Coming out of HS, I think they guy he reminds me of the most is Quan Bray who went to and just finished up at AU. Both were very elusive, quick backs with very good speed in HS. Quan got caught up in coaching changes and ended up being moved to receiver and return man, was their number 3 guy behind Sammy Coats who was drafted this year and Duke Robinson the top JUCO receiver a couple years ago and will be a sr this year. Big and fast, you will probably get to know him. But Bray and King were near the same size coming out of HS and had many of the same skills. Malzahn likes a power back at RB to run that dive that sets his offense up, Bray just wasn't that guy, good player who just didn't fit his system. Malzahn's spread is nothing like a traditional spread because he depends on the RB dive so much, stop it and you stop AU.
Sihiem King
- Thread starter Dallas-Wild
- Start date
Coming out of HS, I think they guy he reminds me of the most is Quan Bray who went to and just finished up at AU. Both were very elusive, quick backs with very good speed in HS. Quan got caught up in coaching changes and ended up being moved to receiver and return man, was their number 3 guy behind Sammy Coats who was drafted this year and Duke Robinson the top JUCO receiver a couple years ago and will be a sr this year. Big and fast, you will probably get to know him. But Bray and King were near the same size coming out of HS and had many of the same skills. Malzahn likes a power back at RB to run that dive that sets his offense up, Bray just wasn't that guy, good player who just didn't fit his system. Malzahn's spread is nothing like a traditional spread because he depends on the RB dive so much, stop it and you stop AU.
You're correct....but I may have misunderstood what DaBoss was saying also.
When referring to Boom, He needs at least 20 touches a game between rushes, receptions and kick returns. And yes, I definitely think we need him and King back returning kicks and King returning punts. Your best players need the ball as many times as possible.
Our coaches can take a couple of approaches with King. They could work him into the rotation from the beginning. Or they can get him ready for games but save him on the sideline for a redshirt as long as the other running backs stay healthy. I think he plays from the beginning. Very good player, could jump ahead of Jo Jo unless Jo Jo outworks him.
Only three running backs on the roster in front of King. I think his red shirt was burned when he signed.
Brown came into a situation where it was going to take 3 or 4 years before he would have the talent to run his offense. I'm glad we got Dawson but he is coming into a better situation then Brown did, at least I'm hoping so.
Agree, your RB depth can look pretty good in preseason and be wiped out pretty quick. In 13 we had 3 RB on the roster, Gurley gets high ankle sprang, Marshall tears ACL at UT in their pasture, UT had some kind of show with a stage there, they didn't fill in the ruts and Marshalls foot was caught in a rut when one of UT's players went for his knee. We got so think we had to move a DB to RB that week and he started. Last year Gurley was suspended, Michel broke his shoulder blade, Marshall tweeked his knee and what looked like great RB depth was down to 2 guys.
As someone said, not need to RS a RB, if he is very good he is gone in 3 years regardless of eligibility left, if he isn't he ties up a scholarship a year less, play them as soon as they get on campus, Richt learned his lesson a few years back with Moreno who left after RS and playing 2 seasons.
Should depend on the match-up. Dawson has said multiple times that if the defense dictates that we throw, he has no problem throwing it every time......and vice versa.
15 - 20 sounds good. I'm thinking around 18 carries, 3 catches, and 3 kick returns per game. I could see him averaging around 200 total yards per game.
Good point plus I believe he will use Boom and King in the passing game to get them into the open field.
If we can produce when the D is working to take something away....will be a fun year.
King is a perfect example too of how on top of recruiting this staff is. Looks like we got caught off guard when were all in with that other RB and we 'settle' for a hs all-american, GA player of the year. Just think what Joker would 'settle' for in the same circumstances. We'd have a 2 star with offers from Toledo and Central Michigan or something like that.
Hopefully we can redshirt King but in all likelihood he'll be called upon to give us a few carries a game. He seems like he is also capable of catching the ball out of the backfield. Who knows, when it's all said and done, maybe King is a better fit for this offense than that other RB would have been.
