Drake Johnson What the ?

Submitted by BornSinner on
It takes Green and Smith to both get injured for Johnson to even get significant snaps... Makes me think whether these coaches would even give him a shot if the other two were healthy.. Granted it is Indiana and it is great seeing some awesome running. Cheers.
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UofM626

November 1st, 2014 at 7:25 PM ^

Was in line for significant carries before his injury, Hoke and company were gonna let him run until he was hurt. This is one reason I hope they keep Hoke and Company unless they get Harbaugh or Miles. But the team is gonna get better as they were young and are now just beginning to grownw into there bodies wtf. It's hard when the younger guys have to be the older guys if you catch my drift.

Joined: 01/02/2012

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Lampuki22

November 1st, 2014 at 7:25 PM ^

He has vision, makes cuts,  gets yards after contact and has break away speed.  Will be the best RB (other than D Rob)  in the winged helmet since Mike Hart IMO.

Joined: 09/16/2009

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acnumber1

November 1st, 2014 at 7:36 PM ^

Copied from post in hockey thread:

AA Pioneer Drake Johnnson.

 

AA Skyline Andrew Copp (captain of our hockey team and first goal scorer tonight).

 

Copp was the Skyline QB and played against Drake.  In a head to head game Copp threw for 550+ yards and Drake ran for 390+ yards and 6 TDs.  Pioneer won 52-49.

 

May they both lead us to many wins!

http://www.annarbor.com/sports/high-school/pioneer-vs-skyline-football-game-story/

Joined: 10/19/2009

MGoPoints: 18817

gbdub

November 1st, 2014 at 8:04 PM ^

Obviously really happy for Drake, but everyone hating on the coaches for benching him should remember what he looked like earlier in the year - his cuts were awful. Maybe he's just starting to put it together, or still had nagging issues from the injury, but either way this is not the Drake Johnson we've seen before. Great game Drake, and congrats on getting a TD in the big house, which had to be a lifetime dream come true.

Joined: 02/16/2010

MGoPoints: 26761

bighouse22

November 1st, 2014 at 9:30 PM ^

Seriously, what are you talking about.  He had like 5 carries and averaged over 5 ypc.

My nephew competed against Drake in HS in track on a couple of occasions and raved about his speed.  He has been clammoring for him all year.  He looked pretty damn good today!

Joined: 10/29/2013

MGoPoints: 3064

NYMICH

November 1st, 2014 at 8:11 PM ^

Yes, its fair to question Hoke why Drake hasn't seen the field.  I know it's only Indiana, but I do not think Smith or Green would have made those cuts, and certainly don't have that speed.  Drake and Justice have shown far better vision than either of Smith or Green.

It's not just Drake's performance today that makes you wonder.  It's Thomas Rawls being a 1,000 yard rusher and averaging 5.5 ypc, or Josh Furman being an integral part of Ok State's defense.  Other teams take Michigan's castoffs and make them productive players.  Yet another negaive for Hoke.

Joined: 09/01/2012

MGoPoints: 284

Leonhall

November 1st, 2014 at 8:13 PM ^

I thought drake looked good in the little he has played. He could be a good back for harbaugh, I'm assuming there will be few players after hoke leaves that we'll all be like, "where has this guy been?"


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The Dude

November 1st, 2014 at 8:15 PM ^

to see Drake Johnson get some carries. It was nice to see an RB that attacked the hit hole hard and had some elusiveness and toughness. I think he earned the right to be the starter against Northwestern. Let’s see if he can repeat this performance next week. 

Joined: 09/13/2014

MGoPoints: 405

UofMDieHardsBlog

November 1st, 2014 at 8:23 PM ^

Backfield next year: Drake Johnson, Derrick Green, De'veon Smith, Mike Weber, Ty Isaac and Justice Hayes. Wow, could be best backfield in country. And wait there's more, all 5 OL are returning next year! Johnson was looking like Mike Hart out their today. If his jersey didn't say Johnson, I would have thought it was Miek Hart!

Joined: 10/13/2014

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double blue

November 1st, 2014 at 8:24 PM ^

Power. Smith and green are the power backs hoke laughingly thinks this team is built to use.( and they're not all that much power either).


