Who was the better RB? Roy Helu or Brandon Jackson?

[carlfense]

This topic came up in the 10 overrated running backs discussion. I thought it was interesting because a few people seem to think that Helu is far better than BJax. That surprised me.

What say you, Huskerboard nation?

(gotta love the offseason)

Brandon Jackson

 

[ADS]

B-Jax is the better "runningback", but Helu is pretty good in his own right.

 

[carlfense]

B-Jax is the better "runningback", but Helu is pretty good in his own right.

That's pretty much my feelings. Helu is a quite good running back . . . I just think BJax was a little better.

I don't mean to insult Roy, he's a great player. Just was curious what other people thought about the question.

 

[Enhance]

This is what I posted in the other thread.

There is evidence to suggest that Brandon Jackson is equal to if not better than Helu, even if it's in a couple of ways.

First of all, Brandon Jackson did in fact rush for over 1,000 yards in a season (2006), but net losses took him 11 yards short of this accomplishment and he had to settle for 989. In said season, Jackson had 188 carries (32 less than Helu) and a 5.3 ypc avg. (compared to Helu's 5.2). He did have two fewer touchdowns then Helu, however.

But there are a couple of intangibles here as to why I would give Jackson a slight edge.

1) He had proven skills breaking runs to the outside or keeping them inside between the tackles. Helu, thus far, has shown he is a much better perimeter guy than he is a power guy.

2) Injuries never plagued Jackson. He remained relatively healthy through his entire college career and was very reliable. Helu has been unable to make it through an entire season without being hampered by some sort of issue.

3) Jackson is on an NFL roster. Not to say making an NFL roster equates to college talent, because I do not believe such a thing. However, he obviously had all of the physical tools to take himself to the next level. This may be a personal feeling, but I don't see Helu having an easy go at an NFL team because of his injuries and inability to be consistently effective between the tackles.

 

[RedDenver]

Helu has always been on the verge of making it, but injuries constantly have held him back. B-Jax was a better IB even though he played for Clownahan.

But Helu still has a senior year to make a statement.

 

[bbeerma2]

Brandon Jackson will end up a higher draft pick than Helu in the end as well. He's a much more dynamic back than Helu is. Helu is just your run of the mill good solid back with decent fundamentals and enough speed to make things happen. I think Brandon Jackson had a lot more in terms of moves and was able to make more out of what he was given. He also appeared to be better catching the ball out of the backfield.

 

[NUance]

Both Jackson and Helu suffered from injuries in their NU careers. Jackson seemed to hit the hole stronger than Helu even though he was listed a bit smaller. I think Helu is quicker, makes better cuts, and better running lane decisions. I doubt if Helu is drafted as high as Bjax (2nd round). But at least Helu stuck around for his senior year.

If Helu stays healthy this year I give him the nod.

 

[carlfense]

Helu has always been on the verge of making it, but injuries constantly have held him back. B-Jax was a better IB even though he played for Clownahan.

But Helu still has a senior year to make a statement.

Good point. I wonder what kind of production BJax would have had if he had stuck around for his senior season. Probably would have put up gaudy numbers . . . and the 2007 team record would have been about the same. No amount of offense would cure that atrocious excuse for a defense. Yikes.

Edit: had my years wrong

 

[GMoose]

I love Roy, but as someone in the "10 most overrated..." thread put, he just doesn't have that beast-mode that Nebraska loves. Rozier had it, Roger Craig had it, LP had it, Ahman Green practically coined the term beast-mode. Jackson had it too. Helu is a good back, but when I look at his style of running, it's kind of like he's trying to be somewhere between an every down back and a scat back, and he doesn't really have the toughness for the former, or the elite speed and moves for the latter. But so long as he keeps up production like he has, I love having him on the team.

 

[zoogs]

2) Injuries never plagued Jackson. He remained relatively healthy through his entire college career and was very reliable. Helu has been unable to make it through an entire season without being hampered by some sort of issue.

Oops - that's not true. I mean, he did hold up during his junior year when he started as #4 on the depth chart, but this was after overcoming some serious injuries that required a redshirt IIRC. It also made durability a concern when he was being evald for the draft.

 

[nillie welson]

Not even close (well sort of close)...

B-Jax played for Callahan and didn't even begin to see the bulk of the carries until at least a quarter of the way into his final year. If B-Jax didn't get buried on the depth chart due to favoritism like frequently happened under BC, this wouldn't even be a point to argue in my opinion.

