RB Evans

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He was beat up and playing behind the best RB in our program's history. I think most coaches, if given the opportunity, will slow play their FR.

I think if Mo was out for extended time, we would have seen a lot of Evans.
 




Bob_Loblaw said:
He was beat up and playing behind the best RB in our program's history. I think most coaches, if given the opportunity, will slow play their FR.

I think if Mo was out for extended time, we would have seen a lot of Evans.
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Hopefully it is because of injury. He was NOT put in well after he was back from injury durring times that Potts, Williams and some other guy i cant remember his name. With what talent is coming in (major talent, major talent the FR) people want to play. I fear that because how fleck treated the ex QB talent we had who would never see the field because he left tanner in even if we were up by 40 points. Our RB room is a fricking Stud packed room. We must find ways to play these guys or here comes the transfer portal once again.
 

st.paultransplantGOPHER said:
Hopefully it is because of injury. He was NOT put in well after he was back from injury durring times that Potts, Williams and some other guy i cant remember his name. With what talent is coming in (major talent, major talent the FR) people want to play. I fear that because how fleck treated the ex QB talent we had who would never see the field because he left tanner in even if we were up by 40 points. Our RB room is a fricking Stud packed room. We must find ways to play these guys or here comes the transfer portal once again.
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So play guys who aren’t worthy or playing time so they don’t transfer?
 


Small sample size, late game conditions, etc BUT he showed vision, patience, burst, and strength. VERY excited to see him this Spring.
 




Dave H said:
Well look how good all those other QBs did at other schools equal or better to Minnesota! Obviously they deserved more playing time...

They probably left cause we dont throw to the TE enough ;)
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Precisely!
 


No offense intended - but fans seem to get really excited about players after a very small sample size.

Evans gets in for a few snaps in one game, and does some nice things. And that very small sample size is enough for some fans to proclaim that Evans is the answer at RB.

He may be, but at this point, who knows?

What I do know is that Fleck just brought in a grad transfer RB. Coaches do not waste roster spots or scholarships, especially on a player with only 1 year of eligibility remaining. This guy was brought in here because the coaches think he can play right away - AND because the coaches think they need him to play right away.

That does not mean that Evans will be a bust. But - at least to me - it suggests that the coaches think Evans is not ready to be the #1 option at RB. Or at least, they were uncomfortable with the idea of a RB rotation relying on Evans and at least one true FR. You could say the same thing about Potts and Williams. the fact that the Gophers brought in a grad transfer RB says something about the way the coaches evaluate Potts and Williams, as well as Evans.
 



short ornery norwegian said:
No offense intended - but fans seem to get really excited about players after a very small sample size.

Evans gets in for a few snaps in one game, and does some nice things. And that very small sample size is enough for some fans to proclaim that Evans is the answer at RB.

He may be, but at this point, who knows?

What I do know is that Fleck just brought in a grad transfer RB. Coaches do not waste roster spots or scholarships, especially on a player with only 1 year of eligibility remaining. This guy was brought in here because the coaches think he can play right away - AND because the coaches think they need him to play right away.

That does not mean that Evans will be a bust. But - at least to me - it suggests that the coaches think Evans is not ready to be the #1 option at RB. Or at least, they were uncomfortable with the idea of a RB rotation relying on Evans and at least one true FR. You could say the same thing about Potts and Williams. the fact that the Gophers brought in a grad transfer RB says something about the way the coaches evaluate Potts and Williams, as well as Evans.
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If I remember right they were raving about Evans during camp. Unfortunate on the injury as the season was starting. If by chance the small sample size is what we can expect from him, there was no way they would have played him in NY do to horrible field conditions.
 

I the RB room is so full of studs then why worry about it? The guy played 1 game I believe, way too small of a sample size to gauge much at all. Personally I would hope he is better than Williams or Potts and is above them on the depth chart next year, if not he's either hurt or not that good.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
No offense intended - but fans seem to get really excited about players after a very small sample size.

Evans gets in for a few snaps in one game, and does some nice things. And that very small sample size is enough for some fans to proclaim that Evans is the answer at RB.

He may be, but at this point, who knows?

What I do know is that Fleck just brought in a grad transfer RB. Coaches do not waste roster spots or scholarships, especially on a player with only 1 year of eligibility remaining. This guy was brought in here because the coaches think he can play right away - AND because the coaches think they need him to play right away.

That does not mean that Evans will be a bust. But - at least to me - it suggests that the coaches think Evans is not ready to be the #1 option at RB. Or at least, they were uncomfortable with the idea of a RB rotation relying on Evans and at least one true FR. You could say the same thing about Potts and Williams. the fact that the Gophers brought in a grad transfer RB says something about the way the coaches evaluate Potts and Williams, as well as Evans.
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A 1 year transfer was perfect for this year with our running backs being so young. People aren't basing their optimism for Evans just off a few plays. He was highly regarded coming out of high school too.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
No offense intended - but fans seem to get really excited about players after a very small sample size.

