Bryce Williams

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MaxyJR1

MaxyJR1

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Not sure if it was announced or if anyone knows, but I saw this tidbit in an article on Gopher illustrated on the incoming class.

Allen Trieu says: RB Darius Taylor

The Gophers will lose Mo Ibrahim and Bryce Williams, so that does not leave a ton of experience coming back in the running backs room. I do think there is some talent there, but Taylor is tough and competitive and I think those qualities will allow him to get some time.
 

that wouldnt be completely surprising as it would be his 6th year.
but interesting non the less as we havent heard anything on the matter.

Evans/Taylor/Williams and even Nubin will get their chance!
 

MaxyJR1 said:
Not sure if it was announced or if anyone knows, but I saw this tidbit in an article on Gopher illustrated on the incoming class.

Allen Trieu says: RB Darius Taylor

The Gophers will lose Mo Ibrahim and Bryce Williams, so that does not leave a ton of experience coming back in the running backs room. I do think there is some talent there, but Taylor is tough and competitive and I think those qualities will allow him to get some time.
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Maybe just making assumptions based on him being a redshirt senior at the start of 2022 which usually means a player is done. Of course in this case he still has one more year to play.
 





Gophergrandpa said:
I hope Bryce stays! Stabilizing influence with the young RBs. And solid and dependable when needed.
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I agree. He seems to have done everything the coaches have asked of him. We have only seen a small sample of Evans and it was good. With a good stabilizer in the room the young backs should excel.
 





Gophergrandpa said:
Bryce can also catch a pass. We haven’t passed to backs much, but he is pretty good in that respect, should we start.
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It sounds like AK will be turned loose this year. Perhaps we'll have the RBs in the mix. While he's not the featured back type, he's a good option through progressions. He's got better hands than some of our current WRs.
 

He'd be a great 3rd down back or Amp Lee type receiver out of the backfield.
 


When was the last time we had a pass-catching back, or the last time we actually threw to our running backs?
 




GopherJack said:
When was the last time we had a pass-catching back, or the last time we actually threw to our running backs?
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Rodney Smith was probably the last guy that we threw to out of the backfield with some regularity, but that fell off with the coaching change. The change in offensive scheme from Limegrover to Ciarrocca has limited the number of passes to running backs.
 

GopherJack said:
When was the last time we had a pass-catching back, or the last time we actually threw to our running backs?
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So MUCH this! Throwing to the backs out of the backfield is a weapon we just never pull out of the arsenal. It gives the defense something else to think about and it can easily create some mismatches with linebackers. But alas, I’m not sure KC has it in the playbook.
 


We may see Kirk open the playbook a bit next year to take advantage of Athan's skillset.....
 

U2Gopher said:
So MUCH this! Throwing to the backs out of the backfield is a weapon we just never pull out of the arsenal. It gives the defense something else to think about and it can easily create some mismatches with linebackers. But alas, I’m not sure KC has it in the playbook.
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There's a reason. Williams gets open, but I'm guessing at least a third get dropped. In key situations. Same for the other backs. There's a reason why the ball doesn't go there often.
 

MaxyJR1 said:
Bryce Williams 10
Mo 7
Potts 3

Just over 1 catch per game
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To expand a bit, Bryce caught 10 passes for an 8.3 yard average gain. Mo caught 7 for 7.1 yards average; Potts caught 3 for 7.7 yard average. A swing pass to a back is a nice play, especially if LBs are cheating up or are poor in coverage. Of the three main backs in 2022, Bryce, who saw the fewest snaps by far, was clearly the best receiving threat and he usually gets yardage after the catch.

The other reason I'd like to see Bryce stay is that he actually performs on average as a decent rushing RB. Mo got 304 carries in 2022 and averaged 5.2 yards per carry with 19 TDs. Potts got 92 carries and averaged 4.9 yards with 3 TDs. Bryce got only 49 carries--but he averaged 5.0 yards and got 3 TDs.

Putting these together, to construct a pass/run ratio, Mo's receptions equated to 2.3% of rushing attempts; Potts' equated to 3.3% of his rushing attempts; and Bryce's equated to 20.4% of his rushing attempts.

Based on rushing averages and receiving averages, a case could be made that Bryce was our most "all around" RB in 2022--with some latent value to add, should we shift to a more robust passing game with AK8. Plus, Bryce's stats reflect very episodic insertions here and there, never really getting a chance to warm up to continuous play.

He's a good contributor, obviously unselfish (never complains) and is, we have been told, a quiet and respected leader. I really hope he stays for his final year.
 

Panthadad2 said:
There's a reason. Williams gets open, but I'm guessing at least a third get dropped. In key situations. Same for the other backs. There's a reason why the ball doesn't go there often.
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Guessing it has more to do with the situation we’re in when we do try it those few times. Typically 3rd and long with the defense blitzing isn’t a good recipe for offensive success usually.
 

CentralGopher said:
Guessing it has more to do with the situation we’re in when we do try it those few times. Typically 3rd and long with the defense blitzing isn’t a good recipe for offensive success usually.
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Sure, but that's exactly the time you really need the receiver to catch the ball. On 3rd and long or in clutch situations, you call plays to the guys you best believe will get it done.

On a side note, I was too hard on Williams in guessing a third of the passes got dropped. It was 2 drops out of 12 targets according to PFF. I just remember those 2 drops clearly and probably don't remember some little screen pass completions.
 

U2Gopher said:
So MUCH this! Throwing to the backs out of the backfield is a weapon we just never pull out of the arsenal. It gives the defense something else to think about and it can easily create some mismatches with linebackers. But alas, I’m not sure KC has it in the playbook.
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Haha...replace RB with TE and this was basically verbatim the last few years.
 

pharmacygopher said:
Haha...replace RB with TE and this was basically verbatim the last few years.
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One of the issues fans fail to recognize is that you can’t do everything.
You can try but that often leads to an offense with no identity
 

Some guy said:
One of the issues fans fail to recognize is that you can’t do everything.
You can try but that often leads to an offense with no identity
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We have a long, long, long way to go before we have to worry about doing everything on offense.
 

Some guy said:
One of the issues fans fail to recognize is that you can’t do everything.
You can try but that often leads to an offense with no identity
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Or you can change what you try to do every year like Tim Brewster did. I wasn't happy with the results, and Adam Weber often seemed confused.
 



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