Early 2017 Top 25

[Redux]

 

 

 

Yeah, Fournette really made a big difference for LSU huh?

Bruh...we. are. Actively. Recruiting. Top. Running. Backs. Please. Understand. This.

LSU needs a QB, hello.

So why aren't we getting any of them, like for 20 yrs now? I don't even wanna hear about M Lucky, Ameer was a self made man. We haven't had a blue chip frosh back that could come in and tear it up from the get go since Ahman Green.

Why not? It truly is a head scratcher.

Exactly, LSU needs a QB. It's not all about having a 5* RB.

You second paragraph is all over the place, no clue how to respond to it. Ameer was a lower rated receuit that ended up becoming a great one. We all know this, you aren't offering anything any of us don't already know.

Top recruits are talented, absolutely mind blowing...

Oh snap w your bogus comebacks re Fournette and LSU. Fournette is a great back, period, end of discussion.

We need great backs, it's simple. Evidently you're ok w average backs. Well, don't go whining when we finish in the middle of the pack in the B1G and unrrated again next year and the year after that and so on...

It blows me away NE fans arguing in favor of settling for average backs.

Yup, Fournette is great. Also because he had a plethora of talent on the line that allowed him to be great. He also didn't single handedly carry them to any titles, so....

 

Nobody is settling. You're the one crying because none of our RB's have turned in a Heisman season. The most experienced ine has what, 2 seasons under his belt? Take some of that patience you talked about having so much of.

 

In one weeks time you have made almost 200 posts, roughly 180 of them have been about how we don't have a good Running Back. You made your point, now please accept that not everyone agrees with it.

[B.B. Hemingway]

 

 

We currently don't have any great backs, it just so happens they were all 3* recruits.

Mikale Wilbon and Adam Taylor were both :star :star 's coming out of high school.

 

https://nebraska.rivals.com/commitments/football/2013

 

Interestingly enough, they both keep getting beat out for playing time and the #1 RB spot by "just 3 stars". Makes you wonder, doesn't it?

Had hi hopes for Taylor, thought he may the next big thang. Well, he had bad knees coming in, bad ACL injuries in h.s., if I recall. Still, was supposedly cleared, but then I think he injured them again @ NU. So we will never know.

 

Haven't completely given up on Wilbon, shows some flashes but doesn't look to be a between the tackle guy. Not big on blocking either, as yet, which is what is mainly keeping him off the field. Perhaps he was overrated, yes, overrated. Tre deserves a 4th star over him. Tre appears to have a chance, we shall see.

 

 

 

Didn't you already write him off earlier in this thread? Saying he would never be a 1,000 yard back?

[The Big Nebrowski]

 

 

 

 

We currently don't have any great backs, it just so happens they were all 3* recruits.

Mikale Wilbon and Adam Taylor were both :star :star 's coming out of high school.

 

https://nebraska.rivals.com/commitments/football/2013

 

Interestingly enough, they both keep getting beat out for playing time and the #1 RB spot by "just 3 stars". Makes you wonder, doesn't it?

Had hi hopes for Taylor, thought he may the next big thang. Well, he had bad knees coming in, bad ACL injuries in h.s., if I recall. Still, was supposedly cleared, but then I think he injured them again @ NU. So we will never know.

 

Haven't completely given up on Wilbon, shows some flashes but doesn't look to be a between the tackle guy. Not big on blocking either, as yet, which is what is mainly keeping him off the field. Perhaps he was overrated, yes, overrated. Tre deserves a 4th star over him. Tre appears to have a chance, we shall see.

 

Didn't you already write him off earlier in this thread? Saying he would never be a 1,000 yard back?

"appears to have a chance". You undertsand English, right. I don't think I said "never", but if I did, what I mean is, at best, I think he will gravitate around 1000 yds and that may not be every year from here on out. I like the kid, I'm hopin' for some upside. But, as of now, I don't see him as being any more distinguishable than any other "good" back that any other average team has.

 

I get it, you're trying to get a rise outta me. Keep swinging.

 

Maybe, when you get a chance, you can provide your own insights as to why any of our current backs will be more than just servicable.

 

Otherwise, why don't you just run along and bother somebody else.

