Hey Coach, Football Kwerstion......

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Originally Posted by Ifyouonlyknew

Vic didn't have breakaway speed either. He ran 4.65 at the combine. What Vic had & I think Shump will show is that they both have football speed. Not blazing on a stopwatch but rarely get caught from behind on the field.

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Ballard is one of the fastest backs we've ever had, I don't really care what a stopwatch says. Apparently when he put on pads and was carrying a football he didn't lose even a split second of speed that he had. I say that because he never got run down from behind. It was almost silly watching WF guys trying to run him down in the MCB in Vic's last game. Couldn't catch him. Most of our other RBs we've had I've seen get run down. Heck, Perk got run down from behind repeatedly over the years.

Coach - what were your impressions of Holloway at RB?

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Originally Posted by Irondawg

Coach - what were your impressions of Holloway at RB?

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I am not coach, but I'll give you my humble opinion: I really wish he could have gotten it down at WR or KR/PR. Unless he learns how to catch he won't give us the dimension Perk did or lining up in the slot. He'll bulk up, lose a step, and won't be able to get yards between the tackles because even with the bulk, he won't have the strength.

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Originally Posted by Irondawg

Coach - what were your impressions of Holloway at RB?

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He's quick but he's a little bitty shit. He won't be anything more than specialty plays and a few pass plays out of the backfield. He works hard and gets after it though.

Holloway won't be a 'RB' for us, so I think the concerns over him bulking up are off-base.

He's technically being moved to RB, but I would be shocked if he ever lines up in the backfield as the sole RB. I think we'll see him some in the diamond formation just to give the defense something extra to think about. If we ran the diamond with Robinson, Shumpert, and Holloway, his mere presence helps us out there because they have to use somebody with speed to cover him in case he runs any kind of pattern. And we'll probably run a sweep here and there with him, a la Percy Harvin.

But he'll never be a true RB.

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Originally Posted by Coach34

He's quick but he's a little bitty shit. He won't be anything more than specialty plays and a few pass plays out of the backfield. He works hard and gets after it though.

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Well let's be honest, if he had his speed at a bigger size, he would have been a recruit in MUCH higher demand by other schools.

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Originally Posted by smootness

Holloway won't be a 'RB' for us, so I think the concerns over him bulking up are off-base.

He's technically being moved to RB, but I would be shocked if he ever lines up in the backfield as the sole RB. I think we'll see him some in the diamond formation just to give the defense something extra to think about. If we ran the diamond with Robinson, Shumpert, and Holloway, his mere presence helps us out there because they have to use somebody with speed to cover him in case he runs any kind of pattern. And we'll probably run a sweep here and there with him, a la Percy Harvin.

But he'll never be a true RB.

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This is probably true. I hope he doesn't get much bigger than he is because his speed is his greatest asset. I would like to see him in the options and sweeps where we he can really use his elusiveness and footwork to max effect.

And as far as RBs with speed go, Dixon wasn't really "fast" by a lot of standards, but he was durable and strong as a bull elephant. I'll take somebody like Shump on the goal line every day because he's gonna drag folks with him.

If it were me, I'd just let Holloway return kicks for us and focus on that. I think he would be pretty darn good at it.

as long as either (or both) of them pulls 5+ ypc, I'll be happy

Don't forget about A train. I know he'll be a true freshman but he is a LOAD to bring down too. I would rather have a back in this system that you can run a TRUE read option with between A & B gaps rather than the zone stretch. It keeps your QB from getting blasted by DTs or MLBs rather than safeties, CBs or OLBs if he keeps. The RBs like Shump, JRob, Nick or Williams will be bruising the MLBs with physicality or if the safety comes down in the box he'll pay dearly for it. Man I'm ready for football!

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Originally Posted by Coach 57

Don't forget about A train. I know he'll be a true freshman but he is a LOAD to bring down too. I would rather have a back in this system that you can run a TRUE read option with between A & B gaps rather than the zone stretch. It keeps your QB from getting blasted by DTs or MLBs rather than safeties, CBs or OLBs if he keeps. The RBs like Shump, JRob, Nick or Williams will be bruising the MLBs with physicality or if the safety comes down in the box he'll pay dearly for it. Man I'm ready for football!

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Bwahahaha, I love it when C57 chimes in!!! Good stuff, as usual. I expect A-Train to pass Griffin for the 3rd RB role this fall. It's why I've been clamoring for 7 to move to FB, when combined with the obvious after effects of two knee injuries. Still hoping I can make it down to a practice in Starkville before SBW, as I want to see these guys myself.