Our #2 RB in '10
As we know Vincent Smith has the lead to be #1 RB going into next year.Michael Shaw might be penciled in as the #2 but he didn't progress as much as we had hoped this year. Who do you think has the best chance to overtake him between Mike Cox(giggidy), Fitzgerald Toussaint, and Austin White?
November 27th, 2009 at 3:29 PM ^
Don't forget about Dillon Baxter bro. The reason he's considering us so strongly is that he feels he can enroll early and start right away.
November 27th, 2009 at 3:43 PM ^
What? This discussion needs to be limited to who is actually on the team. As of now, I see it as Smith as #1 and Shaw as #2 because they're the only 2 guys that have played against D-1 competition and have experience. Since Smith started in last 2 games and played well, it's reasonable to assume he is #1 guy. Cox, Fitzgerald, and any other EEs can't be judged until we go through spring camp.
November 27th, 2009 at 3:51 PM ^
He should have considered a guy who hasn't even committed yet?
November 27th, 2009 at 4:30 PM ^
Can someone clarify this for me? Where do we actually stand with Baxter? I thought we were still assumed to be a long shot for his signature.
I realize either way that we shouldn't be penciling him in to the depth chart. I'm just wondering.
November 27th, 2009 at 5:01 PM ^
The visit made him think. Rumor has it that he thought about committing while here (the excitement of visits sometimes gets to them, since they're kids and all). He's visiting USC this weekend, which is not good for us, since he loves it there, and is committed there.
It's probably a long shot at this point, but not totally out of the question.
November 27th, 2009 at 8:31 PM ^
If he decommitts from USC, do you think Pete Carroll will ask him what his deal is?
November 27th, 2009 at 5:29 PM ^
Stop calling people "bro."
November 27th, 2009 at 6:34 PM ^
Is "Brah" a better option?
November 27th, 2009 at 6:40 PM ^
What about not using either?
November 27th, 2009 at 8:07 PM ^
my last one
November 27th, 2009 at 9:05 PM ^
The vernacular police! I think Merriam Webster might be hiring...oh wait, they probably aren't uptight enough for you.
November 27th, 2009 at 3:31 PM ^
If I can't pick Mike Shaw as the #2, then I'd go with MC (notice what I did there?). I think MC's got the physical style to complement Vincent's quickness.
I wouldn't count Shaw out yet though - I agree that he hasn't progressed a whole lot, but he's got a couple of advantages over the new guys - he's more physically developed by virtue of his time with Barwis, and he should probably know the playbook pretty well by now.
November 27th, 2009 at 3:41 PM ^
O'Neil Swanson.
Lock the thread.
November 27th, 2009 at 3:43 PM ^
Antonio Bass?
November 27th, 2009 at 3:49 PM ^
Mister Simpson? Isn't he going to be a redshirt Sr. this year?
November 27th, 2009 at 3:53 PM ^
I thought he transferred years ago?
November 27th, 2009 at 4:06 PM ^
yes...an attempt at humor
November 27th, 2009 at 4:04 PM ^
Fitzgerald Toussaint- He has some power and he was a track star in high school too. So he has the speed also.
November 27th, 2009 at 4:20 PM ^
That guy gets tackled behind the LOS 50% of the time
November 27th, 2009 at 4:24 PM ^
I know what you're saying. The problem with Shaw is he doesn't have that "it" factor to get up field and get yards. Too much pussy-footing around in the backfield.
November 28th, 2009 at 11:26 AM ^
And that wouldn't have anything to do with the offensive line, would it?
November 28th, 2009 at 11:40 AM ^
... the other RBs run behind the same O-line and don't seem to get hit behind or at the LOS nearly as often as Shaw does. He might not be as adept as Vincent or the others at finding the holes and cutting up into them before they close.
November 28th, 2009 at 11:45 AM ^
Yeah, they ran behind the same o-line, but it seemed to me like for some reason (most likely coincidence) a much larger number of Shaw's carries ended up being disproportionately of a "JUKE 2 GUYS 3 YARDS DEEP IN THE BACKFIELD!!!!" nature than the others.
November 28th, 2009 at 4:26 PM ^
PLAYER ATT AVG
Smith 48 5.8
Cox 13 8.7
Shaw 42 4.4
November 27th, 2009 at 4:25 PM ^
Let's wait to see who our #1 RB is first.
November 27th, 2009 at 4:27 PM ^
Shaw had a couple impressive runs early in the season. He is fast and pretty elusive. If he can consistently run north and south and be decisive, I wouldn't be surprised if he and V. Smith split the carries relatively evenly.
November 28th, 2009 at 7:00 AM ^
are one smart hombre. I can see RR splitting carries between shaw/smith and then throwing a carry or 2 to Cox/Touisaint.