[B.B. Hemingway]

 

 

 

 

We currently don't have any great backs, it just so happens they were all 3* recruits.

Mikale Wilbon and Adam Taylor were both :star :star 's coming out of high school.

https://nebraska.rivals.com/commitments/football/2013

 

Interestingly enough, they both keep getting beat out for playing time and the #1 RB spot by "just 3 stars". Makes you wonder, doesn't it?

Had hi hopes for Taylor, thought he may the next big thang. Well, he had bad knees coming in, bad ACL injuries in h.s., if I recall. Still, was supposedly cleared, but then I think he injured them again @ NU. So we will never know.

Haven't completely given up on Wilbon, shows some flashes but doesn't look to be a between the tackle guy. Not big on blocking either, as yet, which is what is mainly keeping him off the field. Perhaps he was overrated, yes, overrated. Tre deserves a 4th star over him. Tre appears to have a chance, we shall see.

 

Didn't you already write him off earlier in this thread? Saying he would never be a 1,000 yard back?

"appears to have a chance". You undertsand English, right. I don't think I said "never", but if I did, what I mean is, at best, I think he will gravitate around 1000 yds and that may not be every year from here on out. I like the kid, I'm hopin' for some upside. But, as of now, I don't see him as being any more distinguishable than any other "good" back that any other average team has.

I get it, you're trying to get a rise outta me. Keep swinging.

Maybe, when you get a chance, you can provide your own insights as to why any of our current backs will be more than just servicable.

Otherwise, why don't you just run along and bother somebody else.

That's my point. I, nor anybody else that I've seen, has made the argument that our current running backs will be anything more then serviceable. You just continue to argue with yourself. Nobody has argued that we don't need to recruit better running backs. Some, myself included, have taken issue with you discounting the potential of Tre Bryant after his Freshman year, or even Ozigbo after an injury littered Sophomore season...

 

But, we get it. You're confrontational. The board already has you figured out. Hell, you've even been nominated for a certain Hall of Fame on the board...

[Redux]

Makes the same sloppy point over and over and over and over and over, and doesn't listen to any counter point even if it remotely agrees with him, just same point over and over and over...

 

Where have I seen this before?

[cg_8]

I'd like to come in and add some points about what happened to the running game this season.

 

The main thing was that Langsdorf did not trust the line to pull. See this article before the Wisconsin game:

http://journalstar.com/sports/huskers/sipple/steven-m-sipple-huskers-lack-of-fullback-carries-this-season/article_0a0e9415-1f21-5a53-b038-9e817ec5eae2.html

 

And there are tons of reasons why he didn't trust the line to pull. I want to use this play from Illinois to illustrate the point (image from Husker Chalk Talk, which should be a must visit, https://huskerchalktalk.com/2016/10/05/illinois-tricking-the-beast-with-four-heads/ ):

 

This is a QB Dart play, a play that utilized by a lot of teams. Here there's a pulling T. The pulling T is not the issue here, it's the T on the otherside, who just plainly whiffs his block. This makes the pulling T block the guy Knevel was supposed to block. This blows the play up and the OLB who was supposed to be blocked by pulling T makes the play. Additionally, they are/were young. Getting comfortable to "pull" has come along for the T's. The line in 2017 will be more talented and of course more experienced than this last year (not to mention healthy).

 

Issues like this consistently happened. So much so that we only saw 1 pulling play vs Wisconsin (short TD run by Ozigbo), 1 puller vs. Minny, 5(!) vs Maryland, and 5(!) vs Iowa. (The other games after Wisconsin were zero, unless I missed something, which is incredibly possible, I'm not adding Tenn because I haven't watched it again, but I did see at least a couple).

 

So why the big deal on pullers? As the article above from Sipple states, it opens up a lot of things. Sipple was asking about FB runs, which work incredibly well as a trap. Which, we all know from experience. A trap doesn't work without consistent execution from pullers and the rest of the line. But we didn't have that from our OL this year. Heck, we didn't run a true RB counter until Iowa.

 

So we practically ran inside zone, outside zone, and jet sweep after Wisconsin, and that's it. The reason for the poor running game late in the season was NOT because of RB. It was because we were limited with the abilities of the OL. I am sure the RB's could have done better in some instances (I know I have my complaints) but I don't know if you could complain too much about RB's and RB's only.

