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11 minutes ago, The Daily Hoosier said:

Gave an interview this week.  He has gained 30 pounds in 6 months.  The RB position is stacked.

https://www.thedailyhoosier.com/iu-football-freshman-running-back-sampson-james-embracing-early-challenges/

30 lbs in 6 months? Must be on that Cody Zeller plan. Haha. Hopefully they'll all continue the leo philosophy. Our backfield is loaded for sure. Hard to keep everyone happy!

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6 minutes ago, Seeking6 said:

30 lbs in 6 months? Must be on that Cody Zeller plan. Haha. Hopefully they'll all continue the leo philosophy. Our backfield is loaded for sure. Hard to keep everyone happy!

The Cody Zeller weight plan.LOL

Right with you on both the optimism and. a little concern.Same as with QB, I almost don't want to see how things shake out since it can lead to departures when it gets too crowded at a given position in any team sport .

So long as the best guy sees the minutes I can live with any outcome but a good rotation where they just keep coming can be done .It's on Allen, DeBoer and Co .to put a line ahead of them to let them run downhill but IU isn't short on the depth mor experience.."Good" problem for a team to have when talent is so abundant. 

I still think Gest will have a say and he has become a bit lost in the hype over his youbger stablemates.

Despite habing family playing in the Indy area and having faced the Orioles,  I havrn't saw James live.Have any of you.If so, would anyone who reads this provide details on how it looks from up close  .Please and thank you in advance! :D

Also how would each of you or anyone else rate the IU backs..in your opinions

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4 minutes ago, jblaz13 said:

The Cody Zeller weight plan.LOL

Right with you on both the optimism and. a little concern.Same as with QB, I almost don't want to see how things shake out since it can lead to departures when it gets too crowded at a given position in any team sport .

In my opinion the greatest college football team ever (Miami Hurricanes 2001) had a running back stable of Clinton Portis, Frank Gore, Willis McGahee, Najeh Davenport. Not comparing our RB's to them whatsoever. It can work but it takes very, very special and selfless kids to make it work. That was 2 decades ago and obviously things have changed in the me first, I want the ball, more snaps/reps world we live in. This is a very good problem but just being honest and objective I can't see everyone sticking around. Not in today's world. 

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9 minutes ago, Seeking6 said:

In my opinion the greatest college football team ever (Miami Hurricanes 2001) had a running back stable of Clinton Portis, Frank Gore, Willis McGahee, Najeh Davenport. Not comparing our RB's to them whatsoever. It can work but it takes very, very special and selfless kids to make it work. That was 2 decades ago and obviously things have changed in the me first, I want the ball, more snaps/reps world we live in. This is a very good problem but just being honest and objective I can't see everyone sticking around. Not in today's world. 

Wow that is a backfield.  I never put together that those guys were all there at the same time.

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21 minutes ago, jblaz13 said:

The Cody Zeller weight plan.LOL

Right with you on both the optimism and. a little concern.Same as with QB, I almost don't want to see how things shake out since it can lead to departures when it gets too crowded at a given position in any team sport .

So long as the best guy sees the minutes I can live with any outcome but a good rotation where they just keep coming can be done .It's on Allen, DeBoer and Co .to put a line ahead of them to let them run downhill but IU isn't short on the depth mor experience.."Good" problem for a team to have when talent is so abundant. 

I still think Gest will have a say and he has become a bit lost in the hype over his youbger stablemates.

Despite habing family playing in the Indy area and having faced the Orioles,  I havrn't saw James live.Have any of you.If so, would anyone who reads this provide details on how it looks from up close  .Please and thank you in advance! :D

Also how would each of you or anyone else rate the IU backs..in your opinions

I'm not ready to rank anyone because I haven't seen James play against college guys.  But Scott is the clear lead dog.  That dude is just special and I don't even think he has cracked the surface of what he can do.  The only thing that gives me pause is the O-line.  They will look good in the non-con but what about in the B1G?  The trenches on both sides of the ball will make or break this season.

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18 minutes ago, Seeking6 said:

In my opinion the greatest college football team ever (Miami Hurricanes 2001) had a running back stable of Clinton Portis, Frank Gore, Willis McGahee, Najeh Davenport. Not comparing our RB's to them whatsoever. It can work but it takes very, very special and selfless kids to make it work. That was 2 decades ago and obviously things have changed in the me first, I want the ball, more snaps/reps world we live in. This is a very good problem but just being honest and objective I can't see everyone sticking around. Not in today's world. 

Thanks and d***! I had no clue they were teammates.  I know The U had a vaunted tradition at RB, but that's a mind blowing rotation.

I generally agree 100% .Not likely to hold togetger with the same facrs these days.Hence my always present concern.

My worries in that context had been more focused on hoping QB doesnt become.another Tre, Nate, Cam Coffman situation where IU ends up with 1 of the 3..RB is a bit different for me.If Scott can eat up the carries and James lives up to the hype I would think that can be worked out even with some attrition taking place inevitably.

