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Jordekorn

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Potts looks like he could do some damage this year, but needs more from our front than Mo. Hoping one of our young guys pops, otherwise we are going to need to rely on Morgan's arm and our young, but talented receiver core this year.
 

I actually thought the OL run blocking wise made some impressive plays that I didn't see since the Outback Bowl, they ran plays where Mo needed 3 yards and the line got him 2 of those yards outright... to me that was an improvement (albeit just one game so who knows if this is a thing or not) over some of what we've seen, and not something I would expect them to get vs tOSU.

I like Potts... but Mo's gift is VISION and his ability to make an unblocked dude miss at times (he did that several times last night). That's not something even an OL can just give a guy....

The challenge is that without Mo (if that is the situation) for an extended period of time do you dedicate more blockers to the run ... at the expense of pass protection (not every play but some plays when you line up you're already doing that) ?

Not an easy call there IMO.

One thing is Potts caught a pass right? Maybe more of that?
 
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Good timing. I was just about to post a thread on this. Who's down the depth chart that has explosive ability to exploit the inside/outside zone run? Anyone? Wiley and Williams are more slashing type runners that don't necessarily have he "hops" to quickly exploit a hole that quickly appears and disappears in the zone. Potts is quick but his strengths seem to be more about exploiting space.
 

Coaches will have a tough decision to make if Mo misses extended time. Potts is next man up, but there's no way he can handle Mo's workload. It's clear that Wiley is not a difference maker...but rather a 3 - 5 carry per game guy for change of pace and fingers crossed for a HR. Williams is the same kind of zone runner...although perhaps he can be useful in 3rd down situations.

So now you're talking about 15 - 20 carries/game to be accounted for. Given the word out of camp about how gifted they both are, I wouldn't be surprised to see one of Thomas or Irving burn the shirt and take 10 of those. It's not what the staff wanted, but plans go out the window when a catastrophic injury occurs.
 

I'm curious if the blocking scheme doesn't change, at least somewhat, to accommodate the type of running back.
 


MGGopher said:
Coaches will have a tough decision to make if Mo misses extended time. Potts is next man up, but there's no way he can handle Mo's workload. It's clear that Wiley is not a difference maker...but rather a 3 - 5 carry per game guy for change of pace and fingers crossed for a HR. Williams is the same kind of zone runner...although perhaps he can be useful in 3rd down situations.

So now you're talking about 15 - 20 carries/game to be accounted for. Given the word out of camp about how gifted they both are, I wouldn't be surprised to see one of Thomas or Irving burn the shirt and take 10 of those. It's not what the staff wanted, but plans go out the window when a catastrophic injury occurs.
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It will be interesting to see if Thomas or Irving get playing time. Thomas has already been red-shirted so there should be no worry about burning the shirt. Fleck seemed particularly impressed with Irving in camp.
 

I think we will definitely see Ky Thomas and Bucky Irving both getting some carries against Miami. At this point, they have to see if anybody is ready to shine. Mo did in 2017 as a redshirt freshman with Rod and Brooks out. We have recruited well at RB, so let's see what we got.
 

FormerFatOL said:
I'm curious if the blocking scheme doesn't change, at least somewhat, to accommodate the type of running back.
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The amount of movement on the OL reminded me of the Outback Bowl.... at times.

Granted I was watching at the stadium so not the best view but it was interesting.
 




We have some talented guys in the pipeline and going to be RB by committee. Hoping they can conserve the redshirt on Thomas/Irving.
 

Think we'll be ok. Until we find that workhorse like Mo we will probably not be as much of a ball control offense but that helps us too so we aren't one dimensional all year and can't resort to the passing game when needed.
 

The way Wright, Jackson, and Spann-Ford played, I’m confident that once we get CAB back our passing game will be good enough to help set up the run. I’m intrigued by Thomas, who seems to be the closest to Mo in style. Going to have to spread the wealth regardless.
 

I am ok with Potts...I"m not ok with Wiley. I think Williams can be serviceable in some instances....