 

With that being said, I look forward to watching Tre Bryant. I think he has what we are looking for if the OL can get it together. And honestly, I really like the kid from Bell West. His name escapes me, but having seen him play, I was incredibly impressed.

 

I'm sure there will be plenty more argument regarding RB's, but I just wanted to add that you can't blame everything on RB's.

[The Big Nebrowski]

 

 

 

 

 

We currently don't have any great backs, it just so happens they were all 3* recruits.

Mikale Wilbon and Adam Taylor were both :star :star 's coming out of high school.

https://nebraska.rivals.com/commitments/football/2013

 

Interestingly enough, they both keep getting beat out for playing time and the #1 RB spot by "just 3 stars". Makes you wonder, doesn't it?

Had hi hopes for Taylor, thought he may the next big thang. Well, he had bad knees coming in, bad ACL injuries in h.s., if I recall. Still, was supposedly cleared, but then I think he injured them again @ NU. So we will never know.

Haven't completely given up on Wilbon, shows some flashes but doesn't look to be a between the tackle guy. Not big on blocking either, as yet, which is what is mainly keeping him off the field. Perhaps he was overrated, yes, overrated. Tre deserves a 4th star over him. Tre appears to have a chance, we shall see.

 

Didn't you already write him off earlier in this thread? Saying he would never be a 1,000 yard back?

"appears to have a chance". You undertsand English, right. I don't think I said "never", but if I did, what I mean is, at best, I think he will gravitate around 1000 yds and that may not be every year from here on out. I like the kid, I'm hopin' for some upside. But, as of now, I don't see him as being any more distinguishable than any other "good" back that any other average team has.

I get it, you're trying to get a rise outta me. Keep swinging.

Maybe, when you get a chance, you can provide your own insights as to why any of our current backs will be more than just servicable.

Otherwise, why don't you just run along and bother somebody else.

That's my point. I, nor anybody else that I've seen, has made the argument that our current running backs will be anything more then serviceable. You just continue to argue with yourself. Nobody has argued that we don't need to recruit better running backs. Some, myself included, have taken issue with you discounting the potential of Tre Bryant after his Freshman year, or even Ozigbo after an injury littered Sophomore season...

 

But, we get it. You're confrontational. The board already has you figured out. Hell, you've even been nominated for a certain Hall of Fame on the board...

[The Big Nebrowski]

 

 

 

 

 

We currently don't have any great backs, it just so happens they were all 3* recruits.

Mikale Wilbon and Adam Taylor were both :star :star 's coming out of high school.

https://nebraska.rivals.com/commitments/football/2013

 

Interestingly enough, they both keep getting beat out for playing time and the #1 RB spot by "just 3 stars". Makes you wonder, doesn't it?

Had hi hopes for Taylor, thought he may the next big thang. Well, he had bad knees coming in, bad ACL injuries in h.s., if I recall. Still, was supposedly cleared, but then I think he injured them again @ NU. So we will never know.

Haven't completely given up on Wilbon, shows some flashes but doesn't look to be a between the tackle guy. Not big on blocking either, as yet, which is what is mainly keeping him off the field. Perhaps he was overrated, yes, overrated. Tre deserves a 4th star over him. Tre appears to have a chance, we shall see.

 

Didn't you already write him off earlier in this thread? Saying he would never be a 1,000 yard back?

"appears to have a chance". You undertsand English, right. I don't think I said "never", but if I did, what I mean is, at best, I think he will gravitate around 1000 yds and that may not be every year from here on out. I like the kid, I'm hopin' for some upside. But, as of now, I don't see him as being any more distinguishable than any other "good" back that any other average team has.

I get it, you're trying to get a rise outta me. Keep swinging.

Maybe, when you get a chance, you can provide your own insights as to why any of our current backs will be more than just servicable.

Otherwise, why don't you just run along and bother somebody else.

That's my point. I, nor anybody else that I've seen, has made the argument that our current running backs will be anything more then serviceable. You just continue to argue with yourself. Nobody has argued that we don't need to recruit better running backs. Some, myself included, have taken issue with you discounting the potential of Tre Bryant after his Freshman year, or even Ozigbo after an injury littered Sophomore season...

