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[QUOTE="OttoinGrotto, post: 294238, member: 297"]
One of the more interesting things about the team next season I think is watching how running back shakes out.
 
We've seen that Marrone rides the primary tail pretty hard (that's what she said), both when he has a good backup and when he has an unproven one (or two).
 
Now we've got a situation where a guy emerged in the spring (Smith) a little bit over a guy that had a few moments before he went down (Gulley) and a possibly overweight rising sophomore that maybe we should have shirted last season (Adonis Ameen Thickburger). We also have two fairly interesting freshman that could contend for carries in Morris and MacFarlane, although I understand MacFarlane might have a better future on defense. I think that's the pecking order.
 
That said, I think that pecking order is pretty flexible. I don't think there's any question that Smith is the top guy. Is he good enough though to get the kind of carry numbers that a top guy seems to get under Marrone's offense? Is the difference between Smith and the rest of the pack small enough to spread the ball around and run with the hot hand/better match up in any given game?
 
The running backs had about 300 carries last season. Assuming a similar number of carries, how do you think it shakes out?
 
My guess:
Smith - 150
PTG - 75 (but he might see a lot of passes thrown his way)
Frosh/Thickburger - 75
 
I think it's possible though that Ameen-Thickburger doesn't play at all (redshirt) and one of the frosh emerge as a difference maker and disrupts this whole thing.
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