Aeries Williams...

[CookieMonster.sixpack]

Why would we not redshirt him? Seems everyone is assuming he plays this year.

We had five backs last year and here are their carry numbers:

1. Perkins 137
2. Robinson 78
3. Shumpert 46
4. Griffin 24
5. Milton 13

That's around 300 total carries.

This year we lose Perkins & Milton but pick up Williams. Why not redshirt him and distribute those 300 carries between the three (Griffin, Shumpert & Robinson) we already have? Is there something I'm missing?

I'd love to see Griffin and Shumpert get 90 carries a piece with Robinson getting the other 120 or so.

 

[mjh94]

i'm under the assumption that will come and immediately compete for special teams play like Shumpert did.. Mullen's philosophy is always to put the best athletes on the field for special teams. if he is the athlete we all expect, i see him playing special teams and having a few carries here and there like Shumpert.

 

[karlchilders.sixpack]

No Perkins and how many of those 13

did Milton put on the ground?

There's room.

 

[AFDawg]

I'd like to see Griffin at FB. He's lost a step with all his injuries, but he's strong enough to contribute there. That leaves a Robinson-Shump-Williams RB hydra that will be fierce.

 

[dawgatUSM]

I don't necessarily disagree with you but we had packages where we put shump in at fullback last year. That dude is an excellent blocker. Probably the best on the team at the RB position.

 

[Sutterkane]

Lost a step? He was a year off ACL surgery last year. Let's not stamp him the next Robert Elliot just yet.

 

[AFDawg]

Yes, lost a step. Even after his first surgery he didn't seem as quick.

I by no means suggested he's the next Elliot. On the contrary--I suggested that he can still make a valuable contribution.

 

[Palos verdes]

It will depend on how well Aeris does in fall practice. If he does really well we will see him play early at TB.

 

[dannyripms]

I hate to beat a dead horse since it's over and done with but Perkins should of gotten only about 30 carries and shump and Robinson should of gotten the bulk. Glad perk was at state but wished we'd used him in other areas. Next year is gonna be great with Robinson and shump. Have we ever had 2 1,000 yard rushers in the same season?

 

[CookieMonster.sixpack]

Michael Davis & Kevin Bouie?

Have we ever had 2 1,000 yard rushers in the same season?

Didn't look it up but those 2 were strong...

 

[Strike.sixpack]

I hate to beat a dead horse since it's over and done with but Perkins should of gotten only about 30 carries and shump and Robinson should of gotten the bulk. Glad perk was at state but wished we'd used him in other areas. Next year is gonna be great with Robinson and shump. Have we ever had 2 1,000 yard rushers in the same season?

I disagree. Perkins is headed to the combine so the NFL beleives he is a definite prospect. The play calling and his injury hampered him but you don't cut that many opportunites from an NFL Qualty player.

 

[Palos verdes]

If it weren't for Perkins we wouldn't have gone bowling past season. See the Arky td.

 

[msudawg12]

barring injury, we should definitely redshirt.

you've got robinson, shump, and griffin there. i'm sure he could take carries away from those guys but at what rate? 3-7 a game?

if we have some RBs get banged up some,then go for it. otherwise, save the year

 

[kired]

Lost a step from what - highschool? The first tear was after his redshirt season - so we never saw him in a college game prior to injury. 2012 (sophmore season) was the only year where he had a healthy spring & summer.

I think he can have a great year with a full health off season. He's never really had a lot of chances outside of the LSU game in 2012. He averaged almost 7 ypc on limited action in 2011 & 2012.

 

[Where'sWaldo]

If it weren't for Perkins we wouldn't have gone bowling past season. See the Arky td.

Perkins was the worst MSU tailback in a really long time. Any player we put in the backfield will make plays from time to time but you could not count on Perkins when we really had to have that one yard to pick up a first down or on the goal line. Ballard and Dixon were backs you absolutely wanted to give the ball to in big time situations. I don't blame Perkins because he gave everything he had but he is built for third down passing situations and that is how he will be used in the Pro's.