 

But, we get it. You're confrontational. The board already has you figured out. Hell, you've even been nominated for a certain Hall of Fame on the board...

Awesome, but I really wasn't seeking fame. If I win, I'll donate the prize to charity.

[The Big Nebrowski]

I'd like to come in and add some points about what happened to the running game this season.

 

The main thing was that Langsdorf did not trust the line to pull. See this article before the Wisconsin game:

http://journalstar.com/sports/huskers/sipple/steven-m-sipple-huskers-lack-of-fullback-carries-this-season/article_0a0e9415-1f21-5a53-b038-9e817ec5eae2.html

 

And there are tons of reasons why he didn't trust the line to pull. I want to use this play from Illinois to illustrate the point (image from Husker Chalk Talk, which should be a must visit, https://huskerchalktalk.com/2016/10/05/illinois-tricking-the-beast-with-four-heads/ ):

 

This is a QB Dart play, a play that utilized by a lot of teams. Here there's a pulling T. The pulling T is not the issue here, it's the T on the otherside, who just plainly whiffs his block. This makes the pulling T block the guy Knevel was supposed to block. This blows the play up and the OLB who was supposed to be blocked by pulling T makes the play. Additionally, they are/were young. Getting comfortable to "pull" has come along for the T's. The line in 2017 will be more talented and of course more experienced than this last year (not to mention healthy).

 

Issues like this consistently happened. So much so that we only saw 1 pulling play vs Wisconsin (short TD run by Ozigbo), 1 puller vs. Minny, 5(!) vs Maryland, and 5(!) vs Iowa. (The other games after Wisconsin were zero, unless I missed something, which is incredibly possible, I'm not adding Tenn because I haven't watched it again, but I did see at least a couple).

 

So why the big deal on pullers? As the article above from Sipple states, it opens up a lot of things. Sipple was asking about FB runs, which work incredibly well as a trap. Which, we all know from experience. A trap doesn't work without consistent execution from pullers and the rest of the line. But we didn't have that from our OL this year. Heck, we didn't run a true RB counter until Iowa.

 

So we practically ran inside zone, outside zone, and jet sweep after Wisconsin, and that's it. The reason for the poor running game late in the season was NOT because of RB. It was because we were limited with the abilities of the OL. I am sure the RB's could have done better in some instances (I know I have my complaints) but I don't know if you could complain too much about RB's and RB's only.

 

With that being said, I look forward to watching Tre Bryant. I think he has what we are looking for if the OL can get it together. And honestly, I really like the kid from Bell West. His name escapes me, but having seen him play, I was incredibly impressed.

 

I'm sure there will be plenty more argument regarding RB's, but I just wanted to add that you can't blame everything on RB's.

Good points re the OL. I surely haven't been contending that it's all on the RBs.

 

So @ tOSU, what happened there? No answers from either the OL, the RBs, or the coaches. I tend to think they were athletically superior to us across the board, which is my main contention in wanting to get better RBs. In your opinion, what happened in that game?

 

Also, as to Bradly(Bellevue RB) the only vid I've seen of him shows him running wild mainly in space, nothng between the tackles. Is he a physical runner, can he break tackles and make things happen?

[The Big Nebrowski]

I'd like to come in and add some points about what happened to the running game this season.

 

The main thing was that Langsdorf did not trust the line to pull. See this article before the Wisconsin game:

http://journalstar.com/sports/huskers/sipple/steven-m-sipple-huskers-lack-of-fullback-carries-this-season/article_0a0e9415-1f21-5a53-b038-9e817ec5eae2.html

 

And there are tons of reasons why he didn't trust the line to pull. I want to use this play from Illinois to illustrate the point (image from Husker Chalk Talk, which should be a must visit, https://huskerchalktalk.com/2016/10/05/illinois-tricking-the-beast-with-four-heads/ ):

 

This is a QB Dart play, a play that utilized by a lot of teams. Here there's a pulling T. The pulling T is not the issue here, it's the T on the otherside, who just plainly whiffs his block. This makes the pulling T block the guy Knevel was supposed to block. This blows the play up and the OLB who was supposed to be blocked by pulling T makes the play. Additionally, they are/were young. Getting comfortable to "pull" has come along for the T's. The line in 2017 will be more talented and of course more experienced than this last year (not to mention healthy).

