Najee or Jabrill?
The football gods grant you ONE wish: Jabrill returning for another year or #NH2AA?
Obviously "both" is the correct answer but you only get 1 (play along). Caveats about comparison being the thief of joy temporarily suspended. Who would make a bigger impact on next year's season?
I caved this week and watched Najee's highlights - he'd be a helluva pick up. That said, 5 Star RBs grow on trees every year. Jabrill is a once in a lifetime talent. Pep coming back would instantly raise our collective expectations for 2017-2018.
I'd be thrilled if either of these scenarios happened IRL, but for conversation's sake, I'm going with Peppers
January 6th, 2017 at 1:51 AM ^
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January 6th, 2017 at 1:52 AM ^
If they're gods, they'll give us Jake Long.
January 6th, 2017 at 1:53 AM ^
I change my answer to this one.
January 6th, 2017 at 9:38 AM ^
Hutch would be nice too
January 6th, 2017 at 1:53 AM ^
Probably Peppers because we already know how well his talents translate to the college game. We know he is a gamechanger at nearly any positon on the field. Najee would probably be great at running back, but we just don't know because he has never taken a snap in college. For that reason, I would take Jabrill back.
January 6th, 2017 at 1:53 AM ^
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January 6th, 2017 at 2:48 AM ^
I don't think defense will ever be a big problem while Don Brown is in charge. We lose a lot of starters, but all that means is that we'll have a top 10 defense instead of a top 3 defense. The success of the offense, on the other hand, hinges on the strength of the offensive line. And we'll be breaking in at least three new starters on what was already a below-average line. So I'm much less confident about the offense than the defense.
Having said that, yeah, I would take a known playmaker over an unproven talent any day of the week, even if it was only for one year
January 6th, 2017 at 2:49 AM ^
If we pick up Filiaga and an OG, then the offense will definitely be better regardless of Najee. I have faith in the d-line, but Tufele is needed for depth and for the future since Lawrence Marshall probably won't totally fill in for Hurst after this season. Corners are fine in Hill and Watson and maybe even Clark. Safeties are good in Kinnel and Hudson. I'm nervous about the linebackers, though, since so much of our schemes operated on spies and nullifying the perimeter (even if it took a while to work fully like it did in Colombus). McCray comes back, so that's good. But, there's little reason to have faith in Bush as slow and short as he is, and Metellus' performance in the Orange Bowl, although impressive in tackling, wasn't anywhere as threatening to FSU as Jabrill would have been. If you give all of these guys a year to develop, then some stars may arise given their potential, and Jabrill would only be there for one year. Even with Jabrill, for a shot at the national championship, we would need to be a top 10 offense and a top 10 defense if not the best like this past year, which seems like a long shot. Given that, I think Najee is the better choice to build for the future.
January 6th, 2017 at 3:31 AM ^
January 6th, 2017 at 5:40 AM ^
January 6th, 2017 at 6:02 AM ^
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January 6th, 2017 at 7:27 AM ^
Was thinking the same thing. Devin Bush is faster than McCray and Gedeon from what I've witnessed and when he gets to where he's going, he makes noise. He's a little firecracker who'll knock you on your ass before you can even look up and run your play.
January 6th, 2017 at 7:57 AM ^
You mean a true freshman, that saw mostly garbage time snaps the second half of the season, didn't scare FSU like Peppers would have? WOWW!!! I would have never thought that... So that sounds like a good reason to send Pep to the NFL and opt for Harris. Got it!
January 6th, 2017 at 8:33 AM ^
I think most everyone is excited about Metullus, but Bush is a future stud at LB. He is one of the guys I most look forward to watching progress. I agree about D-line as far as depth goes, but think our O-line will be better as will are running game. Jabrill back would be huge for Michigan and I believe would have greater impact as only for one year.
January 6th, 2017 at 9:05 AM ^
Was Chris Spielman fast? I don't remember him being a track star.
Not worried about linebacker. Worries about D line (depth, people playing out of position due to lack of depth), secondary, and probably most of all...our inability to run the ball (The ever lingering offense line problem that won't seem to go away). Hoping Drevno and Harbaugh can find some diamonds in the rough.
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January 6th, 2017 at 10:13 AM ^
but it's silly to say you need both a top 10 defense and offense to contend for a title.It would be nice and gives more margin for error, but some years nobody has both.
January 6th, 2017 at 1:54 AM ^
January 6th, 2017 at 6:48 AM ^
January 6th, 2017 at 9:49 AM ^
January 6th, 2017 at 11:31 AM ^
Dude there are so many 5*'s who panned out and played amazingly, but you and others can't get past the 2 or 3 who didn't at UM, who were coached and developed totally differently.
Darren McFadden, Joe McKnight, Jonathan Stewart, CJ Spiller, Demarco Murray, LeSean McCoy and more.
January 6th, 2017 at 12:43 PM ^
Over the holidays, I actually became interested in figuring out how often composite 5*s pan out. I chose to look at the classes of 2010-2013, starting with 2010 since that's the first year all four current recruiting sites (Rivals, Scout, ESPN, and 247) were extant and ending with 2013 since kids in that class have had a full four years in college.