Evans gets in for a few snaps in one game, and does some nice things. And that very small sample size is enough for some fans to proclaim that Evans is the answer at RB.

He may be, but at this point, who knows?

What I do know is that Fleck just brought in a grad transfer RB. Coaches do not waste roster spots or scholarships, especially on a player with only 1 year of eligibility remaining. This guy was brought in here because the coaches think he can play right away - AND because the coaches think they need him to play right away.

That does not mean that Evans will be a bust. But - at least to me - it suggests that the coaches think Evans is not ready to be the #1 option at RB. Or at least, they were uncomfortable with the idea of a RB rotation relying on Evans and at least one true FR. You could say the same thing about Potts and Williams. the fact that the Gophers brought in a grad transfer RB says something about the way the coaches evaluate Potts and Williams, as well as Evans.
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I would generally agree with you, but....

1. As others noted, Evans had a lot of hype in Spring ball.
2. Evans looked very, very good in those 3 carries
3. Them bringing in a transfer RB just says they found a guy who is very good, and there isn't anyone fully proven. Evans isn't fully proven in games - it doesn't say anything about their confidence in him.


To me, I love this thread because this was my #1 hobby horse this year: where the hell is Evans and why isn't he on the field?!! Listen, I'm sure Williams and Potts are great guys and I thank them for working hard in practice for the U and their commitment to their program. All that said, IMO Fleck's biggest offseason mistake was not telling Potts (and Williams to a lesser extent, but I don't mind keeping him around primarily as a 3rd-down blocker, which was largely his role) to go find a lower-level program where they could be a star or else that they were going to ride the pine if they came back. And Fleck's biggest in-season mistake was playing Potts & Williams so much. Potts & Williams clearly are not Big10 caliber backs.

If Fleck had told Irving & Thomas in the off season that they were the clear #2 & #3 guys, maybe one of them would've stayed.

The reason I care so much is that, IMO, we clearly lost 2 games this year because of the lack of an option behind Mo, and Evans looked like a clear option.
1. Purdue - Potts & Williams couldn't run at all. If Evans was healthy - and I don't know if he was - then a good RB would've allowed us at least some running yards and enough to win that game
2. Iowa - yes, Mo ran for 250 or so yards. But on that drive when he fumbled, he fumbled on his 14th (FOURTEENTH!) carry of the drive and his 10th (TENTH!!!) in a row. He was rightly exhausted, and I blame that fumble not on Mo, but on Fleck for not giving him a breather on that drive because he knew Potts and/or Williams would lose yards or get zero if put them in.

Those were the games that decided the B1G West title and I'm annoyed that Evans didn't play in those games (asterisk for Purdue, because I don't know if he was healthy). Although - like I said - if he had told Irving or Thomas that they were #2 then maybe one of them would've been back and played in those games.

Now, I have a friend who is a booster who claimed he had dinner with Fleck and Fleck told him (or implied or whatever) that the reason they didn't play Evans much is they didn't want a repeat of last year where our Freshmen RBs played and then were lured away by other schools. That's hearsay to me at this point, so I don't know how much truth there is to that. But if it's true, I find that gross malpractice by Fleck. If true, he has to prioritize winning those games and know that he could sell a different story to Evans than he could've to Irving/Thomas last year (Mo & Williams graduate, no need to play Potts next year).

Finally, I sincerely hope that Fleck tells Potts to find another school or else that he'll be riding the pine next season if he comes back here with the 3 talented guys (Evans, W Mich transfer, HS recruit from Mich) coming in. Again, I'm sure Potts is a great guy, and I don't like to even say anything negative about guys who have worked so hard for our program, but IMO Potts is just not a Big10 caliber back. If Potts is back and getting more than garbage time carries next year, I'm not gonna be happy.
 

Golden Elephant said:
I would generally agree with you, but....

1. As others noted, Evans had a lot of hype in Spring ball.
2. Evans looked very, very good in those 3 carries
3. Them bringing in a transfer RB just says they found a guy who is very good, and there isn't anyone fully proven. Evans isn't fully proven in games - it doesn't say anything about their confidence in him.


To me, I love this thread because this was my #1 hobby horse this year: where the hell is Evans and why isn't he on the field?!! Listen, I'm sure Williams and Potts are great guys and I thank them for working hard in practice for the U and their commitment to their program. All that said, IMO Fleck's biggest offseason mistake was not telling Potts (and Williams to a lesser extent, but I don't mind keeping him around primarily as a 3rd-down blocker, which was largely his role) to go find a lower-level program where they could be a star or else that they were going to ride the pine if they came back. And Fleck's biggest in-season mistake was playing Potts & Williams so much. Potts & Williams clearly are not Big10 caliber backs.