Hopefully we can redshirt King but in all likelihood he'll be called upon to give us a few carries a game. He seems like he is also capable of catching the ball out of the backfield. Who knows, when it's all said and done, maybe King is a better fit for this offense than that other RB would have been.
Don't forgot Horton in the passing game as well. He made some plays in that regard during the spring.
Truth....plus have read he has lost 10-15 lbs
Probably wise to not forget he is a very talented back. Really hope we see improvement in the O line we have talented skill players.
This will be a very versatile group of RBs. Boom and King can be very good receivers out of the backfield. And Kemp is no slouch and Horton showed promise. What helped Couch so much in his day was having Homer and White coming out of the backfield. It was calming knowing he had safety valves that could not only catch, but do something after the catch. I think this offense will stretch the field with the TEs and WRs and leave the underneath open for the RBs as safety valves. Not sure there are many LBs that can keep up with Boom and King in that roll.
Also, I agree the matchups will dictate if we run the ball 40 times or pass 40 times. Like to see the offense clicking in both aspects so it turns into a pick your poison for the defense. We will either run it down your throat at 6 yards per carry. Or go over the top for a 50 yard quick strike pass.
Also, I agree the matchups will dictate if we run the ball 40 times or pass 40 times. Like to see the offense clicking in both aspects so it turns into a pick your poison for the defense. We will either run it down your throat at 6 yards per carry. Or go over the top for a 50 yard quick strike pass.
Horton is a guy I'm very intrigued by. Especially if he has trimmed some fat and hardened his body. He reminds me of a back you would see at Wisconsin or Iowa. Not incredibly fast but fast enough. I also think he is elusive for his size.
That would be a pretty balanced offense. But are we only shooting for 65 plays per game? I don't know how many plays per game WVU ran. But, seems like with most spread attacks and air raid offenses, you want to try to run a lot more plays. Could we actually be looking to run 75 - 80 plays?
I think Dawson wants a lot more than 65 PPG, more like 75-85 depending of course on the opponent.
WVU ran 85 plays per game last year. 3rd or 4th in the nation.
You would be hard pressed to find a team with better balance than that. Good lord, -.1 away from splitting it 50-50.
I could see us going for 78-82 or so plays per game. Dawson installed a hurry up style of offense on day 1. He made that clear that he wanted to play that way, and Stoops did as well.
Anyway, as it pertains to Boom getting more touches, today Stoops was asked if Boom could be a 3 down back, and Stoops said that he could because he's become a more physical player, and he's putting on more muscle as well. Best news we could have gotten.
Boom has to touch the ball a lot in order for us to be our best. We also have to take care of him too. We will use all four backs and probably Mahoney. Let's face it, this is the sec and our guys are going to pretty beat up come week 8 or 9.
That's why I see mikel getting more touches than people think. He's bigger and physical. He can wear down a D the first half then start feeding boom a little more in the 2nd half.
Horton runs too upright and always looks unsure of his grip on the ball between tackles... Bad combo.
Because he can't correct either of those things? You know who else ran upright? Eric Dickerson. Worked out well for him.
That's an incredibly simple fix. You act like RB's can't be successful when running upright. He was still breaking tackles despite running upright. He'll get it all together, how about you reserve judgement for when he's not a true freshman.
I tend to agree with you, I thought he looked and ran more like a fullback, much like Brandon Douglas at UGA. A good change of pace type of guy and clock killer but not a difference maker in the SEC. Maybe losing the weight gave him enough quickness to prove me wrong, but wouldn't surprise me to see him at number 4 on the depth chart, I think Boom and Newton are better backs and King has the potential to be better.
On Mikel Horton: "He has. He had a great spring with the way he's changing his body, a little bit lighter. He ran more physical, which we challenged him to be. He's still a big guy, even losing a little bit of weight, he's still a big guy as you know. We needed him to run a little bit more physical and he's done those things. I think he's going to have a big year, both him and Boom. They both need to grow, continue to get some experience and to grow mentally and be the type of guys that can carry the weight for our team and win some football games, so we're constantly challenging them to be consistent in their work ethic." -Coach Stoops
