RB Aphonso Thomas [SMU - Signed LOI]

[DrunkOffPunch]

Not exactly sure where Heard was rated in the June prior, but at some point he was #5 RB in the country, 4* . I'm pretty certain, but cannot confirm(maybe someone else can) that Newby, Taylor and Wilbon were well established commodities at this point in their respective recruiting cycles. Newby 4*, 10th overall RB, noteworthy offers from OR, ASU, UCLA, WA, ARK, and Ol Miss. Taylor, 4*, 18th, offers from BAMA, FSU, ARK, Ol Miss, OU, Okie St, Wiscy and others. Wilbon, 4*, 16th, AZ, ASU, Miss St, GT, WV. ARK, Mizzou. I doubt AT's resume gets bumped at any point to match the guys he's going to be up against when he gets to NU.

 

http://247sports.com/Recruitment/Kevin-Dillman-21141/RecruitInterests

 

Kevin Dillman was a 4 or 5* at this point and one of the top QB prospects in the nation.

 

Two weeks ago Austin Pope looked like a reach. His best offers before ours was Memphis and a couple of the military schools. Now if we want to get him it looks like we'll be in a dogfight.

 

My point is between a prospects junior to at least midway through their senior season their ranking can change a lot, and do change a lot. Of course, people like this aren't the rule, but I'd say it happens enough yearly that they aren't the exception either. It's starting to get hot out, so I'll sip my kool-aid with a smile.

[irieboy8]

this thread reminds me of those image boards... instead of posting wins.. you guys are just talking too long about crap.... lets get over the 40 time and star ranking!!!

[zeWilbur]

Is there a site that ranks 40 times? They could even have their own star system. Then we could have a 'speed star ranking' and end all of this pointless debating!

[caveman99]

So much equivocation, so little time, puts me in multiquote hell!

 

Top equivocation(s) so far:

 

1) Rating services don't matter. Evidently it's 'hard to predict' how #1, 5* recruits, with beaucoup offers like Jameis Winston or Leonard Fournette will do in college(and beyond). Therefore, why not recruit a guy that's more or less off the radar, with offers from the likes of KU and Tejas St, doesn't appear on the Rivals position list(https://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/quicklist.asp?School=&Sport=1&DPosition=10&Position=8&Year=2016&qs=1), because, you know, it's 'hard to predict'.

 

2) Speed doesn't matter/is 'overrated', whether individually or by team.

 

3) H.S. 40 times are unreliable and therefore don't matter(much). NFL 40 times are the TRUTH, though.

 

4) AT may be a complete unknown now, but by the end of the cycle, everybodys' gonna want him!

 

5) Guys like Ameer Abdullah are more the rule than the exception.

 

Anyway...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Braylon Heard, for one, is faster than 4.6, he's at least 4.5 in the real world(4.4 out of h.s.).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But still, he's going to be competeing with at least 3 legitimate 4* RBs ahead of him when he gets to NU. soooo, I guess I have to defer to the coaches' eyes here, because to me, I'm just not seeing it.

 

 

What does that even mean? And the difference between the 4.6 and 4.4 out of hs is that one was electronic and can be verified, and the other is hearsay.

 

I wonder where those 3 RB's were rated in June before their senior year of football. Seems a bit unfair to compare them when you're taking the 3's highest final ranking vs. AT's ranking before his senior year.

Not exactly sure where Heard was rated in the June prior, but at some point he was #5 RB in the country, 4* . I'm pretty certain, but cannot confirm(maybe someone else can) that Newby, Taylor and Wilbon were well established commodities at this point in their respective recruiting cycles. Newby 4*, 10th overall RB, noteworthy offers from OR, ASU, UCLA, WA, ARK, and Ol Miss. Taylor, 4*, 18th, offers from BAMA, FSU, ARK, Ol Miss, OU, Okie St, Wiscy and others. Wilbon, 4*, 16th, AZ, ASU, Miss St, GT, WV. ARK, Mizzou. I doubt AT's resume gets bumped at any point to match the guys he's going to be up against when he gets to NU.

So to sum it up. We want Ezekiel Elliot and our new RB recruit is slow but our old recruits are faster than what their 40 times said. Oh wait a second AT would beat EE in the 100 meter dash (AT 10.91 and EE 10.95)

Gee, I dunno, we(BO & Co) already did want EE, along with Bama, tOSU, GA, Sparta, NU, ASU, Ark, ND, UCLA, Wiscy, PSU, TN, and others( As a true frosh, EE was an key part of his teams' earning a NC trophy. AT has(d) offers from NV, TX St, KU, CSU, S. Austin U, and has been splitting time with an RB who's going to SE OK St. So.....

Newby and Taylor have been thought of as a potential one-two punch, with Newby as the featured running back and Taylor coming in as a change of pace, third down, red-zone, and short yard. I could see Ozigbo and Thomas playing similar roles. Thomas can start a series running inside and outside zone and Ozigbo can set in for passing third downs as either a rush blocker or passing threat.