November 27th, 2009 at 4:28 PM ^
Its amazing how everyone vaulted Smith into super-star status and put Shaw into the scrub category based on how things went down the stretch. Shaw wasnt completely healthy and it showed. In my opinion, the original post is flawed because we dont "know" that Smith is the #1 at all. Smith, Shaw and Fitz will all figure heavily in the mix next fall.
November 27th, 2009 at 4:34 PM ^
Not only by his play but Rich Rod said last year that he wants "11 guys like Odoms" out on the field. V. Smith definetely fits that mold.
Agree with Shaw or Cox getting the nod initially as the #2, but I'm excited to see Gallon (slot guy, but could find playing time as a RB) and Fitz work their way up the depth chart next year.
November 27th, 2009 at 9:08 PM ^
is it really amazing? Usually --and this is only the vast majority of the time, I'll admit-- forecasts are more accurate when you use a larger sample size, so "down the stretch" is preferable. But only ~100% of the time.
November 27th, 2009 at 4:53 PM ^
RB depth chart:
1 V. Smith
2 M. Cox
3 M. Shaw
4 F. Tousaint
Write it down.
In ink, not pencil, b/c that's the way it's going to be. Better yet chisel it in stone. Guarantee it.
November 27th, 2009 at 6:47 PM ^
Someone isn't factoring Paki O'Meera's transfer here.
November 27th, 2009 at 8:05 PM ^
Oh please let it happen. RR + aPAKIlypse = 10 wins and a BCS berth.
November 27th, 2009 at 7:06 PM ^
Well it must not be right, because I don't know of anybody with the last name of Tousaint.
November 27th, 2009 at 7:47 PM ^
Wow, close enough. It's a tough name to spell, I think we all know who he meant.
November 27th, 2009 at 7:52 PM ^
I know, I was more making fun of his idea that he's absolutely right.
November 27th, 2009 at 5:10 PM ^
From watching him play a bit in HS, I am fully convinced that he is a 200+ in "football IQ." He is patient, great at finding holes, even in heavy traffic, and has a good enough first step to take advantage of any running room he does find. Sometimes, he appears to disappear into the line, only to inexplicably come out the other side.
At any rate, it will be fun to watch how it all shakes out next fall.
November 27th, 2009 at 5:16 PM ^
#1 is reserved for deserving receivers and backed by a $500K scholarship endowment from Braylon Edwards.
November 27th, 2009 at 5:50 PM ^
Shaw reminds me a lot of Carlos Brown. He's a burner who goes down easily and doesn't have great vision. He still has a lot of time to develop and improve his strength, balance, and vision but right now Smith appears to have the "it" that Mike Hart had, the ability to make guys miss and get an extra 3-4 yards. I doubt he can move a pile like Mike though.
I think Shaw's north-south speed will be a nice change of pace to Smith's steady juking ability.
November 27th, 2009 at 5:54 PM ^
Shaw doesn't go down easily at all. He's not the most decisive running back, but that kid runs hard.
November 27th, 2009 at 7:44 PM ^
Shaw hasn't been judged fairly, he's been banged up a lot, but I definitely think the kid runs hard. It doesn't help when the opposing D Line has their hands on you before the ball has been handed off cleanly. As seen in the OSU game, the line just hasn't blocked well for him this year.
November 28th, 2009 at 7:04 AM ^
when hes healthy and not getting swallowed in the backfield because the line missed blocks, he is fast, shifty, and doesn't go down to finger tackles like Carlos did. I REALLY like Shaw as a RB in this offense when hes healthy and the OL gets a little better.
November 28th, 2009 at 11:33 AM ^
I'm getting tired of the "Shaw can't break tackles" meme, it's absolutely not fucking true.
November 27th, 2009 at 7:12 PM ^
i heard fitz is a monster. unfortunate he broke his collarbone
November 27th, 2009 at 8:22 PM ^
Don't tase me, bro.
November 28th, 2009 at 8:52 AM ^
Neg-banged for an on-point and humorous reference? All kinds of lame.
November 27th, 2009 at 8:38 PM ^
Next year could very well make 3 years in a row without 1000 yard rusher. Interestingly enough the only other time this has occurred since the 1960's was 96 97 & 98.
November 28th, 2009 at 1:36 PM ^
Our ground game has been humming, and that's without a dominant OL. I don't care if it comes in the form of 10 200 yard rushers.
November 27th, 2009 at 9:43 PM ^
Don't forget about freshman rs jeremy gallon, he might not be a true running back, but could see the field in a dextor mccluster type role(do it all). I remember stevie brown saying that jeremy gallon & cameron gordon were freshman who impressed him the most. Jeremy gallon is going to be a stud. You heard it here 1st.