Put him at FB
Really would like them not to. I am a HUGE fan of Andy Janovich after his performance this past season. Becoming a starter as a true-freshman walk-on at a BCS program is no small feat. ESPN gave him big ups in our first game with wisconsin, playing a replay a couple times where he destroyed Wisco's Senior starting LB Borland. His wrestling prowess lends well to his position, as his grasp of the concept of leverage to maximize blocking strength is further developed than most his age.
You forgot to add Cross in the Diamond Formation. With three outstanding backs already in the stable, it will be difficult for Newby or Taylor to get meaningful snaps. I, for one, hope we redshirt at least one of them. I hope we don't throw away a redshirt just to get Newby garbage minutes on the field
Agree on the last two sentences. RS'ing one or both seems wise unless one of them is making significantly more plays in practice than Ameer or Braylon that you can't keep them off the field. But I disagree with your first sentence as I didn't really forget as so much intentionally leave him out.
I am of the persuasion that having a big-thumper back in the place of a capable speed back option is inefficient in this particular formation. It's effectiveness seems like it is created based on the rapid pace at which it develops. If you have guys who accelerate quickly in any formation, the defense cannot diagnose it as fast, but this confusion is magnified with the diamond formation plays' dizzying and variable nature. Way less margin for error for a defense defending that compared to a singleback pro-set. I think that's part of its appeal to fans; it's so hard to predict what will occur out of a large range of ball-carrier possibilities and directions to be able to run in. Given Cross' lack of speed compared to abdullah, heard, Newby, or Adam Taylor, it seems like it would be not maximizing the diamond's value as well as any combo of the previous 4, and could lend itself to the opposing linebackers being able to diagnose the play and the flow of it quicker, with a comparatively slower back like Imani. I don't know, I could be off, but I'd prefer to have 4 guys back there who all run 4.3's or 4.4's (I think Taylor runs in the 4.4 range) in this particular package over cross' 4.5 speed, which is still really good for his size and more than adequate for a majority of our other formations. A significant amount of linebackers on BCS rosters can run 4.5's. I am however, hard pressed to identify one who runs 4.4 or better.
Newby and Taylor will both jump Cross IMHO
not sure if i would call it jumping, cross is never gonna be an everydown back in this offense he just doesnt have the skill set of the other rb's on the roster i dont ever see him being more than a short yardage back or some one to line up in an i-formation a pound the rock to run the clock out
Agree with both posts. Our offense by nature lends itself to creating the most opportunities for RB's who have Ameer and Newby's skillsets, which is usually to get the speedsters out in space and let them use their elite ability to make tacklers miss in the open field. I don't think we'll see Cross ever hit 1,000 yards in a season and be anything more than the 2nd-most prominent back as long as Beck is running his offense, which is not really Cross' fault at all. He could be the feature back at a place like Alabama or LSU. I get the sense that he he will average ~10 carries a game in the future with the occasional increased workload (i.e. the PSU game) where the situation is better suited to have him run it up the gut for 3-5 yards a pop. Fortunately for his football prospects, there is a consistently high demand for his style in the
NFL. Very preliminary since he's just a freshman, but I think he'll get a chance with an NFL team even if he doesn't get to be the feature back here.
