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

[War Machine Dawg]

I think Williams will RS. I think he's a bigger version of Shump in a whole lot of ways. Very physical RB who might like contact a little too much but doesn't appear to have breakaway speed. He's a battering ram.

As you pointed out, we're very deep at RB. J-Rob is in line to be the #1 back. That 6.0 YPC for his career will come down some simply due to the increased number of carries, but he's the best pure RB we have on the roster and his hands are underrated. Not as good as LP's, but good enough. And he's got outstanding speed - one of the fastest guys on the team, supposedly. Shump will be the short yardage battering ram. If he'd learn to run to daylight instead of looking for a LB to truck, he could be special. He's going to have a short shelf life if he doesn't change his style. Word is Nick Griffin looks much better. I saw him in the M&W Game. He looked better than last season, but he didn't look 100% either. That said, he'll be a year and a half removed from the injury now, so he should be at 100% of whatever he's going to be. He'll get some short yardage carries and probably see a little time as FB. He's also the best pass blocker amongst our RBs. Then you have to factor in 2-3 carries a game for Holloway as a scatback trying to hit the HR.

Considering the depth chart, I think Williams would have to work his way up the #3 to justify burning his RS. I think he could easily pass Holloway. The question is whether he'll be able to pass one of Shump or Griff. Plus, he'll likely be the worst pass blocking RB we have. Most freshmen RBs in MS haven't really been asked to pass block in HS, so it's a skill they never really developed. Wouldn't be at all surprised for that to be the case for A-Train.

All that said, it wouldn't surprise me at all to see us use him like Shump last season. Essentially feature him in the non-con games and give him an increased role in SEC games as the season progresses, should he earn that opportunity with his play. Regardless, it'll be interesting to see how it shakes out. You can pretty much never have enough RB depth. But if it were up to me, I'd try to RS A-Train. Just my .02 cents.

[Pokerdawg44]

I was a pretty good HS athlete. Played football and was 1st team all city metro in memphis playing 5a. Didnt recieve a d1 scholly and im a 5'10 white guy. Ive played pick up games with Deangelo Williams( former 1st rd pick for panthers and current starting rb in nfl) and ive taken him to school on the bball court and Im decent in bball but didnt even play hs ball. bball and football are 2 VERY different sports with 2 VERY different skill sets needed in each. Shump might be the overall better athlete but from what ive seen Aeris looks to be the better runningback.

im sure there were many players that were much better than Dicenzo Miller athletic wise but not many were better runningbacks. Running back has a particular skill set of vision balance speed power speed and decision making. Aeris seems special to me. we shall see. i think Shump could be special too. both are unbelievable talents that im glad to be wearing maroon and white.

[shoeless joe]

I was a pretty good HS athlete. Played football and was 1st team all city metro in memphis playing 5a. Didnt recieve a d1 scholly and im a 5'10 white guy. Ive played pick up games with Deangelo Williams( former 1st rd pick for panthers and current starting rb in nfl) and ive taken him to school on the bball court and Im decent in bball but didnt even play hs ball. bball and football are 2 VERY different sports with 2 VERY different skill sets needed in each. Shump might be the overall better athlete but from what ive seen Aeris looks to be the better runningback.

im sure there were many players that were much better than Dicenzo Miller athletic wise but not many were better runningbacks. Running back has a particular skill set of vision balance speed power speed and decision making. Aeris seems special to me. we shall see. i think Shump could be special too. both are unbelievable talents that im glad to be wearing maroon and white.

I agree. You reiterated a lot of my points. I said shump had better feet, I've seen him be quicker and look more athletic. Doesn't mean he is or will be a better football player but it does mean he is quicker and has better feet.

I think your second paragraph is almost dead on but the two have very similar styles. I think Aeris' skill set are more apt to be successful with that style in the long run. I think shump running with that style is somewhat holding him back in the long run. Both are immensely talented. And I'm excited to see them develop over the coming seasons.

[Todd4State]

I don't think Aeries will redshirt. I think he will contribute about as much as Shumpert did last year. Robinson/Shumpert will be our 1-2 punch and I wouldn't be surprised at all if we have fans that will think that Shumpert should maybe should get more carries by this time next year. I honestly hope it's about a 50/50 split between the two this year. But more than likely we'll see Robinson get the lion's share of the carries, which is an improvement over last year so, I'm not going to complain too much. We'll work in Aeries some while he learns the offense and adjusts to college. Griffin will probably be used about like last year. I'm thinking Holloway will get 1-2 carries a game and mainly be used in the return game which is where he should be used.

[Dawg61]

I haven't given up on Holloway like y'all have. Get him in space 5-10 yards from the L.O.S. and he'll break some for long distance. His speed is elite. I think he's tougher than y'all give him credit too. If he catches just 2 passes deep last year everyone would have a totally different view of him than right now.

