FSN: Rodrick Williams is Minnesota's most important player in 2015

[BleedGopher]

per FSN:

This season, they have some big shoes to fill on offense. There is no replacing Maxx Williams and what he brought to the table so his replacement at tight end is not my selection. Instead, I chose Rodrick Williams, the running back that will get the first shot at replacing David Cobb.

Last year Cobb had over 300 carries for the Gophers and those need to go to someone. We know that Jerry Kill loves to pound the rock even though they are featuring a more up-tempo, no-huddle offense this season. For that no-huddle to be effective, someone has to be able to run the ball effectively so quarterback Mitch Leidner isn’t throwing 30 times a game. If Williams can have a breakout season, the trendy pick to win the Big Ten West live up to the hype.

http://www.foxsports.com/college-fo...nesota-s-most-important-player-in-2015-060115

Go Gophers!!

 

[MNVCGUY]

Totally disagree because there are other options at RB. Most important players are Leidner and whoever takes over for Wilson at MLB.

 

[MNfootballfan]

Totally disagree because there are other options at RB. Most important players are Leidner and whoever takes over for Wilson at MLB.

I agree 100%

This is much along the lines that the Gophers will miss David Cobb more than anyone. I disagree with that also. David Cobb is a great back, but having Rodrick Williams, Jeff Jones, Rodney Smith, Berkley Edwards, etc behind him will mean we won't miss Cobb as much.

 

[60's Guy]

How about this then?

I agree 100%

This is much along the lines that the Gophers will miss David Cobb more than anyone. I disagree with that also. David Cobb is a great back, but having Rodrick Williams, Jeff Jones, Rodney Smith, Berkley Edwards, etc behind him will mean we won't miss Cobb as much.

In the Gophers' scheme, Cobb is the most important production to replace. We have to be able to run the ball.
My disagreement with the articele: We are not not going to be featuring a more up-tempo no huddle offense on any consistent basis this coming season. We are preparing to beat TCU game one. We need to control the clock on offense for our system not to be totally over hauled in year 5 which would make no sense.

 

[Spoofin]

In the Gophers' scheme, Cobb is the most important production to replace. We have to be able to run the ball.
My disagreement with the articele: We are not not going to be featuring a more up-tempo no huddle offense on any consistent basis this coming season. We are preparing to beat TCU game one. We need to control the clock on offense for our system not to be totally over hauled in year 5 which would make no sense.

You are spot on 60's.

 

[die hard gopher]

Totally disagree because there are other options at RB. Most important players are Leidner and whoever takes over for Wilson at MLB.

Poock and Everrett Williams will most likely rotate at middle.

 

[DoubleB]

I think Cobb's production is very important to replace I just dont think it will be that hard to do so.
Roderick is the type that likes to pound the rock and he has shown he has some speed as well. I am sure it is not Berk like speed but hey we have that now too with Berkley

IMHO the toughest person to replace will be Wilson as the guys who will be stepping up are guys without a proven track record. We have seen glimpses of Williams and know what he is about. Pouck and Everrett are unknowns right now. they may make this a lot easier by the third or fouth game and we might all be saying Maxx was the hardest person to find a replacement

as of today with Roderick, Berkley, Smith Jones(on the field in multiple positions) along with improved OL and improved QB and improved WR's i am not worried about Cobbs numbers if you block the yardage will come

 

[hungan1]

IMHO, the big key to our offense that we cannot overlook is the O-Line.

How are holding up with the new OL line up? Do we have enough depth to cover injuries?

 

[die hard gopher]

I think Cobb's production is very important to replace I just dont think it will be that hard to do so.
Roderick is the type that likes to pound the rock and he has shown he has some speed as well. I am sure it is not Berk like speed but hey we have that now too with Berkley

IMHO the toughest person to replace will be Wilson as the guys who will be stepping up are guys without a proven track record. We have seen glimpses of Williams and know what he is about. Pouck and Everrett are unknowns right now. they may make this a lot easier by the third or fouth game and we might all be saying Maxx was the hardest person to find a replacement

as of today with Roderick, Berkley, Smith Jones(on the field in multiple positions) along with improved OL and improved QB and improved WR's i am not worried about Cobbs numbers if you block the yardage will come

Exactly. Running back is one of the easiest positions to plug in year after year with seamless transitions. Look at how Alabama went from Ingram to Richardson to Lacy to Yeldon to Henry like it's nothing. Wisconsin went from Clay to Ball to White to Gordon to now Clement with ease. Were not quite Alabama or even Wisconsin yet but you get the idea.

