Starting Backfield?

[BamaBoots]

Wilson will more than likely start the year as our starting QB. Who do you think will be in the backfield with him? I really like the fact that the competition level is so high now. Not just for the starters but for the backups and future playing time. May the best man win.
I think with Grant's competitive spirit he keeps the job with Hubbard as Fullback.:BigA::BigA:

 

[bamabryan]

I think with Grant's competitive spirit he keeps the job with Hubbard as Fullback.:BigA::BigA:

I think you mean Baron Huber at FB. :smile:

 

[bayoutider]

I see us starting with the same backfield rotation as last year with Coffee, Grant and Upchurch getting the calls. I expect others to begin seeing playing time as the season wears on. Demetrius Goode is a runningback I see many people overlooking. Goode could very well be the leader coming into game one.

 

[rgw]

Huber was rarely used last year and McElwain is another OC that prefers the H-back/TE motion out of a two-tight single back over a true I-form.

 

[LCN]

Huber was rarely used last year and McElwain is another OC that prefers the H-back/TE motion out of a two-tight single back over a true I-form.

.... which is good news for Preston Dial .

 

[gmart74]

wow no jimmy johns for tailback post..... im shocked, maybe we are finally buying into the process

 

[BigEasyTider]

Demetrius Goode is a runningback I see many people overlooking. Goode could very well be the leader coming into game one.

I feel the same way, but I'm afraid his knee injury could continue to hold him back. I don't think he had any other structural damage to the knee aside from the ACL, which is good news, but a torn ACL is commonly a two year injury. It often takes one year to get healthy enough to play again, and then another year to regain all of the leg strength and precision movement. I'm afraid that may be the case with Goode.

At the very least, Goode is going to be at a distinct disadvantage because he is likely to miss most of the contact drills during spring football. The same thing, I'm afraid, will be the case for Terry Grant as well.

Put together, that all might mean that the only two healthy backs in the spring will be Roy Upchurch and Glen Coffee. That gives one of those two an enormous opportunity to seize control of that position.

Huber was rarely used last year and McElwain is another OC that prefers the H-back/TE motion out of a two-tight single back over a true I-form.

Rarely used would probably be putting things mildly. Huber, I think, would have been a good traditional I-formation fullback in the Shula / Rader offense, but the traditional fullback has little use in the Applewhite / McElwain schemes.

I just do not see much of a role for him, aside from a lead blocker in short-yardage situations, mainly around the goal line. He will be the "starter" at fullback, but that maybe entails ten snaps per game.

He just doesn't seemingly fit in anywhere else. We have several other options at tight end and H-back, and he would likely not have a role at either. With guys like Dial, McCall, Walker, Peek, Smelley, and others, that just isn't a legitimate destination for him, I don't believe.

 

[Tug Tide]

wow no jimmy johns for tailback post..... im shocked, maybe we are finally buying into the process

 

[BigGunn]

He'll probably line up with Coffee as the tailback, but I look for Jordan or Ingram or possibly Goode, towards the top of the rotation early in the season. These guys promise too much not to utilize them as soon as possible.

 

[LCN]

After biting my tongue for an entire year and having yet to figure it out , I must ask ..... Why do people endlessly promote Goode for playing time ?


He's never even made it through a practice . Before his knee injury , he didn't have a step to lose in the 1st place . Add to this that he was not a high-profile prospect when coming from HS or prep school , where is this coming from ?

What gives ? :conf3:

 

[BigEasyTider]

After biting my tongue for an entire year and having yet to figure it out , I must ask ..... Why do people endlessly promote Goode for playing time ?


He's never even made it through a practice . Before his knee injury , he didn't have a step to lose in the 1st place . Add to this that he was not a high-profile prospect when coming from HS or prep school , where is this coming from ?

What gives ? :conf3:

You've got a great point, honestly.

I think the fundamental reason for it is most likely a corollary of the Backup Quarterback Theorem.

 

[Harmost]

At QB... well, I'd rather not get into that. FB is a hard call, if only because we can't be sure its role and haven't really seen much of the competitors. RB, I look for one of the top 3 from last year to break away a bit during the spring, but all-in-all, I'd expect the door to keep rotating in the fall... definately have to watchout for Ingram as the year progresses, as there flatly isn't another back on the roster that can come anywhere near to rivaling his size/speed combo.

 

[stevehast]

It appears we will have the same starting backfield as '07 and with some improved OL play, that should be a good thing!

 

[drjamesm]

There is one thing I 've noticed that hasn't been mentioned. In the barn game T McCall lined up at FB,and H back on several occasions so I wouldn't be surprised if that happened again. Also,Griffen was RS'ed last year which is another option.

 

[JH-ATL]

Starting will be different than 4 games in.

That will be true at 5 or 6 positions!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[BamaBoy2012]

for one thing jimmy johns has already been moved to linebacker according to some of the football players in my class. I also think that we will see coffee starting with grant as his backup to see just as many if not more carries than the starter. No doubt that coffee will be in there when we need someone to pound out 2 or 3 yards for a first down.

 

[LCN]

for one thing jimmy johns has already been moved to linebacker according to some of the football players in my class.

He's been a LB since the bowl practices . They were just kidding . :wink:

 

[tidefanblake]

Huber was rarely used last year and McElwain is another OC that prefers the H-back/TE motion out of a two-tight single back over a true I-form.

I wonder why Huber doesn't seem to make a better candidate at H-back--he's a devastating blocker, good hands and over 6'3...McCall played that position most last year, i guess he's a little more athletic which helps at that position.

 

[rgw]

I wonder why Huber doesn't seem to make a better candidate at H-back--he's a devastating blocker, good hands and over 6'3...McCall played that position most last year, i guess he's a little more athletic which helps at that position.

McCall is our best blocking TE, and though Huber is certainly no slouch of a blocker...he doesn't have the speed to be a matchup issue to linebackers in the passing game. McCall can be used more in passing routes out of the backfield and from the TE position. The H-back is really about getting another TE-type on the field because most traditional FBs are not going to catch the ball as well as a TE.

 

[BigEasyTider]

McCall is our best blocking TE, and though Huber is certainly no slouch of a blocker...he doesn't have the speed to be a matchup issue to linebackers in the passing game. McCall can be used more in passing routes out of the backfield and from the TE position. The H-back is really about getting another TE-type on the field because most traditional FBs are not going to catch the ball as well as a TE.

You pretty much nailed it. The main difference between the H-back and the traditional fullback is the ability on the part of the former to be a legitimate receiving threat. In that regard, Huber just is not a receiving threat, and hence that is why he will almost certainly stay at fullback.