DeVeon Smith Slightly Ahead of Green Coming Out of Spring
Hoke said today that De"Veon Smith had a bit of an edge over Derrick Green coming out of spring. Reminds that Drake Johnson back
— angelique (@chengelis) July 29, 2014
Also, here is says it is mostly because of pass pro.
EDIT:
Per GoBlueinMN below (so give him a +1 for this info below; put in OP to allow discussion) and Nick Baumgardner on twitter, who also explains that others beside Norfleet will get a look at returns because the team must get better, and says Kenny Allen will now do kickoffs:
Hoke says Glasgow is going to play center. Sounded like his shuffling to other spots is going to slow down.
— Nick Baumgardner (@nickbaumgardner) July 29, 2014None of the people discussing that have any say in the matter. Hoke said Mags is a tackle. It's not impossible that he moves to guard, but its not impossible that the locks mentioned become un-locks. It seems as safe to say he's a tackle and the left tackle based on Hoke's comments.
Glad to see Glasgow locked down at Center and not anywhere else on the OL.
Has that been officially announced?
Yes, he is officially suspended for the 1st game. Could make things interesting if the guy subbing for him has a great game. Although, how we do against App St doesn't necessarily mean all that much <knocks furiously on wood>.
The o-line discussion is just so up in the air. We can discuss so many different variables, questions, combinations of players, depth chart probabilites etc. I'm kinda over the o-line talk. I just want to see results on the field. But, it's just going to take time to work all this stuff out. I can't wait for a time when 3-4 of the o-line spots are manned by returning starters who are upperclassman.
Deveon Smith has always been the better back. How anyone doesn't see that and thinks that Green, who consistently is tackled after first contact, is the better back baffles me. Smith consistently breaks tackles and makes holes when there are none. Doesn't mean Green can't improve, but as of right now, Smith is the better choice.
That was the case last season, but IMO Green closed that gap quite a bit by the Spring Game. I love Smith's gritty, tackler dragging, running style, but at the same time he lacks to burst and speed to avoid some of those situations in the first place. Granted, with last year's OL situation, a guy that can break some tackles probably gets the nod, but assuming there will be some holes, Green is probably better at hitting them with his burst. Both guys definitely have their upside and will likely both see a lot of snaps though. Both were also pretty suspect in their blocking/pass pro too, so I definitely think whoever steps it up in that area will have a clear edge since where they were at in Spring is just not viable.
In his countdown in his blog, and it's one that I agree with, that Green has the higher upside and is probably the better back with a good OL. But with an OL that probably won't be top-notch, Smith may be the better back because he can break more tackles initially. But if we're getting RBs into the 2nd level with consistency, I think Green is a scary RB to have coming your way, more so than Smith.
I think that is a hell of a point. My worry with Green was how easy he went down - he seemed to lack great balance and a lot of arm tackles brought him down. Which is strange for a "bowling ball" type player (as his weight certaintly indicated he was last year). So for an OL which will most likely struggle again a guy who makes YAC is probably going to have an advantage since I expect contact to come early on many plays.
Then in 2015 hopefully when this OL issue goes away maybe Green's "upside" bursts have more of a chance to hit.
Which is why Green was so frustrating last year, he couldn't get started. Make it even worse that he was 20 pounds overweight, but same premise.
I think we're going to need both of them, I want to see us run the ball effectively and just wear teams out. I know that's probably not realistic with this offensive line, but boy would I love to see both of those guys get 15-20 carries a game and both average over 4ypc. Then turn around and get Hayes and Johnson some run.
The thing I noticed last year is Green got taken down easier than I expected on some runs. Smith seemed to run with a liitle more power.
They were both freshman and this is a new year so we will see how it shakes out. I would love to see them both have great years.
No one mentioned this yet, but why hasn't any listed Mone? I saw a few weeks back where Hoke was asked to Name a guy other than Peppers who would make an impact on defense this year and Mone was his answer.
He's the backup NT in my book, that kid is going to be ALL-EVERYTHING by the time he's done. I'm really excited to see what Henry, Pipkins and Mone can do at that spot. That's some serious talent. And Hurst! Although I think Henry and Hurst are going to play some at the other DT spot as well.
