Minor running style vs. Hart running style

He's a totally different back than he was last year.  He ran with no authority or vision last year, but somehow he found them over the summer or something.  He's earned himself the starting spot for next year,

I strongly agree with you. Over the past few weeks, Minor has shown a skill set that far exceeded that of previous years. We watched as he, behind a far superior line, sluggishly ran while looking strictly for contact. This year he has shown the ability to run with improved vision and quickness, allowing him to see and hit the hole. He has been able to turn clear loss of yard situations into gains. In addition he has displayed good acceleration and top speed in the open field, which is something neither he nor hart displayed in years prior.

 A lot of his success, I believe must be attributed to Barwis. Although he already had good size as a sophomore, Minor has gained speed without sacrificing power. He is able to hit holes and avoid tacklers in ways that seemed impossible last year. His unique combination of size and speed, I believe, projects him as a possible NFL prospect.

This creates an interesting situation for McGuffie. With Minor running strong, it is likely that McGuffie will see significant time on the bench. I personally would not be mad if McGuffie was redshirted next yr. Although he shows great open field ability and glimpses of brilliance, he is strictly limited by his lack of lower body strength and flaws in technique. For these reasons he has been completely unable to gain yards after the hit, which is something that is necessary to run behind a weak, inexperienced Oline. He runs far too straight up, and is just begging to be layed out. I think a redshirt yr would benefit both UM and McGuffie. The team will gain a yr with McGuffie as the starter, and McGuffie will have time to add some dearly needed size (hopefully 20-25 lbs) so that he can reach his full potential. Either way, I assume Minor will be the starter next yr. I think having Cox and Shaw as his backups is a small sacrifice when weighed against the potential gains.

If they elect not to redshirt McGuffie, expect to see him a lot as a slot reciever. He has been very solid in the pass game thus far. This might give him a better opportunity to get into the open field and make people miss, rather than have him try to get passed the Dline, which he hasnt been consistently been able to do.

I didnt say anything about McGuffie's conditioning. But theres not doubt in my mind that McGuffie has a long way to go if he wants to be the starter. The fact that he gets no yards after contact, and is running behind a pitiful line, makes his potential extremely limited. I dont think that at his current status he is a good fit for our offense. Minor has been successful because he is both elusive and can break tackles. I realize that Barwis is a child eating ultimate fighter, but getting McGuffie to pack on the 20-25 lbs that he prob needs to reach his full potential, and maintain his speed, is a lot to ask. Plus he has a lot of work to do with his technique, which Im pretty stumped as to y it wasnt corrected over the past off season. Anyone who has watched McGuffie run can see that he runs completely straight up and in very straight lines. He is begging to be laid out. Iv watched him get helped off the field several times after big hits, and im not suprised. If the kid wants to have any future, he needs to maintain a lower center of gravity, and run behind his pads.