2017 5* RB Cam Akers (FSU 12/27/16)

[GwillMac6 20,671]

6 minutes ago, Rednilla said:

...Why does Kenny Irons stick out? Not knocking him or anything, but I wouldn't put him any higher on the list than Tre Mason, and I'd put Ben Tate ahead of both of them...and then there's Dyer, who probably was as talented as Tate but didn't have the field time to prove it, and...well, Irons just doesn't seem like anything more than one of the long line of good Auburn running backs.

Kenny Irons to me is more talented than those rbs and could thrive in ANY system. He killed it in a vanilla system. Could you imagine him in Gus offense? I CAN!!! I see 2k yards with him in that offense. Ben Tate was not that special to me. another good auburn rb? of course! not in the class of tre and dyer though and certainly not Irons.

[ellitor 33,093]

16 minutes ago, GwillMac6 said:

Kenny Irons to me is more talented than those rbs and could thrive in ANY system. He killed it in a vanilla system. Could you imagine him in Gus offense? I CAN!!! I see 2k yards with him in that offense. Ben Tate was not that special to me. another good auburn rb? of course! not in the class of tre and dyer though and certainly not Irons.

I love Kenny but there's no way he was more talented than Ben Tate. Both were very good backs but Ben Tate is flat out bigger stronger and faster ( 4.34 to 4.45 at the NFL combine) than Kenny.

[GwillMac6 20,671]

29 minutes ago, ellitor said:

I love Kenny but there's no way he was more talented than Ben Tate. Both were very good backs but Ben Tate is flat out bigger stronger and faster ( 4.34 to 4.45 at the NFL combine) than Kenny.

O GOOD GRIEF I absolutely positively disagree more than  I have never disagreed with anyone before. PRAYERS SENT. BEN TATE SERIOUSLY?! this is who your going to bat for?? OUT!

[AUApostle 7,651]

8 minutes ago, GwillMac6 said:

O GOOD GRIEF I absolutely positively disagree that I have never disagreed with anyone before. PRAYERS SENT. BEN TATE SERIOUSLY?! this is who your going to bat for?? OUT!

I'd take Irons, too.  He was a home run threat every touch b/c he hit the hole so fast.  Ben Tate, considerably less.  I remember watching him struggle against USF in 07 while Fannin was busting through holes for big gains (and subsequently dropping the ball).  The Irons and Tate were close friends...I wonder who'd they say was the more talented college RB.

[tombigbeetiger 223]

irons was much better than tate....not close

[metafour 4,969]

Ben Tate is the most underrated RB in Auburn history.  Never have I seen a top player constantly talked down as consistently as Tate; the guy has been gone for years and people are still trying to convince themselves that inferior players were "better".  

[metafour 4,969]

1 minute ago, tombigbeetiger said:

irons was much better than tate....not close

LOL.

Ben Tate was ~20-25 pounds heavier and a faster/better athlete.  Get real.

[thaitopher 807]

It's amazing how big this thread has become in light of what E keeps telling us and considering that he has shown little if any interest in auburn. 

[ellitor 33,093]

3 hours ago, thaitopher said:

It's amazing how big this thread has become in light of what E keeps telling us and considering that he has shown little if any interest in auburn. 

Why do you think the mods and I have let the derailment continue?

[The Plainsman 948]

Not sure E,.  Why is that?  

[ellitor 33,093]

1 minute ago, The Plainsman said:

Not sure E,.  Why is that?  

Because Akers is a pipe dream for AU fans right now so night as well let the conversation wander.

[The Plainsman 948]

4 minutes ago, ellitor said:

Because Akers is a pipe dream for AU fans right now so night as well let the conversation wander.

We love a good pipe dream every now and then.  

[mustache eagle 2,402]

4 hours ago, AUDevil said:

I'd take Irons, too.  He was a home run threat every touch b/c he hit the hole so fast.  Ben Tate, considerably less.  I remember watching him struggle against USF in 07 while Fannin was busting through holes for big gains (and subsequently dropping the ball).  The Irons and Tate were close friends...I wonder who'd they say was the more talented college RB.

Well ... David irons would say HE was the best.

[austudnt23 1,432]

5 hours ago, metafour said:

Ben Tate is the most underrated RB in Auburn history.  Never have I seen a top player constantly talked down as consistently as Tate; the guy has been gone for years and people are still trying to convince themselves that inferior players were "better".  

Whoa now ben tate better than KI come on now. Ben was solid but as a college player Kenny was a stud for us.

[metafour 4,969]

50 minutes ago, austudnt23 said:

Whoa now ben tate better than KI come on now. Ben was solid but as a college player Kenny was a stud for us.

Kenny Irons played on infinitely better teams.  His big 2005 season? You may remember Marcus McNeill and Ben Grubbs anchoring one of the best offensive lines in the country (if not the best); two guys who would both go on to dominate in the NFL.  The following season he was less effective in an injury plagued season (I guess that is what happens when you are 195-200 pounds but run too upright and try to play like you are 230).  Ben Tate played on the tail end of Tuberville's downfall yet still managed to dominate in the first year of Chizik/Malzahn in what would be a vastly improved, albeit still talently limited offense.  He would have looked god-like had he had a year of eligibility left and been able to play in that 2010 offense.

