Running Back


You won’t see the red shirts burned off of any “4 or 5” backs unless 1-2-3 contract leprosy.
Yeah I think even if Evans was healthy they wouldn't have played him in the first few games unless he was clearly better than Potts and Williams. This way if you end up with a lot of injuries at the end of the year, he can come in to help but wouldn't lose his redshirt. It would be different if they had more depth at RB.
 

We sure could use Bucky Irving: a true sophomore, he is Oregon's top rusher, averaging seven and a half yards per carry. He has the outside speed we need, breaks tackles on inside runs. Truth is we are thin at running back, considering injuries.
I was so excited about him playing with Mo. Was really hoping they would run some plays with both of them on the field at the same time. Could have really gotten creative. Sigh.
 

I didn't see anyone mention it in the thread, so I'll ask. He did go down and stay down for a bit after a run in the second half of last game against MSU. Looked like it was a leg thing. Seemed like he got another carry or two after that before being given the rest of the game off, but I'm not certain.

Anyone else remember it differently?
You could see clearly on the replay it was the ankle being twisted.
 

Potts is a shifty East-West back. MN didn't use him that way and instead ran him between the tackles for negative yardage. After the first half where the OL proved they couldn't get any push, they should have tried to get him the ball in space.

Let's not look at the 4, 5, 6 backs. Got to shore up OL, get Mo back healthy so that Potts can be used for the weapon he is.
Backs are fine. Oline was beat plain and simple. We are 10 deep there. That is where you look.
 


Agree that Potts seemed a little off but also think Williams was probably in there more because he is a better pass blocker and we knew we were going to need to throw more since the line was having a tough time stopping anything.

Rough day for the offense all around. Mo probably would have helped quite a bit but not sure even he could overcome the poor protection and lack of holes being opened up.

Good news is they have 2 weeks to study what Purdue did to them and hopefully fix the issues.
Just don't think Mo makes a big difference with our Oline performance that day. Mo is best in the country at yards after contact. But no back is good when first contact is at or behind LOS. Mo needs a small hole first, then he can break through tackles.

When all momentum is pushed back at the RB he hasn't much chance to get going.
 

Who is #4 and 5 on the depth chart? Do they make lots of guys miss?
Jeez, are you PJ's clone from last year or what? Anytime someone wants to talk about a backup, here you are all in their face trying to challenge them.

Got some spite in ya, I'll say that. Most people don't read every post trying to find a way to argue with the poster.
 

Potts was not running the ball very hard on Saturday. I don't know if he is working through something, if he had an off day, or what. But he didn't look like he had any juice.

Our OL got their asses kicked, but if your RB isn't making anyone miss (or being able to run through anything), it's tough to get yards in the Big 10. Potts was essentially jumped on the depth chart at halftime.

If he runs like that again next game, I'd be more than fine with Jelen, Evans, Nubin, or Grand taking those carries.
Jelen, Nubin, Grande nor an injured Evans can run against any Big Ten defense. The available backs, assuming healthy, are Mo, Potts, Williams, and Evans.
 

Jelen, Nubin, Grande nor an injured Evans can run against any Big Ten defense. The available backs, assuming healthy, are Mo, Potts, Williams, and Evans.
You don't know anything about those 4 players. Neither do I.

Potts, the way he ran on Saturday, cannot run against a Big 10 defense. That's my whole point. If he runs like he did on Saturday, there isn't a difference between him and the walk-ons you know so much about.
 



You don't know anything about those 4 players. Neither do I.

Potts, the way he ran on Saturday, cannot run against a Big 10 defense. That's my whole point. If he runs like he did on Saturday, there isn't a difference between him and the walk-ons you know so much about.
Potts definitely looked better last year than he did vs Purdue. Hopefully it's just that he's temporarily dinged up.
 


Just don't think Mo makes a big difference with our Oline performance that day. Mo is best in the country at yards after contact. But no back is good when first contact is at or behind LOS. Mo needs a small hole first, then he can break through tackles.

When all momentum is pushed back at the RB he hasn't much chance to get going.
Morgan was clearly off as well. Had some high throws and one long ball that was really underthrown. If he struggles next game, is there a chance Fleck puts in Athan?
 

Morgan was clearly off as well. Had some high throws and one long ball that was really underthrown. If he struggles next game, is there a chance Fleck puts in Athan?
I think the rest of the offense would have to be humming and it was clearly just Morgan being off. Still, I think it would take like 3-4 interceptions in the first 1-2 quarters for PJ to even consider.
 