 

Issues like this consistently happened. So much so that we only saw 1 pulling play vs Wisconsin (short TD run by Ozigbo), 1 puller vs. Minny, 5(!) vs Maryland, and 5(!) vs Iowa. (The other games after Wisconsin were zero, unless I missed something, which is incredibly possible, I'm not adding Tenn because I haven't watched it again, but I did see at least a couple).

 

So why the big deal on pullers? As the article above from Sipple states, it opens up a lot of things. Sipple was asking about FB runs, which work incredibly well as a trap. Which, we all know from experience. A trap doesn't work without consistent execution from pullers and the rest of the line. But we didn't have that from our OL this year. Heck, we didn't run a true RB counter until Iowa.

 

So we practically ran inside zone, outside zone, and jet sweep after Wisconsin, and that's it. The reason for the poor running game late in the season was NOT because of RB. It was because we were limited with the abilities of the OL. I am sure the RB's could have done better in some instances (I know I have my complaints) but I don't know if you could complain too much about RB's and RB's only.

 

With that being said, I look forward to watching Tre Bryant. I think he has what we are looking for if the OL can get it together. And honestly, I really like the kid from Bell West. His name escapes me, but having seen him play, I was incredibly impressed.

 

I'm sure there will be plenty more argument regarding RB's, but I just wanted to add that you can't blame everything on RB's.

sorry about the double posts, bad wifi today.

[ScottyIce]

 

We currently don't have any great backs, it just so happens they were all 3* recruits.

 

Mikale Wilbon and Adam Taylor were both :star :star 's coming out of high school.

 

https://nebraska.rivals.com/commitments/football/2013

 

Interestingly enough, they both keep getting beat out for playing time and the #1 RB spot by "just 3 stars". Makes you wonder, doesn't it?

 

Also Newbs.

[cg_8]

 

Good points re the OL. I surely haven't been contending that it's all on the RBs.

 

So @ tOSU, what happened there? No answers from either the OL, the RBs, or the coaches. I tend to think they were athletically superior to us across the board, which is my main contention in wanting to get better RBs. In your opinion, what happened in that game?

 

Also, as to Bradly(Bellevue RB) the only vid I've seen of him shows him running wild mainly in space, nothng between the tackles. Is he a physical runner, can he break tackles and make things happen?

 

I don't mean to over-generalize your statements, but I just saw strong conversations back and forth about the RB position. The OL has been my talking point this off-season regarding the running game.

 

As for OSU, there are two overly simplified items that could be said for the game. The first being that we lost our 4 year starting QB. He was carted off the field and taken to the hospital by ambulance. Now, one could say you just play through that, but that's a lot for a team of college students to see happen to a teammate. The second is the defense.

 

Regarding the first, even with Tommy in, he was throwing the deep ball and missing. He's usually good for 1 maybe 2 of those a game, but he hit zero of them. Tommy had issues reading the field, but he had bigger issues with just always throwing the deep ball no matter what. I contend that a QB who doesn't play that way is an upgrade. Is Tanner Lee that guy? I'm not sure, I haven't seen him play, but if he cuts down on half of the Yolo Bombs and into a few more completions that keep a drive alive. I like it. (FTR, I loved Tommy, he was tough). Regardless, this game you really started to see the issues of the OL. Add that to the fact that you're playing from behind, and losing starting QB. Throw in a cold QB who didn't practice the game plan as intensely as your starter against one of the best teams in the nation. I don't know if more needs to be said. They just didn't get it together.

 

And then there's the defense. OSU had themselves a game, and well, we gave up a lot of big plays. I don't know how successful Bob Diaco and his system will be, but the "quarters" system wasn't that great of a fit for this team. Gerry was someone I think will look better in the pro's than his last year here. And that's saying A LOT, because he still looked good. But I think he will thrive outside of the quarters system in the NFL (of course, depending on where he goes).

 

Generally speaking, a lot of teams look bad playing from behind. Every team in the nation, even the best of them, look desperate throwing the ball a lot when playing behind. The difference is how well your QB throws in those situations. Tommy missed on targets, and so did Ryker. Add all that up and you get a lot of 3 and outs. Then just making your defense go out there again and again. But almost every team gets in that funk at some point. Ours was against a playoff team. OSU did the same thing in their playoff game. Rushing only 23 times (11 were from JT Barrett, 3 of those were sacks), and Barrett throwing 2 INTs. Washington also did it in their game against Bama.