I agree that Smith stays up longer, but many times he just stays in the same place and doesn't actually gain any more ground. Whereas towards the end of the year Green was still going down on first contact much of the time but throwing himself into it and gaining an extra 2 yards. Green is also faster and is hard to stop when he actually gets going. I think, because our offensive line was what it was last year, we saw a lot of contact before the backs could gain any steam and in that situation Green went down easy, while Smith was able to stay up longer but sitll could not accrue more yardage.
Green's vision is also an asset; his cuts last year were decisive and smart.
The Northwestern game is where Green started to emerge. Smith had a nice run, too, but Green made some runs he wasn't making before.
"Green is faster than Smith"...they look pretty damn close to me. Smith isn't slow by any stretch. Still hoping to see Drake Johnson this year also.
But Derrick Green has legit 4.5 speed and Smith was closer to 4.7 on official times.
Have you seen that man's legs?
Don't believe what you see from ONE picture.
obviously slower than Green
Because I call bullshit at the moment.
Green had a laser timed 4.44 40yd dash. Smith claims a 4.5 time which Ace gave 3 fakes out of 5 in his recruiting profile, FWIW.
But I've seen nothing on the field or otherwise to suggest that Green is "obviously" slower.
How do you say obvious? I mean, I could be totally wrong. Did everyone else think it was obvious that Smith was slower?
I'm not doubting it. I'm just saying it's not obvious, IMO. It's not like someone saying "Devin Gardner is obviously slower than Denard Robinson." Well no shit, watch them on the field and it's pretty clear. Devin's fast, he's got a long stride, but he ain't Delithium.
For me, Smith and Green have looked about the same speed and I can't say one is obviously faster than the other. But maybe others have always known this. Maybe they've raced or something...I dunno.
I think Green ends up the starting back, but Smith is a bit more consistent now and because of that could hold the starting job for a few games or longer. The question for me is WHEN Green passes Smith and can Isaac play this year, because that would change everything.
Is Isaac practicing with the team at least?
there is nothing that would prevent him from practicing, just dressing on game day.
If a center emerges while he is suspended and everyone else is playing well, there is no need to re-shuffle. If a center emerges and someone is playing poorly, insert Glas and no other linemen have to shuffle. If a center doesn't emerge, Glas plays center after the suspension. Please, please, please don't let us play 'musical o-line' again this year...
Nuss had Ryan Kelly at C when he was at Bama. C is extremely important in his offense, and it is in any, but I know he really emphasizes it.
Put the best player you can get for that position at that position and let everyone else fill in around him.
Not surprising that we haven't been good (offensively) since the last time we had a good center.
This competition is hopefully going to make both guys better, and hopefully we'll have a decent if not great running game this year. Both are going to see a lot of carries anyways, it's going to be 1A and 1B
Weren't you the same guy who stupidly said this in the other Green thread and got corrected? And then argued that Jeremy Gallon isn't good at football because he's short? Might want to take five, bub.
It's just more excuses and shit you made up.
And who do you pick Gallon over pre RR recruiting at WR?Everyone except Braylon, Manningham, and Terrell, if we're talking since 2000. I can't WAIT for your head to explode.
Jeremy Gallon holds both the season total and single game receiving record at Michigan, the single game record being a Big Ten record as well. All on a team that was not particularly explosive offensively. You could make a strong case he was the best receiver we've ever had, period.
Also....
Derrick Green's legs are as big as our NFL left tackle... so there's that.
You lose. ARG! I can't wait until you have to go back to school.
Keep riding that Troll Train.
Did you actually watch the football team last year? That man has tree trunks for legs.
You've taken one picture and assumed that all he does his bench press, eat steak and spinach, and drink muscle milk all day.
Lots of time between now and the beginning of the season, but healthy competition is good for everyone.
I haven't heard too many people talk about this, but I think the move to more inside zone could be good for both of these guys. It's more of a "feel" to running inside zone than it is running man schemes and I think both guys will have a better chance with the change.
Think about Hart and how the zone changed his style for the positive. Could be a huge step forward for Smith and Green this year.
This is no surprise to me. Smith is a better, more physical runner with better instincts. He has a quicker burst through the hole and only lacks top end speed...or he would be an elite back.
Green's 5 star HS film was the worst that I have personally ever seen or evaluated. I was shocked that he was a 5 star coming out of HS. He goes down far to easy on contact. Last season confirmed this.
Its good to see that the coaches are ignoring the stars and watching the film.