The 247 composite 5* RBs from those classes are:
| 2012 | Johnathan Gray | RB | 0.9973 | Texas |
| 2010 | Michael Dyer | RB | 0.996 | Auburn |
| 2011 | Isaiah Crowell | RB | 0.9958 | Georgia |
| 2011 | Brandon Williams | RB | 0.9921 | Oklahoma |
| 2011 | Malcolm Brown | RB | 0.9916 | Texas |
| 2013 | Thomas Tyner | RB | 0.9899 | Oregon |
| 2013 | Kelvin Taylor | RB | 0.9896 | Florida |
| 2013 | Keith Ford | RB | 0.9873 | Oklahoma |
| 2012 | TJ Yeldon | RB | 0.9867 | Alabama |
| 2013 | Derrick Green | RB | 0.9867 | Michigan |
| 2011 | Savon Huggins | RB | 0.9866 | Rutgers |
| 2012 | Russell Shell | RB | 0.9845 | Pitt |
| 2010 | Lache Seastrunk | RB | 0.9835 | Oregon |
Six of those guys (Savon Huggins, Russell Shell, Lache Seastrunk, Keith Ford, Brandon Williams, and Derrick Green) transferred and finished their careers at a school other than the one at which they started. Two --Michael Dyer and Isaiah Crowell -- had their careers shortened by arrests. None of them were ever an All American. TJ Yeldon, Michael Dyer, and Lache Seastrunk each made first team All-Conference once. Malcolm Brown once made second team All Conference. Isaiah Crowell made All Conference at Alabama State after getting booted from the Georgia team after his arrest.
I suppose everyone has their own expectations for 5* players. Personally, I was surprised by how few of those guys met my own personal expectations for 5* RBs.
January 6th, 2017 at 1:56 AM ^
January 6th, 2017 at 1:57 AM ^
January 6th, 2017 at 2:03 AM ^
If you're neck deep in a pool full of boogers and someone starts throwing poop at you, do you duck?
January 6th, 2017 at 2:07 AM ^
Crunchy winter version?
January 6th, 2017 at 2:11 AM ^
Wintry mix.
January 6th, 2017 at 2:13 AM ^
OP asks: which of two desirable events that aren't certain to happen would you prefer?
You ask:if one undesirable event was happening would you commit further to it to avoid another undesirable event that would be certain otherwise?
I audited a logic class once upon a time but I'm experiencing vague recollections of p and ~p and logical fallacies and all that.
January 6th, 2017 at 2:18 AM ^
This board has been living in the absurd for a few weeks now so I just felt I should contribute.
Godspeed if you're trying to use logic on here between now and signing day.
January 6th, 2017 at 2:08 AM ^
Najee since we only have one year of Peppers left. We aren't winning the national championship most likely next seson and Najee could be a key cog in a 2018 or 2019 title team.
January 6th, 2017 at 2:19 AM ^
I think this is the pragmatic answer.
Three years of Najee could be more beneficial than one year of Jabrill.
However, I'd be happy with the example that Jabrill would be setting by completing his degree and not jumping to the NFL with unfinished business. I remember how happy I was to hear that Taylor Lewan was returning despite receiving a first round draft grade, it'd be nice if that happened more often.
I'd sacrifice three years of Najee if that (refusing to go winless against OSU, refusing to leave without your degree, refusing to go out on a sour note, etc.) became more of a norm.
January 6th, 2017 at 9:48 AM ^
January 6th, 2017 at 2:09 AM ^
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January 6th, 2017 at 2:23 AM ^
According to MMQB/that BS guy who gets fired every time he's on TV the football gods are always angry and don't sound amenable to being tricked.
January 6th, 2017 at 2:20 AM ^
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January 6th, 2017 at 3:08 AM ^
January 6th, 2017 at 3:24 AM ^
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January 6th, 2017 at 9:46 AM ^
January 6th, 2017 at 2:27 AM ^
January 6th, 2017 at 2:36 AM ^
January 6th, 2017 at 4:31 AM ^
January 6th, 2017 at 3:07 AM ^
January 6th, 2017 at 6:49 AM ^
Duh.
January 6th, 2017 at 2:28 AM ^
January 6th, 2017 at 2:29 AM ^
We need his athleticism, leadership and experience for 2017 if we're to have a reasonable chance to win the B1G. I agree and then some with the OP; essentially, RB's a dime a dozen, including Harris. He doesn't have the breakawy speed of a Tyrone Wheatley/Harlan Huckleby, the ability to break tackles like Jamie Morris/Mike Hart, or the combination of the two like Tim Biakabatuka/Tony Boles. Of course, he may turn out to be a world beater but given the two choices, Peppers is the obvious one to go with given that he is at the all-world level.
January 6th, 2017 at 11:39 AM ^
How the heck are 5* #1 overall RBs a dime a dozen?!
January 6th, 2017 at 2:31 AM ^
Who would have a bigger impact on next season? Easy, Jabrill.
But, wait a minute. Are you asking would I rather have Najee or Jabrill for a year (meaning next year) or would I rather have Najee or Jabrill for the rest of their career? That's the big point, cuz there's almost no way in hell Jabrill would return for a 5th year, but Najee would stay until probably his junior year. Given that, Jabrill would help us next year in perhaps a relative down year for the team, but Najee would help progress the program for years to come. So, this comes down to whether or not Jabrill's contribution next year could put us in national championship contention. Without at least Najee, though, I don't see that happening. The only way we have a shot at the national championship is with both Jabrill AND Najee and a lot of luck with o-line recruiting and rapid development of all of them. So, in the long run, I would pick Najee if I had to choose, because otherwise we wouldn't have a shot at the national championship next year anyways.
January 6th, 2017 at 2:38 AM ^