Jump to content

Malzahn / Tulsa / Talent level

StatTiger

By StatTiger
in AU Football Forum

Recommended Posts

StatTiger Founding Father

StatTiger 3,188

Posted
Posted

2008 Tulsa Golden Hurricane Starting Offensive Lineup:

(This includes each player’s Scout.com recruiting rating)

WR: Jesse Meyer 6-4, 201 / Star Rating: 1

FL: AJ Whitmnore 5-9, 170 / Star Rating: 2

SE: Brennan Marion 6-1, 185 / Star Rating: 3

SE: Trae Johnson 5-11, 170 / Star Rating: 2

TE: Jake Collums 6-4, 242 / Star Rating: 1

LT: Tyler Holmes 6-3, 299 / Star Rating: 2

LG: Curt Puckett 6-4, 297 / Star Rating: 1

OC: Jody Whaley 6-4, 302 / Star Rating: 1

RG: Justin Morsey 6-2, 282 / Star Rating: 2

RT: Rodrick Thomas 6-5, 354 / Star Rating: 1

QB: David Johnson 6-3, 217 / Star Rating: 2

RB: Tarrion Adams 6-1, 210 / Star Rating: 1

RB: Jamad Williams 5-9, 193 / Star Rating: 1

FB: Charles Clay 6-3, 222 / Star Rating: 2

Average Rating of Tulsa’s offensive starters: 1.57 stars

Tarrion Adams (RB): In the past two seasons, Adams was the premier rusher for Malzahn’s offense. He rushed for 2541 yards and 19 TD’s in the last two seasons, averaging 5.68 yards per carry. He also had 50 receptions for 493 yards and 4 additional TD’s. Adams totaled 13 games of 100-yards or more, proving a big back can be successful in Malzahn’s offense.

Brennan Marion (SE): Marion was Tulsa’s highest rated player at 3-stars and was signed out of Junior College. He was an immediate impact player, catching 82 passes in the last two seasons for an eye-popping 2356 yards and 19 TD’s. Brennan Marion was the Golden Hurricane’s biggest playmaker, averaging 28.7 yards per reception.

David Johnson (QB): Johnson was only a 2-star recruit who served as a backup in Malzahn’s offense in 2007. As the starter in 2008. Johnson passed for 3866 yards and 43 TD’s. He completed 65% of his passes for an impressive 10.3 yards per pass attempt.

Charles Clay (FB): Clay was also a 2-star recruit, who scored 11 TD’s in 2008. Clay rushed for 145 yards on 25 carries but hauled in 36 passes for 471 yards and 9 TD’s. It’s good to know the FB position in Malzahn’s offense is utilized as an offensive weapon and not just a lead blocker.

Jake Collums (TE): Collums was initially signed by Tulsa as a 1-star WR recruit but was moved to TE. During this past season, Collum only caught 6 passes for 39 yards but 5 went for a touchdown. Sounds like the TE will be a factor in the red zone.

It would be easy to write off Malzahn’s success at Tulsa as competing against inferior teams and or talent. Though there is some truth to it, one must also consider the talent level Tulsa put on the field. As I already pointed out, the average recruiting rating of their starting offense was just 1.57 stars. Of the twelve teams currently in Conference-USA, Tulsa was 7th in recruiting over the past five years.

Average Recruiting Ranking (Conference-USA):

Southern Miss ………… 68.0

Houston …………..…….. 74.2

East Carolina ………….. 77.2

Marshall …………..…….. 79.4

Central Florida ………… 79.6

Memphis ……...…………. 80.6

Tulsa …………....………... 84.0

Tulane ………....…………. 86.2

UAB …………......………… 91.8

UTEP ………….....……….. 92.6

SMU …………......………… 93.0

Rice ……………...……….. 101.6

Bottom line, Gus Malzahn was able to produce the better offensive numbers within his conference with below average recruits and it wasn’t even close, except for the University of Houston.