If James ia a true stud and somehow rivals Scott, I would beg him to take good carries in 4 feature games and ask him to take the RS.LoOnere can dream, right .

 

.Walker's agility was impressive and I would love to see either him or James feature heavily as a speedier pass catcher to compliment Scott's brutality.

 

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4 minutes ago, The Daily Hoosier said:

I'm not ready to rank anyone because I haven't seen James play against college guys.  But Scott is the clear lead dog.  That dude is just special and I don't even think he has cracked the surface of what he can do.  The only thing that gives me pause is the O-line.  They will look good in the non-con but what about in the B1G?  The trenches on both sides of the ball will make or break this season.

Understood and same here.I don't know enough to try to rank any position yet and if the inbound class will even get on the field save for a couple of linemen perhaps a LB. One would imagine James understanding Scott's separation before he committed since it was after the season ended.Just a side thought I had after reading your article and thinking .How might IU keep these guys content.

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2 hours ago, jblaz13 said:

Understood and same here.I don't know enough to try to rank any position yet and if the inbound class will even get on the field save for a couple of linemen perhaps a LB. One would imagine James understanding Scott's separation before he committed since it was after the season ended.Just a side thought I had after reading your article and thinking .How might IU keep these guys content.

I actually asked Allen the question last month about "how do you keep them all happy".  It was like throwing him red meat.  He was having none of it.  Question is at 11:55.

 

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6 hours ago, jblaz13 said:

Also how would each of you or anyone else rate the IU backs..in your opinions

I would say Scott will start, James will get the 2nd most carries, and then a mix of Gest, Walker, and maybe even Ivory Winters. I think Winters will be a surprise to people.

The nice thing with Gest and Walker is that they are quick enough that they can see the field in multiple ways.

I would love to see us line up on 3rd and short with a running package with 2 TE, 2 RB, and 1 WR then send the RB out of the backfield and go empty with Penix back there and watch the defense scramble to cover all our athletes. Gest and Walker/James out of the backfield, Hendershot and Cooper as TE, and Hale or Westbrook as the WR. That would be a nightmare to match up with if you're expecting a run.

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6 hours ago, jblaz13 said:

Thanks and d***! I had no clue they were teammates.  I know The U had a vaunted tradition at RB, but that's a mind blowing rotation.

And they had Jarrett Payton redshirting.

That team was a virtual all star team. Andre Johnson. Jeremy Shockey. Kellen Winslow. Bryant McKinnie. Antrel Rolle. Ed Reed. Sean Taylor. Philip Buchanon. Jonathon Vilma. Vince Wilfork. DJ Williams.

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51 minutes ago, Zlinedavid said:

And they had Jarrett Payton redshirting.

That team was a virtual all star team. Andre Johnson. Jeremy Shockey. Kellen Winslow. Bryant McKinnie. Antrel Rolle. Ed Reed. Sean Taylor. Philip Buchanon. Jonathon Vilma. Vince Wilfork. DJ Williams.

17 first round picks on that team. 38 players were drafted. I'll take that team over anyone, anywhere anytime. 

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1 hour ago, Seeking6 said:

17 first round picks on that team. 38 players were drafted. I'll take that team over anyone, anywhere anytime. 

Can't argue with you there. Only team I can even come up with to put against them would be 1995 Nebraska. But in with you, I'd take the Canes.

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@The Daily HoosierThanks for the link to the interview with Coach Allen, TDH.  Sic 'em!!! Lol 

I enjoyed his response, and that's a good mindset to have about competition and unselfishness.

We, and certainly CTA, know how it goes sometimes, even with the best intentions for the team out in front.  He sure didn't dodge laying out his approach which speaks volunes,and also a relief that Allen seems unlikely to acquiesce to merely attempting to keep players happy with any form of entitlement!  "Best guys" playing the most is how it should be. Part of me needs visual confirmation DeBoer will do better with that ,still, after seeing some( of what I and others felt were) questionable personnel decisions by DeBord last season.

So what @OGIUAndy said still strikes a chord with me,as well.

I didn't always get the feeling the best situational guys were sent on the field in position to succeed even if the best players were used.Same with several play calls based on down distance and match ups. Opinion or not, certainlly enough of what I felt defied logic/wisdom to the point where it left more to be desired to sum my persinal opinion up. 

@Leathernecks  

I was hoping someone would take a jab at it even if it's too soon and I don't personally feel informed enough. Just curious to get sone barometer on how highly everyone thought of the newcomers as the larger bottom line.

@Zlinedavid @Seeking6 Hard to disagree there, and I was going to add Payton in there since I had looked at the time period's rosters after my last time in this topic.Alas,  you guys beat me to it .lol :D 

Easy choice on Miami's backfield in the mid- late 90s though. Semi-related- They had become so stacked that I recall having little to no clue who Edgerrin James was by the time I first saw his name appear in the draft.

