Where the 3 freshmen RB's fit into the offense

[metafour 4,968]

14 hours ago, logan adams said:

By far most excited about Joiner. I’ve been craving a large RB in this offense for a while. 

Shaun Shivers runs bigger than Joiner does; I don't quite think that he's going to satisfy your craving in that regard.

[AUIH1 1,515]

I just want Gus to realize that we have more than 1 RB on the roster.

wde

[JMassie11 1,610]

16 hours ago, DAG said:

Apparently it’s more of a hybrid type . The insiders hinted at that was the sell to him on the recruiting thread.

Not to mention with his frame, he could easily add 20-30lbs

[abw0004 10,110]

3 hours ago, DAG said:

He absolutely should not redshirt for this new dynamic hybrid role they are inventing for him. We need something like this pronto and it is only right that we implement it as soon as possible.

I would too, but he needs to prove he can take the contact first.  We don't want to burn his potential redshirt year to find out these things, or that he is fumble-prone once he takes a hit.  If these aren't issues, or they get worked out by Fall camp, by all means throw him in there.  Trust me, I am rooting for the kid.  I root for guys like this, where everyone doubts him and makes him an "underdog" of sorts.

[DAG 33,965]

12 minutes ago, abw0004 said:

I would too, but he needs to prove he can take the contact first.  We don't want to burn his potential redshirt year to find out these things, or that he is fumble-prone once he takes a hit.  If these aren't issues, or they get worked out by Fall camp, by all means throw him in there.  Trust me, I am rooting for the kid.  I root for guys like this, where everyone doubts him and makes him an "underdog" of sorts.

Only way he can prove that is in game experience. These so called practices won’t tell us much. Seen too many rock stars in spring ball, only to be completely surprised come opening day. Also, you should know by spring and fall what a player can and can’t do. Heck post spring ball, you should have an identity of a player. Too many guys sitting on the sideline for us who need to be utilIzed. And holy crap, he is going to play a hybrid TE role. If you have to figure out can he take a hit, you aren’t doing your job. Usually game speed and strength are the reasons to redshirt someone but this kid has the measurements and he is being asked to deliver in a very important role. 

[Linayus 676]

I didn't realize Gus had Charles Clay at Tulsa. That makes me lean more toward our TE group just not being the right guys for what we want to do at the position. Here's hoping that's about to change!

Sounds like Gus is betting on Asa being our new feature back (next year or the year after). I'm okay with that as long as we can rotate them better than we did this season. Lots to be excited about in our backfield!

[AuburnNTexas 7,138]

I would like to see Asa, Whitlow, Barrett rotating as everydown RB's Kam, and Shivers as the speed guys, Shivers and ASA out of the backfield catching, Joiner as Hybrid TE , Blocking back, Pass catching back.  I think we have the pieces to see if Gus will really rotate RB's.  If he doesn't do it with this group then he will never do it.

[auburnphan 6,050]

I would not be surprised if Shivers is the goal line rb.  Looks to be our most powerful rb and he won't need much of a hole

[Apraser99 168]

You know what will happen. We will pick one and run his ass in the ground. Same old same old. 

[Mikey 16,574]

4 hours ago, Apraser99 said:

You know what will happen. We will pick one and run his ass in the ground. Same old same old. 

Yeah, another boring SEC rushing champ coming up. I blame Gus for getting us stuck with these 1,300 yard RB's every season. Why, oh why can't we be like Vandy and put backs on the field that gain 400 yards a year?

[Mikey 16,574]

On 1/19/2018 at 11:12 AM, DAG said:

He (Joiner) absolutely should not redshirt for this new dynamic hybrid role they are inventing for him. We need something like this pronto and it is only right that we implement it as soon as possible.

That's assuming that Joiner is ready for a major role in SEC football. Of course we hope all of our signees, every year, are ready but few are. There's another player already on the team that could fill that spot if McClain toughens up some.

My thoughts on the three: Asa Martin and Shivers, at some point, will fight it out for the every down back spot.

Martin has all the tools to become something like a KJ clone and there ain't nothing wrong with that!

People are sleeping on Shivers because he's now at 180 pounds. The guy is 5'6" tall. He's a bowling ball with legs like tree trunks and top end track speed. He ran for 216 yards in while leading his team to victory in the state championship game and had over 6,000 rushing yards in his high school career. Shivers is not your basic O-mac speed sweep guy. Look no further than the NFL to see RB's just like him doing big things as every-down backs.

If Joiner proves to be more than just a big guy that runs fast he could be a big addition at TE/H-back. That would be nice.

