Can Kam Martin be "The Guy" in 2018?

[WFE12 9,191]

 

Link

Way too long to post but really good, in-depth article.

[bigbird 60,480]

Yes

[doc4aday 1,887]

some really good stuff indeed!  Thanks for the post!

[McLoofus 35,182]

Pretty good article, thank you for sharing.

I went through the whole thing. Kam just needs to get lower in pass pro and he'll be a complete back.

 

[corchjay 5,311]

Yes he can and probably will be but I don’t see him being a 200 carry kind of back.  Top him out about 13-15 and I think you get the best out of him.  He can get into game mode and still be a home run threat every touch.

[Southwest 186]

I think he can be very good if used correctly, I was looking back at I think the A&M and Mizzu game and he was a breath of fresh air. He was gashing for some nice gains. The bad was I also saw him get lit up in pass blocking but I think that can be remedied by teaching, sometimes you don’t have to crush a guy just change his path to the qb or hold him up for a second or two.

[djg0017 726]

There are other ways than blocking for a back to take pressure off the QB and Kam is really designed for them. Hope the staff uses him correctly in that regard

[Gowebb11 9,314]

Excellent article. I believe in Kam being the guy. Regarding his size, Ralph Webb survived 4 years as a feature back at Vandy with over 900 carries. Chip is a year wiser, and should have a much better feel for how to make it work with KM, while distributing carries more suitably. WDE!

[Win4AU 4,052]

Kam’s Style reminds me a bit of Mason in the way he attacks the line of scrimmage.  I can see him and Boobie being similar to Tre and CAP.  RB under Gus is a funny position at Auburn.  2015 it was supposed to be Jovon but ended up Barber.  2016 was supposed to be Jovon till he got kicked off the team.  Then it was supposed to be Kerryon but it ended up being Bubba.  Last year was supposed to be Bubba and ended up Kerryon.  I think Kam will end being a 20+ carry a game back in an offense that averages 75+ plays a game and someone else getting 10+.  Gus isn’t going to let Stidham throw 50 attempts a game.

[alexava 6,973]

I don’t know....... I hope so and I also hope we don’t have a do or die back. I want two solid guys with a third pushing them. 

[SumterAubie 3,031]

And what a dangerous dump off the ball in the face of oncoming pressure type of back.. That in itself will slow some of the pass rush as a defender will have to over watch Martin

[tbone1430 1,346]

Only thing that worries me about him is fumbles. He's fumbled 3 times in 118 attempts in 2 years whereas kerryon did 3 times in the past 2 years but had around 450 carries. Hope he can hold onto the ball and pass pro well. I see him being a 15-20 carries guy but definitely not what we are accustomed to with kerryon and kp. Maybe thats a good thing so we dont run them into the ground as in years past. Hopefully Boobie or someone else can step up as a reliable backup. 

[alexava 6,973]

2 minutes ago, tbone1430 said:

Only thing that worries me about him is fumbles. He's fumbled 3 times in 118 attempts in 2 years whereas kerryon did 3 times in the past 2 years but had around 450 carries. Hope he can hold onto the ball and pass pro well. I see him being a 15-20 carries guy but definitely not what we are accustomed to with kerryon and kp. Maybe thats a good thing so we dont run them into the ground as in years past. Hopefully Boobie or someone else can step up as a reliable backup. 

My gut feeling is it will be Boobie within a few games. Simply a gut feeling.

[bigbird 60,480]

10 minutes ago, SumterAubie said:

And what a dangerous dump off the ball in the face of oncoming pressure type of back.. That in itself will slow some of the pass rush as a defender will have to over watch Martin

Exactly. One dump off and the D wouldn't blitz again for a while.

[AU80cruiser 1,102]

If Martin does get the bulk of the carries but stays in the 15 touches a game range then I would like to see us develope a power attack with another back and one of our D-linemen or LBs as a lead blocker for inside the 10 type of situations. Not sure who that back would be since we dont have that big back like i want us to recruit. This would be good to have against a team like washington where they will be a little undersized on the edges. And we need to develope it as the season goes on where it could also have enough looks to work against competition with equal size.  

[DAG 33,972]

Simple answer is yes 

[McLoofus 35,182]

10 hours ago, Win4AU said:

Kam’s Style reminds me a bit of Mason in the way he attacks the line of scrimmage.  I can see him and Boobie being similar to Tre and CAP.  RB under Gus is a funny position at Auburn.  2015 it was supposed to be Jovon but ended up Barber.  2016 was supposed to be Jovon till he got kicked off the team.  Then it was supposed to be Kerryon but it ended up being Bubba.  Last year was supposed to be Bubba and ended up Kerryon.  I think Kam will end being a 20+ carry a game back in an offense that averages 75+ plays a game and someone else getting 10+.  Gus isn’t going to let Stidham throw 50 attempts a game.

