the Lovejoy coach saying that Custis is faster than Choice which is exactly what I have been saying and Choice ran a 4.48 at the combine. That's a significant difference. I'm not trying to make out Custis to be a blazer but I think you are going to be pleasantly surprised if you think Allen is a good comparison for Custis speed wise. I've said it before and I will say it again, Custis and Choice are eerily similar and I would say Custis has a little more natural ability. Will he develop the way Choice did and go on to have a strong college and lengthy professional career? Only time will tell.

 

[Oldgoldandwhite]

Custis wasn't at Tech last spring

sure was. He was there until right before the spring game and practiced with the team until they had to send him home.[/quote]
He was in High School last spring. Hard to practice at GT as a HS senior.

 

[wingsrlevel]

sure was. He was there until right before the spring game and practiced with the team until they had to send him home.

He was in High School last spring. Hard to practice at GT as a HS senior.[/quote]

see post #25 He was at GT in the summer before they had to send him home right before fall camp.

 

[Eric]

Eric you keep repeating this and I'm wondering why you think it? I ask that seriously not trying to be an arse. As I've mentioned before I'm a Lovejoy grad and have seen Custis play probably 15 times in HS against big time competition and I assure you he is not slow. Allen ran a 4.59 at the combine. We have an article linked below that has the Lovejoy coach saying that Custis is faster than Choice which is exactly what I have been saying and Choice ran a 4.48 at the combine. That's a significant difference. I'm not trying to make out Custis to be a blazer but I think you are going to be pleasantly surprised if you think Allen is a good comparison for Custis speed wise. I've said it before and I will say it again, Custis and Choice are eerily similar and I would say Custis has a little more natural ability. Will he develop the way Choice did and go on to have a strong college and lengthy professional career? Only time will tell.

There's a big difference in combine speed and football speed..Allen ran a 4.54 Fwiw...I still feel that's a good comparison. If you've seen Custis lately you would agree that he's jacked..he's added on more muscle. Kid is stout. If he's faster that choice at this level I will be surprised.

Allen ran a 4.54 at 228
Choice ran a 4.48 at 215

 

[Rodney Kent]

There is not much difference between 4.54 and 4.48. In fact, there is little difference in 4.40 and 5.50. Personally, my view of straight ahead speed is not nearly as important as quickness of movement and decision making.

 

[Yoda]

There is not much difference between 4.54 and 4.48. In fact, there is little difference in 4.40 and 5.50. Personally, my view of straight ahead speed is not nearly as important as quickness of movement and decision making.

4.40 is a quick RB. 5.5 is an OL

 

[Techster]

Custis isn't a burner. But he's got fairly good speed for a BB. Don't expect him to dust people in the open field though. His running style reminds me alot of Montee Ball of Wisconsin a few years back.

 

[vamosjackets]

There's a big difference in combine speed and football speed..Allen ran a 4.54 Fwiw...I still feel that's a good comparison. If you've seen Custis lately you would agree that he's jacked..he's added on more muscle. Kid is stout. If he's faster that choice at this level I will be surprised.

Allen ran a 4.54 at 228
Choice ran a 4.48 at 215

FWIW, on the field, Choice seemed quicker than Allen in tight spaces while Allen seemed to me to have more top end speed than Choice.

 

[Rodney Kent]

Yoda: Yes, I used a whole second to stress the point. Count off a second if you will. The 4.50 and 5.50 are timed elements in a straight ahead dash and has nothing to do with quickness. Quickness is associated with mental and physical speed in decisions of movement. A cat is very quick; by its instinct, it can follow a movement and use its brain to catch its prey or perform its quick movement.

Actually, the instinct is more important than pure straight ahead speed. If a running back has quick visual senses, quick visual to mind reflex, and quick mental to muscle reflexes, he will best anyone with his running who has nothing but speed. Speed in little leagues, Junior football, and High School football gives some players great advantage withour having the necessary quickness. In College and Pro, all the players are relatively fast in speed, but the better ones have the quickness to go with it.

Some backs can hit the line, see a visual map of the holes, and use his quickness to change his route. His mental instinct also allows him the advantage of not thinking about it, so his time of visual to his brain and back to his muscles is much faster than a person who has to think about it. This is called quickness and is better than pure speed. The pure speed only comes in handy after a back has used his quickess to get to a hole.

 

[UgaBlows]

Custis isn't a burner. But he's got fairly good speed for a BB. Don't expect him to dust people in the open field though. His running style reminds me alot of Montee Ball of Wisconsin a few years back.

Hell yeah, i'll take that!

