STrib: Heralded Gophers RB Jeff Jones is emerging as top receiver

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per Joe:

Coach Jerry Kill told KFAN (100.3-FM) this week that an argument could be made that Jones is the best receiver in camp. Thursday Kill said he knew Jones could be a good receiver, based largely on watching him play basketball at Minneapolis Washburn.

“I spend a lot of time when we’re recruiting people watching them play basketball games because you can tell if they’re athletic and those kinds of things,” Kill said.

Leidner seemed to be looking for Jones in several drills, including the scrimmage sessions against the first-team defense.

“He’s looking real good, and I think all the [defensive] backs agree,” Leidner said. “He runs some of the best routes on the team, and he’s relatively raw. He catches the ball real well.”

Added Leidner: “He’s got a different gear. The kid’s just motivated. He loves football. He comes every day with a great attitude. And the best part about him is you can line him up against Briean Boddy-[Calhoun, an All-Big Ten cornerback] or whoever, and he’s not going to look at them any differently.”

“When he’s blocking, he’ll blow you up.”

http://www.startribune.com/sports/gophers/299277061.html

Go Gophers!!
 


This scenario crossed my mind the other day as I read the comments about Jones and his perceived status among running backs on the roster. What if he is such a good receiver that the coaches moved him to take advantage of some great receiving skills? Great route running, timing, great hands or some other receiving skill? (blocking) I think the glass is half full here fellas. I guess we will see if it is true on Saturday.
 

I don't know... I'm sure he will be great at slot receiver, but I hope the change isn't permanent. His shiftiness is better suited as a RB, and I'm sure he can be an every down back. They have stated that he is behind because of last year, but I don't see how him practicing at receiver will help catch him up, unless they have pretty much have their mind set on that he's going to be a receiver.
 

RolGnav said:
I don't know... I'm sure he will be great at slot receiver, but I hope the change isn't permanent. His shiftiness is better suited as a RB, and I'm sure he can be an every down back. They have stated that he is behind because of last year, but I don't see how him practicing at receiver will help catch him up, unless they have pretty much have their mind set on that he's going to be a receiver.
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I'd say his shiftiness is probably better for receiver. He can use that devastating jump cut to get open on just about anyone including BBC as noted in the article and Murray from what i've seen. Plus receiver allows him to get into the open field easier where he can demonstrate his agility better there too. He isn't able to use his size and physicality at receiver however which will probably get him back to RB after this year. That is what separates him from most other slot receivers.
 


die hard gopher said:
I'd say his shiftiness is probably better for receiver. He can use that devastating jump cut to get open on just about anyone including BBC as noted in the article and Murray from what i've seen. Plus receiver allows him to get into the open field easier where he can demonstrate his agility better there too. He isn't able to use his size and physicality at receiver however which will probably get him back to RB after this year. That is what separates him from most other slot receivers.
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He probably does give guys problems in the slot because you cant press up on him. Now outside wr is a different story you have to get off press.
 

Just win baby. don't care if he is RB or not. Just win.
 


The obvious answer is often the correct one. We do not have very good receivers. He is pretty good catching the ball, so he plays receiver. All the hype about the three RS freshmen is based on potential. They may or may not contribute this year and Jerry knows he needs to get something from the passing game.
 



Randall Cobb/Percy Harvin type role?

GB played Cobb in the backfield in select situations last year and ran multiple draw/off tackle type plays out of the shotgun. Made defenses just cringe.

I like how Kill is trying to get as many play-makers on the field as possible. A lot of coaches, especially ones fearing for their job or afraid of the perception in the recruiting world, would take the #1 rated Big10 RB in his class and force him to be a starting running back.

Kill just don't give a ****.
 

Winasota Gopher said:
Randall Cobb/Percy Harvin type role?

GB played Cobb in the backfield in select situations last year and ran multiple draw/off tackle type plays out of the shotgun. Made defenses just cringe.

I like how Kill is trying to get as many play-makers on the field as possible. A lot of coaches, especially ones fearing for their job or afraid of the perception in the recruiting world, would take the #1 rated Big10 RB in his class and force him to be a starting running back.

Kill just don't give a ****.
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Darren Sproles is what popped to mind for me. Would love to see him develop into that kind of hybrid player.
 

BJN said:
Darren Sproles is what popped to mind for me. Would love to see him develop into that kind of hybrid player.
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That's another good example. My expectation is he will be split out wide a bit more than Darren was, at least this year. But you could be right, and I would be happy, that he lines up in the backfield on a lot of 3rd downs.
 

By moving JJ around there is no limit to the damage he can do to opposing Ds. Enjoy him while we have him!
 



My thoughts are the same as these recent posts. Think Sproles, Cobb, Harvin (sans attitude in that case). Put him in schemes where he gets a perfect match-up for his skills.
 

diehard said:
By moving JJ around there is no limit to the damage he can do to opposing Ds. Enjoy him while we have him!
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There gonna have to move him around because he<s not really a RB and KJ Maye is the best WR on this team.
 

beavergopher said:
The obvious answer is often the correct one. We do not have very good receivers. He is pretty good catching the ball, so he plays receiver. All the hype about the three RS freshmen is based on potential. They may or may not contribute this year and Jerry knows he needs to get something from the passing game.
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Unfortunately I agree that while it is exciting to hear that Jones is looking good the fact that a guy that has never played the position (or at least not for many many years) is looking like our best receiver in camp does not inspire a ton of confidence in the stable of guys that redshirted last year.