[WDE_OxPx_2010 5,294]

1 hour ago, Mikey said:

People are sleeping on Shivers because he's now at 180 pounds. The guy is 5'6" tall. He's a bowling ball with legs like tree trunks and top end track speed. He ran for 216 yards in while leading his team to victory in the state championship game and had over 6,000 rushing yards in his high school career. Shivers is not your basic O-mac speed sweep guy. Look no further than the NFL to see RB's just like him doing big things as every-down backs.

Agreed. Maurice Jones Drew (5'7", 210) , Ray Rice (5'8", 206) Darren Sproles (5'6", 180), and to a lesser extent Doug Martin (5'9", 223) Very effective.

[aufan57 922]

19 minutes ago, WDE_OxPx_2010 said:

Agreed. Maurice Jones Drew (5'7", 210) , Ray Rice (5'8", 206) Darren Sproles (5'6", 180), and to a lesser extent Doug Martin (5'9", 223) Very effective.

And Dion Lewis 5'8" 195

[CullmanTiger 52]

On 1/19/2018 at 10:15 AM, logan adams said:

But like I’ve said, we don’t really utilize the TE position. Would be a waste. Joiner needs to play a skill position, at RB. 

the 2-7 team running backs are also a waste. It took (1) Barber going pro (2) Robinson getting booted off the team (3) Thomas transfering (4) and K. Johnson getting hurt before Pettway carried the ball. Any guessto  how many never see the field for Auburn

[AUGoo 2,659]

On January 19, 2018 at 9:23 AM, AUatHeart said:

I think Asa will be the feature back out of these three.  I can see Shivers being used a lot like O Mac was.  Joiner?  I really hope that Gus gets him involved like the kid at Tulsa was.

I keep doing that wishing in one hand thing too. But, unfortunately my other hand keeps filling up.?

[Farmer Brown 2,391]

One of them will win the starting job. Malzahn will ride him to death, and seldom substitute, unless their is a severe injury.

[Mikey 16,574]

11 hours ago, CullmanTiger said:

the 2-7 team running backs are also a waste. It took (1) Barber going pro (2) Robinson getting booted off the team (3) Thomas transfering (4) and K. Johnson getting hurt before Pettway carried the ball. Any guessto  how many never see the field for Auburn

So, you think that if Barber hadn't turned pro and if Robinson hadn't been booted off the team our rushing attack would have been even better than it was? I agree.

[CullmanTiger 52]

9 hours ago, Mikey said:

So, you think that if Barber hadn't turned pro and if Robinson hadn't been booted off the team our rushing attack would have been even better than it was? I agree.

Yes, our run offense would have been better, but my point was that I think Pettway would have never seen the field, and I think his running ability would have been wasted. 

[McLoofus 35,182]

21 hours ago, CullmanTiger said:

the 2-7 team running backs are also a waste. It took (1) Barber going pro (2) Robinson getting booted off the team (3) Thomas transfering (4) and K. Johnson getting hurt before Pettway carried the ball. Any guessto  how many never see the field for Auburn

This isn't the best way to make your point.

-Pettway isn't as good as KJ or Robinson. I know that Auburn fans love to see a big guy breaking tackles, but that doesn't make him a better all around running back. 
-Thomas transferred because he was going to get taken out of a feature back role, so you've got that one backwards. The coaches had already made the decision that you're suggesting they hadn't. 
-Peyton Barber had 103 NFL carries this year. You're complaining that a true freshman who *everybody* thought was coming in as an H-back didn't take carries from him in what amounted to a contract year? 

I agree that Gus didn't do enough to develop the young guys this season, but the "Pettway was a superstar and dumb Gus didn't see it" thing is way overblown IMO. And it's not indicative of Gus's overall track record in the least. He screwed up this season. He screwed up to a much lesser degree last season. But, until last year's uga game, he and Horton were pretty much unimpeachable as run game and running back savants. On his resume, the good heavily outweighs the bad.

TL;DR  I've been beating this drum as loudly as anyone, but it remains a criticism of how he's handled the position since the 2016 uga game and not a prediction of future results. 

*Also, while he hasn't responded perfectly, look at what he's dealt with the last 2 years:
-Robinson, easily our best back going into 2016, dismissed before the season
-Johnson, RB2 before Robinson dismissal and RB1 after, injured early in the 2016 season
-Miller, RB3 and then RB2, injured early in the 2016 season
-Pettway, RB2 and then RB1, injured midseason 2016
-Johnson, now RB1 again, injured again 2016
-Martin injured against uga 2016
-Whitlow- possibly RB1 in 2018- out for the 2017 season before it starts
-Pettway, RB2, injured early in the 2017 season (this is the point from where Gus started really mishandling things IMO)
-Purely opinion here, but Miller did not look the same in limited carries as he had before his injury the previous season
-KJ injured in the IB

[McLoofus 35,182]

Oh, one other thing: H-back was still a crucial position to our offense in 2016, and Cox was the only one we had once Pettway slid over. It's entirely possible that Pettway was slated to do big things there until he was needed at RB. 

