Ky Thomas commits

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RememberMurray said:
That's exactly right.

A back who is willing and even eager to block is a back who enjoys being physical on the field.

From Maroney and Barber to Cobb, Rodney, Shannon and Mo Ibrahim, our Gopher backs have been tough, physical runners. They could and can take a pounding as well as dish out a hit.
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Cobb rode the bench for years because he wasn’t willing to pick up the blitz.


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Kid is very shifty and wow for not a huge guy he is sure tough to bring down! Looks to have good speed that will only get better in a college S and C program. Very nice get! Welcome young man!
 

Spoofin said:
Cobb rode the bench for years because he wasn’t willing to pick up the blitz.


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Really?

He must have gotten over it, then. Or gotten better at it. He sure played a lot of really good football as a Gopher.

As far as running, I thought he was a very physical, tough runner... but maybe I'm missing the big picture. Eye of the beholder...
 

RememberMurray said:
Really?

He must have gotten over it, then. Or gotten better at it. He sure played a lot of really good football as a Gopher.

As far as running, I thought he was a very physical, tough runner... but maybe I'm missing the big picture. Eye of the beholder...
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Cobb was awesome. A great person too. One of my favs. He also had 11-carries total in his first 2 years despite showing obvious talent in practice and in any scrimmage, spring game, etc. he was seen in. Jerry Kill was not shy about letting it be known that Cobb wouldn’t play until he became a complete back - especially with blocking. You are correct, he did get there.


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Spoofin said:
Cobb was awesome. A great person too. One of my favs. He also had 11-carries total in his first 2 years despite showing obvious talent in practice and in any scrimmage, spring game, etc. he was seen in. Jerry Kill was not shy about letting it be known that Cobb wouldn’t play until he became a complete back - especially with blocking. You are correct, he did get there.


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Good to know!

From his highlight video, it looks like Ky Thomas has already learned the importance of being a good blocker.
 


Spoofin said:
Cobb rode the bench for years because he wasn’t willing to pick up the blitz.


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I seem to recall that he fumbled at a key point in a game as a freshman and like a lot of coaches, Kill puts a lot of stock in hanging onto the football, which contributed to Cobb moving down the pecking order. Cobb probably should have been red-shirted seeing how sparingly he was used during his first two seasons, but I don't think anyone can argue against the fact that he turned into an extremely good running back during his time here.

As for the topic, great to see a solid running back prospect commit to the program. Like pitchers in professional baseball, you can never have enough good running backs on a college football team.
 
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John Galt said:
Way too early to know. As far as the roster impact, I’m hoping it will eventually mean that we see Cam Wiley and Williamson at strong safety or OLB. We would have 7 scholarship RBs next year if someone doesn’t move (Mo, Williams, Edmonds, Potts, Wiley, Williamson and Thomas). That’s too crowded of a backfield.
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You gotta have 1-2 RB's per class dont you think? After transfers and positions switches I would think 7-8 is the right number on the roster with 3-4 seeing time on the field throughout the year.
 





Winasota Gopher said:
You gotta have 1-2 RB's per class dont you think? After transfers and positions switches I would think 7-8 is the right number on the roster with 3-4 seeing time on the field throughout the year.
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The good thing about building up depth is that it gives coaches the freedom to just play guys at their best positions.

Generally, I agree with what JG is saying. We could use more LBers and safeties. Every team plays more LBers and safeties as well, so if everything is equal, I'd play either of them on defense.

That said, and I'm sure JG would agree with me, lets say Williamson or Wiley is dynamic at RB, you keep him there. We have enough depth at S or LB where PJ has some flexibility in positions.
 

Winasota Gopher said:
You gotta have 1-2 RB's per class dont you think? After transfers and positions switches I would think 7-8 is the right number on the roster with 3-4 seeing time on the field throughout the year.
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I'd say on average you should recruit 1 RB per year and have 5-6 on scholarship. There simply aren't enough reps to go around, in practice or games, for 7-8 RBs. Even last year, when injuries took down our top two guys (Smith and Brooks), we only played 2 other RBs (Mo and Williams). As Bob stated, by all means give Williamson and Wiley a shot and see how good they are, but at the end of the day we will either need someone to change positions or we will have 1-2 RBs transfer out like London and Femi-Cole did. The 6th best LB is still in the 2-deeps and 1 injury away from significant playing time. The 6th best RB will be standing on the sideline all season.
 