B-Jax is/was the best back we've had at Lincoln since....? This is the real question in my opinion. Who was the last really really really good back (almost great) prior to B-Jax?

And yes, if Helu stays healthy and plays like he did at Va Tech ALL YEAR, I will alter this tune a little bit about the 'not even a question' statement.

 

[zoogs]

Not even close (well sort of close)...

B-Jax played for Callahan and didn't even begin to see the bulk of the carries until at least a quarter of the way into his final year. If B-Jax didn't get buried on the depth chart due to favoritism like frequently happened under BC, this wouldn't even be a point to argue in my opinion.

B-Jax is/was the best back we've had at Lincoln since....? This is the real question in my opinion. Who was the last really really really good back (almost great) prior to B-Jax?

And yes, if Helu stays healthy and plays like he did at Va Tech ALL YEAR, I will alter this tune a little bit about the 'not even a question' statement.

Not favoritism! Sometimes, good players get buried. That's the nature of the game. If Callahan really played favorites, BJax wouldn't have gotten his shot as a junior. We had a four-back stable that year and Jackson emerged to take charge because he proved his worth, even though he was coming back from some injuries and being mostly invisible to Husker fans. Now we want to go back and claim Callahan played favorites with Lucky? How? Lucky had his shot that year, and couldn't hang onto it and Callahan went with Jackson instead.

Cory Ross (right before BJax if I remember) was pretty darn good, too.

I think Jackson and Helu are pretty different styles. I love watching Helu but I would hardly mind a back like Jackson either. I think I'll go with Helu just because he's more recent in memory.

 

[Enhance]

Not even close (well sort of close)...

B-Jax played for Callahan and didn't even begin to see the bulk of the carries until at least a quarter of the way into his final year. If B-Jax didn't get buried on the depth chart due to favoritism like frequently happened under BC, this wouldn't even be a point to argue in my opinion.

B-Jax is/was the best back we've had at Lincoln since....? This is the real question in my opinion. Who was the last really really really good back (almost great) prior to B-Jax?

And yes, if Helu stays healthy and plays like he did at Va Tech ALL YEAR, I will alter this tune a little bit about the 'not even a question' statement.

Cory Ross is probably the best back before B-Jax.

 

[nillie welson]

Not even close (well sort of close)...

B-Jax played for Callahan and didn't even begin to see the bulk of the carries until at least a quarter of the way into his final year. If B-Jax didn't get buried on the depth chart due to favoritism like frequently happened under BC, this wouldn't even be a point to argue in my opinion.

B-Jax is/was the best back we've had at Lincoln since....? This is the real question in my opinion. Who was the last really really really good back (almost great) prior to B-Jax?

And yes, if Helu stays healthy and plays like he did at Va Tech ALL YEAR, I will alter this tune a little bit about the 'not even a question' statement.

Cory Ross is probably the best back before B-Jax.

Good point, I absent-mindedly forgot about lil old Bowling Ball himself!

 

[nillie welson]

Not even close (well sort of close)...

B-Jax played for Callahan and didn't even begin to see the bulk of the carries until at least a quarter of the way into his final year. If B-Jax didn't get buried on the depth chart due to favoritism like frequently happened under BC, this wouldn't even be a point to argue in my opinion.

B-Jax is/was the best back we've had at Lincoln since....? This is the real question in my opinion. Who was the last really really really good back (almost great) prior to B-Jax?

And yes, if Helu stays healthy and plays like he did at Va Tech ALL YEAR, I will alter this tune a little bit about the 'not even a question' statement.

Not favoritism! Sometimes, good players get buried. That's the nature of the game. If Callahan really played favorites, BJax wouldn't have gotten his shot as a junior. We had a four-back stable that year and Jackson emerged to take charge because he proved his worth, even though he was coming back from some injuries and being mostly invisible to Husker fans. Now we want to go back and claim Callahan played favorites with Lucky? How? Lucky had his shot that year, and couldn't hang onto it and Callahan went with Jackson instead.

Cory Ross (right before BJax if I remember) was pretty darn good, too.

I think Jackson and Helu are pretty different styles. I love watching Helu but I would hardly mind a back like Jackson either. I think I'll go with Helu just because he's more recent in memory.

Listen to player interviews about the Callahan era and how people got to see the field... from their mouths (or mouthes? .