Link to comment
https://www.aufamily.com/topic/55045-malzahn-tulsa-talent-level/
Share on other sites




TigerHeat Founding Father

TigerHeat 9

Posted
Posted

2008 Tulsa Golden Hurricane Starting Offensive Lineup:

(This includes each player’s Scout.com recruiting rating)

WR: Jesse Meyer 6-4, 201 / Star Rating: 1

FL: AJ Whitmnore 5-9, 170 / Star Rating: 2

SE: Brennan Marion 6-1, 185 / Star Rating: 3

SE: Trae Johnson 5-11, 170 / Star Rating: 2

TE: Jake Collums 6-4, 242 / Star Rating: 1

LT: Tyler Holmes 6-3, 299 / Star Rating: 2

LG: Curt Puckett 6-4, 297 / Star Rating: 1

OC: Jody Whaley 6-4, 302 / Star Rating: 1

RG: Justin Morsey 6-2, 282 / Star Rating: 2

RT: Rodrick Thomas 6-5, 354 / Star Rating: 1

QB: David Johnson 6-3, 217 / Star Rating: 2

RB: Tarrion Adams 6-1, 210 / Star Rating: 1

RB: Jamad Williams 5-9, 193 / Star Rating: 1

FB: Charles Clay 6-3, 222 / Star Rating: 2

Average Rating of Tulsa’s offensive starters: 1.57 stars

Tarrion Adams (RB): In the past two seasons, Adams was the premier rusher for Malzahn’s offense. He rushed for 2541 yards and 19 TD’s in the last two seasons, averaging 5.68 yards per carry. He also had 50 receptions for 493 yards and 4 additional TD’s. Adams totaled 13 games of 100-yards or more, proving a big back can be successful in Malzahn’s offense.

Brennan Marion (SE): Marion was Tulsa’s highest rated player at 3-stars and was signed out of Junior College. He was an immediate impact player, catching 82 passes in the last two seasons for an eye-popping 2356 yards and 19 TD’s. Brennan Marion was the Golden Hurricane’s biggest playmaker, averaging 28.7 yards per reception.

David Johnson (QB): Johnson was only a 2-star recruit who served as a backup in Malzahn’s offense in 2007. As the starter in 2008. Johnson passed for 3866 yards and 43 TD’s. He completed 65% of his passes for an impressive 10.3 yards per pass attempt.

Charles Clay (FB): Clay was also a 2-star recruit, who scored 11 TD’s in 2008. Clay rushed for 145 yards on 25 carries but hauled in 36 passes for 471 yards and 9 TD’s. It’s good to know the FB position in Malzahn’s offense is utilized as an offensive weapon and not just a lead blocker.

Jake Collums (TE): Collums was initially signed by Tulsa as a 1-star WR recruit but was moved to TE. During this past season, Collum only caught 6 passes for 39 yards but 5 went for a touchdown. Sounds like the TE will be a factor in the red zone.

It would be easy to write off Malzahn’s success at Tulsa as competing against inferior teams and or talent. Though there is some truth to it, one must also consider the talent level Tulsa put on the field. As I already pointed out, the average recruiting rating of their starting offense was just 1.57 stars. Of the twelve teams currently in Conference-USA, Tulsa was 7th in recruiting over the past five years.

Average Recruiting Ranking (Conference-USA):

Southern Miss ………… 68.0

Houston …………..…….. 74.2

East Carolina ………….. 77.2

Marshall …………..…….. 79.4

Central Florida ………… 79.6

Memphis ……...…………. 80.6

Tulsa …………....………... 84.0

Tulane ………....…………. 86.2

UAB …………......………… 91.8

UTEP ………….....……….. 92.6

SMU …………......………… 93.0

Rice ……………...……….. 101.6

Bottom line, Gus Malzahn was able to produce the better offensive numbers within his conference with below average recruits and it wasn’t even close, except for the University of Houston.

You must be mistaken. Tony Franklin couldn't make Auburn's players effective in an offensive scheme. No way Malzahn could do it with Tulsa's.