John Galt said:
I'd say on average you should recruit 1 RB per year and have 5-6 on scholarship. There simply aren't enough reps to go around, in practice or games, for 7-8 RBs. Even last year, when injuries took down our top two guys (Smith and Brooks), we only played 2 other RBs (Mo and Williams). As Bob stated, by all means give Williamson and Wiley a shot and see how good they are, but at the end of the day we will either need someone to change positions or we will have 1-2 RBs transfer out like London and Femi-Cole did. The 6th best LB is still in the 2-deeps and 1 injury away from significant playing time. The 6th best RB will be standing on the sideline all season.
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Pretty good assessment of what should take place in recruiting RB's, you need more than 1 per year as injuries happen to RB more than say at the QB spot, but you don't have to bring in 2 guys every year, unless they are like Williamson and Wiley where they could switch to defense without too hard of a transition.
 

Topeka Capital Journal:

High’s Ky Thomas ‘wowed’ by Fleck, Minnesota program

When Ky Thomas and his family traveled to the Minnesota campus last week, the star Topeka High junior running back thought he was just going on another in a long line of college visits.

But by the time Thomas left the Minneapolis and St. Paul area he knew he was going to become a Gopher, orally committing to P.J. Fleck’s program last Friday night.

“I definitely didn’t even think about committing,″ Thomas said of his pre-visit mindset. “I already thought I had my plans set on where I was going to go and this visit was basically because they had offered and showed me love and gave me the opportunity to play there, so it was kind of out of respect. Then I went there. I had a chance to go to two practices and one was an open practice so I got to see their fan base come in and just seeing how many fans they had that showed up to a practice was crazy.

“I saw the head coach, coach Fleck and my running backs coach, coach (Kenni) Burns, in action while they were coaching their players and I loved how they were talking to their players and how they came in contact with them and how they got their attention. It was just something different that I hadn’t seen at other schools. They’re on a new wave on how they do stuff because coach Fleck’s a young coach — he’s only 38 — so he had a different kind of energy level that I didn’t see at any other school that I’ve been to.″

Thomas, who has rushed for 4,694 yards and scored 66 touchdowns in three seasons at Topeka High, also had offers on the table from several Power Five programs, including Kansas, Kansas State and Iowa, but felt secure that Minnesota really wanted him.

“Minnesota’s only taking one running back from my class and that was big for me, being the only back that they’re taking,″ he said. “I saw the opportunity of getting in there and being able to play early and compete for playing time as a freshman.

“I love coach (Fleck) and what he was talking about and love coach (Burns) and what he was talking about. They really connected with me outside of football, just life and life after football and what it takes to become a better man as well. They really sold me on that and my dad was there with me and he loved it. My mom was there and she loved it. My whole family was there and they fell in love with it and it was just an opportunity I had to jump on.″

Thomas said his dad (Tobi, a Topeka High assistant) had always told him to take his time before making a decision, but Ky said his commitment to the Gophers was a family decision.

“My dad, every visit I went on he would say, ‘Just take three or four days and let it sink in,’ because there were schools I visited and I loved it when I was there and then three days later I kind of thought about it and it just didn’t feel like it fit,″ Ky said. “Minnesota wasn’t easy either, because I for sure don’t want to be this far away from my family, seven hours. I would rather be much closer, but they loved it just as much as I did and it was just a golden opportunity.″

https://www.cjonline.com/sports/20190318/highs-ky-thomas-wowed-by-fleck-minnesota-program

Go Gophers!!
 



John Galt said:
I'd say on average you should recruit 1 RB per year and have 5-6 on scholarship. There simply aren't enough reps to go around, in practice or games, for 7-8 RBs. Even last year, when injuries took down our top two guys (Smith and Brooks), we only played 2 other RBs (Mo and Williams). As Bob stated, by all means give Williamson and Wiley a shot and see how good they are, but at the end of the day we will either need someone to change positions or we will have 1-2 RBs transfer out like London and Femi-Cole did. The 6th best LB is still in the 2-deeps and 1 injury away from significant playing time. The 6th best RB will be standing on the sideline all season.
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I think you almost always have to assume someone will transfer out at some point. It's so common.

It will be interesting to see how they handle the RB position this year if Smith and Brooks are healthy. Will they split up carries between those two and Ibraham? I'd like to see all 3 of them get consistent work if possible. Keeps guys fresh, less chance of injury, etc.
 

"orally committing" sounds gross. What happened to a verbal commit?
 




zman said:
You sound unsure.
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