I can't stand the thought of weighting till spring to see these two compete for a spot. Both look great on film, but I get really excited when I see the combination of power and speed from C Rod. Think both these guys are great, and hope they push each other all year long. Behind our O line one of these Dudes is going to blow up! GBB!
Smoke and Rodriguez
- Thread starter pickled cat
- Start date
I tend to think they'll split carries on thirds with Rose, rather than establish themselves as starter, and that Rose is likely to be our starter as a matter of merit and seniority.
Start lifting weights now you don't have to "WAIT" til spring!
I think we’ll at least have enough competition to bring out the best in one of these guys, and ultimately that’s what’s made us a better program to this point.
I cannot help but think that both of these RBs will be key contributors next year. They have what it takes to be good ones. GO CATS!!
There's a reason Alabama spreads the carries around. They can do it. We started to do it more this season. If we could give three kids 12 carries each, we'd probably do it.
In 2016, Boom and Snell each had over 1,000 yards. Kemp had 349.
I suspect that Gran teams, absent injuries, ideally rush like the 2016 team, two main RBs and a third that gets snaps. This year, Gran mainly rushed Benny and gave Rose the rest (of course Wilson had over 700). Last year, Gran let Benny carry the load and King got the remainder (364), with Johnson as the second leading rusher on the team. I just don’t see Gran splitting snaps three ways.
Probably closer to what we can expect, but certainly not one taking the load as Snell did. Truth is, even Bama seems to favor 2 over the third.
I will add we play at a pretty methodical pace. Just not enough snaps for 3 RB to get a bunch of carries. I would love to get closer to 75 snaps a game but that would be a big change in philosophy.
I think 2016 was also a combination of rushing that much because we could....and we had to. First, Boom and Benny were too good not to give carries. Second, we didn’t have a passing game nor defense Which would allow us not to lean heavily on Benny/Boom.
Next yr, I doubt we rush to the degree we did in 2016. I think Rose and Bowden will account for 1500 yds receiving next yr.
I agree though that Gran won’t split carries too much. I think Rose will get ~60% of the carries. It’ll be interesting to see how the rest break down. Bowden and Wilson will obviously get a share of the carries. Tisdale is a lightning threat that is different from Smoke/Rodriguez....so, he “could” factor in as a change of pace. How much Smoke/Rod will factor in will be interesting to watch.
This.
You give carries to what you have...if you have 2 guys capable of rushing for 1,000 yards...you split the carries. If you have 1 guy who sets SEC records...he gets the vast majority of the carries. If you have an accurate QB with elite receivers...you air it out.
Next year? We have a QB with elite speed, Bowden as an all-around stud, and Rose with a lot of talent/potential. Other than Bowden...we don't know what we have as far as a consistent threat. Smoke and C-Rod can def break in that rotation if they're good enough.
It's a shame we don't have a really good up and coming running back with the last name Mirrors. I'd just like to win an SEC championship using Smoke and Mirrors. Ahhh, is Monday over yet?
An interesting aspect to this is that the more Snell carried the ball, the more he kind of got into a rhythm and the better he got. So, you wanted to feed him more so he get into that. If Rose is that way then they may want to do the same for him. However, if he can be just as effective getting 10 carries as opposed to 20, and so can Rod or Smoke (or both) then it makes sense to split them up.
If I had to guess I would go
Rose: 60%
Smoke : 20%
Rodriguez : 20%
Tisdale will get some run at some point as well.
Rose: 60%
Smoke : 20%
Rodriguez : 20%
Tisdale will get some run at some point as well.
I have a feeling Rose will be closer to 35 to 40% of the carries. Smoke or Rodriguez could be significantly more than 20% just simply because they look more physical (more like snell)
I noticed on one of the charts last week that when Rose carried 7 or more times he averaged over 5 yards per rush. There really is something to a back getting into a flow.
Don't know what the % for any of them will be but Rose will need to show he can play downs/be durable and hold onto the ball/not fumble... He does that then he gets a lot of carries...
I agree. I feel like Rose is going to get hurt every time he runs the ball. He’s a good back and I’m glad to have him but I don’t think he can handle 15 carries x 12 games.