 

As for Bradley (that's his name!), I saw him squeeze through holes and get some tough yards. He also has more TD's in Memorial Stadium than the rest of the returning RB's... Of course, this is against HS athletes, so that should be taken into account. Still, after seeing him play in person, I like the kid. But I have been wrong about prospects before.

[The Big Nebrowski]

 

 

Good points re the OL. I surely haven't been contending that it's all on the RBs.

 

So @ tOSU, what happened there? No answers from either the OL, the RBs, or the coaches. I tend to think they were athletically superior to us across the board, which is my main contention in wanting to get better RBs. In your opinion, what happened in that game?

 

Also, as to Bradly(Bellevue RB) the only vid I've seen of him shows him running wild mainly in space, nothng between the tackles. Is he a physical runner, can he break tackles and make things happen?

 

I don't mean to over-generalize your statements, but I just saw strong conversations back and forth about the RB position. The OL has been my talking point this off-season regarding the running game.

 

As for OSU, there are two overly simplified items that could be said for the game. The first being that we lost our 4 year starting QB. He was carted off the field and taken to the hospital by ambulance. Now, one could say you just play through that, but that's a lot for a team of college students to see happen to a teammate. The second is the defense.

 

Regarding the first, even with Tommy in, he was throwing the deep ball and missing. He's usually good for 1 maybe 2 of those a game, but he hit zero of them. Tommy had issues reading the field, but he had bigger issues with just always throwing the deep ball no matter what. I contend that a QB who doesn't play that way is an upgrade. Is Tanner Lee that guy? I'm not sure, I haven't seen him play, but if he cuts down on half of the Yolo Bombs and into a few more completions that keep a drive alive. I like it. (FTR, I loved Tommy, he was tough). Regardless, this game you really started to see the issues of the OL. Add that to the fact that you're playing from behind, and losing starting QB. Throw in a cold QB who didn't practice the game plan as intensely as your starter against one of the best teams in the nation. I don't know if more needs to be said. They just didn't get it together.

 

And then there's the defense. OSU had themselves a game, and well, we gave up a lot of big plays. I don't know how successful Bob Diaco and his system will be, but the "quarters" system wasn't that great of a fit for this team. Gerry was someone I think will look better in the pro's than his last year here. And that's saying A LOT, because he still looked good. But I think he will thrive outside of the quarters system in the NFL (of course, depending on where he goes).

 

Generally speaking, a lot of teams look bad playing from behind. Every team in the nation, even the best of them, look desperate throwing the ball a lot when playing behind. The difference is how well your QB throws in those situations. Tommy missed on targets, and so did Ryker. Add all that up and you get a lot of 3 and outs. Then just making your defense go out there again and again. But almost every team gets in that funk at some point. Ours was against a playoff team. OSU did the same thing in their playoff game. Rushing only 23 times (11 were from JT Barrett, 3 of those were sacks), and Barrett throwing 2 INTs. Washington also did it in their game against Bama.

 

As for Bradley (that's his name!), I saw him squeeze through holes and get some tough yards. He also has more TD's in Memorial Stadium than the rest of the returning RB's... Of course, this is against HS athletes, so that should be taken into account. Still, after seeing him play in person, I like the kid. But I have been wrong about prospects before.

Thanks for the well thought post. Forget about the defense, they looked ttly lost @ OSU--dont know what was going on there, but I don't think they were 59 points better than us.

 

The 3 points doesn't sit well, though. After TA went down, one would think we could line up and mostly pound the rock and at least get a could of scores on them.

 

As to Bradley, well, a guy has to be able to break tackles and that was Newby's big problem--otherwise a pretty good back. But when you look at his dirth of offers, gotta be honest, sends up red flags for me. Usually at least Ohio or YSU or UCF now will offer NE players. And he was the only guy we got, makes me nervous. King Frazier was just as good, prlly, looked real good on film, and he bolted to NDSU, couldn't get more than the 3rd spot.

 

Ok, my man, thanks.