You don't know anything about those 4 players. Neither do I.

Potts, the way he ran on Saturday, cannot run against a Big 10 defense. That's my whole point. If he runs like he did on Saturday, there isn't a difference between him and the walk-ons you know so much about.
Take a nap until you have something intelligent to say.

Anybody who follows Gopher football knows plenty about Potts. We have watched him three years. He stepped in last year as lead back for five games, rushing more than 100 yards a game. He started this year as backup to an All-American.

He didn't run like normal Saturday because there were no holes to run through. Purdue's defensive front was better than our Oline. Potts is a good Big Ten back and proven.

We know a lot about Jelen too. He's been in the program five years as a deep backup walk on. His character has earned him a handful of carries in non-pressure situations. Nubian is a D back filling in as depth at RB.

Max Grand is a true freshman walk on who may in time compete for carries. Not now.
 

Morgan was clearly off as well. Had some high throws and one long ball that was really underthrown. If he struggles next game, is there a chance Fleck puts in Athan?
C’mon PNW, you do remember what it took to get Zach off the field.
 


Bring back LeCaptain as a running back. We need to augment our current stable of backs with a down hill runner, a 235 pounder ... who is a pounder.
 

Our All American Center possibility ought to have a closed-door meeting with the OL and air it out. Forget about what didn't happen during the Purdue game and make damn sure it doesn't happen at Illinois. We can have out #4, #5, #6 backs in there, but if there are no holes to run through you get 7 yards in ahalf. Our OL is better than that!
Our offensive line didn’t compete. Even our all-American center didn’t compete. When the going gets tough, the tough get going unless you are decoy.
 

Take a nap until you have something intelligent to say.

Anybody who follows Gopher football knows plenty about Potts. We have watched him three years. He stepped in last year as lead back for five games, rushing more than 100 yards a game. He started this year as backup to an All-American.

He didn't run like normal Saturday because there were no holes to run through. Purdue's defensive front was better than our Oline. Potts is a good Big Ten back and proven.

We know a lot about Jelen too. He's been in the program five years as a deep backup walk on. His character has earned him a handful of carries in non-pressure situations. Nubian is a D back filling in as depth at RB.

Max Grand is a true freshman walk on who may in time compete for carries. Not now.

I know that reading isn't your specialty, so I'll try to keep it simple for you.

If Potts plays like he did on Saturday, he isn't any better than the walk-on running backs. I know who Potts is, and I think he's been a quality back for the U. He was absolutely not a quality back on Saturday.

It's not only my opinion, it was PJ's opinion as well. In the second half, Potts had a whopping 2 carries while Bryce Williams had 8 while playing from behind. PJ CLEARLY thought Potts wasn't bringing it.

There were holes to run through. Potts didn't make a single player miss and looked incredibly slow. If you're too dumb to see that (which you are)/

Potts has clearly been a good RB for the Gophers but he wasn't on Sunday. The OL didn't help things, but he was drastically outproduced and then lost snaps to Bryce Williams. So yawn. . . please tell me more about the players I already mentioned.
 

Bring back LeCaptain as a running back. We need to augment our current stable of backs with a down hill runner, a 235 pounder ... who is a pounder.
For some reason he doesn't seem to be considered a college running back. I've wondered why.
 

I know that reading isn't your specialty, so I'll try to keep it simple for you.

If Potts plays like he did on Saturday, he isn't any better than the walk-on running backs. I know who Potts is, and I think he's been a quality back for the U. He was absolutely not a quality back on Saturday.

It's not only my opinion, it was PJ's opinion as well. In the second half, Potts had a whopping 2 carries while Bryce Williams had 8 while playing from behind. PJ CLEARLY thought Potts wasn't bringing it.

There were holes to run through. Potts didn't make a single player miss and looked incredibly slow. If you're too dumb to see that (which you are)/

Potts has clearly been a good RB for the Gophers but he wasn't on Sunday. The OL didn't help things, but he was drastically outproduced and then lost snaps to Bryce Williams. So yawn. . . please tell me more about the players I already mentioned.
Fine, play moron. Fits you well.

The coaches make decisions on who plays based on what they know in totality, not one game. Potts has parts of two seasons proving he is a good Big Ten back. You would play Jelen, Nubin, or a true freshman walk on over Potts? You're an idiot.
 

You don't know anything about those 4 players. Neither do I.

