Wolverine247 Board

Honestly, I'd be surprised to see him contribute much in his career. Every year we hear about some player killing it in off-season practices that really does nothing in the actual season, like Jerald Robinson, and I imagine this is him this year. He's not the type of back that would be a featured back under Hoke, so he's already very limited in terms of what he can do to contribute. He could be a change of pace back or slot receiver, but not much more, if that.

I hear you dude, and I'm not saying pass blocking was the reason drake didn't play as a true freshman. I just said there are many factors that play into giving a redshirt. I mean how many true freshman RBs played in the nation last yr? I mean did anyone think drake was Keith Marshall or duke Johnson? We all knew he was raw so red shirting was likely the appropriate thing to do.

I caught a lot flack last year when I wore my Michigan jersey around. Tons and tons of MSU and OSU students/fans also on spring break. Michigan was on spring break the week before, so our numbers were low.

I suppose I'm just always going to be skeptical of spring hype. I think the difference is that I just don't think RBs can be "raw", as you put it, like other positions. The single biggest factor is can one be patient and find a running lane; that whole vision thing. That's not something I feel you 'learn'. You either have it or you don't. There are other things to learn, sure, but the basics like vision, ball security, speed, cuts, etc, are not the things a running backs coach can impart.

And, no, no one thought he was Keith Marshall, Duke Johnson, Todd Gurley, Jonathan Grey, TJ Yeldon, or other highly regarded RBs contributing as true freshman. But even many great lightly recruited RBs contributed that early. Mike Hart, Leveon Bell, James White, Monte Ball, Kadeem Carey, and even Vincent Smith are also examples of true freshman contributing even before breaking out. At SDSU under Hoke, Ronnie Hillman redshirted, but for academic/admission, issues before putting up 1500 yards the next season. It's just a difference of opinion, but I think early success and/or contribution are big predictors for a RB's future prospects. A red-shirt, if of course he didn't need it for some undisclosed injuries or off field issue, does not seem to instill confidence. I just feel like if he was so good on the scout team, why didn't he get any PT? It's not like Rawls or Hayes were showing a lot. Again, there are always exceptions, and I certainly hope all his hard work pays off. We'll certainly need good RBs with Denard gone and Fitz uncertain. But until I see it on the field in the fall, I'll remain skeptical.

We had a lot of RBs on the depth chart with good potential ahead of Johnson, including a healthy Fitz at the start. They had high hopes for Rawls. Hayes was/is highly regarded and still is. BTW, all these guys on the depth chart had also redshirted (except Rawls). They burned Norfleet's redshirt. There was no way they were going to burn Johnson's too. He was not a 5* coming in and we had plenty of options. BTW, We haven't even gotten into the run blocking issue.

So there is no way you can hold a redshirt against him. He's a big body and fast RB. He wasn't highly touted because he ran track instead of going to camps. The only knock on him was his lateral movement. He has huge upside in our system.

Not to take anything away from him sticking around but he is from AA so, not to far from home.

Personally I never understood his * ranking coming out of HS. He put up really good numbers in HS but was ranked a 2-3* recruit. I'm not going to question him not playing last year. Hoke even said in the press conference that Gayle Sayers would not have been effective and Sayers was one of the greatest of all time. It'd not surprise me at all to see Johnson be our next 1000+ yard rusher next year.

Agreed that he is probably getting some hype because there is no one right now to get hype...but the coaches may have decided the bigger reward was to red shirt him then the nominal reward he would have brought on the field...remember Fitz was injured in the 2nd to last game, so there was no way he was going to crack the depth chart before then.

Please everyone take every spring report with a grain of salt. Remember last year at this time how much Denard had improved on passing and understanding the offense, and that Borges along with everyone else said he had made huge strides in the passing game? Exactly. Until they prove it on the field, I remain skeptical and pessimistic. Actions speak lowder than words.

I think that some of it also goes to the philosophy to try to find a "feature" back. With Fitz as the assumed starter going into the year and Hayes and Rawls available, it makes sense to redshirt other players. I think that one of the things that I can honestly say that I like about Alabama's approach to the RB position is that they recruit players with the idea that they WILL feature at least 2 main backs each year. I think that helps with both recruiting and player development as there is another "slot" to compete for. I think it keeps players rested and motivated to push for playing time down to the 3rd/4th spots at least.

True that. I can't help but get excited though.

We also had Molk as the leader of the OL at the time

Not sure if MSU fan or Michigan fan...