Irons was relentless, but there is no question who the superior athlete was out of the two...and Tate was doing it with 20-25 pounds on Irons.  Tate was also a better receiver, and less injury prone.

He will live in infamy for making Eric Berry (an All-World football player) bounce off him like a rag-doll:

 

[AUApostle 7,651]

Somebody get Eddie Gran on the phone to settle this...1 game: mediocre line, QB, and WRs...who would you choose?

[aucanucktiger 1,794]

1 hour ago, AUDevil said:

Somebody get Eddie Gran on the phone to settle this...1 game: mediocre line, QB, and WRs...who would you choose?

Cam Akers! See how this went full circle?

[McLoofus 35,182]

10 hours ago, metafour said:

He will live in infamy for making Eric Berry (an All-World football player) bounce off him like a rag-doll:

 

I have no interest in debating whether pizza or tacos, er, I mean Tate or Irons is better. But if we're going the best highlight route, Kenny has Ben and most Auburn RBs ever beat:
 

 

[ellitor 33,093]

4 hours ago, AUDevil said:

Somebody get Eddie Gran on the phone to settle this...1 game: mediocre line, QB, and WRs...who would you choose?

Why does it have to be the mediocre form of those positions? Tate put up similar numbers as Kenny in 09 while we were not as good in each of those positions as 05. I gotta think Tate behind an 05 offensive line would have had fifteen hundred yards and 15 or more touchdowns.

[AUApostle 7,651]

16 minutes ago, ellitor said:

Why does it have to be the mediocre form of those positions? Tate put up similar numbers as Kenny in 09 while we were not as good in each of those positions as 05. I gotta think Tate behind an 05 offensive line would have had fifteen hundred yards and 15 or more touchdowns.

So that all things are equal.  Tate had a pretty darn good line in 09...Ziemba, Pugh, Berry, McCain, and Isom were some great college linemen.  He just wasn't a guy that makes something out of nothing a lot of times.  I felt like Kenny could score from anywhere and ran as hard as any running back every time he touched the ball until his injury in the 06 opener.

[ellitor 33,093]

55 minutes ago, AUDevil said:

So that all things are equal.  Tate had a pretty darn good line in 09...Ziemba, Pugh, Berry, McCain, and Isom were some great college linemen.  He just wasn't a guy that makes something out of nothing a lot of times.  I felt like Kenny could score from anywhere and ran as hard as any running back every time he touched the ball until his injury in the 06 opener.

Still wasn't as good as the 2005 OL as Meta pointed out. Mediocre is a strong word and it was not my word but 05 were upgrades at every position except maybe Center.

[Tiger 8,824]

The NFL both considered them roughly equal in talent as they were both 2nd rounders at a time where running backs were being taken as high as the #1 or #2 pick.

Ben Tate was undervalued. That is possibly because we didn't win as much as we would've liked with him here -- or I should say the overall success of the offense kept dwindling while he was at AU until CGM came along IIRC. Irons gets praise because he had some very clutch and big performances in big time games that helped us win. He had signature moments that really stick out. He was also flashier. Tate just got the job done for the most part, so I can see how some would overlook him.

I couldn't tell you who was better, but if they were the same age they would've made one hell of a 1-2 punch.

[metafour 4,969]

3 hours ago, McLoofus said:

I have no interest in debating whether pizza or tacos, er, I mean Tate or Irons is better. But if we're going the best highlight route, Kenny has Ben and most Auburn RBs ever beat:

Nope.  Ben Tate's run against Northwestern in which he carried like 4-6 guys (who were actually wrapping him up) was more impressive.  That Irons run was just poor tackling: two guys run into him and don't even bother to get a hand on him, thinking that he'd just fall over.  Its a good play; but its a result of poor defending.

 

 

Rudi Johnson's run against Wyoming is still better than botth; and easily better than Irons' run against LSU.

 

[McLoofus 35,182]

3 minutes ago, metafour said:

Rudi Johnson's run against Wyoming is still better than botth; and easily better than Irons' run against LSU.

Yeah, like I said, "most". 

And Iron's run that I posted was superior to Tate knocking down Berry coming in at a funny angle, that 2nd one you posted against Northwestern was, indeed, spectacular. 

[Rednilla 5,391]

Meh, to be completely honest, there have been so many good running backs at Auburn for so long that we're really splitting hairs to a great degree, but Kenny Irons benefited from having a viable passing offense to support him, as well. Ben Obomanu, Devin Aromashadu, Courtney Taylor, and Anthony Mix were playing catch with Brandon Cox in between Irons runs, and that obviously makes a difference with the running game. We were more successful during Irons' time here, to be sure, but that in and of itself does not make him a better running back.

BTW, when Tate was a senior and the passing offense returned, he had slightly better YPC than Irons did in his best year, 05. Incidentally, Irons' stats from 06, after all those receivers besides Courtney Taylor graduated, are also pretty similar to Tate's sophomore year in 07, except Ben had twice as many touchdowns.