V. Smith Evaluations

I'm beginning to learn that if there is a 'little guy' who is being bashed, rightly or wrongly, Ziff is the one who stands up for him.  I wonder if he just likes to take a contrary position on any given topic. 

In this case, however, I agree absolutely.  Before his ACL tear, I remember being very excited about Smith.  Last season, when Smith got the ball and got stuffed, it seemed that more often than not it was not his fault.  The best back in the world can't go through a hole that isn't there.  Yes, there were a few times last year when I wished that he was a step faster, but his toughness in running and especially in blocking have been impressive considering the kid is only 5'6" and recently had surgery on an ACL tear.

I feel the same way as the OP about Ezeh, who got some of the same treatment Smith is getting.  OE played through back problems his last couple years and got nothing but grief from the fans. 

Nobody has ever questioned Smith's heart or toughness.  I don't know why you're railing against that aspect.  You're preaching to the choir.  If you find a post where people question his effort, that will be the first I've seen.

People question his skill.  And there is good reason for that.

You're comparing him to Jamie Morris and Mike Hart.  Which is great.  Maybe the comparison will be more apt when Smith averages 5.0 yards a carry like Hart or 5.4 like Morris.  Or when Smith runs for 100 yards against someone other than Delaware State.  Otherwise, I don't think it's out of line for Michigan fans to question the abilities of Smith.

These Smith "Arguments" consistently devolve into two sides that are pretty much saying the same damn thing, but typing too loud to realize it.

I don't think EITHER side feels like he should ideally be the primary running back.

So what's the disagreement?

Everyone here is pretty much saying the exact same things, even those that are arguing. It will work itself out. Maybe he has regained his speed. My only opinion of VSmith right now is that he's a fucking warrior who would go through a bullet to make a play and I'm proud he plays for us. Very excited to see how he's progressed.

Can we put this argument to bed with the consensus opinion of :

"Vinny Smits: Rad Dude. Good blocker and receiver. Has some real limitations too. Hopefully by some combination of his improvement and better alternatives, we have better RB production next year."

And then never talk about it again?

I love the little guy's heart, but if he was truly playing at 70-80% of his physical capacity, I would rather see the young man take his redshirt and come back strong, particularly since he was just a sophomore anyway.  I say that from two perspectives, one being the "he's a young man that has a long life ahead of him and needs to be healthy", and "I'm a crazy Michigan football fan who wants the most effective players on the field".  I didn't always feel like last year's Vincent Smith was that choice, though evidently the coaching staff did not solicit my opinion.

I agree with Mangus. Smith is tough and has heart but just isn't a very good runningback. Go back and watch games of him. How many extra yards does he actually earn? Tackles he breaks? Actually  coverts a 3rd and 1? Many of his quality runs are because of the O-line and respect for Robinson. 

And for people that say "look at him in practice!" It is spring practice. Tacklng is bad in the spring and it is against the 110th ranked defense last year. Everyone did that, even UMass.

He may be for certain plays, but if a lot of plays are "3 yards and a cloud of dust" I think his size won't help when you're running into a pile of 300 pounders.  He may be more effective in some of the spread plays they'll keep where he has room to scoot or as a slot receiver.    The biggest job Borges has is finding plays to fit the talent he has which is why I think we'll have real hybrid offense this year with all sorts of different looks - which could be a real good thing since we all know, as with investing, diversity is key.  The one thing I've always cringed at over the years of watching M football is the predictability.  Keep the D guessing.

I really don't have a horse in this race - none of the RBs have impressed me since Minor, and even that was fleeting.  Smith is probably going to be the de-facto starter over the summer unless Cox somehow proves he can actually stay on the field and produce, not just look great in a uniform.  At this point, though, it is going to take time to get legit backs in this offense, something RR was trying to do as well but never could (he obviously had some chances at the end, but, you know...), and expecting anybody to emerge on the same level of a Hart, Perry, or Thomas is just crazy.  Let the record show, though, that I was there when B.J. Askew was the featured back and UM puttered along fine.  Smith is a hard worker and a good kid by all accounts, and I'm sure he'll put up decent numbers platooning with Cox, Rawls, Hopkins, etc.  But unless he really takes a step forward like Perry did as an upperclassmen, or if he truly was suffering from an injury and the maturation and rehab transforms him into a better player than we saw the past couple of years, I expect him to have a solid season but nothing spectacular. 

Nothing seems to send this board into argumentitiveness like a player with less than 4-star talent who plays with more than 4-star heart. Vincent Smith, however, is hardly Kovacsican in talent. Rather, I think the loss of production last season was due more to where the tackles were coming from (in front of him).

Like Chitown, I formed a strong opinion of him watching his play against Wisconsin and Ohio State late his freshman year. 

He didn't look then like a guy who would get stopped dead on contact with a medium Big Ten linebacker. In fact (after being sprung by one of the best sustained WR blocks I've ever seen) he absorbed an attempt to knock him out of bounds and picked up a few more:

And as for pure Rodriguez-Get-Me-Some-Of-That jackrabbittyness:

And I was a believer.

I don't know if he was playing not 100% last year, but I did seem to notice he was taking tackles head-on, which at his size is going to get him nowhere because physics.

His usefulness seems to be that quick twitch plus acceleration that makes him a tough target to tackle. This was the secret to Hart and Morris too: not electrifying, Denard-like hippity hops but a smooth and effortless small-cut followed by a fast burst of speed that turns a linebacker in his face into a linebacker trying to tackle his ankles. When you saw Hart burrowing for extra yards with two linebackers and a safety on his back, it was strength, yes, but it's also easier to move forward with weight on your back than when you're meeting an object larger than you head-on. The way to turn defenders is to be able to change direction and accelerate. None of these guys would be successful at RAGE.

Since he had it before and didn't have it last year, I'm willing to believe that was injury based. The acceleration that gave him those big plays before just wasn't there. But then again my bias was set in stone in late '09.

Anyway getting that kind of twitch/accelerate back after what he went through may not be possible, and without it Brian's right that he's just a guy. Big Ten linebackers are hardly unathletic themselves.

Another consideration is that we keep seeing practice footage of Vincent Smith in the I-form, but as you can see in the clips above, when he was 100%, he seemed to be the most effective when given space.