 

[engie]

If it weren't for Perkins we wouldn't have gone bowling past season. See the Arky td.

That's an impossible analysis to make...

If Aeris is good enough to play, play him. What is our fanbase's obsession with redshirting? Especially at the RB position where guys have a finite amount of hits they can take over a career anyway? Many of our best RBs were good the day they showed up -- and I see Aeris the same way. How does it help with these guys that are likely 3-4 year guys regardless? How about the Beckwiths(rumors of being discussed but not decided) and Brandon Wilsons that decide to join the real world in 4 years anyway rather than coming back for #5? I think Aeris is the best pure RB to come through MS in awhile -- at least equal to Dixon coming out -- and as such, if he can pick up the RB position "without the ball in his hands" for us, I want to give him that opportunity to play early and often.

How are we supposed to sell MSU to elite talents around the country if we're redshirting mid-level 4* guys that are the Player of the Year in the state -- while those same guys are rock stars and contributors from day 1 on the plantation up the road?

 

[Tds & Beer]

I disagree. Perkins is headed to the combine so the NFL beleives he is a definite prospect. The play calling and his injury hampered him but you don't cut that many opportunites from an NFL Qualty player.

That doesn't change the fact that he was the worst running back on our team this year. If he hasn't improved since the season, he will be embarrassed at the combine.

 

[Tds & Beer]

Yes, lost a step. Even after his first surgery he didn't seem as quick.

.

He had lost a step. Then he recovered and looked mean as hell out there and immediately got hurt again. Then he had lost a step this year. Wait and see what he looks like this year before making an opinion on his running abilities for 2014. Griff will be a stud if he bounces back like he did last time. It just takes time.

 

[Tds & Beer]

Why would we not redshirt him?

Because we haven't even had spring practice yet and he might need to be on the field. C'mon dude.

 

[Strike.sixpack]

That doesn't change the fact that he was the worst running back on our team this year. If he hasn't improved since the season, he will be embarrassed at the combine.

Sorry but he was not the worse. And you know as well as I do that the injuries played a part. He was 2nd in all purpose yards in SEC in 2012 with over 1,000 yards rushing. Right behind Patterson of Tenn. Of course he is not on Patterson level or close to it, but that is what the NFL scouts are looking at.

Griffin has not come back to be ahead of him and If you can't hold into the ball you end up at McNeese St. I didn't say he is the best that has come through here but he was impressive enough in his career here, battled through injuries this year, and turned the east west game into an invite. He may not get drafted but there is a much better chance of it if you get selected to go to the combine. About 2/3 of all combine players get drafted and what 80% or more of combine players either get drafted or is a Preferred free agent signee. I don't disagree that splitting the carries up even more would have probably been better but there is no way you cut him down to 30 carries for the season.

 

[Tds & Beer]

Sorry but he was not the worse.

He wasn't the worse. He was the worst. Look, I loved LP. I'm not talking about his freshman-junior years. I'm just talking about last year. He literally brought nothing to the table. I'm just being honest about what I saw, man. If you couldn't see how badly he hurt our team last year by carrying the ball so much more than everyone else, you were obviously hung up on his previous accomplishments. I understand loyalty. I also think you should play the best player, and from what I saw with my eyes last season, LP was our fourth best running back. Sorry. And all I am saying is that if he hasn't improved a good bit from the season, he will be embarrassed at the combine. If he does well at the combine, then obviously he gained that step back, so don't come in here blabberin all over the place if he does.

 

[maroonmania]

Perkins was the worst MSU tailback in a really long time. Any player we put in the backfield will make plays from time to time but you could not count on Perkins when we really had to have that one yard to pick up a first down or on the goal line. Ballard and Dixon were backs you absolutely wanted to give the ball to in big time situations. I don't blame Perkins because he gave everything he had but he is built for third down passing situations and that is how he will be used in the Pro's.

Thing that always baffled me about Perk is how does a guy with supposedly so much speed get run down from behind as much as he did? Ballard was never considered a speed demon but you never saw him get run down from behind once he was in the clear.