Though I have great faith in Newby, me thinks Taylor and Wilbon will be well into the fray for the starting position by season's end--maybe sooner. Ozigbo looks like a thumper type guy who will be pushing Cross. That Jordan Nelson also seemed to be making some noise @ the Spring Fling. Then there's Dedrick Young(?) AT will probably have to 'take a number' when he gets here.

It isn't late in the cycle at all. This kid will end up a 5.6-5.7 3 star minimum

He's already been bumped up to 3* on 247, or something. It's late in the cycle to be a relatively unkown quantity, compared to the known quantites with numerous noteworthy offers, is what I'm saying.

 

Hasn't one of Nebraska's perennial downfalls when playing the big boy teams been a relative lack of overall team speed? Yes, it has, the last best example being vs USC. We need more team speed, as much as possible, especially @ the skill positions. That's obvious, even a non NFL coach like me can figure that out.

The USC team NU hung with the whole game and almost beat? With an interim HC. You're making a mountain out of a mole hill.

By, 'hung with the whole game', I assume you mean playing from an 18 point deficit well into the 3rd qtr. NU fought back, to their credit.

Speed!

 

 

 

Hasn't one of Nebraska's perennial downfalls when playing the big boy teams been a relative lack of overall team speed? Yes, it has, the last best example being vs USC. We need more team speed, as much as possible, especially @ the skill positions. That's obvious, even a non NFL coach like me can figure that out.

The USC team NU hung with the whole game and almost beat? With an interim HC. You're making a mountain out of a mole hill.

I get your point, but USC had something like 51 scholarship players on the roster without including whatever injuries they might have had.

 

How do you think Nebraska would have done if we had to play with 51 scholarship players all season?

 

As far as Thomas goes, lots of kool-aid is flowing in this thread. I get that, you're fans and you want him to be good. He has the size Mike Riley likes in his running backs, which is fine, but overall he doesn't appear to be on the same level as most of our recent running backs we've had hear at NU. It looks like most of the coaches in Texas, Oklahoma and in SEC country agree.

Good points, Sir.

D. young is coming as a LB so I don't get your point there.

[SouthLincoln Husker]

If you're using video to prove USC is so much faster, then this clip shows Westerkamp as much faster than the USC secondary:

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:12085927

 

I'm pointing out that a supposedly much faster USC team barely beat NU. Rewatching that game, only one USC player looked faster than NU's guys: Adoree Jackson. And, quite frankly, DPE looked faster than USC's guy except Jackson.

 

Mostly I'm deriding the ridiculousness that 40 times equate to a useful football measure.

I agree. I thought this game was won due to USC being in better physical shape than we were.

[cornographic]

If you're using video to prove USC is so much faster, then this clip shows Westerkamp as much faster than the USC secondary:

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:12085927

 

I'm pointing out that a supposedly much faster USC team barely beat NU. Rewatching that game, only one USC player looked faster than NU's guys: Adoree Jackson. And, quite frankly, DPE looked faster than USC's guy except Jackson.

 

Mostly I'm deriding the ridiculousness that 40 times equate to a useful football measure.

 

Apples and oranges. If you notice, that was a broken play, Westy came back, their guys reacted, which took them and any angles they might have out of the play. Jackson basically blew by and pulled away from anybody who had a chance for NU.

 

USC's overall team speed advantage, though not huge, was obvious, just as when we play the likes of S Car., GA, Miami, tOSU, etc. Speed doesn't always translate into a W, but all other things being relatively equal, speed is a big advantage. I'm not saying we're a 'slow' team, just not as fast as a number of teams out there who we would like to be company with.

 

Kevin Dillman was a 4 or 5* at this point and one of the top QB prospects in the nation.

 

Two weeks ago Austin Pope looked like a reach. His best offers before ours was Memphis and a couple of the military schools. Now if we want to get him it looks like we'll be in a dogfight.

 

My point is between a prospects junior to at least midway through their senior season their ranking can change a lot, and do change a lot. Of course, people like this aren't the rule, but I'd say it happens enough yearly that they aren't the exception either. It's starting to get hot out, so I'll sip my kool-aid with a smile.

 

Well, you are correct. My main point in all this doesn't necessarily have to do with AT persay, but with Nebraska's recruiting overall from Bo until now. There's been a fair amount of recruiting off-the-radar guys do to the fact that we haven't been landing as many of the on-the-radar, high profile guys--with the exception of a few positions(RB, QB, for e.g.)-- as we might hope or want. Under Bo, recruiting was lethargic, even with early and numerous offers to big time recruits, and we've been left doing a fair amount of nailbiting at the 11th hour, frequently pulling in the off the radar guy(s).