 

[60's Guy]

I agree with what you see

Exactly. Running back is one of the easiest positions to plug in year after year with seamless transitions. Look at how Alabama went from Ingram to Richardson to Lacy to Yeldon to Henry like it's nothing. Wisconsin went from Clay to Ball to White to Gordon to now Clement with ease. Were not quite Alabama or even Wisconsin yet but you get the idea.

I'm a little concerned with what you might not see. I like our line. But, I don't believe it is rated on the level of Alabama or Wisconsin quite yet, which is one reason why their running backs are able to step in seamlessly. Another reason their running backs don't seem to miss a beat is that they are rated with 4 and 5 stars coming in.
We have one like that who appears to be targeted as a wide receiver. This tells me the coaches believe in our running backs.

My empasis on this aspect is that running the football is the most critical aspect to our scheme. By disregarding Cobb's contributions as ordinary, I think you are missing what I saw. Cobb gained more yards where there was no where to run and gained more yards after contact than most any Gopher running back, I can think of.
Maroney and Barber ran hard! They were outstanding! They had more holes to run to in my opinion too.

Maxx's contributions won't likely be replaced in the same way by one guy. He is unique. But I'm far less worried about replacing his production if we can run the ball. Guys will be open if we can run.

Claeys will find a linebacker. I think he's a good enough coordinator to adapt and cover up deficiencies if there are any. If, if we can run the ball and control the clock. If the defense is on the field all day we are in trouble.

I too think we'll be able to run the ball. It's who we are. It's what we do. But it's critically important we do or the rest doesn't matter....yes I also believe we can get it done passing if we can't run on occasion this next season but not repeatedly. We have to score or control the clock on offense. Love to see us average 300-400 yards passing but it's not who we are over a season.
TCU 7th in passing 326 ypg-- 36th in rushing 206 ypg -- 2nd in points --- 8th in points against
Minnesota 121st in passing (running might be critical?) 30th in rushing 215 ypg --- 69th in points scored -- 34th in points against
I expect us to beat TCU, but that will not happen if we can't run the football. That can either be with Leidner on the option or preferably Nugget making them beg for mercy in the 4th quarter or/and I don't care who but somebody has to get it done on the ground. That's all I'm saying. It has to happen. We need close to 200 yards on the ground to win, most likely, or be in the game.
We gained 99 yards on the ground last year and it was really ugly. One third of that total was on 3 plays. We averaged 2.5 yards per carry on 39 attempts. We domintated Iowa! 59 carries 291 yards 4.9 yd avg That's what it looks like when we don't run the ball and when we do. Has to happen for Jerry Kill to win!

 

[John Galt]

I think Cobb is one of the most underrated players in Gopher history. Even after setting the all-time season rushing record and getting selected in the NFL draft, people view him as easily replaceable. Not only that, people view it as inevitable that JJ, Smith, and/or Williams will end up being better. Cobb wasn't the sexiest RB, but there were so many times where he gained 3-4 yards out of nothing. I like the potential of our other RBs and think we'll be fine, but there was a reason Cobb got 90% of the carries last year.

 

[Doc1001]

A HUGE key for us will be whether a freshman wide receiver will really step up.

 

[MNfootballfan]

I love Cobb and don't mean this as a rip on him, but I truly believe RB's are easier to replace than other positions on the field. Will he get the same dominance that Cobb delivered? No, we won't, but the drop off between Cobb and this year's group is not nearly as large as the gap between Max Williams and the #2 TE.