If Fleck had told Irving & Thomas in the off season that they were the clear #2 & #3 guys, maybe one of them would've stayed.

The reason I care so much is that, IMO, we clearly lost 2 games this year because of the lack of an option behind Mo, and Evans looked like a clear option.
1. Purdue - Potts & Williams couldn't run at all. If Evans was healthy - and I don't know if he was - then a good RB would've allowed us at least some running yards and enough to win that game
2. Iowa - yes, Mo ran for 250 or so yards. But on that drive when he fumbled, he fumbled on his 14th (FOURTEENTH!) carry of the drive and his 10th (TENTH!!!) in a row. He was rightly exhausted, and I blame that fumble not on Mo, but on Fleck for not giving him a breather on that drive because he knew Potts and/or Williams would lose yards or get zero if put them in.

Those were the games that decided the B1G West title and I'm annoyed that Evans didn't play in those games (asterisk for Purdue, because I don't know if he was healthy). Although - like I said - if he had told Irving or Thomas that they were #2 then maybe one of them would've been back and played in those games.

Now, I have a friend who is a booster who claimed he had dinner with Fleck and Fleck told him (or implied or whatever) that the reason they didn't play Evans much is they didn't want a repeat of last year where our Freshmen RBs played and then were lured away by other schools. That's hearsay to me at this point, so I don't know how much truth there is to that. But if it's true, I find that gross malpractice by Fleck. If true, he has to prioritize winning those games and know that he could sell a different story to Evans than he could've to Irving/Thomas last year (Mo & Williams graduate, no need to play Potts next year).

Finally, I sincerely hope that Fleck tells Potts to find another school or else that he'll be riding the pine next season if he comes back here with the 3 talented guys (Evans, W Mich transfer, HS recruit from Mich) coming in. Again, I'm sure Potts is a great guy, and I don't like to even say anything negative about guys who have worked so hard for our program, but IMO Potts is just not a Big10 caliber back. If Potts is back and getting more than garbage time carries next year, I'm not gonna be happy.
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Where’s the tl;dr version
 


Word said:
A 1 year transfer was perfect for this year with our running backs being so young. People aren't basing their optimism for Evans just off a few plays. He was highly regarded coming out of high school too.
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This!
 

I find it funny how bad people think Potts and Williams are? Mo averaged 5.2 you, Potts 4.7, Williams 4.9. You would think Mo averaged double what these guys did if that was true. Mo was special in that he could get you 6, when someone else would be lucky to get 1-2.

Under Fleck, I doubt our rbroom will ever be devoid of talent. We run a ton so backs will line up to play here.

The challenge is to throw more to the wr so better we recruits will consider us.
 

UpAndUnder43 said:
So play guys who aren’t worthy or playing time so they don’t transfer?
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so what your saying is if there freshman or not as good as the starting quarterback not to give them playing time when were ahead by 30 points when 5 minutes left in the game ? That cant be what your saying ?
 

st.paultransplantGOPHER said:
Hopefully it is because of injury. He was NOT put in well after he was back from injury durring times that Potts, Williams and some other guy i cant remember his name. With what talent is coming in (major talent, major talent the FR) people want to play. I fear that because how fleck treated the ex QB talent we had who would never see the field because he left tanner in even if we were up by 40 points. Our RB room is a fricking Stud packed room. We must find ways to play these guys or here comes the transfer portal once again.
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Unfortunately. The game only allows for one 🏈 to be used
 

Golden Elephant said:
I would generally agree with you, but....

1. As others noted, Evans had a lot of hype in Spring ball.
2. Evans looked very, very good in those 3 carries
3. Them bringing in a transfer RB just says they found a guy who is very good, and there isn't anyone fully proven. Evans isn't fully proven in games - it doesn't say anything about their confidence in him.


To me, I love this thread because this was my #1 hobby horse this year: where the hell is Evans and why isn't he on the field?!! Listen, I'm sure Williams and Potts are great guys and I thank them for working hard in practice for the U and their commitment to their program. All that said, IMO Fleck's biggest offseason mistake was not telling Potts (and Williams to a lesser extent, but I don't mind keeping him around primarily as a 3rd-down blocker, which was largely his role) to go find a lower-level program where they could be a star or else that they were going to ride the pine if they came back. And Fleck's biggest in-season mistake was playing Potts & Williams so much. Potts & Williams clearly are not Big10 caliber backs.

If Fleck had told Irving & Thomas in the off season that they were the clear #2 & #3 guys, maybe one of them would've stayed.