Jovon took himself out of the running in 2015 with a combination of injury and bad attitude. Roc ended up being more of a dancer than the one-cut back we needed in our offense and KJ was a true freshman. Barber won the job by default.

In 2016, it was Kerryon until he got hurt. Bubba did very well with his opportunity. Fans overreacted to that. 

In 2017, it wasn't supposed to be Bubba. It was supposed to be KJ all along with Bubba spelling him. Bubba's only 2 games with big carries were the 2 that KJ couldn't play in, Clemson and Mercer. 

In all 3 seasons, it was a combination of injuries and off-field problems that dictated the RB rotation, except for some very notable losses where we had guys who could go and Gus chose not to let them play. (He did that at RB *and* QB in the '16 DSOR.)

Gus has dealt with a ton of bad luck at the RB position the last 3 years. There's no denying it. Alaric Williams failed to qualify, Malik Miller was lost for 2016 and still recovering in 2017, Jovon Robinson- probably the most complete ball carrier  (KJ might have the edge in terms of being a complete running back) we've had since Ben Tate- got himself kicked off the team, multiple injuries to KJ and KP... like, it's crazy. But he's made it worse than it had to be the last 2 years. 

Available talent might force Gus's hand this season. There might not be a guy on the roster that can be in on every damn snap of the game and that's super duper okay and maybe even a good thing. Maybe the light bulb goes on this season. If Kam Martin leads the group with ~17 carries a game, then we might have a really exciting offense that SETS RECORDS! but is also capable of functioning when the standard 4-play offense isn't working. 

[WarDamnEagleWDE 12,737]

Asa is going to be that "the guy". 

[atl-tiger 655]

1 hour ago, WarDamnEagleWDE said:

Asa is going to be that "the guy". 

Man I hope so!  Kid put up video game stats in high school, sometimes only playing in the 1st half.  Looks like he has been putting on good weight as well.  I believe if he, as a true freshman, could get a significant amount of carries it could possibly get us out of our current RB recruiting slump.

[Mike4AU 1,739]

Here is a comment from a non-coach.  AU has been known for many years to have a power run game. That said, it appears to me that because of personnel, this year’s run game will need to be similar to an Oregon run game and also use a short passing game as a type of run game.  I just don’t think we have the bruisers needed for a power run game.

I would be interested in hearing from our members who are coaches.  

[CCslim 56]

Short answer: YES

He avg 6.1 ypc. 

Even running up the middle he just manages to get chunks of yards before contact. 

Everyone talks about size like it matters;  5'10 190 is plenty big.

His fumblitist is the ONLY negative i have with him. 

[Scotty2Hotty 520]

1 hour ago, Mike4AU said:

I just don’t think we have the bruisers needed for a power run game.

I concur. Very concerned about our run game, esp on 3rd and 1-3 yards. 

[McLoofus 35,182]

1 hour ago, Mike4AU said:

I just don’t think we have the bruisers needed for a power run game.

 

11 minutes ago, Scotty2Hotty said:

I concur. Very concerned about our run game, esp on 3rd and 1-3 yards. 

Gatewood in the WC. 

[Scotty2Hotty 520]

48 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

Gatewood in the WC. 

That requires substitutions, which defeats the HUNH tempo. Plus minus Cam, Gus runs the QB keeper 99.9% of the time in the Wildcat, so Ds can key on them. Plus Gatewood, a true Freshman QB, is our solution on critical 3rd and shorts all season? Ouch. Giving me horrid flashbacks of the Frazier Cat. 

[BigWhiskey91 632]

12 minutes ago, Scotty2Hotty said:

That requires substitutions, which defeats the HUNH tempo. Plus minus Cam, Gus runs the QB keeper 99.9% of the time in the Wildcat, so Ds can key on them. Plus Gatewood, a true Freshman QB, is our solution on critical 3rd and shorts all season? Ouch. 

Simply put, despite the tendencies, the off balance formation we use for the wildcat forces mismatches if the defense chooses to respect the formation. 

Gatewood being a Wildcat QB as a freshman isn’t anything new. KJ did it and was successful. Gatewood has the size and if he is assertive and decisive in the run game, he could have an impact.