Potts, the way he ran on Saturday, cannot run against a Big 10 defense. That's my whole point. If he runs like he did on Saturday, there isn't a difference between him and the walk-ons you know so much about.
We do know the walk ons were not highly recruited. I know LeCaptain had some success over a tiny sample size and we got gashed a couple times by a walk-on for Purdue, but I think it’s pretty safe to say plugging a walk on in was not going to change our fortunes. I don’t see it being an answer down the road either if teams are going to load the box.
 

Potts is a shifty East-West back. MN didn't use him that way and instead ran him between the tackles for negative yardage. After the first half where the OL proved they couldn't get any push, they should have tried to get him the ball in space.

Let's not look at the 4, 5, 6 backs. Got to shore up OL, get Mo back healthy so that Potts can be used for the weapon he is.
Strongly disagree with this analysis

Potts is bad east west and kept getting run down from behind on outside zone by untouched A gap players

Williams should’ve played more than Potts if we wanted outside zone
 

We sure could use Bucky Irving: a true sophomore, he is Oregon's top rusher, averaging seven and a half yards per carry. He has the outside speed we need, breaks tackles on inside runs. Truth is we are thin at running back, considering injuries.
If you had 7 figures to pay him we would still have him.

I’m not sure what your point is here?
Should I be mad at the AD?
The coach?
The OC?
Irving?
 

I know that reading isn't your specialty, so I'll try to keep it simple for you.

If Potts plays like he did on Saturday, he isn't any better than the walk-on running backs. I know who Potts is, and I think he's been a quality back for the U. He was absolutely not a quality back on Saturday.

It's not only my opinion, it was PJ's opinion as well. In the second half, Potts had a whopping 2 carries while Bryce Williams had 8 while playing from behind. PJ CLEARLY thought Potts wasn't bringing it.

There were holes to run through. Potts didn't make a single player miss and looked incredibly slow. If you're too dumb to see that (which you are)/

Potts has clearly been a good RB for the Gophers but he wasn't on Sunday. The OL didn't help things, but he was drastically outproduced and then lost snaps to Bryce Williams. So yawn. . . please tell me more about the players I already mentioned.
You might be right, but you could have had Dalvin Cook out there and he would have been bottled up too. The O-line didn't get it done, and then our QB didn't get it done when they were stacking 8.

I would also point to our offensive coordinator. He had a pretty bad game as well. They were most definitely confused as to what Purdue was doing on defense. They would start with 7 in the box, then walk guys up, then drop them, all kinds of moving around with their safeties, etc. Their D-coord had a field day against a guy I love in Ciarocca.
 

Strongly disagree with this analysis

Potts is bad east west and kept getting run down from behind on outside zone by untouched A gap players

Williams should’ve played more than Potts if we wanted outside zone
Williams did play more.
 



You don't know anything about those 4 players. Neither do I.

Potts, the way he ran on Saturday, cannot run against a Big 10 defense. That's my whole point. If he runs like he did on Saturday, there isn't a difference between him and the walk-ons you know so much about.
I think one thing we might be missing is that Potts probably needs some time to be fully back. We are all fortunate that he is even able to play a down again. Not only does he most likely need some more reps to shake off the rust, he may need some more time to trust being able to attack the middle full out and trust all is okay.

IIRC The guard that transferred from Michigan (Mr. Chuck Filiaga) got dinged up. Did he play much at all after that point? We have to remember that the line was really just starting to gel. Might have been a factor?
 

We do know the walk ons were not highly recruited. I know LeCaptain had some success over a tiny sample size and we got gashed a couple times by a walk-on for Purdue, but I think it’s pretty safe to say plugging a walk on in was not going to change our fortunes. I don’t see it being an answer down the road either if teams are going to load the box.
I certainly don't think it's the answer down the road for teams loading the box and I'm not referring to LeCaptain's long run against Purdue.

My whole point is that the version of Potts we saw on Saturday (for whatever reason) was not very good. He wouldn't have been highly rated. He would have zero success running against a loaded box (he was incapable of making someone miss or running through any contact). That version of Potts was not the Potts we've seen other times.

So if Saturday was a mirage (hopefully and likely), Potts is clearly our second best running back and a quality Big 10 RB.

If Saturday wasn't a mirage, then I think all of our touches should go to Mo and Bryce Williams. On the off chance Mo is injured, we are in serious trouble. And at that point, I'd rather just have someone less talented who runs hard than THAT version of Potts.

I'm not advocating for any of those walk-ons to play before Potts. Potts is obviously the more talented player. I'm just saying the Saturday version of Potts should never see the field again.
 




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