2014 rushing attack.......do we RS Aeris Williams?

For the experts..........

Im huge on JRob and think he will be the workhorse we expect and more. 5.9 ypc is damn good. Im not sold on Shump being the super star hes supposed to be but waaaay too early to tell. Im pulling for NGriff but hard to come back from what hes been through. I honestly think AWilliams will be the most talented out of this group and thats saying alot bc im a huge believer in JRob. But with all the competition, do we redshirt Aeris Williams? Since we didnt RS Shumpert last year with pretty much the same numbers at RB, Im guessing we dont RS Aeris, Anyone know for certain yet or have a better idea. Aeris is my favorite 2014 recruit and cant wait to see him in maroon and white,


Also, with our weapons at WR and a qb well capable of throwing the ball 30plus times a game, I wonder what our run/pass ratio will be. Personally, with a running qb like Dak, Id like to see 55%run and 45% pass. Im a big believer of setting up the pass off playaction but with Dak working so much on his foot work and throwing the ball down field, i wouldnt be surprised if it was 50/50.

Another thing id like to see is Mullen run the diamond formation. I would love to see a backfield with Dak, JRob, Shump, and A williams. even mix it up with Jameon.

I got a damn good feeling about our running game this year. Last year Dak was the only rushing attack we had and put too much pressure on Dak to make plays with his arm.. I wonder how conservative we will be on running Dak especially with a stable full of rbs that can run between the tackles.

I think we use him as much as we did Shump last year to get him some carries. Unless he just starts taking them to the house regularly, I bet he gets maybe 40 carries all year.

I wouldn't redshirt Williams this year. We pretty much always have good RBs, so keeping Williams for an extra year isn't critical. Plus we have several RBs committed in this upcoming class, so we need to keep the rotating backs through our system to make room for the new guys.

Williams should play Shump's role from last year.

with all the guys we are recruiting at the RB position I don't see many RB's ever redshirting. Aeries has the potential to be one of the best we have ever had. I hate to say it but I don't think Shump will ever be a huge impact at RB. Not because he don't have the potential but bc of how good Aeries is.

No. We will use him this year, RBs good enough to be drafted don't stay 4 years, and we continue to recruit well at RB. There's not much advantage in redshirting him; it just creates even more of a logjam there in the future.

I wouldn't redshirt him. I hope he brings some homerun ability

If shump isn't a factor at rb this year, I'd give him look at safety/lb next season. I think shump comes on this year though...

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Originally Posted by msstate7

I wouldn't redshirt him. I hope he brings some homerun ability

If shump isn't a factor at rb this year, I'd give him look at safety/lb next season. I think shump comes on this year though...

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This is my thought as well. Where do y'all think Griffin ends up? Does he cure his issue with ball security and make an impact this year?

Depends on how well Nick Griffin plays. If Nick plays well, then it's going to be hard for a fourth or fifth RB to get many touches. He may be better off redshirting.

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Originally Posted by preachermatt83

with all the guys we are recruiting at the RB position I don't see many RB's ever redshirting. Aeries has the potential to be one of the best we have ever had. I hate to say it but I don't think Shump will ever be a huge impact at RB. Not because he don't have the potential but bc of how good Aeries is.

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i agree. hes sandwhiched between JRob and Aeris, PLus with all the young talent we have committed for 2015 class. do we ever coonsider Linebacker for him or you think he would transfer before that. But on the other hand, i wouldnt be surprised if he ends up becoming a stud and getting drafted.

I think it's too early to tell with shump or be certain he isn't going to make an impact. If the OL excels and allows the RB stable to be effective, then I see nick or slump given the opportunity to shine. I think if shump was given Jrobs starting opportunity he would really be productive...assume the OL isn't a complete joke.

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Originally Posted by randyholloway

This is my thought as well. Where do y'all think Griffin ends up? Does he cure his issue with ball security and make an impact this year?

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Nick will be a BEAST this year. He is an NFL caliber back.

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Originally Posted by preachermatt83

Nick will be a BEAST this year. He is an NFL caliber back.

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I hope so. Would love to see him shine this year.

Shump IMO needs to avoid contact until it's necessary. I love his physicality, but it leads to a lot of short gains. I would rather he finish runs by hitting someone instead of starting runs by hitting people. (This probably only makes sense to me)

msstate7- I know what you mean, Shump runs upright and finds contact quickly instead of eluding it. He's great on the goal line for that reason and his ability to extend, but I don't see him as a mainstream back until his running style changes.

I will prolly get hammered for this...and let me preface by saying I love Aeris and think he's a hell of a kid. He is the exception to the rule when it comes to elite athletes having outstanding character. Absolutely great kid. However; those of you thinking his running style is going to be any different than what shump did last year are kidding yourself. He is bigger so he may can do more with that style early on but I feel that those type backs could use a red shirt year, tho some of y'all have given good reasons not to red shirt. Shump actually possesses more quickness and better feet. I have also said I wouldn't be surprised of Aeris ended up at safety but who knows. I do think he will have success at state...could be at running back but I'm not expecting him to break out this year.

shoeless- not going to hammer you at all, but just curious. Did you see a lot of West Point football over the past couple of years or are you basing this on film?

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Originally Posted by randyholloway

shoeless- not going to hammer you at all, but just curious. Did you see a lot of West Point football over the past couple of years or are you basing this on film?

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I was about to ask the exact same thing. I am not hammering you either Joe, you certainly have a right to your opinion but shump having better feet than Williams is just not the case. Williams's vision and balance are better than any back we have. He will be a star at State if he can stay healthy.

To say the least I've seen Aeris play a ton in person for the past 4 years. I've also seen him on the basketball court guarding shump. He is a stud of an athlete but I think acting like he's ahead of some guys we have already, or that he possesses unmatched ability, is unfair to him.

Will also add that his frame could put on a good bit more muscle, which will benefit him with his style of running. But could also make him a killer Safety with great ball skills. I was in school with culberson and saw him develop from his freshman year on and Aeris' build is very similar to him and we all saw how he exploded once he hit a D1 weight room.

No RS let's see what he's got

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Originally Posted by preachermatt83

I was about to ask the exact same thing. I am not hammering you either Joe, you certainly have a right to your opinion but shump having better feet than Williams is just not the case. Williams's vision and balance are better than any back we have. He will be a star at State if he can stay healthy.

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The better feet comment comes from seeing them on the basketball court. I realize that the skills needed to be successful are different but there is zero doubt that shump was quicker, especially with his feet. If you saw them together on the court you would say shump was better as a pure athlete. Again , there's more to being a good running back than having basketball skills but it was quite evident who was ahead of the other.

This is not meant as a slight to Aeris, just wanting folks to be realistic with the young man because he is without a doubt the type of kid we want in our program.