Looking Ahead - BB

The good news is that we lose nobody!

Returning Players: David Sims RS SR, Zach Laskey JR, Matt Conors RS JR, Charles Perkins RS JR, and Snoddy RS SO.
New to the team: Travis Custis

Outlook:

2012 saw David Sims and Zach Laskey share the bullk of the carries. They produced about what is expected from the position when their numbers are combined. Neither player was electric, but both were effective and reliable. Both players dealt with injuries for the majority of the season. Sims, a chronic shin splints problem and Laskey a shoulder. Conors and Snoddy both saw action during garbage time and produced at a respectable level. Perkins sat out the year after suffering a major injury requiring surgery.

Going forward, it looks like Sims and Laskey once again will be the tag team. Snoddy will likely be knocking on the door, as he provides a spark with speed like neither of the incumbents possess. None of the candidates seem to have all of the qualities of the ideal BB. Sims can block with the best of them but is a bit pedestrian while being hard to bring down. Laskey his the hole quickly but lacks the power and top end speed to dominate. Snoddy is as fast as they come, but lacks size and has yet to master the nuances of the position. Conors will, most likely, continue to provide depth in the case of emergency. Waiting in the wings will be Custis , who may be the most natural runner of the pack. It will be interesting to see how the role of the BB evolves given the anticipated changes in the offensive philosophy. Will Custis be the guy when we go to more of a pistol formation, zone read kind of scheme that has been hinted at?

My prediction is that we will stick with our bread and butter flex-bone for the majority of plays while Custis wears a shirt. Snoddy will grow a lot over the course of spring and summer camp and start to emerge as a play-maker. We pass more, but the TO and dive will continue to be a staple of the offense. The number of carries will be pretty close to being equally shared, but Snoddy emerges as the season progresses. Vad will attract so much attention from the defense that there is room to run for the BB more often, and Snoddy will do just that.... very quickly.

I hope you're right re: Snoddy. Now that we have a QB, all we need is a BB.

Seems to me that we have a body or two at BB that may need to move to AB, probably either Perkins or Snoddy, but maybe one or both will blossom this year. Come on Charles! I've never seen him run more than a 5 yard burst.

I like Sims because of his blocking & he never seems to lose the ball. I like Laskey because he hits the hole fast & is smart & hard to bring down. I like Snoddy because he is really, really fast. These three are good enough to redshirt Custis, which IMO we should.

Sims was looking pretty good toward the end of the year. So much so that you could tell he was playing injured earlier in the year. But even then, I think his carries were limited because of his stamina (likely due to the injury). If he can stay healthy next year, I think he can go over 1000 yards.

Originally Posted by dressedcheeseside

Point taken.

But still, some hit the hole faster and more decisive and all come into camp in shape. I don't want to give the impression I think we're in the same boat as we were in '08/'09, but the position is not as bad as some would think.

I know what you are saying. Laskey is great at hitting the hole quickly. (He has to be).

I give the position a B- which is the baseline for the position in my opinion. We don't really ask then to do much except take a beating.

Originally Posted by HelluvaMGTmjr

I hope you're right re: Snoddy. Now that we have a QB, all we need is a BB.

Seems to me that we have a body or two at BB that may need to move to AB, probably either Perkins or Snoddy, but maybe one or both will blossom this year. Come on Charles! I've never seen him run more than a 5 yard burst.

It is the chicken-or-the-egg-debate. Does an improved qb upgrade the BB performance, or did past deficiencies in qb play tend to make our BB's less effective? We have to have faith that Vad Lee will require defenses to get LB's back in some semblance of coverage and to respect our wide stuff, unclogging the middle somewhat. Vad will still have to make the read and successful mesh, and G-C-G will still have to block and not chop and get to the second level consistently. It is the off season where it is very simple to envision 5500 yards of regular season offense. When Johnson's system is being executed it is yardage producing juggernaut. Will we get that execution? Time will tell.