 

[futaba.79]

After I read this statement............

"He literally brought nothing to the table," I decided to check his stats. I expected to see all 0's. It was shocking to see that he rushed for over 500 yds and added another 250 in pass receptions.

 

[121Josey]

LDP really lost a step when he added the pounds. Breaking away from the secondary is a different animal given the location and skills of the DBs. But your point is highlighted about his general ineffectiveness on kick-offs. But I know that he has some good returns. It was clear from early in 2012 that Lewis was a better returner.

LDPs problem was not his own making, just that he was misused. If the staff would have given him the same packages as he had 2010-2011 he would have done fine. I really think that he lacked the vision to run inside effectively (and an O-Line to open holes).

 

[121Josey]

I totally agree with the points you've made.

I personally have no commitment to starters' minutes. The best players should start. Period. And if two players are comparable, you play the younger. I really didn't see that with the staff until this past season.

But let me throw this out there to get your opinion. Was the way JRob was used this year the writing on the wall that he will not be the feature back during his career - barring injuries?

 

[Strike.sixpack]

He wasn't the worse. He was the worst. Look, I loved LP. I'm not talking about his freshman-junior years. I'm just talking about last year. He literally brought nothing to the table. I'm just being honest about what I saw, man. If you couldn't see how badly he hurt our team last year by carrying the ball so much more than everyone else, you were obviously hung up on his previous accomplishments. I understand loyalty. I also think you should play the best player, and from what I saw with my eyes last season, LP was our fourth best running back. Sorry. And all I am saying is that if he hasn't improved a good bit from the season, he will be embarrassed at the combine. If he does well at the combine, then obviously he gained that step back, so don't come in here blabberin all over the place if he does.

Sorry didn't catch the phone autocorrect. I agree he was down last year. But even injured he was ahead of Milton and Griffin. And his yards per attempt went up from 2012. We gripe so much about having more NFL type talent here and he was one of 2 NFL quality RB on our roster. You play them. Not to mention his experience and good hands. Shumpert has the tools but he wasn't ready yet.

I said that the amount of carries should have been adjusted but not to 4 string level. His number of carries per game did go down from 2012 from 15 to 11. But even through all that with his injuries and some bad play calling, he was a Top 25 player in this league in yards from scrimmage and rushing yards. And that's all players not just RB. He was a Top 10 player in those categories last year along with 2nd in the league in all purpose yards. Going by that even at 70% he was better than Griffin and Milton. And I love those guys. If Milton had learned to hold on to the ball then we would have really been loaded. If Griffin got back to 80-90% then he would have been a load. But they were not capable.

And I won't come back to crow when an opinion of mine turns out correct. We miss and hit on things we think. If I'm wrong we will know it and if I'm right we will know that as well. That's plenty of satisfaction for me.

 

[esplanade91]

That doesn't change the fact that he was the worst running back on our team this year. If he hasn't improved since the season, he will be embarrassed at the combine.

I don't necessarily disagree, but when you don't have a ~20 carry a game back you improvise. We can argue all day long about JRob not getting carries, but Perk earned his senior year his junior year. I just wish we could have used Perk in the way that he should have been used, 3rd downs and screen passes. If we had a guy like Dixon alongside Perk this season would have been a lot different. Who knows how JRob would have done with a full sample size.

 

[engie]

I don't necessarily disagree, but when you don't have a ~20 carry a game back you improvise. We can argue all day long about JRob not getting carries, but Perk earned his senior year his junior year. I just wish we could have used Perk in the way that he should have been used, 3rd downs and screen passes. If we had a guy like Dixon alongside Perk this season would have been a lot different. Who knows how JRob would have done with a full sample size.

I disagree. JRob was far more effective against defenses with a pulse in 2012 overall as well. I ran the numbers once before -- and it was absolutely staggering in games against top 40 rush defenses...

We just misused Perk. That's it. He would have been very effective in the manner he was used in 10 and 11. Our fault -- not his.

 

[coach66]

True

Nm