 

[dressedcheeseside]

Let's not 'Vad-i-fy' Custis before he sets foot on the practice field, shall we?

 

[Rodney Kent]

dressedcheese: I think we fans are guilty of overhyping some of these athletes. We want to win so badly that we follow the recruiting and then get our hopes up that all the new recruits are going to be studs. Yes, Custis did well in High School, and may do well at Tech, but all we can do is wait and see. It will be interesting when Spring Training gets here. If Custis makes at least the backup position, then that would give me a clue that the coaches think he is the real deal. If he is red-shirted, then it means he is not ready. If he becomes the backup in the Spring, then we can really get our hopes up that he will play a lot in the fall.

By the way, I am a fan of Laskey. I look for him to have a good year running with the first team (he is tough).

Of course, this is true for all of the hyped recruits. Some think Myles is sure thing for returning Kickoffs and possibly a punt returner, but there are a lot of questions to be answered in the Spring and Fall. My biggest concern with Myles (actually anyone with his situation) is the question of his durability in college considering his previous injury. I watched some of the playoff games and he did look pretty good, but still he was playing against other High School athletes. When you start getting hit by the bigger, faster guys in college, can you put the mental image of the injury behind you? For Myles, I feel sure it will be as much mental as physical.

 

[Boomergump]

Yoda: Yes, I used a whole second to stress the point. Count off a second if you will. The 4.50 and 5.50 are timed elements in a straight ahead dash and has nothing to do with quickness. Quickness is associated with mental and physical speed in decisions of movement. A cat is very quick; by its instinct, it can follow a movement and use its brain to catch its prey or perform its quick movement.

Actually, the instinct is more important than pure straight ahead speed. If a running back has quick visual senses, quick visual to mind reflex, and quick mental to muscle reflexes, he will best anyone with his running who has nothing but speed. Speed in little leagues, Junior football, and High School football gives some players great advantage withour having the necessary quickness. In College and Pro, all the players are relatively fast in speed, but the better ones have the quickness to go with it.

Some backs can hit the line, see a visual map of the holes, and use his quickness to change his route. His mental instinct also allows him the advantage of not thinking about it, so his time of visual to his brain and back to his muscles is much faster than a person who has to think about it. This is called quickness and is better than pure speed. The pure speed only comes in handy after a back has used his quickess to get to a hole.

Rodney. I hear what you are saying about quickness vs speed and I agree to a point. I just don't think using 4.4 vs 5.5 is a useful comparison. Because, I can tell you, that if a guy runs 5.5, it won't matter how quick he is. He will simply never run a football unless he picks up somebody else's fumble. All other things being equal, a legitimate full 0.1 second difference in 40 yards is a big deal. It is equivalent to beating another fast guy by a full yard. That is the difference between getting open and not getting open on a go route, the difference between barely beating an angle to go for a TD run and getting grabbed after 10 yards, those kinds of things. I agree fully about the combination of quickness, agility, vision, and instincts. Surely, you need those most of the time just to get in position to take advantage of superior speed. Our own RG showed this time and time again, even though he lacked the great speed. With all that said, I feel sure RG will time around 4.6 and possibly barely under at his pro day. He is not slow by any means, just not a burner. I don't think there is a single example, in all of football, beyond peewee, where a skill guy runs 5.5. I'm just saying. Maybe some 6'7" Roman Gabriel type QB, but he ain't gonna be running the FB.

 

[Shaun Boatwright]

Custis isn't a burner. But he's got fairly good speed for a BB. Don't expect him to dust people in the open field though. His running style reminds me alot of Montee Ball of Wisconsin a few years back.

Great comparison Techster. To go along with what I will just call below average speed imo for Allen, he also wasn't shifty at all which is something Ball most definitely was and Custis has that same ability as well. Once again I'm not say Custis will be as good as Ball, I just think the comparison to Allen is a poor one. Time will tell.

 

[Shaun Boatwright]

Let's not 'Vad-i-fy' Custis before he sets foot on the practice field, shall we?

I like that word Vadify. I'm not meaning to do that to Custis. I agree. Lets wait and see what he does. I'm just trying to give everyone a peak into the style of runner we are getting and I just think Allen is a poor comparison in running style. Forget the talk about speed...Custis is way more agile and has the ability to get in in and out of cuts much quicker as well, while maybe not being the pile mover that Allen was. To me that was Allen's best strength.

I agree with your point though. Lets not put unreasonable expectations on these kids.

 

[Eric]

I'm not comparing Custis as a overall back to Allen...I am comparing the speed.

 

[Techster]

These guys are clones: