Wolverine247 Board

+1 for redshirting Smith. The depth of our running backs is concentrated in the guys with 4 years of eligibility; we'll get more use out of the Johnson/Smith/Green trio if one is held back a year. Obviously it has to be one of Green and Smith; I vote Smith.

RB is one the few positions a true freshman can contribute a lot. If Smith and Green are our two best backs in the fall, then both should get playing time. It's always difficult to say exactly how good a high schooler will be in college, but I can honestly say this could legitimately be the case.

I don't think Smith redshirts. He comes in physically ready, used to a heavy load, and used to a similar scheme.

I think he proves himself ready in fall camp, and Hoke gets him game ready for some non-conference snaps.

I would have to agree. Borges prefers a bellcow feature back, so unless Smith and Green both just blow everyone else out of the water, I think you'd see Green as the feature back and Fitz/Hayes/Johnson spelling him.

Oh, I know. The only reason I'm putting him there is because a) he's got speed, we know that, and we don't have a pure speed back, and b) he's gotten rave reviews from the coaches in a way that Rawls and Hayes didn't.

That's just complete guesswork now though - I agree with you that I want to see him actually do something on the field. Hopefully we'll get to see a bit of him in the Spring Game, since neither Deveon nor Derrick will be on campus yet and Fitz won't be healthy enough to play.

Right, I mean obviously if Green and Smith are the best two backs, give them the playing time. I'm saying I don't think Smith is likely to blow away the Toussaints and Johnsons and Rawlses of the world...and if its close, it's better to redshirt him and save the year of eligibility instead of burning it on giving him 10 carries this year.

The big unknown, IMO, with running backs coming out of high school is how good is their vision/decision making. Thomas Rawls' highlights were incredible, but from the snaps we've seen in games, he either doesn't see the hole or isn't decisive enough to hit it, a lot like Michael Shaw's bounce-bounce-bounce problems.

Drake has always been labeled a "one-cut-and-go" type of back where he isn't elusive, but if he hits the right hole that can be really effective, especially if he has the speed to turn 2 yards into 5. If he doesn't have that vision, then the rest of his attributes really don't matter.