Was anyone else thinking "who in the F does this guy think he is" when Edgerrin James later held out through camp for his Colts Rookie contract? I did and I was prefty blown away after he delivered a1000yd Rookie season. Just different times before the web got big so trying to scout was a lot less fruitful if one did not pick up the preaeason magazines or missed the televised games.

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 7/5/2019 at 5:42 AM, jblaz13 said:

@The Daily HoosierThanks for the link to the interview with Coach Allen, TDH.  Sic 'em!!! Lol 

I enjoyed his response, and that's a good mindset to have about competition and unselfishness.

We, and certainly CTA, know how it goes sometimes, even with the best intentions for the team out in front.  He sure didn't dodge laying out his approach which speaks volunes,and also a relief that Allen seems unlikely to acquiesce to merely attempting to keep players happy with any form of entitlement!  "Best guys" playing the most is how it should be. Part of me needs visual confirmation DeBoer will do better with that ,still, after seeing some( of what I and others felt were) questionable personnel decisions by DeBord last season.

So what @OGIUAndy said still strikes a chord with me,as well.

I didn't always get the feeling the best situational guys were sent on the field in position to succeed even if the best players were used.Same with several play calls based on down distance and match ups. Opinion or not, certainlly enough of what I felt defied logic/wisdom to the point where it left more to be desired to sum my persinal opinion up. 

@Leathernecks  

I was hoping someone would take a jab at it even if it's too soon and I don't personally feel informed enough. Just curious to get sone barometer on how highly everyone thought of the newcomers as the larger bottom line.

@Zlinedavid @Seeking6 Hard to disagree there, and I was going to add Payton in there since I had looked at the time period's rosters after my last time in this topic.Alas,  you guys beat me to it .lol :D 

Easy choice on Miami's backfield in the mid- late 90s though. Semi-related- They had become so stacked that I recall having little to no clue who Edgerrin James was by the time I first saw his name appear in the draft.

Was anyone else thinking "who in the F does this guy think he is" when Edgerrin James later held out through camp for his Colts Rookie contract? I did and I was prefty blown away after he delivered a1000yd Rookie season. Just different times before the web got big so trying to scout was a lot less fruitful if one did not pick up the preaeason magazines or missed the televised games.

Edge was the one who started the dominoes of Miami RBs. He left as Portis was an incoming freshman.

And I was thinking the opposite. I watched several of James' games in college and knew why he was holding out. I said this way back before the '98 draft and people thought I was on drugs. I said that James would wind up as a better back than Ricky Williams, and it wasn't going to be close.

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18 minutes ago, Zlinedavid said:

Edge was the one who started the dominoes of Miami RBs. He left as Portis was an incoming freshman.

And I was thinking the opposite. I watched several of James' games in college and knew why he was holding out. I said this way back before the '98 draft and people thought I was on drugs. I said that James would wind up as a better back than Ricky Williams, and it wasn't going to be close.

Was saying the same all year long and glad that Polian was at the helm and smart enough to see what I thought was a pretty obvious choice. His performance vs top UCLA team to end his season cemented my opinion.

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I think comparing anybody to Ricky Williams is an unfair comparison. He was a great RB in the league until his inner demons caught up to him. He rushed for 1853 yards one season. Then his crazy retirement, and drug suspensions and depression and all his other craziness took 3 full years during the prime of his career. He still finished with 10000 rushing yards. If it wasn't for all of his off the field craziness, he probably would have been in the top 10 in career yards.

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3 hours ago, Zlinedavid said:

Edge was the one who started the dominoes of Miami RBs. He left as Portis was an incoming freshman.

And I was thinking the opposite. I watched several of James' games in college and knew why he was holding out. I said this way back before the '98 draft and people thought I was on drugs. I said that James would wind up as a better back than Ricky Williams, and it wasn't going to be close.

Well now it all adds up to make sense.It is me realizing I totally underappreciated what they had in terms of historic careers in general. 

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Ricky Williams as a football player was dominant.  If you take the off-field baggage out of it - which you can't -- he was  a considerably better football player than the Edge.  

3 hours ago, Leathernecks said:

I think comparing anybody to Ricky Williams is an unfair comparison. He was a great RB in the league until his inner demons caught up to him. He rushed for 1853 yards one season. Then his crazy retirement, and drug suspensions and depression and all his other craziness took 3 full years during the prime of his career. He still finished with 10000 rushing yards. If it wasn't for all of his off the field craziness, he probably would have been in the top 10 in career yards.

 

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8 minutes ago, BobSaccamanno said:

Ricky Williams as a football player was dominant.  If you take the off-field baggage out of it - which you can't -- he was  a considerably better football player than the Edge.  

 

Agreed.  And during WIlliams' 2002 season where he rushed for 1853 yards (14th most ever in a single season), the QBs that year were Jay Fiedler and Ray Lucas.  Nothing says respect the pass like having a combined 18 TD and 15 interceptions.

It is too bad he had so many other issues.  Even though he got suspended for it, he probably needed pot.  With his severe anxiety, it probably helped him stay in the league as long as he did.

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