The jury is still out - Drake Johnson did not race as he is in track preparing for Big Ten indoor track championships next weekend. a few other fast guys weren't their either. Drake and Chris have raced many times in practice and Drake wins in the flat speed races. Don't know if Drake and Long have raced, but Drake is faster than Chris. maybe after track season we can see that race on here too!
I disagree with your assessment, but you are entitled to your opinion. I guess we will have to wait and see what happens on the field and how it all shakes out. I watched Drake play at Pioneer for a couple of years, and I think he is legit. Time will tell. I do agree with coaches talking doesnt mean a lot, and sometimes its just a smoke screen. But the great thing about football, is you cant hide on the field play - this is my opinion as an OLD football coach. I like the physical way Johnson runs the ball, and think that is what M has to get back to. I believe with 8 scholarship RB's on the roster at the beginning of the year, the decision was probably made pretty early to RS him. After plays at all in BIg Ten game, his RS is lost, so im not so sure later in the year he didnt develop as much or more than the backs we saw. Even so, the production out of what we had was not exceptional. Sometimes the RS is because the coaches want a 5 year player and not because they arent good enough to crack the lineup, particularly later in the season. Im sure Kyle K was "good enough", but they choose to save him and half the very talented freshman class this year, which was smart. But i dont think it reflects the kids ability, talent and what type of football player they will become for the U of M.
And yes, I do not post often, but I read very often.
Drake Johnson RS freshman next year is getting a lot of buzz, and he was a beast in HS. Now in the system for a year, seems ready to carry the rock. Im surprised he seems to be always overlooked on the blogs. Everyone can only speak on DG, who hasnt even committed, and will not be in Spring workouts. He will have very short window to learn the offense even if he does committ. The kids on the roster have a much better chance of becoming the starter. I think the only reason Drake didnt play this year, is because they wanted to save his eligibility. Now has 4 years and is now up to 6'1 and 213 lbs. Reports by Sam Webb from florida say the coaches really like his growth and his ability in the open field. Apparently they havent discounted him, as the blogs have, preferring to go straight to the 5 star "maybe" recruit. Will Campbell was a 5 star recruit. Thomas Rawls and Justice Hayes were 4 stars. Stars dont mean anything when you get on the field. Kyle Kalis is a 5 star, and he also RS this year. This kid is hungry, and has moved up the depth chart the hard way, by working on scout team and impressing the coaches going up against Michigans starting Defense. I would not count him out of the mix...
Its amazing to me that no one mentions Drake Johnson as a possible RB contributor next year, when Hoke & Co have been floating his name out there as having had great after season practices, and florida bowl practices, etc. Kid is big AND fast AND physical. He ran for almost 3000 yards his senior year in HS, much more then either DeVeon Smith or Derrick Green. He was the ESPN Midwest All American RB and has has a full year in the system. Another note is that Hoke said he prepared them for the MSU game and Leveon Bell. Bell got 68 yards that game. Guess he did pretty good on the scout team. Scout team starters on offense go against Michigans STARTING defense, so he got great practice this year to prepare him for next year. The starting offense goes against SCOUT team defense. Personnally, I thnk Drake got a great shot at significant PT. He is no slouch. I think DeVeon Smith is a nice prospect, but will probably RS next year. And quite frankly, Derrick Green looks more like fullback than a tailback to me. He doesnt seem to have any wiggle. He doesnt pick up his knees when he runs, so he gets triped up all the time. He doesnt have any runs over 40 yards, and is caught from behind frequently...this spells fullback to me. Drake was a track champion so he has breakaway speed, and from all accounts this year, he is becoming more and more physical tailback. I think the diamond in the rough is already on campus....
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Drake Johnson, class of 2012 was completely left off the list ???
I disagree with your assessment, but you are entitled to your opinion. I guess we will have to wait and see what happens on the field and how it all shakes out. I watched Drake play at Pioneer for a couple of years, and I think he is legit. Time will tell. I do agree with coaches talking doesnt mean a lot, and sometimes its just a smoke screen. But the great thing about football, is you cant hide on the field play - this is my opinion as an OLD football coach. I like the physical way Johnson runs the ball, and think that is what M has to get back to. I believe with 8 scholarship RB's on the roster at the beginning of the year, the decision was probably made pretty early to RS him. After plays at all in BIg Ten game, his RS is lost, so im not so sure later in the year he didnt develop as much or more than the backs we saw. Even so, the production out of what we had was not exceptional. Sometimes the RS is because the coaches want a 5 year player and not because they arent good enough to crack the lineup, particularly later in the season. Im sure Kyle K was "good enough", but they choose to save him and half the very talented freshman class this year, which was smart. But i dont think it reflects the kids ability, talent and what type of football player they will become for the U of M.
And yes, I do not post often, but I read very often.
Drake Johnson RS freshman next year is getting a lot of buzz, and he was a beast in HS. Now in the system for a year, seems ready to carry the rock. Im surprised he seems to be always overlooked on the blogs. Everyone can only speak on DG, who hasnt even committed, and will not be in Spring workouts. He will have very short window to learn the offense even if he does committ. The kids on the roster have a much better chance of becoming the starter. I think the only reason Drake didnt play this year, is because they wanted to save his eligibility. Now has 4 years and is now up to 6'1 and 213 lbs. Reports by Sam Webb from florida say the coaches really like his growth and his ability in the open field. Apparently they havent discounted him, as the blogs have, preferring to go straight to the 5 star "maybe" recruit. Will Campbell was a 5 star recruit. Thomas Rawls and Justice Hayes were 4 stars. Stars dont mean anything when you get on the field. Kyle Kalis is a 5 star, and he also RS this year. This kid is hungry, and has moved up the depth chart the hard way, by working on scout team and impressing the coaches going up against Michigans starting Defense. I would not count him out of the mix...
Just my opinion.
Its amazing to me that no one mentions Drake Johnson as a possible RB contributor next year, when Hoke & Co have been floating his name out there as having had great after season practices, and florida bowl practices, etc. Kid is big AND fast AND physical. He ran for almost 3000 yards his senior year in HS, much more then either DeVeon Smith or Derrick Green. He was the ESPN Midwest All American RB and has has a full year in the system. Another note is that Hoke said he prepared them for the MSU game and Leveon Bell. Bell got 68 yards that game. Guess he did pretty good on the scout team. Scout team starters on offense go against Michigans STARTING defense, so he got great practice this year to prepare him for next year. The starting offense goes against SCOUT team defense. Personnally, I thnk Drake got a great shot at significant PT. He is no slouch. I think DeVeon Smith is a nice prospect, but will probably RS next year. And quite frankly, Derrick Green looks more like fullback than a tailback to me. He doesnt seem to have any wiggle. He doesnt pick up his knees when he runs, so he gets triped up all the time. He doesnt have any runs over 40 yards, and is caught from behind frequently...this spells fullback to me. Drake was a track champion so he has breakaway speed, and from all accounts this year, he is becoming more and more physical tailback. I think the diamond in the rough is already on campus....
any thoughts??