AU Cav Mentor

AU Cav 0

Posted
Posted

tulsa would have beaten us this past year. the difference would have been a clearly defined purpose and plan and a team sold out to the execution of the plan.

That, and about 28 points would have been the difference.

runswithscissors Founding Father

runswithscissors 33

Posted
Posted

tulsa would have beaten us this past year. the difference would have been a clearly defined purpose and plan and a team sold out to the execution of the plan.

Tulsa lost to Houston by 40 points.....what makes you think they would have beaten AU? they haven't beaten a halfway decent team in years.

AUgradWannabe Newbie

AUgradWannabe 0

Posted
Posted

tulsa would have beaten us this past year. the difference would have been a clearly defined purpose and plan and a team sold out to the execution of the plan.

Tulsa lost to Houston by 40 points.....what makes you think they would have beaten AU? they haven't beaten a halfway decent team in years.

Actually, that's not true. Last year Tulsa gave BYU one of their two losses.

runswithscissors Founding Father

runswithscissors 33

Posted
Posted

tulsa would have beaten us this past year. the difference would have been a clearly defined purpose and plan and a team sold out to the execution of the plan.

Tulsa lost to Houston by 40 points.....what makes you think they would have beaten AU? they haven't beaten a halfway decent team in years.

Actually, that's not true. Last year Tulsa gave BYU one of their two losses.

i stand corrected, they beat BYU 55-47 in 07. i still don't think they would have beaten AU in 08.

Strychnine Founding Father

Strychnine 1,812

Posted
Posted

i stand corrected, they beat BYU 55-47 in 07. i still don't think they would have beaten AU in 08.

It depends. Our defense would have possibly presented more of a headache than anyone else they faced, but they would have still scored at least some points. If it was one of those days where a cold front in Kazakhstan stopped our offense, I think they could have won.

rexbo Founding Father

rexbo 104

Posted
Posted

tulsa would have beaten us this past year. the difference would have been a clearly defined purpose and plan and a team sold out to the execution of the plan.

Tulsa lost to Houston by 40 points.....what makes you think they would have beaten AU? they haven't beaten a halfway decent team in years.

Actually, that's not true. Last year Tulsa gave BYU one of their two losses.

i stand corrected, they beat BYU 55-47 in 07. i still don't think they would have beaten AU in 08.

Tulsa would easily have scored 20+ points on us, you can only punt to a team with that kind of offense so many times before things break down defensively; I doubt we could have scored much more than that. An Auburn win would have been very close and required some turnovers to get us more than 3 touchdowns, or maybe a Tristan Davis kickoff return. Look back at Auburn's 2 SEC wins, we had ONE offensive touchdown; we were very, very close to being 3 and 9 this year...

GaTigerFan Experienced

GaTigerFan 0

Posted
Posted

tulsa would have beaten us this past year. the difference would have been a clearly defined purpose and plan and a team sold out to the execution of the plan.

Tulsa lost to Houston by 40 points.....what makes you think they would have beaten AU? they haven't beaten a halfway decent team in years.

Actually, that's not true. Last year Tulsa gave BYU one of their two losses.

i stand corrected, they beat BYU 55-47 in 07. i still don't think they would have beaten AU in 08.

Tulsa would easily have scored 20+ points on us, you can only punt to a team with that kind of offense so many times before things break down defensively; I doubt we could have scored much more than that. An Auburn win would have been very close and required some turnovers to get us more than 3 touchdowns, or maybe a Tristan Davis kickoff return. Look back at Auburn's 2 SEC wins, we had ONE offensive touchdown; we were very, very close to being 3 and 9 this year...

and very very close to being 0-8 in the SEC... We somehow managed to beat the two worst SEC teams Miss. St. :msu: (Croom fired) and Tenn :ut: (Fulmer fired)... Hard to believe ain't it? It was time for a change. B)

We were definitely headed in the wrong direction...

AUmattyD Community Regular

AUmattyD 0

Posted
Posted

tulsa would have beaten us this past year. the difference would have been a clearly defined purpose and plan and a team sold out to the execution of the plan.

