Spring Position Battles - Running Backs

Don't look now but Newby was easily the rushing leader among the Big 3. Twice the YPC as Wilbon. Nearly two yards better per attempt than Ozigbo.

 
Mavric said:
Don't look now but Newby was easily the rushing leader among the Big 3. Twice the YPC as Wilbon. Nearly two yards better per attempt than Ozigbo.
Click to expand...
Newby took advantage of some big holes against the #2 defense and got some big chunk plays. Nothing against him, but he just ran where the hole was. I thought Wilbon's TD run in the 2nd quarter was very nice. He does a great job of making one cut and getting up field, and he looks to have the most wiggle in open space. I like Ozigbo, as well. He is the most complete of the 3, and is the most consistent. However, he's not a home run threat at RB.
 
Mavric said:
Don't look now but Newby was easily the rushing leader among the Big 3. Twice the YPC as Wilbon. Nearly two yards better per attempt than Ozigbo.
Click to expand...
Wilbon looked the best put there imo he had the 2nd string ol and just made great purposeful moves. Tbh I didn't really notice newby out there.
 
I was happy with the group as a whole. Newby changed his tune a bit, looks tougher/stronger and more confident. Wilbon really impressed, looked the most like a three down back imho. Ozigbo reminds me of Castille a bit

 
Newby seemed to be less hesitant, a bit more decisive and vertical with his running yesterday. Last year, it seemed like the engine was running but some of the cylinders weren't always firing.

It'll be interesting to see how this shakes out in the fall. I still think it will be mostly Newby/Ozigbo with perhaps a dose of Wilbon.

 
Mavric said:
Don't look now but Newby was easily the rushing leader among the Big 3. Twice the YPC as Wilbon. Nearly two yards better per attempt than Ozigbo.
Click to expand...
He also had the 2nd best YPC on the team last year, but that didn't stop him from getting yanked in favor of other backs at times. Even before his injury, he had games/stretches where he would just disappear. I think his biggest challenge will be finding a way to be more consistent, and as I said in my previous post, I think part of that will come if he runs more like he did Saturday on a regular basis.

 
Mavric said:
Don't look now but Newby was easily the rushing leader among the Big 3. Twice the YPC as Wilbon. Nearly two yards better per attempt than Ozigbo.
Click to expand...
Newby and Ozigbo ran behind the first team OL against the second team D, while Wilbon ran behind the second team OL against the first team D. Newby vs Ozigbo comparisons are at least mostly apples to apples, but Wilbon was in a different scenario that's difficult to judge head-to-head like you're suggesting.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I thought it was interesting Wilbon got benched when he didn't hand the reverse off to the WR. Westernkamp sure was pissed about it in his interview.

 
Enhance89 said:
Mavric said:
Don't look now but Newby was easily the rushing leader among the Big 3. Twice the YPC as Wilbon. Nearly two yards better per attempt than Ozigbo.
Click to expand...
He also had the 2nd best YPC on the team last year, but that didn't stop him from getting yanked in favor of other backs at times. Even before his injury, he had games/stretches where he would just disappear. I think his biggest challenge will be finding a way to be more consistent, and as I said in my previous post, I think part of that will come if he runs more like he did Saturday on a regular basis.
Click to expand...
Considering he got injured against Miami and the two games before that he was the leading rusher in both including a 198 yard game, I question your recollection.

 
Who caught our eye:

Senior Terrell Newby looked strong every time he touched the football, from dashing through a gaping hole on a draw play, to beating his defender to the edge on a stretch play, to scoring on a simple handoff from the 1-yard line.
Click to expand...
LJS

 
I thought Wilbon was the best looking back. Has the wiggle and toughness to get YAC. I think it will eventually be Wilbon and Oz in the backfield come mid-season if not sooner.

 
Maybe there are things we can see from the TV set but I order the RBs as Ozigbo 1, Wilbon 2 and Newby 3. Perhaps we will see big gaping holes and Newby will flash more speed that he has shown thus far but until then, we need the wiggle and power that Zig and Wilbon display. Push the pile so the three and four yards become 5 and 6. The defense gets tired when the need two or three to bring those horses down play after play. And teams that focus on the big backs will not be overloaded when Tommy keeps it. He has enough scat and arm tackle breaking to take it in from 40 or more. His running threat makes our offense so much more lethal and hard to stop. Our receivers are going to threaten ANY secondary. Without the run support the front seven of any team will have its work cut out for it with our power and slice/dice run game.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top