RB Room

[leodisflowers]

This will be an interesting position next year as it looks like Mills is moving on. I really like Held, but our RB position looks a bit sketchy right now. Hopefully a couple of these guys step up. At some point we need to land a bigger fish here.

Rahmir Johnson - I thought he did some really good things against Iowa. Not sure why he is getting more run, but is he a transfer risk?
Marvin Scott - Looks the part and did ok in limited action, but lacks top end speed.
Ronald Thompkins - High ceiling, but injury plagued. Looked good against OSU
Sevion Morrison - Injured, but could possess the speed we need.
Gabe Ervin - New Recruit. I like his film. Seems pretty smooth and kind of reminds me of Braylon Heard from a few years back.

 

[scarletred]

I don’t know if Roland Thompkins is going to be the type of running back we envisioned before his knee injuries...

 

[bingo65]

This will be an interesting position next year as it looks like Mills is moving on. I really like Held, but our RB position looks a bit sketchy right now. Hopefully a couple of these guys step up. At some point we need to land a bigger fish here.

Rahmir Johnson - I thought he did some really good things against Iowa. Not sure why he is getting more run, but is he a transfer risk?
Marvin Scott - Looks the part and did ok in limited action, but lacks top end speed.
Ronald Thompkins - High ceiling, but injury plagued. Looked good against OSU
Sevion Morrison - Injured, but could possess the speed we need.
Gabe Ervin - New Recruit. I like his film. Seems pretty smooth and kind of reminds me of Braylon Heard from a few years back.

5 fairly highly recruited backs that were picked out by Held and Frost. RBs often are just inter replaceable.
It would really be an indictment of Held if none of these kids were at least above average.
having five 3-star or higher RBs on your roster is a lot compared to some other programs. Most RB rooms will thin fairly quickly as they look for playing time. You can't get this many good high school RBs and not find at least 2 that are very solid if not better

 

[dinglefritz]

I don’t know if Roland Thompkins is going to be the type of running back we envisioned before his knee injuries...

time will tell. He looked really good the little bit he played this year. Some guys take nearly 2 years to come back completely and it takes a good deal of mental toughness to come back at all.

 

[dinglefritz]

This will be an interesting position next year as it looks like Mills is moving on. I really like Held, but our RB position looks a bit sketchy right now. Hopefully a couple of these guys step up. At some point we need to land a bigger fish here.

Rahmir Johnson - I thought he did some really good things against Iowa. Not sure why he is getting more run, but is he a transfer risk?
Marvin Scott - Looks the part and did ok in limited action, but lacks top end speed.
Ronald Thompkins - High ceiling, but injury plagued. Looked good against OSU
Sevion Morrison - Injured, but could possess the speed we need.
Gabe Ervin - New Recruit. I like his film. Seems pretty smooth and kind of reminds me of Braylon Heard from a few years back.

One national analyst I listened to after signing day though Ervin was the plum of this class. Said, he could come in and make an impact right away. Personally as an old RB, I LOVED what I saw out of Scott. Really good feet and vision I thought. Power, Good speed. Good lateral quickness. Good hands. I think he's going to be really good. We didn't get to see a bunch out of him but I was impressed by what I did see.

 

[mgbreis]

I can't escape the feeling that the only thing missing from our running back room is a head coach with the conviction and intelligence to actually use 1-2 of them effectively. When the game plan only includes a token run here or there, you're not gonna get a back who gets in a rhythm with his blockers. We'll never know if any of these kids are good until he decides that he is going to involve the rb's like he did in the second half at Rutgers.

 

[TruHusker]

I can't escape the feeling that the only thing missing from our running back room is a head coach with the conviction and intelligence to actually use 1-2 of them effectively. When the game plan only includes a token run here or there, you're not gonna get a back who gets in a rhythm with his blockers. We'll never know if any of these kids are good until he decides that he is going to involve the rb's like he did in the second half at Rutgers.

I was about to type this very same concept.