Tulsa lost to Houston by 40 points.....what makes you think they would have beaten AU? they haven't beaten a halfway decent team in years.

Actually, that's not true. Last year Tulsa gave BYU one of their two losses.

i stand corrected, they beat BYU 55-47 in 07. i still don't think they would have beaten AU in 08.

Tulsa would easily have scored 20+ points on us, you can only punt to a team with that kind of offense so many times before things break down defensively; I doubt we could have scored much more than that. An Auburn win would have been very close and required some turnovers to get us more than 3 touchdowns, or maybe a Tristan Davis kickoff return. Look back at Auburn's 2 SEC wins, we had ONE offensive touchdown; we were very, very close to being 3 and 9 this year...

and very very close to being 0-8 in the SEC... We somehow managed to beat the two worst SEC teams Miss. St. :msu: (Croom fired) and Tenn :ut: (Fulmer fired)... Hard to believe ain't it? It was time for a change. B)

We were definitely headed in the wrong direction...

We beat 2 of the 3 worst teams. We couldn't beat the third because we can't play ourselves.

TigerHeat Founding Father

TigerHeat 9

Posted
Posted

tulsa would have beaten us this past year. the difference would have been a clearly defined purpose and plan and a team sold out to the execution of the plan.

Tulsa lost to Houston by 40 points.....what makes you think they would have beaten AU? they haven't beaten a halfway decent team in years.

Actually, that's not true. Last year Tulsa gave BYU one of their two losses.

i stand corrected, they beat BYU 55-47 in 07. i still don't think they would have beaten AU in 08.

Tulsa would easily have scored 20+ points on us, you can only punt to a team with that kind of offense so many times before things break down defensively; I doubt we could have scored much more than that. An Auburn win would have been very close and required some turnovers to get us more than 3 touchdowns, or maybe a Tristan Davis kickoff return. Look back at Auburn's 2 SEC wins, we had ONE offensive touchdown; we were very, very close to being 3 and 9 this year...

and very very close to being 0-8 in the SEC... We somehow managed to beat the two worst SEC teams Miss. St. :msu: (Croom fired) and Tenn :ut: (Fulmer fired)... Hard to believe ain't it? It was time for a change. B)

We were definitely headed in the wrong direction...

We beat 2 of the 3 worst teams. We couldn't beat the third because we can't play ourselves.

Good thing, because we would have lost. B)

rexbo Founding Father

rexbo 104

Posted
Posted

tulsa would have beaten us this past year. the difference would have been a clearly defined purpose and plan and a team sold out to the execution of the plan.

Tulsa lost to Houston by 40 points.....what makes you think they would have beaten AU? they haven't beaten a halfway decent team in years.

Actually, that's not true. Last year Tulsa gave BYU one of their two losses.

i stand corrected, they beat BYU 55-47 in 07. i still don't think they would have beaten AU in 08.

Tulsa would easily have scored 20+ points on us, you can only punt to a team with that kind of offense so many times before things break down defensively; I doubt we could have scored much more than that. An Auburn win would have been very close and required some turnovers to get us more than 3 touchdowns, or maybe a Tristan Davis kickoff return. Look back at Auburn's 2 SEC wins, we had ONE offensive touchdown; we were very, very close to being 3 and 9 this year...

and very very close to being 0-8 in the SEC... We somehow managed to beat the two worst SEC teams Miss. St. :msu: (Croom fired) and Tenn :ut: (Fulmer fired)... Hard to believe ain't it? It was time for a change. B)

We were definitely headed in the wrong direction...

We beat 2 of the 3 worst teams. We couldn't beat the third because we can't play ourselves.

Good thing, because we would have lost. B)

Our offense would not have sniffed the 50 yard line against the defense!!

tigernt'town Proficient

tigernt'town 4

Posted
Posted

tulsa would have beaten us this past year. the difference would have been a clearly defined purpose and plan and a team sold out to the execution of the plan.