Rose looks great catching the ball out of the backfield and on the edges. However, he runs pretty straight up and down. That's not a great thing when running between the tackles. Needs to lower pad level.
Or that he had a long run on one of them that made the average go up. But I expect him to be a really good back in the coming seasons.
C. Michigan 8 carries 104 yards. 55 yard td and a 21 yard rush. (6 carries for 28 yards w/o long runs)
Miss State 9 carries 47 yards long rush of 14. (8 carries for 33 yards without 14 yard run)
SC 7 carries 38 yards. Long run of 24. (6 carries for 14 yards w/o long run)
MTSU 7 carries 48 yards. Long run of 31. (6 carries for 17 yards w/o long run)
Louisville 10 carries 112 yards. Long run of 75 (9 carries for 37 yards w/o long run)
I know you can take the longest runs from any RB and their numbers will drop greatly, but in most of the games AJ had nothing without a long run. Now Central Michigan, he had 2 long runs on only 8 carries, so that is not fair to deduct. It definitely shows he has the homerun / big play capability. Going to love watching him play next year, he just has to get the tough yards and make some of the 2-4 yard gains into 8-9 yard gains. It is what made Benny so great. On the flip side, he never got the chance to play for a extended amount of time to get comfortable and progress as the game went on. He is very good RB, great kid, I think he will do fine.
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Rose will be hurt and never produce many yards after contact until he runs lower. He is very easy to tackle and a big target. As a result of being so high, he can’t change direction quickly either. Runs higher than Jalen Hurd and much less physical.
I wish there was a grad transfer at RB in the portal. This is when Koback would have excelled.
I wish there was a grad transfer at RB in the portal. This is when Koback would have excelled.
No question about that. However I don't think Rose is anything at all like Benny. He's more similar to Boom. I can see Rose wearing down if he's getting 20+ carries. He'll probably be more in the 10 to 15 carries level. Rose is more of big play back. Give him 10 carries and surely he's broken at least one long one. But he won't be the grind it out guy that Benny was.
TONS of potential!!! AJ, Smoke, ARod...think we will be much better there than some think.
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You can’t just subtract long runs. They happened and they count. AJ is more of a home run threat than Benny. I fully expect him to break off quite a few next season.
Can’t believe any UK fan wouldn’t feel good about this group of RB’s.
Most guys who have big yardage games (+120 ) more than than likely break a big run or two during the game.
Even deducting his longest runs, the numbers show a 3.7 yard average. Not shabby, given that 3 times 3.7 is a first down.
Rose will not be identical to Snell, and will replace 15/20 percent of Snell’s running yards with receiving yards.
Rose will not be identical to Snell, and will replace 15/20 percent of Snell’s running yards with receiving yards.
After seeing Smoke vs UL and that TUDDY run he is going to be my favorite back moving forward. We have a badass backfield next year. We can throw some backs at you and pound teams to death with fresh legs deep into a ball game. Instead of 1 back getting 85% of carries I think tbey will be spread around similar to what BAMA does with their backs.
I agree that Rose is not a Benny like grinder, C Rod may become our Benny on roids with more size and speed. Not saying he'll have Benny like #s but the combo of size, and speed is there. Now Benny like determination may be hard to match.
Woody Hayes would have loved Rose's yards per carry; and, having to lose Benny, I am looking forward to the four RBs we will have this year. GO CATS!!
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And this year's backs will have something that Benny had this past season. They will have a good offensive line. GO CATS!!
It seems clear now that four RBs will play next season. Rose will start and Tisdale will play in spots. Tisdale can fly.
There will be a Benny Snell hangover. Benny was great, but our offense as a whole may be more effective in 2019. Rose is a better player than most people think. If he stays healthy, Rose will be a very good player next year. He is almost as big as Snell, and much faster. Rose will be dangerous all over the field, and Coach Gran will find new ways to get the football into his hands.
Smoke and Rodriguez are good players. Strong, and instinctively run to daylight. When they start getting regular carries, we will find out if they can catch the football, hold onto the football, block, and stay healthy.
Which is why i said you can take the longest run of any rb and the numbers would drop way off. And i said he was a more of a home run type runner capable of breaking the long one. Reread the post it was not to bash AJ.
