Projected Starting Line Up

EZ-E said:
Army_Allen said:
Just that with Taylor we don't KNOW for sure what his work ethic will be. It's all what ifs at this point. But what we do know right now is that Imani works his a$$ off and wil continue to do that. Whether he will be a career backup or not, I know we have something great with him and whole heartedly believe (being another HS RB) that with his work ethic and from what I saw in his play time last year (VERY rarely fell backwards) and his ypc was trashed due to mostly short yardage attempts, that he will be another Husker great we will talk about in 4 years as someone who just made our team better no matter what his spot is on the depth chart.

Better clarification?
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So the fact that Taylor worked with two personal trainers his second semester, one for strength one for speed, for four hours a day means nothing??
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Army_Allen, just because someone has a great work ethic, doesn't mean its going to show on the field. How do we know that Imani won't be a bust? We saw 50 carries last year, thats it. IMO, that is not enough to say whether he is above average, especially when he came in late in the game when the defense was already tired. I have been an favor of Imani since he has gotten here, but I was not at all impressed with his ability to run in the spring game. Sure he was going against the better defense, but those weren't all #1 depth chart guys, like we will be facing on Saturdays. The ONLY RB that has proved himself to be a quality back, is Abdullah. Everything after him is up for grabs, and nobody has been a clear #2. IMO, the two freshman have a VERY good chance in overtaking the #2 spot, while Imani will be our 3rd or 4th down guy. There are things you can't teach, and both Taylor and Newby have everything your looking at for your starting RB. Taylor has the size, ability to make players miss, decent speed, ability to run over a defender, great field vision, and a great blocker. Newby is very elusive, extremely fast, ability to make people miss, great field vision, and very good hands, with both of these guys having a track record of great ball handling skills.

 
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+1 for that Nick. And I'm aware that it's more than just ethic, as I've stated quite a few times. I think we have two great rbs coming in this year and that we have three very serviceable ones here already (thought Frazier played well in the spring game as well the only rb's i didn't like there were those 4th and 5th walkons). But to say Imani hasn't shown anything is just as crazy as saying we've got AP and D. Thomas coming in. But then again this is all just opinions and guesses til the Fall, right?

 
HuskerNationNick said:
Army_Allen, just because someone has a great work ethic, doesn't mean its going to show on the field. How do we know that Imani won't be a bust? We saw 50 carries last year, thats it. IMO, that is not enough to say whether he is above average, especially when he came in late in the game when the defense was already tired. I have been an favor of Imani since he has gotten here, but I was not at all impressed with his ability to run in the spring game. Sure he was going against the better defense, but those weren't all #1 depth chart guys, like we will be facing on Saturdays. The ONLY RB that has proved himself to be a quality back, is Abdullah. Everything after him is up for grabs, and nobody has been a clear #2. IMO, the two freshman have a VERY good chance in overtaking the #2 spot, while Imani will be our 3rd or 4th down guy. There are things you can't teach, and both Taylor and Newby have everything your looking at for your starting RB. Taylor has the size, ability to make players miss, decent speed, ability to run over a defender, great field vision, and a great blocker. Newby is very elusive, extremely fast, ability to make people miss, great field vision, and very good hands, with both of these guys having a track record of great ball handling skills.
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You bring up a good point with the hands. Did Cross catch any balls out of the backfield last year? I don't remember and am too lazy to look it up today. Knowing very little about this area w/ Cross, I think I'd have to give the edge to both freshman as far as being a downfield threat (based on their film). Rex was able to work his way behind the D and make some great catches last year. I believe Beck was hoping to utilize more of that because they are higher percentage passes for Taylor. This is even something that I think Abdullah lacks. There's a big gap between Rex out of the backfield, and Abdullah when it comes to the passing game. Hopeful that improves this year. But, I'm going to give the nod to the 2 freshman over Cross as far as elusiveness and getting themselves open so that if a play breaks down Taylor has a solid check down.

