I'm starting to get the feeling that for a number of reasons MSU's running game is becoming more and more dependent on the large power back (the bigger the better). It's been a couple of years since a speed back had some success at MSU -- Edwin Baker had a good year as a sophomore, running for 1200 yards, but then struggled as a junior, while LeVeon Bell emerged.
The struggles of the passing game haven't helped, but in my mind, the biggest problem is the long term struggle to build an elite o-line. Of course, over the last few years, there have been several key injuries to the o-line and the Spartans have struggled to win recruiting battles for elite recruits. But the bottom line is that the Spartan o-lines have struggled to open holes for speed backs. Even a relatively good running back like Edwin Baker struggled. And last year, we saw the problem hit a new low. The running game became dangerously dependent on Bell's ability to make something out of nothing, usually after he had already been hit in the backfield.
Well, this is not a recipe for consistent offensive success. So either the o-lines start to quickly improve, or the Spartans need to absolutely make certain that they recruit a big back in every class. This should be the best o-line under Dantonio, so maybe we'll see the return of the speed back this fall -- of course, the results of the Spring practices raise concerns about the effectiveness of the o-line and speed backs.
That leaves us with the "big backs" solution. Unfortunately, the coaches don't seem to have been really focused on this solution. They seem to have been thinking that Bell would stay, and perhaps because of this, they really did not recruit anyone to replace him. They do have 2 larger backs coming in the fall (Delton Williams and Gerald Holmes), but neither of these guys is really a power back in the mold of Bell. The biggest mistake the coaches made was taking only one back in the 2013 class (Nick Tompkins) who is clearly not a power back.
Perhaps the only real power back on the roster will be Riley Bullough. He clearly can do the job. But it's a shame to have him on offense when he probably should be on defense.
Don't get me wrong, I like speed backs and I think they can succeed in a "thunder and lightning" scheme, where you have the power back soften up the defense and then let the speed back try to break a long one. But the problem is that the Spartans are kind of uncertain about who their "thunder" back will be. More importantly, I think the Spartans need to have more of a plan. If they are going to have a "thunder and lightning" scheme, then they need to make sure they have the players to run it, especially the power back. In my mind, they need to be going for really big backs. I'm talking about guys as big as Jehuu Caulcrick (250 lbs.) and Bell (237 lbs.).
No need to panic. The coaches do seem to have figured these things out. They are trying to get Gerald Owens (240 lbs.) to join the 2014 class. Unfortunately, Owens is getting a lot of attention, so he may be difficult to get. In any case, if they can't get Owens, I hope they don't give up looking for the big backs. They need at least one in every class, in my humble opinion.
No comments:
Post a Comment