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Coldwater

November 1st, 2014 at 8:25 PM ^

He looked so much quicker than any other Michigan running back. By a lot. He deserves much more playing time the rest of the season. I just don't see a burst out of Smith. I know Drake isn't going to run anybody over. But I love seeing a Michigan running back look fast. I've missed that

Joined: 12/14/2008

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treetown

November 1st, 2014 at 11:22 PM ^

Hi, I saw the game in the stadium. The impression was that Drake Johnson was very quick and accelerated to the hole. He shot into them, broke arm tackles and if he got through the line he had enough speed and nifty cuts to go for long gains. His final TD run showed this perfectly.

Check out this youtube highlight package at the end.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sp52Xa-AQf8

Was that also obvious at home on TV?

Joined: 11/10/2010

MGoPoints: 6339

hazardc

November 1st, 2014 at 8:25 PM ^

My only conclusion about drake is that he must have not had a really good practice. 

 

 

 

Btw, Thank you Drake..  Hope the rest of the season is as good as today for you. 

Joined: 11/24/2013

MGoPoints: 2366

UnkleBuck

November 1st, 2014 at 8:37 PM ^

Definitely proud of Drake today.  The young man ran hard, and I hope they keep giving him the ball. Sure it was IU, but he gained some confidence today and displayed some ability.  I hope he starts next week. At this point in the season, what do we have to lose.

Joined: 11/02/2013

MGoPoints: 2122

hazardc

November 1st, 2014 at 8:43 PM ^

Regardless of whether this is Indiana or not, this team IS talented but they have been playing like they don't have the fire...  You can look at the sideline and see morale is absolute shit. 

 

Drake got his shot today, probably came in with the fire and heart to want to prove himself, and it worked. 

 

I just hope that it can parlay into the next few games, and that it pushes the other players into playing their guts out in a time where there's not much to look forward to. 

Also, if Drake remains a threat, it takes a lot of pressure off of Devin, and I really think that if Devin gets a couple games in a row where he's not running scared that he will be able to recover a bit from his obvious hobbled state, gain a little confidence back, take a little load off, and maybe even come back to being the QB he looked like he was going to become. 

I still have faith in DG (I know I am being redundant about DG in this thread, but it's a real serious issue with this offense absolutely leaning on an injured QB who gets almost no help)

 

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UofMDieHardsBlog

November 1st, 2014 at 10:03 PM ^

He should start at Rb position from now on. He seprates himself from others because he is powerful, fast and smart. He doesnt get stuck in the mud like Smith or Hayes. Hoke said he had best practice week out of anybody on the team. Practice makes perfect!

Joined: 10/13/2014

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DCGrad

November 1st, 2014 at 10:04 PM ^

The Auburn game looking at the read option. DMFJ might be a good back for that with the quick burst. If only we had a running QB to do that....

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hennesbe

November 1st, 2014 at 10:16 PM ^

Some coach needs his balls kicked up his ass for not playing this kid.  He has been the best running back they have. 

If he had a problem then correct it, but don't let him set on the frigin bench for some stupid reason.

I get all the crap at Michigan, if you can't do this or do that you don't play.  Well bullcrap.  Our running game sucked all year and they let this kid set the bench. 

No wonder Hoke is going to get fired.

 

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JoFree

November 1st, 2014 at 10:21 PM ^

Hoke played Green and Smith instead of Drake because he wanted this Manball bullshit - a  down hill running game and thought those two big backs gave him the best chance.  Drake blew that theory up today. Green and Smith couldn't run down hill even with a rocket up their ass.  

Albeit it was IU. So Green and Smith ran against Appy State and Miami two wins against weak teams like IU and still made poor cut decisions, provided no hint of any vision, constantly  banging into O-linemen and little or no burst through the hole to quickly get to the second level of the defense.  Neither showed anything like Drake's run-mechanics, vision, burst through the hole like  as well as overall speed Drake did today.  Not only was Drake's running far superior and more fluid, he makes Green and Smith look like they're running in mud. Drake actally made the O-line look like they can block.

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Yeoman

November 1st, 2014 at 11:15 PM ^

The reason Hoke was talking Johnson up during camp this year and last, suggesting he was a possible starter before the injuries, and the reason this board didn't want to hear about it, was because Hoke thinks he's ill-suited to the kind of manball bullshit he wants to run while people here recognized Johnson's superior, fluid running ability.

Makes sense to me.

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