Wolverine247 Board

Did Hoke mention what position Drake Johnson was practicing at? Is it RB or WR?

I've been high on him for a good while...he's a kid that could potentially have a massive impact imo. We knew all about his speed coming out of high school, and now he's adding a bunch of size and strength? I'd be surprised if he didn't get a fair share of touches this year, and I wouldn't be surprised if he really pushed Fitz and Green for that starting spot.

I'm skeptical. RB is such an instinctual position that if he couldn't contribute last year, even with all our woes, I don't think he'll be that impactful this year. That is unless he's been nursing some injuries we don't know about last year. He came in with decent size as well, so it's not an adding weight issue either.

He redshirted. So not a factor.

^^^ This ^^^

His red-shirting is kind of the point. We had almost no running game outside of Denard's usual magic, so there was plenty of opportunity to contribute. but instead he was redshirted. He didn't need weight (he was listed at 209) and coming off track season (not out of shape). There's no reason he shouldn't have contributed last season unless he was 1) injured like Fitz and that's why he was redshirted, or 2) just is struggling with vision, playbook, fumbles, etc. If its the second, things like that don't tend to vastly improve with age as a RB like they do for most every other position. It's a position that relys on instincts and intangibles so much. And instead of him on the field, we got another year of Vincent Smith running isos. Sure, every now and then there's a Chris Perry that doesn't put it all together till he's an upperclassmen. But for everyone of those, there's also much more Kevin Grady's or Mike Cox's. I think he's getting some hype because there's really no one else at this point. Rawls and Hayes haven't shown anything either, and Fitz is injured. Again, just skeptical. I certainly hope he's the real deal.

I liked Johnson a lot coming out of high school and thought he was definitely an underrated player. I remember putting him in this article as a player not to sleep on. He's got the size/speed to be a great fit in the Michigan offense.

Agree. The fact that he took a RS doesn't mean it's a knock on him. With Smith, Fitz, and Hayes I'm sure the coaches believed they had a competent enough back field, it just didn't work out that way.

Should get a list of all the redshirted players expected to go high in this years draft?

Personally, I think you're reaching. He red shirted because with our interior 3 linemen, nobody would have been effective, so why burn a redshirt.

I can tell you Drake busts his ass. He was one a few kids who stuck around during spring break and worked out. He's a very nice kid with his head screwed on correctly and has a competitive spirit. He's not conceding anything to Green or Smith, I can promise you that.

Now the poor interior line play is a reasonable argument. And nowhere did I ever suggest Johnson isn't a good person or not a hard worker. But that still doesn't mean he's a lock to be a great RB. I'm just pointing out that historically, not playing at all as a first year RB does not bode well for future greatness. Most expected Rawls to breakout after a non-productive first year, and he didn't show much improvement at all in his second year. I find this situation kind of similar.

Pass blocking and blitz pick-ups for an RB is ALOT different, and simpler, than for an OL. We saw Fitz play a ton, and be effective, in 2011 even though he want much good at pass blocking that year. If the only thing holding Johnson back is his pass blocking, he would have seen the field; coaches are much more forgiving about that. Heck, the coaches don't seem to mind tipping run/pass with personal groupings either.