Michigan RB's

Am I the only one who finds it odd that teams all over the nation, and even some of the historically middle/lower B10 teams, have been able to recruit/develop excellent RB's, yet Michigan hasn't had one since 2007?

Minnesota had Cobb, Indiana had Colman, and teams like Wisconsin, MSU, and OSU have had a steady stream of good to great RB's.

I love Smith's heart and his abilitiy to generate YAC, but it seems his vision and speed are nowhere near up to the standard for the position.  I know that some of this -- ok a lot of this -- falls upon the OL, but not ALL of it is, as was illustrated by Drake Johnson's ability to actually generate a running attack.  Yes, when he was starting the OL was improving, but there has to be more to it than that, no?

Remember when Denard would shred teams on the ground -- despite a "weak OL" -- and nobody else could gain any yards?  Yes, Denard was a special runner, a "once-in-a-decade talent," but he is proof that the holes were there.

My point?  I don't know.  Maybe it's to point the finger at Fred Jackson, and to say that he completely lost his ability to judge RB talent -- although he was pretty high on Thomas Rawls who became a new man once he left Ann Arbor.  Or maybe it's to vent my frustration concerning a position which other teams seem to have no trouble finding and developing talent, yet Michigan seems incapable of late.  Heck, that Juco transfer RB that Utah threw in for a carry or two look significantly better than anyone on Michigan's roster currently.

I just watch other programs from FCS to P5 run the ball think how nice it would be to have a RB that actually had some speed (doesn't have to be Ty Wheatley 2.0, just normal P5 starting RB speed), some quickness (doesn't have to Barry Sanders 2.0, just normal P5 starting RB quicks), some vision (not Laveon Bell vison, normal P5 starting RB vision), and some ability to burst through a hole -- no matter how infrequently they might appear.  I think that Harbaugh and Co, are one it, and this is a merely a hangover from the down times of late.

About last night:

100% different "feel" to the team from an organizational standpoint -- no "derps," no clock issues, no WTF?!? -- just too many costly mistakes. 

Guys used to go insane when Hoke would say, "we didn't execute ..." and would point to all the "little basic things" (like counting to 11) that his teams couldn't do.  Last night was a real "we didn't execute ..." game.  Guys were in position to make plays, they just didn't.  The game was very winnable, and I for one am pleased that we can already see significant improvement in the preparedness and organization of the team.

I've not posted anything for a long time, so I apologize for the rambling.  Any thoughts?

Go Blue!