How can anyone get any idea of the competence of our RB's in such a small sample size? People were down on Mills, I was not, thinking he was ready to explode if they would just use him. I feel that about several RB's. I have not seen enough to get any kind of idea.

To top it off, our OL play is still not up to par. We miss too many line calls that leave guys unblocked.

 

[mgbreis]

To top it off, our OL play is still not up to par. We miss too many line calls that leave guys unblocked.

Did you notice our OL looked a lot better at Rutgers after we established the run? When the defense can just tee off on the QB every play because there is zero running threat (other than the QB) it makes pass blocking much more difficult. Running the ball would open up the deep pass plays that we so desperately need.

 

[scarletred]

Can’t remember what game it was but SF and Held played 4 running backs in the game including a walk-on.. Not once could a back get a good rhythm in the game and it just seemed like situational plays certain players would play in..

Drove me nuts...

 

[SomedayHusker]

I think our RB room is the best and deepest position group on the team even without Mills. As long as the O-line stays on track to look like they should improve, one, two, maybe 3 of those backs will find success, oh yea and if Frost actually gets one of them the ball. YPC should be fine. I think Scott likely spells Mills and Thompkins comes in as a change of pace.

I worry most about QB, OLB,

 

[headcard]

One national analyst I listened to after signing day though Ervin was the plum of this class. Said, he could come in and make an impact right away. Personally as an old RB, I LOVED what I saw out of Scott. Really good feet and vision I thought. Power, Good speed. Good lateral quickness. Good hands. I think he's going to be really good. We didn't get to see a bunch out of him but I was impressed by what I did see.

When he verballed, Wiltfong said Ervin was the most talented RB we have signed in a long time, based on some metric. Odd considering his recruiting service has had basically every RB we have recruited recently rated higher. But I hope he’s right.

 

[headcard]

I think our RB room is the best and deepest position group on the team even without Mills. As long as the O-line stays on track to look like they should improve, one, two, maybe 3 of those backs will find success, oh yea and if Frost actually gets one of them the ball. YPC should be fine. I think Scott likely spells Mills and Thompkins comes in as a change of pace.

I worry most about QB, OLB,

Not sure how you can say RB room is deep and talented, at this point. None of those guys have shown it on the field. Maybe Morrison or Ervin is the real deal, but the guys that have played have shown some serious flaws. Count me in the group concerned about the position. I would even be in favor of picking up a transfer portal guy, if a proven back is available.

 

[Capdanjou]

I'm really eager to see at least one of our RBs take a big leap next year. I was hoping we might see that this year. I have exactly zero insight other than what I watch and read, but all of these guys look like they have plenty of potential to succeed. Assuming that Mills is gone, any predictions on who has the edge to see the most playing time?

 

[FargoNDHusker]

There is plenty of depth, just not sure how talented the depth is. The refusal to really use our running backs this year makes it tough to know what they really have yet. I'm not a fan of constantly shuffling through guys in a game so I'd like to see one guy as the primary and get used as such.

 

[SomedayHusker]

Not sure how you can say RB room is deep and talented, at this point. None of those guys have shown it on the field. Maybe Morrison or Ervin is the real deal, but the guys that have played have shown some serious flaws. Count me in the group concern about the position. I would even be in favor of picking up a transfer portal guy, if a proven back is available.

Scott and Thompkins have shown me enough to where I think those 2 alone will be just fine with any shred of blocking. Johnson is a serviceable backup who may get better and I’ll roll the dice and say at least one between Morrison and Ervin will be a good back as well. No worries from me whatsoever at this position. To completely strike out on all 5 of those guys would be a major anomaly to me.

 

[KingBlackshirt]

Rumor was Covid hit the RB room hard

 

[Reditus]

Interested to see what Morrison can do and Ervin. I like Thompkins but leary of the injury history. Did he get hurt again or was it a covid thing? Not a good thing that our top 4 rushers in terms of YPG were QB's or WR's. I didn't include them in this chart.

