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Message: [QUOTE="SWC75, post: 1853402, member: 289"] [I]Running Backs[/I] Jordan Fredericks made it clear early last year that he was our best running back and went up the depth chart the way he ran down the field: like a bullet. He’s got the perfect body for a modern running back: 5-10, (meaning he can hide behind the linemen) and 215, (meaning he can hit with a thump). He ran a 4.46 forty. He saw the openings and made the right cuts. He ran for 607 yards on only 107 carries, (5.7 a pop). He only scored 4 times but one of them went 75 yards. He also caught 6 passes for 55 yards, one for a score. That’s just the beginning for him. He has “feature back” written all over him and must be drooling at the thought of a defense spread out by the pass. He was the NYS player of the year in High school as a senior, where he ran for 2,352 yards on only 153 carries (an incredible 15.4 average) and scored 37 touchdowns, (24% of his carries). When there was talk of unretiring #44, he expressed interest. And he might just be the guy to carry it well. He might be a bigger version of Travis Greene, who had 1299 yards rushing and 15 scores for Babers at Bowling Green last year or Sheppard Little, who had 1551 yards and 15 TDs his last year at Eastern Illinois. Both were 5-10 but 189 and 197, respectively. And yet, he was second on the depth chart after the spring to another rising sophomore, Dontae Strickland. He’s 5-11 196. I don’t know his 40 time but he’s very elusive. He was actually the highest rated running back in last year’s freshman class coming in. he was used mostly in the now non-existent “slot” back, from which he gained 81 yards in 21 carries, (3.9) with 1 TD and caught 9 passes for 137 yards and 2 scores. That’s one touchdown every ten touches. But Strickland dazzled Babers in the spring while Fredericks turned up over-weight. Hopefully Strickland turns his practice performances into game performances while Fredericks gets back to taking trainings seriously. They could make quite a pair. A couple of years back George Morris was the one wowing everybody in practice. He didn’t do much his first two years, carrying the ball 114 times for 435 yards, ((3.8) and scoring once. Last year he was clearly improved: although he got only 66 carries but ran for 326 yards (4.9), even though he didn’t score. Yet he has now, in his senior year, fallen to 4th on the depth chart. Now there’s a report that he had injured his ankle and will need surgery, so his career here may be fizzling out. Too bad- for him and us. #3 is Moe Neal, another one of these guys who were game-breakers in high school: [URL="http://www.hudl.com/video/3/1558260/5721c2074df6124b700baee3"]Junior Year Full Season[/URL] At 4.39 he’s faster than Fredericks, Stricxkland or Morris and that’s certainly something that Babers is looking for. But at 5-11 1697, he doesn’t seem to have the physique of a running back. Either he’ll have to wait until he puts on 15-20 pounds or maybe he’s another guy who would be better off at wide receiver. In fact a report in the paper said he was practicing with the wide receivers: “Moe Neal has really good hands,” Babers said. “Running backs don’t get to catch passes really far down the field. So we’d like for him to work the receivers just so he can work his hands and keep his growth going there.” (Syracuse.com) At the same time, freshman wide-out Devin Bulter has been working out at times with the running backs. I would think if we had to go this far down in the depth chart, they might look at Erv Phillips moving back into the backfield. Hopefully, we won’t have to find out. Also on the roster are Winston Lee, a 5-10 193 sophomore and Otto Zaccardo, a freshman. Lee is a walk-on from the track team who finished 5th in the 60 meters at the ACC championships with a 6.77 second timing. He’s also run a 10.47 100M. He’s run a 4.3 forty, so he’s another guy for whom speed is his calling card. Zaccardo is a 5-10 186 freshman who has run a 4.4 forty. He didn’t get any offers form any other Power-5 school but attributes that to “being a big fish in a small pond” in high school. We’ll see how he swims in the big pond. [/QUOTE]

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