[hailmari]

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?

I don't recall Griff ever having issues with ball security, it's been his knees that have the issues. Milton on the other hand..

[Todd4State]

I haven't given up on Holloway like y'all have. Get him in space 5-10 yards from the L.O.S. and he'll break some for long distance. His speed is elite. I think he's tougher than y'all give him credit too. If he catches just 2 passes deep last year everyone would have a totally different view of him than right now.

I've only given up on him as a WR. Why we kept throwing the ball to him downfield last year and not on screens is beyond me.

At any rate, I wouldn't say I've given up on him as a player. He has value with the ball in his hands on sweeps and plays where he has to run to the outside, and I do think he can be a very good KR guy for us. But he's a role guy for us. We can't use him as an every down back, and running him inside a lot is going to limit us in the running game. The problem is, everyone else that knows football- meaning the other teams coaches- know what he is going to do if he gets the ball and they will adjust accordingly since they know he can't run inside.

[Dawg61]

I've only given up on him as a WR. Why we kept throwing the ball to him downfield last year and not on screens is beyond me.

At any rate, I wouldn't say I've given up on him as a player. He has value with the ball in his hands on sweeps and plays where he has to run to the outside, and I do think he can be a very good KR guy for us. But he's a role guy for us. We can't use him as an every down back, and running him inside a lot is going to limit us in the running game. The problem is, everyone else that knows football- meaning the other teams coaches- know what he is going to do if he gets the ball and they will adjust accordingly since they know he can't run inside.

Yea they could key in on him if he was the main threat but they will have other higher priorities to defend on the field anytime he's in there. With Dak, JRob, Bear, Jameon, Shump, Brown, AW, RoJo, etc.. Holloway quickly becomes a player they can't key in on and that makes him very dangerous. He's not built to be an every down player and nobody is expecting that from him. I do like him getting 5-10 snaps a game though because with his speed he makes us a more versatile offense even if he doesn't touch it but 1-2 times a game. I still like him running a straight fly a couple times too because it takes a defender completely out of the play. It's a decoy basically. Would really be helpful if he could catch the ball though.

[starkvegasdawg]

I was a pretty good HS athlete. Played football and was 1st team all city metro in memphis playing 5a. Didnt recieve a d1 scholly and im a 5'10 white guy. Ive played pick up games with Deangelo Williams( former 1st rd pick for panthers and current starting rb in nfl) and ive taken him to school on the bball court and Im decent in bball but didnt even play hs ball. bball and football are 2 VERY different sports with 2 VERY different skill sets needed in each. Shump might be the overall better athlete but from what ive seen Aeris looks to be the better runningback.

im sure there were many players that were much better than Dicenzo Miller athletic wise but not many were better runningbacks. Running back has a particular skill set of vision balance speed power speed and decision making. Aeris seems special to me. we shall see. i think Shump could be special too. both are unbelievable talents that im glad to be wearing maroon and white.

Did you ever score four touchdowns in a single game?

[Coach34]

There is alot more to playing RB at Miss State than just running the ball. If that was it- JRob would have started last year. Aeris will have to learn alot and like Shump last year- will get about 30 carries and get his feet wet

[IBLAMEOBAMA]

Experience is key to having a good head at the RB position. Every play that you get an experienced player into, will be huge down the road as far as experience. If they can tote it, play them.

[Reason2succeed]

I just hope that Nick Griffin and JRob become our 1-2 punch and that Shump and Aeris are just a luxury. I think that both could play some fullback this year like Shump did in the bowl game. Each of these backs should have their opportunity to be the premier back. I just hope they are ready for every phase of the game when their time comes.

[Covercorner2]

How big is Aeris? Is he really bigger than Shump? Shump is 6'2 218. I just don't think Aeris has looked THAT big when I have seen pictures of him. Granted that's all I've seen...

[codeDawg]

Well, think about this. We need 2 guys that can play an entire game every game and at least one developmental guy. We've got a guy that didn't get a ton of touches, a guy that has battled injury, and a guy that got a handful of touches. History says one guy will go down and another won't perform. We need one more regardless of talent.

BTW, I love Dontavian Lee's tape in the power running game. I'm excited to see how it translates.

[The Croom Diaries]

I don't think Aeries will RS, and I hope we run the ball more this year. I'd like to see at least a 60/40 ratio, maybe even more...but that may depend on how well Beckwith and Clayborn do on the line. We have so many offensive weapons, if the line can just be adequate (like I think they will) then we could be dynamic on that side of the ball and it really could be a special year.

[mic]

Aries will not red shirt. Too many RB in the 2015 class and he is probably too good to RS anyway.
If he picks up and does well on the other things ( pass block ...Ect) he will get more touches..