Cody Johnson

1

1leggedduck

1,000+ Posts
I love watching this guy carry the ball. He understands the north-south concept better than most RBs. When runs the stretch, he is great at finding that seam and turning upfield. He hits holes fast. He never falls back, always forward. He is an o-linemans dream because if you only hold a block for a second, its enough for a back like this.
 
The guy's a player. I love Obi-wan (God bless whoever came up with that nickname!) and Vondrell, but I'm really beginning to favor Fozzy and Cody as our main runners. I'm not the most knowing fan of the game, but the young guys feel like the biggest threat to take it to the endzone.

On the other hand, I don't know how well they block or do other things a back is supposed to do.
 
So far, I would rate C. Johnson as tops in terms of vision and finding a seam to run through and attack. I think Whitaker is good too, but C. Johnson's performance is fresh in my mind. I agree with the above poster that these two need to be toting the rock.
 
^^^^ I second, or third that remark. Johnson looked really good at hitting the hole. I don't know if he has break away speed, but right now we need a good 4-7 yards a carry more than anything. Johnson looks like he is good for a solid 4-7 a carry and Fozzy looks to be more of a homerun threat. Nice one two punch.
 
^^^^ I agree with most of the statements above. Cody needs more carries. He reminds me of a cat we had a few years ago named Butch Hadnot
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Cody Johnson in my opinion is what Henry Melton was supposed to be as a running back. He needs a lot more carries early in the game.
 
Melton's center of gravity was too high. The ULL game spoiled the fans as they expected him to bounce off of every tackler for the remainder of his career. In reality, he ran like he was still in high school, and thought his 4.7 speed was good enough to beat guys to the corners and take some Eric-Metcalf-esque leaps.

Johnson is what a big back is supposed to be. Solid, not afraid to run into a pile, and is good for 10 carries per game tops.
 
Centex I don't think Hadnot was the one running naked through the neighborhood. I can't think of the guy who was but not Hadnot. Unless they both did it.
 
Butch Hadnot definitely had a burst that I haven't seen so far with Cody Johnson. Of course, he also had issues above the shoulders. If I remember correctly he called up RC Slocum in the middle of the season asking about a transfer...
 
Cody is the kind of back that gets those tough yards and wears a defense out. And he's only a frosh. Imagine what he will do in upcoming years.

I haven't seen enough of Fozzy to say he should be the #1 back but he definitely should get 5-10 carries a game if he is healthy and then we'll see. Obi-wan was not my guy but not that he has lost that extra weight in the offseason and gotten a bit of his burst back, he is definitely in the top 2 right now. He is also the best threat out of the backfield as we saw on Saturday.

I think McGee is going thru what Selvin went thru his junior season and what Obi want went thru last season. The guy has added some muscle and weight but has lost his burst. He just isn't that explosive guy right now unless he gets a huge hole. He is still a very productive back if he gets a # of carries but not an explosive 150 yard a game back.

Obi want is more a blocker and receiver at this point but after what we have seen I think they could use him in the backfield more.

I love having a stable of guys that can each run 5 carries a game if needed and they are always fresh. Fumbles seem to be down. Chiles had one on a bone headed play last week and off hand I can't remember the other one.
 
I know we haven't seen a whole lot from Cody and Fozzy, but from his limited carries against UTEP I think Fozzy, when healthy, has the most potential for explosive plays that we have been lacking.
 
Cody and Fozzy are without a doubt, our two best backs this year. They should be starters 1a and 1b. As always, it will take our OC more time to figure out what most of us see already on the field. And Obi does what he does best as a receiver in the backfield. But Cody and Fozzy should get all the running snaps until the game is put away IMO.
 
Horn11, I think expectations did get high after the first game Melton played. But I think it simmered really quick after the Ohio St game. He had a chance to bulldoze over a cb (outweighed him by atleast 60lbs)at the endzone and he tried to jump over him and ended up getting the ball marked on the inch yardline. I knew at that very moment that he didn't have that punishing attitude he should have had with his size as a RB.

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Ivan was built more like a defensive end. Tallish and big, but not too big. Cody looks more like a bowling ball.
 
I like the power element that Johnson brings to our stable of RBs, but, IMO, his feet prevent him from being a realistic candidate to be our primary RB right now.

In this regard, the comparison to Ivan Williams was apt. A good RB, even a big one like Cody, has to have quick enough feet to make decisive cuts in the backfield and has to keep his feet moving on contact. I'm not seeing that from Cody right now.

I'm wondering if he might not be a more effective back at about 235-240 lbs. (down from his currently listed 255 lbs.), and lighter on his feet.
 
But, the question remains.. do we have a gamebreaker at running back? Cody Johnson and McGee do not fit the mold.. and we haven't seen enough of Fozzie to know.

or.. we merely biding time until Chris Whaley arrives on campus in 09?
 
Kind of getting the feeling from the recruiting board the Whaley may be a linebacker here. He is strong but maybe not a big speed threat to break away.

I've also wondered more than once about Kindle as a running back. The time has likely passed, but he sure looked good in high school.

I'm in hopes that somebody steps up and makes us feel about the RB position the way we do about the QB position for the next couple of years.
 
We are not going to see a true #1 back this year, maybe even next, because their talents are to diversified. We know that Mack wants to be able to run the ball reliably, without mistakes and with an emphasis on blocking. But you know he'll take blocking over the other two, which is why we're seeing so much Obi-Wan. Now, Obi brings the added advantage of being a spectacular pass-catching back even though he's a C+ runner. Obi's gonna be featured in at least 33% of plays this year where we have a single back.

Vondrell is the Mario of running backs. Much like the video game namesake, Mario was kinda good at a lot of stuff, but he wasn't super fast (Luigi), super strong (mushroom) and he can't fly (Queen). He's pretty decent at everything, but not spectacular. He'll be the solid true RB starter until he's unseated by either Foz or Cody.

Fozzy needs to get healthy. If he does, there's little question in my mind that Obi-Wan will become only a 3rd down back and Fozz will be the starter. He has a burst that makes me thick in the pants.

Cody's value remains to be seen. I love the guy and he's a real hammer, but he hasn't played early in games against a fresh D. If he shows the same 4-7 yard gains against Big XII competition, hell, put him in there until he gets tired! He has good speed too, so who knows what his upside is.
 
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