Here is another practice update from BC that includes pictures.
Jamie Silva is fighting for a roster spot in Indy.
The Globe didn't have any football news Thursday, but they did have a nice feature on BC soccer player Steve Hepburn
Thursday, August 07, 2008
Musical Chairs at Running Back and other links
The notes section in this Herald article updated the ever-changing running back situation. Razzie Smith's move to Running Back looks more permanent, Mulrooney is nursing a bad back and Codi Boek has been moved to Running Back. Smith is not a surprise. The Boek move has more implications. It means that Dominique Davis is likely successor to Crane next year at QB and that the true freshmen running backs might not be ready. Our once barren backfield is now crowded with Jeff Smith, Razzie Smith, Boek, Haden, Mulrooney, Harris and Kelly. Haden is playing for sure. Jeff Smith will play if he stays healthy. But with the new depth, there is less of a need to use Harris and Kelly. It should be interesting to see how this plays out.
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With Codi getting reps back there, they will be able to run some sick trick plays.
I like this "throw them all in there and lets see who excels" philosophy. No one on this team is entitled to any reps, so make it a true open competition and use your best athletes. Boek may sound weird back there, but he is big, fast, and athletic.
And hey, injuries happen to backs. Better to prepare several guys for PT.
Interesting creativity with Codi back there. I still think that Haden is the horse for us this year, with lots of dumps and screens like Andre last year. Haden might lead the team with receptions and with all the speed (as long as Jeff Smith stays healthy) I look for our running backs to be a big reason why Crane is able to progress into an above-average, more-than-suitable qb in the ACC. Get them in open space and let our linemen do the rest!
I love the enthusiasm around here, but there are some huge question marks with this team and the Boek move only accentuates them.
Our line last year, despite having a first round draft pick on it, was not as strong as we've been accostomed to. Will it improve this year?
I hope so, because behind that line we have a 5th year senior/first year starter at QB (who could, and may, be awesome; but we don't know that yet). And then a freshman running back who likely doesn't have the body for 20-25 carries a game. Behind him we have: Jeff Smith (a permanent question mark because of the injury issues); Razzie Smith (who was a CB until Monday); Jerry Kelly (who looks like he was awesome in high school, but is a true frosh); and now Codi Boek?!? Yikes. Now, with a good offensive line, that group could be good or even great. With a mediocre or a bad one...gaining yards and not turning the ball over will be very difficult.
I know Logan is awesome (and he certainly is a breath of fresh air after Dana Bible). And I know these guys are better game day coaches than their predecessors (I also know that if Jags struggles this year, it will due in large part to TOB's mail-in jobs on recruiting his last two years, which will go unmentioned in the press). But the entire offense (excepting the TEs and WRs) is an unknown. I don't care how good the front seven is on defense; if the offense can't stay on the field, it won't matter (see, eg, NC State in 2006).
That's why the preseason polls have us ranked in the 30s and 40s. And, frankly, it's why they should.
In that Silva article... Part 2 is talking about D-Knight/Derek Knight.... whew, that is confusing.
can we please stop operating under the faulty assumption that Haden can't "hold up" for 20-25 carries a game? the list of smaller guys who have been absolute workhorses is quite long (I remember a guy in BC's backfield called Derrick Knight who didnt have much trouble...), and haden is absolutely built. the 'small RBs can't hold up' thing is a weak television talking-head argument.
The most important question about Hepburn went unanswered, i.e., can he kick a football?
I also would like the writing off of Haden as "not having the body for 20-25 carries" to stop. The guy is built like a monster, he won all sorts of awards for it at camps. His dad runs a gym, the kid has been working on that body since he came out of the womb. Though I realize its the MAC, Kent St's RB is 5'5 170 on a good day and ran for 1700 yards last year. If he did that with less than 20 carries/per game...he'd average well over 7 yards a carry...
Arguably the greatest RB of all time, Barry Saanders, was 5'8". Emmitt Smith was an inch taller. Haden will be fine.
There is no doubt Haden will succeed. But remember, he is going to be a true freshman. None of the aforementioned running backs were #1 on the depth chart and started their freshman year. So the question as to whether he can handle 25+ carries/game is a valid one.
If Josh Haden is Barry Sanders, we'll all be fine. And same thing if he's Derrick Knight, part 2 (or better). But it's unreasonable to expect him, as a freshman at his size, to be an every down back.
And the larger point is: the closest thing we have to a sure thing in the offensive backfield is a highly-recrutied freshman running back. That's why BC's not a top 25 team right now.
"That's why BC's not a top 25 team right now."
Sorry FlutiePhelan, not to step on any toes...but that's a load of horse shit.
You'll remember last season we entered the season unranked as well. We're consistently underranked to start the season, just as the powerhouses are always over rated.
I agree with flutie22. I have faith in Jags, but this Boek to RB move makes me a little uneasy. Either BC's is severely challenged in the backfield, or someone on the staff was way way off on scouting Boeck and now they're trying to salvage something out of him.
Haden looked very tiny/skinny to me at the spring game. He is not going to be a grind-it-out back who carries the ball more than 20 times a game, ever. Small athletic backs never do. Not even Reggie Bush averaged 20 carries a game. The short guys who do are all bowling balls like Dknight. Haden is going to make big contributions, but most likely 10 to 15 carries tops, a lot of receptions out of the backfield, and hopefully some game-changing plays. Frankly I'm excited to have an athletic back for a change after the LV years and it doesn't bother me that he's not a traditional back. He does need to be complimented with a bigger back though for short yardage.
But forgetting about who carries the ball, one concern with this group of RB's is blitz-pickups. AC had his flaws but he was exceptional in pass protection. Not a single one of our HB's has any experience with that, and you have to assume that before Jeff Smith's injuries this was one of the reasons keeping him off the field.
As far as the rankings go, there is so much uncertainty on offense that I understand the lowish rankings. I think the media overlooks though that even last year our offense was far from perfect. We piled it on early but after the strech of lousy teams we never really had much sustained offensive success, except for the Maryland game. So inconsistent offense has never kept us from a great season, and our defense is going to be exceptional. I'd say a preseason ranking between 25 and 35 is justified, and I think if we show something early we'll be quickly up into the top 25.
I met Josh Hadden personally at the brunch before the spring game. He sat at our table. Although he's short, I came away fairly impressed by how solid the guy looked for an 18-19 year old. Those days in his father's gym definitely paid dividends for the guy. Although I agree with the point that he's still a freshmen and will get even bigger, I don't think that precludes him from being an all purpose back getting 20+ carries a game eventually...maybe not this season, but eventually.
On another note, he was a very nice young man. He came across as articulate, confident, but not egotistical. I liked him a lot. I figure that's what Jags means when he says he's looking for "BC guys." I say at Ryan Purvis' table last year and got to speak with him quite a bit. He's definitely another "BC guy."
You are all making too much of this running back situation. I watched Friday's Jag's press conference in its entirety and Jags is simply trying to find the best 11 guys to be on the field. To do so, he has to mix things up and be creative. For example, he has tried Razzie Smith at running back. The guy ran a 10.6 100 in high school. Why not put a guy with that kind of speed back there? He has also tried Akins at cornerback which I think is a brilliant move. This puts a 220 pound guy on the end as a run stopper when teams try to go to the outside. And he will match up well with the bigger ACC receivers.
I'm getting more excited by the day but realistically, we are looking at an 8-win season.
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