Rushing
Individual Rushing Statistics

#	Player	GP	ATT	Gain	Loss	Net	AVG	TD	Long	AVG/G
25	Thompkins, Ronald	2	5	24	0	24	4.8	0	9	12.00
26	Mills, Dedrick	6	84	418	22	396	4.7	3	50	66.00
14	Johnson, Rahmir	6	8	34	4	30	3.8	1	12	5.00
	Scott, Marvin	5	24	71	9	62	2.6	0	8	12.40
22	Jewett, Cooper	2	1	2	0	2	2.0	0	2	1.00

 

[mgbreis]

Rumor was Covid hit the RB room hard

Interesting, didn't know that.

 

[CatColumbia]

I've said it before, I'm very underwhelmed with this group. Partially it's on Frost because he loves to pass the ball for most of the year so the running backs don't get their chance to shine. The fact that a new freshman from Florida is supposed to be better than what we have reinforces my original thought about what we currently have. Bottom line is we need to run the ball more and we need someone from this room to step it up fast.

 

[CatColumbia]

Interested to see what Morrison can do and Ervin. I like Thompkins but leary of the injury history. Did he get hurt again or was it a covid thing? Not a good thing that our top 4 rushers in terms of YPG were QB's or WR's. I didn't include them in this chart.

Rushing
Individual Rushing Statistics

#	Player	GP	ATT	Gain	Loss	Net	AVG	TD	Long	AVG/G
25	Thompkins, Ronald	2	5	24	0	24	4.8	0	9	12.00
26	Mills, Dedrick	6	84	418	22	396	4.7	3	50	66.00
14	Johnson, Rahmir	6	8	34	4	30	3.8	1	12	5.00
	Scott, Marvin	5	24	71	9	62	2.6	0	8	12.40
22	Jewett, Cooper	2	1	2	0	2	2.0	0	2	1.00

Don't mean to be harsh but these rushing numbers are horrible. I know our QB's got the majority of yards which came from busted plays. Mills would have gotten more yards though had he stayed healthy and had he gotten more touches.

We need to get this mess fixed, perhaps we get a transfer running back? I don't want to hear the perpetual Frost excuse of "We're young".

 

[HominidHusker]

I do not like heading into 2021 without one “established” RB (a lot more than 25 carries).
I’d prefer adding a proven transfer.
However... with limited roster spots, I’m willing to defer to the coaches on whether the non-established guys are good enough to excel next year.
“Serviceable” is not good enough. We need more than that.

As others have said, coaches did themselves no favors establishing depth at this position. That hints at them not feeling super confident in what they got right now, even if it was young guys.

 

[Cornicator]

If you compare high school film of all the Husker running backs, Gabe Ervin looks to be the most complete player in the group. Now that doesn't mean much in the Big Ten, but he's versatile and well rounded in every facet of the game. He's bigger than Marvin Scott and Rahmir Johnson. He's more explosive than Thompkins. He is used in the passing game a lot in high school and shows off excellent hands.

Sevion Morrison is still an unknown. He battled an ankle injury and then had to miss time due to Covid.

Speaking of Ervin, because this is a weird season where football was delayed, we can actually watch him next week in the Georgia 6A State title game. The game will be streamed live at 7pm, on Dec. 29th.

 

[leodisflowers]

 

[Crazyhole]

This feels an awful lot like going into the 1991 season. That worked out pretty well, I'd say.

 

[TruHusker]

Somewhere along the way Frost and company are going to have to find a guy and work them in the running and passing game. Get some stats and highlights.

You want big name,.highly recruited backs to come here? Highlight the RB position and get some guys in the league. We will never do either at this pace.

Washington was a bust, who would have guessed. There was too much situation use for him for my tastes.

 

[drubendall]

I don't think any of the guys in the room have gotten enough of an opportunity to show what they can do, probably do to some injuries and mostly to not enough carries

 

[The_Glove_Man]

I'm no talent scout, but if Dedrick Mills is good enough to play at the next level, I'm not sure he's shown it. I can't see him getting drafted this year, and therefore I would either expect him to come back (if he had confidence that he would be somewhat showcased in the offense) or else transfer.