I like the analogy posted about Alabama and Wisconsin. While we aren't Alabama or Wisconsin, we had our own run during the Mason years of Darkins, Hamner, Redman, Barber, Maroney, Jackson III, and I believe Pinnix would have been right in line if Mason was around one more year. Not all those RBs are on the same level, but all were very productive at the U. If you have a good system in place and have a solid OL you will have a good running game no matter who is in the backfield.

 

[MNVCGUY]

I think Cobb is one of the most underrated players in Gopher history. Even after setting the all-time season rushing record and getting selected in the NFL draft, people view him as easily replaceable. Not only that, people view it as inevitable that JJ, Smith, and/or Williams will end up being better. Cobb wasn't the sexiest RB, but there were so many times where he gained 3-4 yards out of nothing. I like the potential of our other RBs and think we'll be fine, but there was a reason Cobb got 90% of the carries last year.

Could not agree more. One thing that has stood out the past 2 seasons is the noticeable drop in production when Cobb was not in the game. Of the RB on the roster Cobb was the only one that looked impressive so I don't think it is a slam dunk that any of the guys currently on the roster or waiting in the wings will be able to replace him. I think we will still see plenty of production out of the position based on the amount of times we run the ball but Cobb had that little something extra that took him from just being a back to being something special. Will be interesting to see if any of the options in the backfield can come close to his level of production.

 

[die hard gopher]

I'm a little concerned with what you might not see. I like our line. But, I don't believe it is rated on the level of Alabama or Wisconsin quite yet, which is one reason why their running backs are able to step in seamlessly. Another reason their running backs don't seem to miss a beat is that they are rated with 4 and 5 stars coming in.
We have one like that who appears to be targeted as a wide receiver. This tells me the coaches believe in our running backs.

Which is why I said "Were not quite Alabama or even Wisconsin yet..."

 

[die hard gopher]

Could not agree more. One thing that has stood out the past 2 seasons is the noticeable drop in production when Cobb was not in the game. Of the RB on the roster Cobb was the only one that looked impressive so I don't think it is a slam dunk that any of the guys currently on the roster or waiting in the wings will be able to replace him. I think we will still see plenty of production out of the position based on the amount of times we run the ball but Cobb had that little something extra that took him from just being a back to being something special. Will be interesting to see if any of the options in the backfield can come close to his level of production.

To be honest, I really didn't notice that.

 

[MNfootballfan]

Could not agree more. One thing that has stood out the past 2 seasons is the noticeable drop in production when Cobb was not in the game. Of the RB on the roster Cobb was the only one that looked impressive so I don't think it is a slam dunk that any of the guys currently on the roster or waiting in the wings will be able to replace him. I think we will still see plenty of production out of the position based on the amount of times we run the ball but Cobb had that little something extra that took him from just being a back to being something special. Will be interesting to see if any of the options in the backfield can come close to his level of production.

So, follow up question from me, is it a coincidence that Rodrick Williams has one carry vs. Missouri and takes it 20 yards for a TD or his first carry vs. Nebraska ends up as a TD? Cobb was a beast, one of the best backs in college football last year, but we will not see that much of a drop in production from the RB unit.

In Kill's scheme, the RB will consistently put up yards. It is the strength of our team. We may not have one back have as many yards as Cobb had, but I fully expect the RB unit will rush for as many yards this year as the RB's did last year.

 

['13Gopher]

IMHO, the big key to our offense that we cannot overlook is the O-Line.

How are holding up with the new OL line up? Do we have enough depth to cover injuries?

I think our O-line will be just fine next year if not better. I don't quite understand how "Maxx was so good and irreplaceable that I didn't choose the TE position for this article" is a valid excuse...yes, Maxx was incredible which is why someone (either Mitchy or the new WR core) will have to replace his production. When Aaron Rogers leaves you can't just not worry about his replacement because he was so good that he can't be replaced...that makes no sense.

In short, I think that the running game has always been above average for the gophers and thus will need to focus heavily on replacing a very above average passing attack from the TE position. I hope our redshirt wideouts and Jeff Jones can do the trick but it will be an uphill battle to say the least to replace what Maxx brought to the table.