Will be interesting to see how it all plays out in the fall but based on all the things that have been published lately it seems pretty clear that for 2015 at least they see Jones as a wide receiver more then a running back. Which makes sense if they feel good about the other options at RB and not so great about the guys at WR.
 

beavergopher said:
The obvious answer is often the correct one. We do not have very good receivers. He is pretty good catching the ball, so he plays receiver. All the hype about the three RS freshmen is based on potential. They may or may not contribute this year and Jerry knows he needs to get something from the passing game.
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There is just as big of question marks at RB as there is WR.
 

"With Rodrick Williams, Rodney Smith and Berkley Edwards handling the tailback duties, Jones didn’t line up at running back once."

That quote is from the Strib article. I guess I see this as a crowded backfield and a new talented prospect at slot receiver, Jeff Jones. I hope he is the next Darren Sproles, Percy Harvin type player and we might know more on Saturday but for now it sounds like he is our best slot receiver. Maybe he projects his chance at the next level (NFL) as a receiver, they have longer careers anyway.
 


oldauggie said:
"With Rodrick Williams, Rodney Smith and Berkley Edwards handling the tailback duties, Jones didn’t line up at running back once."

That quote is from the Strib article. I guess I see this as a crowded backfield and a new talented prospect at slot receiver, Jeff Jones. I hope he is the next Darren Sproles, Percy Harvin type player and we might know more on Saturday but for now it sounds like he is our best slot receiver. Maybe he projects his chance at the next level (NFL) as a receiver, they have longer careers anyway.
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Kill also mentioned there was a day KJ did not practice so they used it to get Jones even more wr reps
 

mnsportsgeek said:
We've got a Percy Harvin on our hands.
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As long as he is just an on the field version of Percy Harvin, that would be great.

However I think we should maybe see how he does against an actual opponent before comparing him to a guy like Harvin. Looking good at receiver during practice and a scrimmage is very different then looking good at receiver when you line up in an actual game. Not saying he won't be great just think it is way to soon to start comparing him to good/great NFL players before he takes his first snap in a college game.
 

MNVCGUY said:
As long as he is just an on the field version of Percy Harvin, that would be great.

However I think we should maybe see how he does against an actual opponent before comparing him to a guy like Harvin. Looking good at receiver during practice and a scrimmage is very different then looking good at receiver when you line up in an actual game. Not saying he won't be great just think it is way to soon to start comparing him to good/great NFL players before he takes his first snap in a college game.
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Nobody is saying he is actually going as good as Percy Harvin if thats what you think.
 


414GopherFan said:
There gonna have to move him around because he<s not really a RB and KJ Maye is the best WR on this team.
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He needs to be on the field and the stable of backs is full and quality. he can make an immediate impact outside the tackles.
 

gopherjay said:
He needs to be on the field and the stable of backs is full and quality. he can make an immediate impact outside the tackles.
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JJ will play but Percy Harvin was a 4.27 guy at Florida. I've been to every Gopher game but 1 in the last 3 yrs could you remind me what this stable of RB has done? specifically Rodrick Williams?
 

414GopherFan said:
JJ will play but Percy Harvin was a 4.27 guy at Florida. I've been to every Gopher game but 1 in the last 3 yrs could you remind me what this stable of RB has done? specifically Rodrick Williams?
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Here's a short clip. Stop at .02. - no holes and 2 linebackers to fill the gap. Most RBs would have been stopped on the 2 yard line. There's more, but this is one example of what Mr. Williams brings to the table. This is a really good run.

 

414GopherFan said:
I've been to every Gopher game but 1 in the last 3 yrs could you remind me what this stable of RB has done? specifically Rodrick Williams?
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Did you watch any of the away games? He looked pretty clutch in limited action down the stretch last year.
Nebraska: https://youtu.be/43NBgLIyaTw?t=2m10s
He had 3 carries for 22 yards with 1 TD after Cobb was knocked out of the game. I was pretty down at this point at the time as we were losing 14-24 and on 4th and 1 Williams broke it for a 19 yard touchdown. That provided a huge spark.

Bowl game: http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=12107207
He only had the 1 carry for 20 yards for the touchdown on 3rd and 3.
 

Off topic...

In the video just posted by Rescooter, did anyone else notice how Epping absolutely buries the defender? Then helps him up, pats his back and has a word with him. What do you think he said? I'm sure it was something encouraging!
 

go4rube said:
Did you watch any of the away games? He looked pretty clutch in limited action down the stretch last year.
Nebraska: https://youtu.be/43NBgLIyaTw?t=2m10s
He had 3 carries for 22 yards with 1 TD after Cobb was knocked out of the game. I was pretty down at this point at the time as we were losing 14-24 and on 4th and 1 Williams broke it for a 19 yard touchdown. That provided a huge spark.

Bowl game: http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=12107207
He only had the 1 carry for 20 yards for the touchdown on 3rd and 3.
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With a career 5.0 YPC.
 

Rodrick can play-he just didn't get many opportunities

Jeff Jones just needs to get touches if he is a game breaker. Where doesn't matter as much as how many.
I've been hoping for bubble screens for 4 years. Maybe now they have a player they trust to throw them to.
Watch ESPN highlights, college and pro, there isn't a play with more touchdowns on highlight reels than bubble screens.
Beat one guy and it's a touchdown for the right receiver.
 

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