 

So far, things seem to be plodding along similarly under Riley, but I suppose I'm judging too soon. Off-the-radar guys make me nervous, just a personal thing, I guess.

 

 

 

 

[cornographic]

Is there a site that ranks 40 times? They could even have their own star system. Then we could have a 'speed star ranking' and end all of this pointless debating!

 

Given the fact that speed is real important, one would think 40 times would be an area to which h.s. recruits, coaches, and recruiting sites would make sure happened and were accurate. To me, it's crazy the stat is treated in such an apparent loosey goosey fashion.

 

 

Caveman: D. young is coming as a LB so I don't get your point there.

 

D Young is listed as an RB on our Rivals commitment list, so that's where I got that.

[caveman99]

 

 

Is there a site that ranks 40 times? They could even have their own star system. Then we could have a 'speed star ranking' and end all of this pointless debating!

Given the fact that speed is real important, one would think 40 times would be an area to which h.s. recruits, coaches, and recruiting sites would make sure happened and were accurate. To me, it's crazy the stat is treated in such an apparent loosey goosey fashion.

 

Caveman: D. young is coming as a LB so I don't get your point there.

D Young is listed as an RB on our Rivals commitment list, so that's where I got that.

Fair enough I suppose, but he did graduate early and was a JAN enrollee AND went through Spring Ball as a LB................

[cornographic]

 

 

Is there a site that ranks 40 times? They could even have their own star system. Then we could have a 'speed star ranking' and end all of this pointless debating!

Given the fact that speed is real important, one would think 40 times would be an area to which h.s. recruits, coaches, and recruiting sites would make sure happened and were accurate. To me, it's crazy the stat is treated in such an apparent loosey goosey fashion.

 

Caveman: D. young is coming as a LB so I don't get your point there.

D Young is listed as an RB on our Rivals commitment list, so that's where I got that.

Fair enough I suppose, but he did graduate early and was a JAN enrollee AND went through Spring Ball as a LB................

 

That's right, I kind of lost track of that guy.

[NUance]

Exclusive: Interview With Nebraska Running Back Commit Aphonso Thomas

By Brian Towle  @BrianRTowle on Jun 10, 2015, 2:10p

<snip>

The first rep I saw was a 1 on 1, LB vs. RB running drill. Thomas runs very hard, so hard in fact that it's fair to say he could have a style that makes tacklers miss. In the three reps I saw, he was barely touched and showed great acceleration in his running.

LINK

 

 

I LIKE what I hear! :

[Sargon]

4.49 hand and 4.71 fully automatic time are the same. Aphonso's 4.71 was fully electronic at a recent, large event in Texas on a wet surface and it was reported that the times were slower because of this (particularly the first 2 groups of runners no info re what group Aphonso was in).

 

NFL combine "official" final reported times are based on a hand start/electronic finish method. (hybrid time)

 

4.59 would be, roughly, Aphonso's 40 converted to NFL combine hybrid time.

 

Ameer combined at 4.60 ( and scored many firsts and seconds overall in various tests). (Rex 4.73 official combine 40).

 

4.59 is reported in wikipedia to be the AVERAGE NFL combine time for RB's in the years 2008-2012 (all hybrid method).

 

Aphonso is certainly fast enough to be a top college and even top NFL runner. He won't be the fastest. But he's fast enough.

[irieboy8]

4.49 hand and 4.71 fully automatic time are the same. Aphonso's 4.71 was fully electronic at a recent, large event in Texas on a wet surface and it was reported that the times were slower because of this (particularly the first 2 groups of runners no info re what group Aphonso was in).

 

NFL combine "official" final reported times are based on a hand start/electronic finish method. (hybrid time)

 

4.59 would be, roughly, Aphonso's 40 converted to NFL combine hybrid time.

 

Ameer combined at 4.60 ( and scored many firsts and seconds overall in various tests). (Rex 4.73 official combine 40).

 

4.59 is reported in wikipedia to be the AVERAGE NFL combine time for RB's in the years 2008-2012 (all hybrid method).

 

Aphonso is certainly fast enough to be a top college and even top NFL runner. He won't be the fastest. But he's fast enough.

 

 

 

sounds like my wife.. not the hottest but hot enough.......

[Redux]

I don't care what his star rating is, I don't care what hist 40 time is.

 

Rile and Co. are supposed to be good at finding diamonds in the rough and this kid wants to be here? Sign me up.

[Hedley Lamarr]

I don't care what his star rating is, I don't care what hist 40 time is.

 

Rile and Co. are supposed to be good at finding diamonds in the rough and this kid wants to be here? Sign me up.

If the kid plays his entire senior season and doesn't get a bump from the services I might scratch my head and wonder. However he will end up a high end 3 star IMO

[Warrior10]

Will NOT be at our satellite camp in Dallas Thurs. Find it odd because it is only 2 hours round trip.