 

[John Galt]

So, follow up question from me, is it a coincidence that Rodrick Williams has one carry vs. Missouri and takes it 20 yards for a TD or his first carry vs. Nebraska ends up as a TD? Cobb was a beast, one of the best backs in college football last year, but we will not see that much of a drop in production from the RB unit.

In Kill's scheme, the RB will consistently put up yards. It is the strength of our team. We may not have one back have as many yards as Cobb had, but I fully expect the RB unit will rush for as many yards this year as the RB's did last year.

I like Williams a lot. He has some big-play ability, he's not just a bruiser. But we won't have a back for a while that can hit a hole as fast as Cobb, and can consistently get the "dirty" yards he did. I have no doubt that Williams will be able to put up good numbers and score on some long runs like Cobb did this year. The importance of Cobb was how many critical runs he had that would never show up in a highlight real. Every game, there were multiple times when there was literally no where to go, and he still spun or bounced off a few guys to get 3-4 yards. We don't have a back that can do that like Cobb did.

 

[MNfootballfan]

I like Williams a lot. He has some big-play ability, he's not just a bruiser. But we won't have a back for a while that can hit a hole as fast as Cobb, and can consistently get the "dirty" yards he did. I have no doubt that Williams will be able to put up good numbers and score on some long runs like Cobb did this year. The importance of Cobb was how many critical runs he had that would never show up in a highlight real. Every game, there were multiple times when there was literally no where to go, and he still spun or bounced off a few guys to get 3-4 yards. We don't have a back that can do that like Cobb did.

I agree with everything you said, but we may have a back that can do that but hasn't had the opportunity to show it yet. I am not as concerned about the RB position as some others are. With that being said, Cobb was easily my favorite player on the team last year and I hope he has a great pro career.

 

[MNVCGUY]

I like Williams a lot. He has some big-play ability, he's not just a bruiser. But we won't have a back for a while that can hit a hole as fast as Cobb, and can consistently get the "dirty" yards he did. I have no doubt that Williams will be able to put up good numbers and score on some long runs like Cobb did this year. The importance of Cobb was how many critical runs he had that would never show up in a highlight real. Every game, there were multiple times when there was literally no where to go, and he still spun or bounced off a few guys to get 3-4 yards. We don't have a back that can do that like Cobb did.

Exactly the way I feel. The part in bold sums it up best for me, Cobb was able to do things that no other back on the roster seemed to be able to. Maybe one of those guys will develop that ability but I will be surprised if we don't notice the loss of Cobb in a somewhat significant way next season.

 

[die hard gopher]

I like Williams a lot. He has some big-play ability, he's not just a bruiser. But we won't have a back for a while that can hit a hole as fast as Cobb, and can consistently get the "dirty" yards he did. I have no doubt that Williams will be able to put up good numbers and score on some long runs like Cobb did this year. The importance of Cobb was how many critical runs he had that would never show up in a highlight real. Every game, there were multiple times when there was literally no where to go, and he still spun or bounced off a few guys to get 3-4 yards. We don't have a back that can do that like Cobb did.

I don't get that at all. If Roderick isn't a bruiser, then I don't know who in college football is. He was probably the most physical RB in the Big Ten last year and relished contact much more than even Cobb. Also Cobb was considered rather slow to hit the hole although a lot of that is because of his patience. I thought Kirkwood would hit the holes much harder and Jeff Jones is better than either of them at that.

 

[Ogie Ogilthorpe]

They don't have to replace Cobb. They only have to replace the production. That can come in many forms.

Cobb got a lot of carries, and a lot of carries in the second half of games when the Gophers had worn people down. I don't think that production will be that impossible to replace, particularly with an even REMOTELY improved passing game.

If anything, with even more distribution among backs carrying the ball, the Gophers will have some fresher legs toting the rock in the second half of games. I am VERY excited to see which guy steps up and becomes that guy. Someone will, no doubt about it. I'd be shocked if they don't have either a 1200-yd back this year or two guys that gain over 800 or so each.

