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Running back Sampson James enters transfer portal

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IU247

IU247

Posted
Posted

Indiana running back Sampson James has entered the transfer portal, announced on Wednesday.

James had rushed for 371 yards and three touchdowns in 19 games with Indiana over his career.

James was a former 4-star running back. He had previously entered the transfer portal last spring before ultimately rejoining the team ahead of the 2020 season.

https://indiana.rivals.com/news/running-back-sampson-james-enters-transfer-portal

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HurryinHoosiers

HurryinHoosiers

Posted
Posted

That's a bummer.  Probably not happy with where he was on the depth chart unless it the reason was unrelated to football.

 

At least that was a position we could afford to lose depth and be ok

  • Carr
  • Baldwin
  • Ellis
  • Howland
  • Holloman
  • Childers (w)
  • Ervin-Poindexter (w)
  • Spegal (w)
MoyeCowbell

MoyeCowbell

Posted
Posted

I definitely noticed that he wasn't used as much last year. I thought he might transfer over the winter/spring... then when McCullough was brought back it seemed like he might climb back into contention.

Certainly disappointing, but we have a nice, deep corp, so believe we'll be OK.

Artesian_86

Artesian_86

Posted
Posted
34 minutes ago, iuswingman said:

That's a bummer.  Probably not happy with where he was on the depth chart unless it the reason was unrelated to football.

 

At least that was a position we could afford to lose depth and be ok

  • Carr
  • Baldwin
  • Ellis
  • Howland
  • Holloman
  • Childers (w)
  • Ervin-Poindexter (w)
  • Spegal (w)

.....Yep. Eat or be Eaten!

IU Scott

IU Scott

Posted
Posted

I think James had a problem with making his mind up.  Committed to OSU then changed to IU.  He then put his name into the portal then decided to come back.  Now put his name on the portal again.

DC2345

DC2345

Posted
Posted
11 minutes ago, Leathernecks said:

With Carr, Baldwin, and Ellis (?) ahead of him?

Carr, Baldwin, and Spegal. It sounds like Ellis is all over the place but he would've gotten more touches too but some as a receiver. Spegal is likely the short yardage guy. 

Leathernecks

Leathernecks

Posted
Posted
19 minutes ago, DC2345 said:

Carr, Baldwin, and Spegal. It sounds like Ellis is all over the place but he would've gotten more touches too but some as a receiver. Spegal is likely the short yardage guy. 

Thanks! I wondered if it might be Spegal. I'm really interested to see Spegal run. Seems like he'd be a beast in short yardage. Run him behind Jones like we do on a lot of sneaks, and that would almost be a guaranteed 2+ yards.

DireBump

DireBump

Posted
Posted

I was always hoping James would have a breakout year but he always seemed to run too vertical. I swear he would just put his head down and run straight into the line without looking for a hole. I am sorry that he will be gone because he had the physical attributes to be a beast this year and next. Plus, it always helps having depth at RB position, and just having guys know the plays/pass protection/etc. I am curious to see where he goes from here, and I wish him the best. I expect Baldwin to be RB1 from what I saw last year, but wouldn't be surprised to see a heavy dose of Carr.

BeerBQ

BeerBQ

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, DC2345 said:

Carr, Baldwin, and Spegal. It sounds like Ellis is all over the place but he would've gotten more touches too but some as a receiver. Spegal is likely the short yardage guy. 

I’d be happy with this. I’m staying optimistic and hoping it means Howland and/or Holloman have been looking good so far. 

I’m not sure if Martha knows anything but this lines up with what you’re saying.

 

Leathernecks

Leathernecks

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, DireBump said:

I was always hoping James would have a breakout year but he always seemed to run too vertical. I swear he would just put his head down and run straight into the line without looking for a hole. I am sorry that he will be gone because he had the physical attributes to be a beast this year and next. Plus, it always helps having depth at RB position, and just having guys know the plays/pass protection/etc. I am curious to see where he goes from here, and I wish him the best. I expect Baldwin to be RB1 from what I saw last year, but wouldn't be surprised to see a heavy dose of Carr.