It will be interesting to see if Thomas and/or Irving start getting more run, especially as the season goes on. Might be somewhat of a silver lining if Mo is out; those youngsters getting valuable experience.
 




I'd like to some of these Rb's in space on little swing passes which are essentially running plays anyway.
 

I do not think I saw Mo substituted one time before he got hurt. He most likely would not have gotten hurt if they would have given him a few breaks through out the game with other backs.
 

Tommyboy said:
I do not think I saw Mo substituted one time before he got hurt. He most likely would not have gotten hurt if they would have given him a few breaks through out the game with other backs.
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Nah, other backs got runs I'm pretty sure.
 



MGGopher said:
Coaches will have a tough decision to make if Mo misses extended time.
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You really think it's if?? Hat's off to you, for staying positive.

He's done for the year. Achilles rupture.

Question will be if Fleck is capable of actually admiting it to the media.
 


MplsGopher said:
You really think it's if?? Hat's off to you, for staying positive.

He's done for the year. Achilles rupture.

Question will be if Fleck is capable of actually admiting it to the media.
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It was disgusting to watch the video of his calf
 

IMO
1. Potts
2. Williams
___________________
3/4/5 Wiley Thomas Irving
 

MaxyJR1 said:
IMO
1. Potts
2. Williams
___________________
3/4/5 Wiley Thomas Irving
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Hopefully Ky Thomas can rise up through the depth chart. I've heard that he is an inside zone runner much in the mold of Mo -- I do not want Williams to be our lead back at all. Mo is so good at inside zone because of his vision and cutting ability which I haven't see from Williams nor Wiley in their time here.
 

I wish Jason Williamson would move from running back to Safety. He has the foot speed and the instincts to be a safety. Know he has had injury problems, but he is buried in the running back room. I think he is decent enough athlete to make this transition.
 

A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
I think we did that successfully at least once.
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Yeah, two that I remember. One was a critical 3rd down where they got Potts matched up on an ILB and he ran a sweet little whip route (IIRC) just past the sticks. Looked really natural doing it and Tanner put it right on the money.

I'm not sold on Sanford, but creating mismatches like that, getting Spann-Ford into space multiple times, creating things like 8 OL packages (which we saw multiple times last night) shows how bright these guys are. COaching in FBS is like having a PhD in anything else.
 

gopherdudepart2 said:
I wish Jason Williamson would move from running back to Safety. He has the foot speed and the instincts to be a safety. Know he has had injury problems, but he is buried in the running back room. I think he is decent enough athlete to make this transition.
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Are you the Common Man? He retired.
 

MGGopher said:
Yeah, two that I remember. One was a critical 3rd down where they got Potts matched up on an ILB and he ran a sweet little whip route (IIRC) just past the sticks. Looked really natural doing it and Tanner put it right on the money.

I'm not sold on Sanford, but creating mismatches like that, getting Spann-Ford into space multiple times, creating things like 8 OL packages (which we saw multiple times last night) shows how bright these guys are. COaching in FBS is like having a PhD in anything else.
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Yeah I thought that was a great catch and run by Potts. Not all RBs can play WR like that well... he looked natural and made it work.
 


A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
Yeah I thought that was a great catch and run by Potts. Not all RBs can play WR like that well... he looked natural and made it work.
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MGGopher said:
Yeah, two that I remember. One was a critical 3rd down where they got Potts matched up on an ILB and he ran a sweet little whip route (IIRC) just past the sticks. Looked really natural doing it and Tanner put it right on the money.

I'm not sold on Sanford, but creating mismatches like that, getting Spann-Ford into space multiple times, creating things like 8 OL packages (which we saw multiple times last night) shows how bright these guys are. COaching in FBS is like having a PhD in anything else.
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I was impressed overall with Sanford last night and thought he did a decent job playcalling.

Glad you mentioned that play with Potts beating the LB. I liked that package and really would love to see that when you've got a healthy CAB to go with Wright and Jackson.

I'm high on the trio of wideouts and we should have plenty of time for a running back to emerge. Schedule is relatively soft (Minus Colorado on the road) and this should provide the opportunites we need for someone to break out a little bit.
 

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