Has it been announced somewhere that he wants to go pro now?

 

[BuckysBoys1]

Marvin Scott will be a stud if he stays. He was the 6th all time rusher in the state of Florida! He has offers from multiple SEC schools.

 

[bingo65]

all these guys wont stay around. there's too many of them. whoever comes out on top next year will determine who ends up leaving. Ervin might hang around but the others wont all stay

 

[headcard]

Marvin Scott will be a stud if he stays. He was the 6th all time rusher in the state of Florida! He has offers from multiple SEC schools.

I reason to think he wouldn’t stay, unless he gets laser and won’t see the field. He is a physical kid and a good blocker. But it he seemed pretty slow.

 

[Reditus]

all these guys wont stay around. there's too many of them. whoever comes out on top next year will determine who ends up leaving. Ervin might hang around but the others wont all stay

I have no idea if our room will stay intact or not but we do not have too many of them. I think 5 is an optimum number for scholarship running backs. That position takes a lot of punishment.

 

[PeliniTheCrutch]

WYATT MAZOUR

 

[NikkiSixx]

I also like the future for Scott III, but I'm not really a big fan of small running backs.

I'm also not super stoked about the RB room. Lots of injured guys taking up scholarships. I also believe it was Frost's strategy to go after guys that other schools had eased up on because of an injury. Kinda like going cheap on toilet paper, but you just end up with a mess on your hands.

One nice thing about Gabe, is he makes 1 cut and gets upfield. You don't normally see this out of a high school back. Most are just using their speed to the edge to outrun the defense.

I would feel better about the room if they picked up a transfer from the portal that was already an upperclassman, i.e. physically ready to play (Scott is an exception here) and someone who is obviously not injured.

 

[phoenix4nu]

Marvin Scott will be a stud if he stays. He was the 6th all time rusher in the state of Florida! He has offers from multiple SEC schools.

Hopefully he’ll be more than a short yardage/goal line type back. Time will tell.

 

[otismotis08]

RB is probably the least of my worries. We need the OL room to step up. Put in the work to get stronger this offseason.

 

[nu2u]

I also believe it was Frost's strategy to go after guys that other schools had eased up on because of an injury. Kinda like going cheap on toilet paper, but you just end up with a mess on your hands.

 

[bshirt73]

I've said it before, I'm very underwhelmed with this group. Partially it's on Frost because he loves to pass the ball for most of the year so the running backs don't get their chance to shine. The fact that a new freshman from Florida is supposed to be better than what we have reinforces my original thought about what we currently have. Bottom line is we need to run the ball more and we need someone from this room to step it up fast.

Absolutely. It's high time we cut down on horizontal passes & make establishing the run priority #1.

 

[jlb321]

In 2020 the leading rusher was the QB

in both 2019 and 2020 the starting QB and a 170 lb WR had more combined carries than the entire 3 deep at RB

the RB room has been a disgrace the last 2 years - you can take your pick as to talent, development, scheme or all of thee above as to reasons why

 

[maggs]

One national analyst I listened to after signing day though Ervin was the plum of this class. Said, he could come in and make an impact right away. Personally as an old RB, I LOVED what I saw out of Scott. Really good feet and vision I thought. Power, Good speed. Good lateral quickness. Good hands. I think he's going to be really good. We didn't get to see a bunch out of him but I was impressed by what I did see.

I have to say that I agree. Scott is the only youngster I saw much from. gbr

 

[dinglefritz]

In 2020 the leading rusher was the QB

in both 2019 and 2020 the starting QB and a 170 lb WR had more combined carries than the entire 3 deep at RB

the RB room has been a disgrace the last 2 years - you can take your pick as to talent, development, scheme or all of thee above as to reasons why

Try injuries and COVID as the reason this year. Mills has been very good for us when he's healthy. Frost whiffed on the late additions Washington and Bell. Not surprising. Rhamir has been banged up all year. Morrison was injured and dealt with COVID. You really need to get help.