Along with this, I was not sad at all to see Hart go (that's even before we hired McCullough). It just seemed like our running game never did a lot. I know a ton of factors go into the running game, but Scott seemed like the same guy the day he left as he was the day he came in. James never seemed to show any improvement.

I think we'll see a lot of issues get fixed with McCullough back.

Leathernecks

Leathernecks

Posted
Posted
3 minutes ago, BeerBQ said:

I’d be happy with this. I’m staying optimistic and hoping it means Howland and/or Holloman have been looking good so far. 

I’m not sure if Martha knows anything but this lines up with what you’re saying.

 

Just once I want to see Holloman in space, either on offense or special teams. He stepped on campus and was already one of the fastest guys in the country. Can't teach sub 4.3 speed. According to his IU profile, he was also all state in basketball, so he is an athlete, and not just a guy with speed.

So excited to see what McCullough can do with him.

DC2345

DC2345

Posted
Posted
23 minutes ago, BeerBQ said:

I’d be happy with this. I’m staying optimistic and hoping it means Howland and/or Holloman have been looking good so far. 

I’m not sure if Martha knows anything but this lines up with what you’re saying.

 

The praise that Spegal got from Coach DM a few days ago wasn't a coincidence. He's going to have a role and possibly a scholarship rather soon. 

DireBump

DireBump

Posted
Posted
57 minutes ago, Leathernecks said:

Along with this, I was not sad at all to see Hart go (that's even before we hired McCullough). It just seemed like our running game never did a lot. I know a ton of factors go into the running game, but Scott seemed like the same guy the day he left as he was the day he came in. James never seemed to show any improvement.

I think we'll see a lot of issues get fixed with McCullough back.

I agree with you assessment of James. Never seemed to improve. It feels like our 4 star recruits don't seem to excel as much as would be expected. We still haven't seen Cam Williams or Beau Robbins, and Rashawn Williams transferred out too. Just feels like these 4 star guys have been really underwhelming and I hope that trend changes.  

OGIUAndy

OGIUAndy

Posted
Posted
2 minutes ago, DireBump said:

I agree with you assessment of James. Never seemed to improve. It feels like our 4 star recruits don't seem to excel as much as would be expected. We still haven't seen Cam Williams or Beau Robbins, and Rashawn Williams transferred out too. Just feels like these 4 star guys have been really underwhelming and I hope that trend changes.  

This might be more of an indictment of the rankings than development. We also don't really know the full extent of attitude and health of players. Obviously you want your highest rated recruits to pan out, but if they are overrated or they are under-scouted (taken because of the rating) you're going to see some flops/transfers especially when overall recruiting improves. But it is weird how IU's higher guys don't seem to live up to their rankings. But that might be why they end up at IU to begin with. 

btownqb

btownqb

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, OGIUAndy said:

This might be more of an indictment of the rankings than development. We also don't really know the full extent of attitude and health of players. Obviously you want your highest rated recruits to pan out, but if they are overrated or they are under-scouted (taken because of the rating) you're going to see some flops/transfers especially when overall recruiting improves. But it is weird how IU's higher guys don't seem to live up to their rankings. But that might be why they end up at IU to begin with. 

Your first sentence is excellent. Mullen was a 4 start guy on Rivals. Guys like Bedford, Cam Jones, Reese Taylor, Jaylin Williams, Peyton Hendershot were scouted very well. We will get there with the "big time guys"... but you have to have depth and we are building that in bunches. 

Indykev

Indykev

Posted
Posted

I've been around this young man a lot. Good kid, very respectful. He just wants to play. Over rated coming out of HS. He was beat up most of his time here. Not going to say anything bad about anyone leaving. Get used to it.

BobSaccamanno

BobSaccamanno

Posted
Posted

I liked James, particularly his physicality.  He's a rugged runner.  But ultimately, he lacks an extra gear.  He was running at a 3.3 ypc. That's not going to cut it.

He wasn't making plays and got the number of snaps he deserved.

DC2345

DC2345

Posted
Posted
6 minutes ago, Hoosierfan1901 said:

Just committed to Purdue 

If you aren't good enough to play at IU then you might as well go and play for the little brother in West Laffayette LOL 

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