Barry Sanders' son
Scout article on Sanders son - but even without reading the article I have a couple comments:
1) I remember when Walter Payton's son was in college (Miami?) and the constant comparisons to his dad. His NFL career was very short. The pressure young Sanders is facing now must be exhausting
2) Look at that picture - He looks like his Dad's twin! Unreal
August 27th, 2010 at 1:07 PM ^
Michigan leads. Oh well.
August 27th, 2010 at 1:07 PM ^
His highlight video is pretty sick. Very Barry-like.
August 27th, 2010 at 2:03 PM ^
The stiffarm on that fat lineman at 5:12 is great. Kid's powerful and quick.
August 27th, 2010 at 1:12 PM ^
You see a lot of sons follow in their father's footsteps, like Montana's kid, Jordan's sons, Tim Hardaway's kid, etc, etc. But what happens when the son falls very far from the tree? Case in point: I was reading a home decor magazine (yes, I'm a girl), and there was a designer featured, clearly gay, and it stated that his father was an assistant coach on an NFL team (can't remember which team). I thought this was very interesting and wondered how this father and son dealt with their relationship given what could be a contentious situation (football isn't exactly open-minded when it comes to homosexuality).
August 27th, 2010 at 1:17 PM ^
If his father is anything like a good father, he'd be like Brian Burke (GM for the Toronto Maple Leafs) was to his late son Brendan.
August 27th, 2010 at 1:15 PM ^
That highlight video is very impressive. I wonder why UM hasn't pursued him yet? The article says he's already been given verbal offers by many big time programs and contacted by even more, but no Michigan.
August 27th, 2010 at 1:28 PM ^
We're kind of loaded at RB right now, maybe we talked and he didn't show interest? His dad went to OK state so maybe he's already a heavy OKstate lean. Who knows. I'm sure Michigan is aware of him.
Also: Talking about Barry Sanders' kid is making me feel old .
August 27th, 2010 at 4:18 PM ^
I would tend to disagree that we’re “loaded” be it numbers wise or talent wise, as our talent is very unproven in my opinion. With the dismissal of Austin White, we only have 5 backs on the roster with 0 verbal commits @ this time.
August 27th, 2010 at 1:16 PM ^
will insist that no matter how good his son gets, he's no Jim Brown
August 27th, 2010 at 1:42 PM ^
I wonder if he'll insist that he's no Barry Sanders... Oh wait...
August 27th, 2010 at 1:17 PM ^
That tape makes him look like a Freak. That is some crazy shit to watch. He looks just like his dad with his speed and shifty-ness.
August 27th, 2010 at 1:26 PM ^
That kid is something special. Six minutes of video and I think he was only tackled 3 times before reaching the end zone. I am exhausted from just watching him run that much.
August 27th, 2010 at 4:11 PM ^
2 were horsecollar tackles.
August 27th, 2010 at 1:29 PM ^
Why would Barry Sanders, Jr. be interested in ND? What do they offer him? Their offense is definitely not RB friendly with Kelly now, and they've been nationally relevant - what - two years since he's been alive?
I say this being well aware that the same could be said of our school (although we were nationally relevant with our success prior to two years ago), but why would someone like Barry Jr. coming from Oklahoma give a crap about ND?
August 27th, 2010 at 2:55 PM ^
He must be Irish.
August 27th, 2010 at 4:08 PM ^
are you kidding me? Cinci was extremely efficient running the ball last season.
August 27th, 2010 at 4:17 PM ^
BKs offense is very friendly to running backs...i do not know what cave you have been living in....
August 27th, 2010 at 1:40 PM ^
I would imagine he would be a heavy lean to Oklahoma State, just imagine listening to the broadcast of those games if he ends up going there.
August 27th, 2010 at 1:45 PM ^
August 27th, 2010 at 2:05 PM ^
Yeah, especially since the mother of his three children who went to Michigan isn't Barry Jr.'s mother. Barry Jr. has literally no Michigan connection at all, so it's really a stretch to even think that there is any logical reason he'd have some sort of special interest in Michigan because of his father.
August 27th, 2010 at 1:53 PM ^
That highlight video is just nasty. HR-run after HR-run. He's got long strides like dear ol' dad.
August 27th, 2010 at 2:00 PM ^
Earlier in the clip it's like watching an alternate reality Barry where he briefly displays emotion after scoring a touchdown.
August 27th, 2010 at 2:15 PM ^
He's definitely got his dad's powerful legs, weirdly loose hips, and uncanninly low center of gravity on cuts. His highlights might not show the explosiveness of one Sam McGuffie, but he appears to be much, much stronger as a runner.
August 27th, 2010 at 2:26 PM ^
He looks faster than his Dad.
However, I don't know. He's only 5'9". How is someone that short ever going to be a successful NFL running back?
August 27th, 2010 at 2:37 PM ^
Is my sarcasm meter set too low?
August 27th, 2010 at 3:19 PM ^
yeah, sarcasm.
August 27th, 2010 at 2:38 PM ^
This is a joke right? You realize all he would have to do to answer that question is look at his freaking father.
August 28th, 2010 at 5:10 PM ^
Could it be a reference to the fact that Oklahoma wouldn't recruit him because he was too small?
August 27th, 2010 at 2:50 PM ^
Very impressive sophomore stats and highlight tape. He could be one hell of a RB or Slot Ninja in a spread offense.
August 27th, 2010 at 6:28 PM ^
When Sanders was with the Lions, they used the Run and Shoot, which most of us know to be the inspiration for RR's spread option. It's no accident that Sanders quit after one year of getting pounded in Bobby Ross's "conventional" offense.
August 28th, 2010 at 5:05 PM ^
which most of us know to be the inspiration for RR's spread option
That's awfully big stretch.
August 28th, 2010 at 6:57 PM ^
My understanding was that he'd burned out on the Lions culture of losing. I'd also heard that he'd had some conflicts with Bobby Ross, although he apparently denied it in his autobiography.
Anyway, I don't see how the Lions offense under Ross was any harder on him than it would have been under Fontes. In the two years he played under Ross, his carries were in line with what they'd usually been under Fontes (albeit towards the higher end).
August 27th, 2010 at 2:53 PM ^
A 2012 Recruit would be entering his junior year... He runs like his dad as a Sophomore?
There is no way we are too loaded to add a kid like this in a couple years. He should be fun to watch...
August 27th, 2010 at 3:24 PM ^
Since Barry Sanders is one of my favorite athletes of all time, I will root for this kid wherever he goes (aside from ND or OSU or MSU)
August 28th, 2010 at 11:05 AM ^
"1) I remember when Walter Payton's son was in college (Miami?) and the constant comparisons to his dad. His NFL career was very short. The pressure young Sanders is facing now must be exhausting"
I was friends with Jarrett in high school although we did not attend the same school, we talked and got together regularly. He was under incredible pressure throughout high school and going into college. He was a far better soccer player than a football player and always wanted to play soccer. He would always say that the worse thing was if he ever failed to make a play, he would instantly hear people say, "well...he is not his dad" and he always wanted to tell them that he was never trying to be his dad, he just wanted to be himself, much as all high school kids want to do.
He now plays for the Chicago Slaughter. See Link...http://www.searscentre.com/teams/chicago-slaughter/
Anyway as someone who idolized Sanders growing up...I hope only the best for his son.