 

[jaymil]

I don't get that at all. If Roderick isn't a bruiser, then I don't know who in college football is. He was probably the most physical RB in the Big Ten last year and relished contact much more than even Cobb. Also Cobb was considered rather slow to hit the hole although a lot of that is because of his patience. I thought Kirkwood would hit the holes much harder and Jeff Jones is better than either of them at that.

He's saying Rodrick IS a bruiser, but he's not JUST a bruiser. And you're right about Cobb's patience being a factor. When Cobb decided to hit the hole hard, he got downhill in a hurry.

I do think Cobb is being underrated by Gopher fans. I think our O-Line will have to show improvement for our RB's to get as much production as last year, which they very well could.

 

[die hard gopher]

He's saying Rodrick IS a bruiser, but he's not JUST a bruiser. And you're right about Cobb's patience being a factor. When Cobb decided to hit the hole hard, he got downhill in a hurry.

I do think Cobb is being underrated by Gopher fans. I think our O-Line will have to show improvement for our RB's to get as much production as last year, which they very well could.

Ah, my bad.

 

[John Galt]

I don't get that at all. If Roderick isn't a bruiser, then I don't know who in college football is. He was probably the most physical RB in the Big Ten last year and relished contact much more than even Cobb. Also Cobb was considered rather slow to hit the hole although a lot of that is because of his patience. I thought Kirkwood would hit the holes much harder and Jeff Jones is better than either of them at that.

I'm ecstatic that we have Jeff Jones. But he's currently spending most of his time at WR and is probably our 4th string RB. Let's not get carried away just yet...

 

[60's Guy]

Correct

Which is why I said "Were not quite Alabama or even Wisconsin yet..."

We both see us heading that direction, that's cool. But it's a non factor until we get there. You can't compare the future to the present. Cobb's production will be the hardest to replace on our team in any area imo. Even if it's not the hardest to replace it's the most important to replace. Nothing matters in our offensive and defensive schemes if we can't run the ball.

 

[die hard gopher]

I'm ecstatic that we have Jeff Jones. But he's currently spending most of his time at WR and is probably our 4th string RB. Let's not get carried away just yet...

I don't really think saying he hits the hole faster than Cobb or has better acceleration is getting carried away or outlandish at all but pretty obvious. In fact I'd be disappointed if he didn't and him playing WR for now or being behind Smith and Roderick doesn't mean that he can't hit it extremely quick. I love Cobb but athleticism was far from his #1 attribute.

 

[60's Guy]

They don't have to replace Cobb. They only have to replace the production. That can come in many forms.

Cobb got a lot of carries, and a lot of carries in the second half of games when the Gophers had worn people down. I don't think that production will be that impossible to replace, particularly with an even REMOTELY improved passing game.

If anything, with even more distribution among backs carrying the ball, the Gophers will have some fresher legs toting the rock in the second half of games. I am VERY excited to see which guy steps up and becomes that guy. Someone will, no doubt about it. I'd be shocked if they don't have either a 1200-yd back this year or two guys that gain over 800 or so each.

Agree, but we need the other 1200 to 1600 yards to get to the 2800 yard threshold we have established as our base.

 

[60's Guy]

I don't really think saying he hits the hole faster than Cobb or has better acceleration is getting carried away or outlandish at all but pretty obvious. In fact I'd be disappointed if he didn't and him playing WR for now or being behind Smith and Roderick doesn't mean that he can't hit it extremely quick. I love Cobb but athleticism was far from his #1 attribute.

I don't know but maybe the reason Cobb was the running back is because of his patience and his ability to make something out of nothing? And maybe the reason Jones is a wide receiver is because he hits the hole too fast and there isn't a hole every time or the majority of the time. Similar to why Berkley was ineffective often between the tackles...it's not because he's slow to the hole either.
Jones evidently can catch, so they want to get him the ball in space and B.E. drops a few so his versatility isn't quite as trustworthy.
Just one reason of a thousand possibilities how/why we do things as we do.