The reason I care so much is that, IMO, we clearly lost 2 games this year because of the lack of an option behind Mo, and Evans looked like a clear option.
1. Purdue - Potts & Williams couldn't run at all. If Evans was healthy - and I don't know if he was - then a good RB would've allowed us at least some running yards and enough to win that game
2. Iowa - yes, Mo ran for 250 or so yards. But on that drive when he fumbled, he fumbled on his 14th (FOURTEENTH!) carry of the drive and his 10th (TENTH!!!) in a row. He was rightly exhausted, and I blame that fumble not on Mo, but on Fleck for not giving him a breather on that drive because he knew Potts and/or Williams would lose yards or get zero if put them in.

Those were the games that decided the B1G West title and I'm annoyed that Evans didn't play in those games (asterisk for Purdue, because I don't know if he was healthy). Although - like I said - if he had told Irving or Thomas that they were #2 then maybe one of them would've been back and played in those games.

Now, I have a friend who is a booster who claimed he had dinner with Fleck and Fleck told him (or implied or whatever) that the reason they didn't play Evans much is they didn't want a repeat of last year where our Freshmen RBs played and then were lured away by other schools. That's hearsay to me at this point, so I don't know how much truth there is to that. But if it's true, I find that gross malpractice by Fleck. If true, he has to prioritize winning those games and know that he could sell a different story to Evans than he could've to Irving/Thomas last year (Mo & Williams graduate, no need to play Potts next year).

Finally, I sincerely hope that Fleck tells Potts to find another school or else that he'll be riding the pine next season if he comes back here with the 3 talented guys (Evans, W Mich transfer, HS recruit from Mich) coming in. Again, I'm sure Potts is a great guy, and I don't like to even say anything negative about guys who have worked so hard for our program, but IMO Potts is just not a Big10 caliber back. If Potts is back and getting more than garbage time carries next year, I'm not gonna be happy.
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Get off your high hobby🐴.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
No offense intended - but fans seem to get really excited about players after a very small sample size.

Evans gets in for a few snaps in one game, and does some nice things. And that very small sample size is enough for some fans to proclaim that Evans is the answer at RB.

He may be, but at this point, who knows?

What I do know is that Fleck just brought in a grad transfer RB. Coaches do not waste roster spots or scholarships, especially on a player with only 1 year of eligibility remaining. This guy was brought in here because the coaches think he can play right away - AND because the coaches think they need him to play right away.

That does not mean that Evans will be a bust. But - at least to me - it suggests that the coaches think Evans is not ready to be the #1 option at RB. Or at least, they were uncomfortable with the idea of a RB rotation relying on Evans and at least one true FR. You could say the same thing about Potts and Williams. the fact that the Gophers brought in a grad transfer RB says something about the way the coaches evaluate Potts and Williams, as well as Evans.
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Agree to an extent. I saw Evans in practice as well and he immediately stood out. Fleck is also hedging by bringing in the RB transfer.
 

march madness said:
I find it funny how bad people think Potts and Williams are? Mo averaged 5.2 you, Potts 4.7, Williams 4.9. You would think Mo averaged double what these guys did if that was true. Mo was special in that he could get you 6, when someone else would be lucky to get 1-2.

Under Fleck, I doubt our rbroom will ever be devoid of talent. We run a ton so backs will line up to play here.

The challenge is to throw more to the wr so better we recruits will consider us.
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The run blocking schemes this year were extremely vanilla; mainly straight ahead blocking that was probably tailored to Mo's ability to be patient, find a small hole, then make the hole bigger. That blocking probably didn't fit the other backs as well. I'm guessing the run blocking schemes next year change back to using various traps etc., similar Fleck's previous offenses.

Side note, just watching Potts in the Pinstripe, I think the poor footing hurt his game. There were a couple times he would have planted and bounced it up or out for nice yards on a good surface but couldn't because of the footing.
 

UpAndUnder43 said:
So play guys who aren’t worthy or playing time so they don’t transfer?
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Fleck is very loyal to starters, as has been demonstrated on numerous threads over several years. I know Gophs have had players, like Mo, who were not starters, who got a chance to start based on an injury or something else, who then became starters. I feel like we've seen that multiple times at RB in the last 6+ years too. I think Thomas Barber is another example where he became a starter after making it onto the field.
 
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Hey, I could be wrong.

But here is how I see it:

Fleck and the coaches evaluated the roster at the end of the season. They looked at areas where they felt they needed help and then tried to fill those holes through the transfer portal.

The Gophers then brought in a RB transfer - someone they wanted badly enough that they went out and flipped him after he had committed to another program.

That tells me that the coaches saw RB as a position of need.

If they were 100% confident in the returning RB's and the incoming FR, they would not have gone after a grad transfer. Ergo, they had questions/doubts about the RB room.
 

Injuries can change fortunes.
 

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