Tulsa lost to Houston by 40 points.....what makes you think they would have beaten AU? they haven't beaten a halfway decent team in years.

my point exactly!!!

CarolinaTiger Founding Father

CarolinaTiger 0

Posted
Posted

not to say we were a good team or anything, but weren't we also very close to beating LSU, Vandy, Arkansas, and Georgia?

no doubt we stunk this year, but close calls went both ways...just more went the other way.

woody Mentor

woody 11

Posted
Posted

tulsa would have beaten us this past year. the difference would have been a clearly defined purpose and plan and a team sold out to the execution of the plan.

Tulsa lost to Houston by 40 points.....what makes you think they would have beaten AU? they haven't beaten a halfway decent team in years.

You thought you could beat Fla and Utah!

And welcome back runs away crying :no:

Hoopie Mentor

Hoopie 6

Posted
Posted

There are 3 considerations when looking at this.

First of all Tulsa is comprised of 1-2 star talent playing against 1-2 star talent. Seems that the offense did well against a similar talent level.

Second, can this type of offense do well against SEC defenses? A lot of folks are skeptical. UF is getting it done in the SEC and the Big 12 teams score a lot of points.

Third, How long will it take for Gus to implement his system at AU. This requires that the coaches/players on campus buy in and also requires recruiting the right style players. Recruiting could take 3-4 years to have a positive effect. Will the AU fans wait for this?

cadillacattack Community Regular

cadillacattack 0

Posted
Posted

There are 3 considerations when looking at this.

First of all Tulsa is comprised of 1-2 star talent playing against 1-2 star talent. Seems that the offense did well against a similar talent level.

Second, can this type of offense do well against SEC defenses? A lot of folks are skeptical. UF is getting it done in the SEC and the Big 12 teams score a lot of points.

Third, How long will it take for Gus to implement his system at AU. This requires that the coaches/players on campus buy in and also requires recruiting the right style players. Recruiting could take 3-4 years to have a positive effect. Will the AU fans wait for this?

Just an opinion, but I believe you're correct about the similar talent levels and Malzahn rang up some big numbers against a defensively-weak conference. That being said, I believe that Tulsa would've beaten AU even though statistically we would be the best D they faced. The reason is because our offense wouldn't have been able to sustain the types of drives necessary to bench CGM's offense.

Can this type of offense do well against SEC defenses? Yes, I believe so provided we retool the O-line and focus on a downhill running game.

How long? Hard to see this thing working out in year one, but I believe that's because we don't currently have a QB that could start for Tulsa, let alone another SEC program. Trotter perhaps, but the jury's still out on BT until fall.

AU Cav Mentor

AU Cav 0

Posted
Posted

How long will it take for Gus to implement his system at AU. This requires that the coaches/players on campus buy in and also requires recruiting the right style players. Recruiting could take 3-4 years to have a positive effect. Will the AU fans wait for this?

Conventional wisdom used to be it took a year to install an offense. In this day and age, you pretty much have the spring and are expected to perform from Go.

mugz Community Regular

mugz 0

Posted
Posted

There are 3 considerations when looking at this.

First of all Tulsa is comprised of 1-2 star talent playing against 1-2 star talent. Seems that the offense did well against a similar talent level.

Second, can this type of offense do well against SEC defenses? A lot of folks are skeptical. UF is getting it done in the SEC and the Big 12 teams score a lot of points.

Third, How long will it take for Gus to implement his system at AU. This requires that the coaches/players on campus buy in and also requires recruiting the right style players. Recruiting could take 3-4 years to have a positive effect. Will the AU fans wait for this?

Gus will evaluate our current talent and work with what we have. I do not think we will see all the plays like we did in the GMAC bowl but we should see results this year.

The difference in Franklin and Gus is Franklin came in and wanted players to learn his system instead of evaluating talent and making his system work with our players. Also no one was ever on board with him too. Gus will mold the offense around our players talents. People keep calling it a spread but it is basically a balanced offense.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...