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| John Hubert (#33) is essentially Kansas State's only running back. |
Starters: Late in the season, freshman Derrick Green (5'11", 240 lbs.) essentially took over the starting role and bowled his way to 265 yards and 2 touchdowns on 82 carries, a 3.2-yard average. Green looks to be the guy, but really, any of three players could garner the bulk of the attempts. He has some giddyup, but mostly, he's a between-the-tackles runner who won't make many people miss. The other likely option is fifth year senior Fitzgerald Toussaint (5'10", 200 lbs.), a scatback type who has been slowed a tiny bit since a broken ankle suffered in 2012. He's started most of the games this year and has 183 carries for 646 yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground, plus 17 catches for 203 yards. Toussaint has the best big-play ability of the backs and seems to have taken on more of the third down back type snaps late in the season. The starting fullback is redshirt sophomore Joe Kerridge (6'0", 238 lbs.), who has 1 carry and 5 catches on the season, mostly playing the role of a lead blocker.
Backups: Freshman De'Veon Smith (5'11", 224 lbs.) is the main backup after the first two guys, and he's a ball of churning legs who runs like I imagine a stegosaurus might: slowly but dangerously for anyone trying to bring him down. He has just 22 carries on the year for 110 yards, but his best game came in the regular season finale against Ohio State (7 carries, 57 yards). Redshirt sophomore Justice Hayes (5'10", 192 lbs.) is mostly a third down back and has spent some time at slot receiver; he has just 1 carry for 7 yards on the year, plus 3 catches for 18 yards. I do not expect to see him much. Sophomore fullback Sione Houma (6'0", 231 lbs.) has 1 catch for 9 yards and fills in occasionally for Kerridge.
KANSAS STATE
Starter: Fifth year senior John Hubert (5'7", 191 lbs.) gets the vast majority of the running back carries and will likely surpass 1,000 yards in the bowl game; he currently has 182 carries for 968 yards and 9 touchdowns. He runs with a fair amount of power and quickness and has gone over 900 yards for three consecutive years. Look for Hubert to try to take advantage of cutback lanes out of the pistol, and he's quick enough to get on the edge with some option looks. The Wolverines are solid against the run, but Hubert presents a challenge and is coming off a 220-yard performance against Kansas. Redshirt freshman Glenn Gronkowski (6'3", 234 lbs.) is the younger brother of New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski and the starting fullback. He's rarely used in the running game, but he has 4 catches for 148 yards and 3 touchdowns; his scores have gone for 67, 50, and 29 yards, so he can be dangerous out of the backfield.
Backups: Senior Robert Rose (5'4", 176 lbs. and no, that's not a typo) is the only notable backup, but he has 22 carries for 102 yards and 2 touchdowns. Co-starting quarterback Daniel Sams (profiled yesterday) is essentially Hubert's partner in crime in the backfield.
THE TAKEAWAY
Michigan's running backs have yet to put fear into anyone this season, and despite a slight improvement in the running game over the past couple contests, the likelihood is small that Michigan blows the doors off KSU on the ground. Of course, much of that is the result of a young, underperforming offensive line. Meanwhile, Hubert has had more room to run than Michigan's guys, and he has a skill of elusiveness that . . . uh . . . eludes Michigan's trio of runners. We have seen the Wolverines come out with some innovative game plans in recent years (2008 against Florida, 2013 against South Carolina), but offensive coordinator Al Borges has limited options with what his line can block and what his backs can do. The Wolverines will probably do what they've been doing over the past couple games (lots of inside zones, bubble screen draws), and the Wildcats will also probably try to do what they do best and run inside zones and some powers with Hubert and Sams.
ADVANTAGE: Kansas State
Props for the dinosaur reference. Tip of the cap.
ReplyDeleteshorter RBs are better
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't mind if Michigan stopped recruiting any RB over 5'11
*facepalm*
Delete*double facepalm*
*grows third hand to facepalm*
Of the top ten leading rushers in the nation (ignoring QB Jordan Lynch), five of them are 6'0" or 6'1". They are Andre Williams of BC, Antonio Andrews of WKU, Carlos Hyde of Ohio State, Tyler Gaffney of Stanford, and David Fluellen of Toledo.
DeleteSo I think I'm okay with recruiting running backs over 5'11".
O.K, I'll bump it up to 6'0. If a guy is really special at 6'1, I won't complain too much.
DeleteIf "height" is any of your top 5 criteria for a running back, then you are doing it wrong.
DeleteIt's rare that running back recruits are 6'3" or taller, so honestly, I don't really see why it's a part of the discussion.
DeleteConsidering that none of Michigans RBs are over 5'11" I fail to see why this was worth mentioning. The fullbacks are slightly taller but they arent going to get a lot of carries anyway.
DeleteI actually agree that height shouldn't be a big issue, but I don't think our coaches feel the same way. They rarely target backs below 5'11 and they've moved the two shorter backs they've taken (Hayes and Norfleet) to WR. I would bet a lot of money that if you ranked the height of RB offerees Michigan would be amongst the tallest in the nation.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, the shorter thicker backs tend to be more effective than the taller thinner backs. I guess I would at least like our coaches to be a little more open to rotating some shorter players into things rather than trying to find a 35 carry a game primary back.
But yeah - with Green and Harris being 5'11 it's not a big issue. That's pretty typical RB height. I'm mostly basing my assertion on who they've gone after and what they've said.
Nice double talk to try to cover for the original comment.
ReplyDelete