[Mikey 16,574]

19 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

This isn't the best way to make your point.

-Pettway isn't as good as KJ or Robinson. I know that Auburn fans love to see a big guy breaking tackles, but that doesn't make him a better all around running back. 
-Thomas transferred because he was going to get taken out of a feature back role, so you've got that one backwards. The coaches had already made the decision that you're suggesting they hadn't. 
-Peyton Barber had 103 NFL carries this year. You're complaining that a true freshman who *everybody* thought was coming in as an H-back didn't take carries from him in what amounted to a contract year? 

I agree that didn't do enough to develop the young guys this season, but the "Pettway was a superstar and dumb Gus didn't see it" thing is way overblown IMO. And it's not indicative of Gus's overall track record in the least. He screwed up this season. He screwed up to a much lesser degree last season. But, until last year's uga game, he and Horton were pretty much unimpeachable as run game and running back savants. On his resume, the good heavily outweighs the bad.

TL;DR  I've been beating this drum as loudly as anyone, but it remains a criticism of how he's handled the position since the 2016 uga game and not a prediction of future results. 

*Also, while he hasn't responded perfectly, look at what he's dealt with the last 2 years:
-Robinson, easily our best back going into 2016, dismissed before the season
-Johnson, RB2 before Robinson dismissal and RB1 after, injured early in the 2016 season
-Miller, RB3 and then RB2, injured early in the 2016 season
-Pettway, RB2 and then RB1, injured midseason 2016
-Johnson, now RB1 again, injured again 2016
-Martin injured against uga 2016
-Whitlow- possibly RB1 in 2018- out for the 2017 season before it starts
-Pettway, RB2, injured early in the 2017 season (this is the point from where Gus started really mishandling things IMO)
-Purely opinion here, but Miller did not look the same in limited carries as he had before his injury the previous season
-KJ injured in the IB

Shhhhh! If you confuse them with facts the griping isn't nearly as much fun.

[lionheartkc 6,150]

23 hours ago, CullmanTiger said:

the 2-7 team running backs are also a waste. It took (1) Barber going pro (2) Robinson getting booted off the team (3) Thomas transfering (4) and K. Johnson getting hurt before Pettway carried the ball. Any guessto  how many never see the field for Auburn

Here's an interesting thing to think about... how many back-up running backs for other teams never see the field? Guys like Barber/Pettway have gotten lucky the past few years at Auburn because they would have likely never seen more than mop-up duty for any top team without injuries and attrition. They got a shot they normally wouldn't, anywhere, and made the most of it.

Also, one needs to consider how much Horton plays into the success of these players who are basically filling in at the last minute. He is one heck of a running backs coach.

[AUsince72 11,084]

1 hour ago, lionheartkc said:

Here's an interesting thing to think about... how many back-up running backs for other teams never see the field? Guys like Barber/Pettway have gotten lucky the past few years at Auburn because they would have likely never seen more than mop-up duty for any top team without injuries and attrition. They got a shot they normally wouldn't, anywhere, and made the most of it.

Also, one needs to consider how much Horton plays into the success of these players who are basically filling in at the last minute. He is one heck of a running backs coach.

Which is exactly why I suspect a 85-100% Devan Barrett and/or Kam Martin (with full seasons under their belts) would have been much better options to throw at thUga than a 50-65% KJ.  But....Gus....

[lionheartkc 6,150]

1 hour ago, AUsince72 said:

Which is exactly why I suspect a 85-100% Devan Barrett and/or Kam Martin (with full seasons under their belts) would have been much better options to throw at thUga than a 50-65% KJ.  But....Gus....

You could be right. Devan never looked quite like things had completely slowed down for him, to me, though he did look better each game. That's why I think he's going to be something special going forward. I still think Kam's issue wasn't with running, but with protecting on passing plays. Kind of makes you wonder, if Horton does want to move on as some have alluded, that it might have something to do with Gus never being satisfied with how well the backs block.

[aucanucktiger 1,791]

Bo had a game (against I think Ky in '83?) where said he set out to shred media suggestions he was a big speedster who was afraid of contact. He shredded a Ky defender or two for the cameras that day and the Boz a few years later. Might be risky reading too much just yet into Harold's vids showing him running around instead of through contact.