On the opposite of that, I'd have to give the blocking nod to Cross for his size, improved speed and experience - even if it is 50 snaps. Freshman usually struggle with handling the blocking assignments. Depending on the state of the line, this might trump talent. I think Taylor has the ability to pick it up fast, but I think it might take Newby most of the year to get this aspect down. Maybe a year in the weight room before he is confident and consistent.

 
Good points, KC, and with that knowledge, I'd still stick with Cross at the 2 for this year alone. It's a big reason Heard was losing playing time. The lack of ability to pass pro.

 
devnet said:
So...let me get this straight. You're basing your entire conclusion on his limited use as a short yardage/3rd down back last year AND a limited, vanilla play calling set in a spring game and you're inferring that you know exactly what Imani Cross is all about?

I'd say that is faulty logic right there sir.

Give cross the same amount of carries that Abdullah gets in a game and he'll grind out 100 yard games. Do you realize he only had 2 games where he got a good amount of carries and both came at the beginning of the year and he had 100 yard games or close to it? Did you know that we only used him as a short yardage back last year since he was well over 200 lbs and could move a pile? Did you know we haven't given him any real carries as a true running back at all?

Anyone saying Imani Cross is going to ride the bench behind 2 freshman need their head examined in my opinion. Let's give Imani a try and if he doesn't have the production, then I'd say it would be time to try alternatives. Until that time comes, stop with the "I know that these freshman are so good their going to jump to #2" because it's ridiculous.
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What conclusion are you speaking of? I said I am no longer sold on him, because he didn't impress me with his speed or ability to break tackles in the spring game, with my evaluation of how he did during conference play. Pretty vanilla play calling against a below average defense, he should be swallowing up yards.

You call out my "conclusion", but these games you speak of, was against an FCS Idaho St team, Arkansas State, and Southern Miss. Really? 3 teams who we really should have never played, you base your opinion solely on that? Let me show you what the rest of his playing time looked like, and I think your full of crap if you think he could grind out the yards AA did.

UCLA- Didn't Play

Wisconsin- Didn't Play

Ohio St- 1 att, 13 yards, 13ypc

Northwestern- 1 att, 3 yards, 3ypc

Michigan- 2 att, 4 yards, 2ypc

Penn St- 8 att, 22 yards, 2.8ypc

Minnesota- 10 att, 19 yards, 1.9ypc

Iowa- Didn't Play

Wisconsin- 3 att, 35 yards, 11.7 ypc

All in all. 25 att, 96 yards, 3.84 ypc. You tell me how in the hell you think he could do that with his lack of speed and his inability to be elusive and get open? This is a prime example of how you look at 5.9ypc during his season is altered to make him look better than he is. I think you need to get your head examined and quit drinking the kool-aid.

Also, he had one game he had 100, and two games he had 60(ish). Not close to 100. Again, against below average teams.

 
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So...as a true freshman, he didn't impress you so it's time to just move on.

Hmmmm.....guess no reason to coach him up after his freshman year.

 
Imani's stats are difficult to decipher because of the situational playcalling.

27 of his 55 carries were either with 1-2 yards or goal to go. That is going to hinder your YPC statistics.

When he was given the ball on first or second down with 8-10 yards to go, he had 23 carries for 138 yards (6.0 YPC). That is pretty darn good.

 
I'm sure both Cross and Taylor are hard workers. Not sure how much that's going to play into it. What's going to matter is understanding of the playbook and ability to execute whatever role the coaches give these guys. I'm not entirely convinced they're both going to be expected to take on the same role. So it might be more of a 2a/2b deal if Taylor gives the coaches enough reason for the playing time.

Or Newby will take over sole ownership of the #2 spot and we'll all look dumb. There's really no right or wrong answer at this point.

 
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The Dude said:
I'm sure both Cross and Taylor are hard workers. Not sure how much that's going to play into it. What's going to matter is understanding of the playbook and ability to execute whatever role the coaches give these guys. I'm not entirely convinced they're both going to be expected to take on the same role. So it might be more of a 2a/2b deal if Taylor gives the coaches enough reason for the playing time.

Or Newby will take over sole ownership of the #2 spot and we'll all look dumb. There's really no right or wrong answer to at this point.
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Best statement all thread.

 
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