Wolverine247 Board

i agree

Bryce Brown was ranked the #1 RB on Scout and Rivals in the class of 2009. Even over Trent Richardson. Only ESPN ranked Trent Richardson as the #1 RB with Brown as the #2 RB.

Needless to say, that didn't turn out like many thought.

If Smith was half a step or a full step faster AND had consistently demonstrated cutback ability, he'd be ranked #1 RB in the nation imo.

If you actually watch Richardson's highlight tape, you'd notice the similarities in running style with Smith.

Caveat: I'm not saying that DeVeon Smith will be Trent Richardson 2.0. I am, however, saying that it's clear what type of RB Brady Hoke and Al Borges prefer.

Isaac is a finesse RB. Smith is raw power.

Debatable.

To attribute Brown's lack of success to merely a nonexistent work ethic is a gross oversimplification imo. There were a few people who suggested that Brown's hype was inflated because he faced weak competition.

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And Peterson is not "far and away" better than Ray Rice. I think you're relying too much on fantasy football stats.

Isaac is already listed as 215lbs and most likely will be heavier and stronger by the time he becomes the feature back in college. If he checks in as a 235 tailback, that's a load to tackle. But yeah, it would've made me feel better if he ran more physically than he does in his highlights.

I think it's a combination of speed and power and balance and footwork, and of course vision. It's not just one of those. No matter how powerful you are, you aren't going to break a square tackle by a DT by power alone. You don't really remember Marshall Faulk as a tackle breaker but he's like the 60th best player of all-time. (Of course I'm not saying Isaac=Faulk) Guess it boils down to effectiveness and fit to an offense, and maybe personal preference to a lesser degree.

This is a fascinating debate, and I agree with most that ideally you'd like to have both.

The point of this whole conversation is talent. The question always was who was the better prospect between Smith and Issac. The only real barometer to measure each player is by talent. I said Issac was more talented and you then compared him to Bryce Brown who is a very talented player who's lack of work ethic and other issues caused him to never live up to expectations. As far as we know, Ty Issac has none of those issues and is a very talented RB. My only point was that comparing the two is wrong. Talent wise they are very similar players, but as far as we know Issac doesn't have those issues and has a much better chance of living up to that potential.

I also value production, but the absence of any production in college by Bryce Brown makes my point for me. It proves that he's a very talented player to have done nothing of note in college and still have NFL teams looking to add him to their roster.

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If I had my choice of either Ray Rice or Adrian Peterson on my football team I'll take Adrian Peterson 100 times out of 100. It might just be my personal preference but I think Adrian Peterson is the most dynamic and talented RB in the NFL.

WOW, Frank C killing it with the rebuttals.....This may seem unusual, but D. Smith seems like the less risky prospect due to all the inflated expectations Isaac has. I also think you know exactly what you get with D. Smith, and there seems to be more general caveats with Isaac and his running style. I dont know how you turn down either though.......whoever commits first you take and let the chips fall where they may after.

Was the same thing not said about Adrian Peterson coming out of both high school and college? Some guys can just get it done with that style, not many, but a select elite few can.

Smith is going to run over people at Michigan, can't wait.

Same here but i really want both!

That's was in my original post.

Ok I switched it up.

so we're all judging that he isn't a physical runner based off his highlight tape. anyone actually seen the kid play in person? the kids got enough speed and breakaway ability that he can fill a 10 minute tape with just clips of him breaking long runs. I don't know I just feel like a 215 pound back as a junior in high school might not be as hard to bring down as you might think from watching a highlight tape, which can always be deceiving. i read in one article that people who HAVE watched him play, have drawn comparisons to Marcus Allen. Marcus Allen was certainly not a finesse football player. he's definitely not the physical beast that smith is, I just don't think it's fair to say he's a finesse guy when you haven't seen one of his runs for less than 10 yards.