What's the scoop on Cody and Fozzy re: scout team

M

Mackamania

First Time Poster
Now that the drama is over on the recruiting board, how have the redshirt freshmen running backs looked in the fall and bowl practices?
 
Don't see where anyone is discounting Vondrell! Just didn't see where Vondrell could keep JC off the field! You also need more than one back...
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H-D
Everybody was talking about Jamaal (and rightfully so), then when he left, people seem to be looking for some hotshot freshman or redshirt to get excited about, like the original poster in this thread.

I haven't seen anybody say anything significantly negative about Vondrell, but it seems in discussing our RB situation he is being too easily overlooked. The guy played well for us last year, and I don't think there is any good reason to assume he won't tear **** up in 2008. Of couse, as with all players, only time will tell.
 
I think McGee, Whitaker & Johnson will all make major contributions next year. They bring different talents to the table. That may be one positive aspect of losing out on Scott is we won't see one guy getting 25-30 carries a game.
 
I think I counted eleven scholarship RB's on the practive field in August. Four of the five RB's in this class will be going thru spring drills.
 
We recruited 4 RBs this year... and were trying to get a 5th. This tells me the coaching staff isn't very happy with the depth at that position.

I'm confident we'll be ok given the number of athletes we have at that position. More importantly, we should have a strong OL coming back which is equally if not more important.
 
I think Johnson will play mostly FB but he will see some time at RB. I would love to see him as a goal line RB. Vondy did well there but it is much easier to stop 205 than 240. Johnson needs to be used to block and run.
 
Vondrell's YPC will certainly rise with the starting role. His body type reminded me of a certain someone who is doing well in the NFL. Tree trunk thighs, low center of gravity, rock solid build. So I looked up their physical stats coming out of high school (according to rivals):

Vondrell McGee: 5-10 190 4.4 295 bench, 475 squat, 35" vertical

Maurice Jones-Drew: 5-9 190 4.4 315 bench, 510 squat, 34" vertical

While McGee doesn't have Charles' speed, he's a couple steps quicker than Benson ever was IMO. It'll be fun to watch him develop next season. His main concern just needs to be taking care of the ball.

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Put be down as a Vondrell believer. The guy has a good mix of running hard into holes and the speed to break one if he gets loose.

Also, don't forget Chris O. He's back as a senior, right?
 
Regarding Cobb, i hope they never make him run the same damn play 4 times in a row again.
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The FB position is vastly different for both the college and pro ranks than it was 10 years ago. It's kind of evolved into a Larry Centers type role... block first and catch flats passes second. Singleback is the name of the game, and Johnson isn't going to be taking many zone reads away from McGee, Whittaker, or a couple other dudes.

My guess is that they've gotten Johnson to beef up in hopes that he could be the short yardage guy that Ogbonnaya can't seem to snatch. If McGee is the heir apparent, then they'll save him from the goal line excursions like last year.
 
Dont say that to any FB. FB is a very valuable position, even in our O. We needed one so bad we had to have a starting DT move over in short yardage/goal line situation.
I think Johnson (07) and Roberson (08) will both play FB. i think it is a position that we havent had since Hall was here and we have a couple of guys that will play that now. Hopefully we wont run any QB sneaks on 3rd and 4th and 1. This will also help at the end of the game with a lead, power football. Can make us very versatile in terms of what we can do on O.
 
I disagree that it demands half the talent. It just demands a different type of talent. Even in an offense that uses its FB primarily as a blocker - its tough to go take on a linebacker and move him out of the hole, or to be quick enough to get out in front of a play, find a safety and take him out. That's not as easy as some make it out to be. Throw in the fact that many offenses require the FB to be a reciever, and that at least some amount of speed is requisite - it's a very underappreciated position, IMO.
 
I'm thinking Roberson plays LB, from everything I've seen on film of him. No offensive clips had him doing anything productive other than runs up the gut, while he was blowing up guys on defense.

Bottom line: we haven't used an offensive scheme that requires a "fullback," in the pure sense of the position, since Matt Trissel left. You can call Ahmard Hall and Derek Lokey and Luke Tiemann fullbacks all you want, but it doesn't really change the fact that our base set doesn't employ a fullback, and when we tried to, the I-formation rarely did any good.

If we're training Cody Johnson to play fullback, then that means we're preparing him to sit for 98 percent of offensive snaps. He's got to be a running back, and judging by his physique, he's going to be a short yardage guy or third option man (like Chris O.)
 
Earl played FB in the wishbone. It's different than the I.
Ricky played FB but it was a lot of split back field too.
 
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