This.Would be a good fit and near home
It drives a lot of decisions for these young men, far beyond other issues of football.
#Wan'dale for example.
This.Would be a good fit and near home
Somehow, I cant see Yant in the duck-r role.
I hear what you are saying. I try not to overanalyze too much with it for where my opinion lies. Just looking at the surface with the facts we know, he was on portal watch for me (before his coach came) because he was healthy all last year, had less carries than a guy like Scott III who was injured, and when our starter went down we moved Robinson to RB and didn't insert him. That's before you have Ervin and Stepp on the roster for this year, Scott III returns, and if Morrison/Thompkins can be healthy. Even walk-ons like Yant, Harris, and Jewett are getting more run. Say all that and then remember he sat out the entire spring so he didn't do anything to help his cause and I would say he's 5th at best heading into fall camp entering year 3 with first year guys in front of him.He may be in trouble for playing time, but it's really hard to tell right now. Nobody has really separated themselves yet, so he probably has at least a puncher's chance.
I agree that RB is typically a position where you probably know what you have within the first couple of years, so maybe he's not going to break through. Then again, we had Mills entrenched as our #1, and when he was banged up we seemed hellbent on using Robinson. I don't know the reasons behind that, especially because he wasn't a particularly effective running back.
But that's why I'm saying Robinson's departure might be good for a guy like Johnson. It'll be up to him to take advantage of it. If he doesn't, so be it. I just think it's a little early to predict a transfer this spring. Could it happen? Sure... we've all seen stranger things. I hope he sticks it out, though.
Mostly "yes," but some "It depends," would be my response: it depends so much on offensive scheme, personnel, and formation.So to clear things up for us slow minded people who grew up with Split End, flanker, and wingback. The Duck R seems similar to the wingback of yesteryear (johnny rodgers?) and the Duck z would be a flanker(not on the line-but could be in the slot instead of outside like say...well Tim Brown, or smallish wideout who could get jammed too easily).
Mostly "yes," but some "It depends," would be my response: it depends so much on offensive scheme, personnel, and formation.
In most current offenses, the Y is the TE, and the X is the split bend. Since almost nobody runs 3-RB offenses anymore, the 3rd WR is usually called the Z, though he could be either a WB/FL in Osborne's offense, a Slot-WR in a 2-Wide, or a do-it-all chess piece in offenses that run multiple formations with the same personnel, e.g. Julian Edelman, Wes Welker, Percy Harvin, Rondale Moore, et al. If you haven't coached or played a lot of football, It's actually a good game-watching strategy for fans to find and follow the Z when trying to understand what went right/wrong on almost any big play. He's the guy who most often goes in motion as he's not lined up on the Line of Scrimmage, and both the QB and OC are watching how defenses line up and match up against him to figure out where their best matchups will be.
The XYZ system came out of the West Coast offense as they almost always lined up in 21 Personnel, which meant 2 RBs and 1 TE. With 5 OL + a QB, that left 2 WRs. If a team kept the 2 RBs but either flexed out the TE or had 2 Split-Ends, it was a bit more complicated, but Y still worked to cover everybody.... But what do we call the 4th guy in a 4-WR formation when we drop a RB? This is where the Duck-R comes in for Frost and Nebraska.
Mouse Davis and the Run-and-Shoot was the first popular offense with 4 WRs and only 1 RB. It was mostly considered a gadget offense, so it didn't really have much effect on the terms and names for any other offenses. It was the rise of Dennis Erickson's single-RB offense in the late 80s and the rise of the Air Raid in the late 90s that made it an almost universal problem for naming that 4th guy, especially when/if he moved around a lot in different formations. If he was usually moving back and forth between TE and a bigger WB who mostly blocked but occasionally caught passes, John Robinson and the Rams had called that guy (Mike Guman) an H, and in some places that stuck when they began sliding him out farther. Since W was the most logical choice to use when added to XYZ--yet I'm not aware of anybody using it--I assume that it was too complicated to use that since we already had a "W" in WR and WB, though it still makes the most sense to me. In offenses that used some 2RB formations and some 4-WR formations, R was used to designate the guy who moved back and forth. I think that this was common in the Pacific Northwest (which is where all but the Air Raid were born), so it makes sense that Chip Kelly at Oregon would call that guy the Duck-R. Since Frost learned it there, it stuck in his offense all of the way until now.
Guys like Wan'Dale and Will Nixon were recruited specifically for that position, though there's no reason why the Duck-R couldn't be bigger. Faster is always better, but he can be a slightly smaller RB as he'll almost always be teamed up with a bigger RB when he's in the backfield, so the bigger back can do the more traditional FB role while the Duck-R can be the speed back for counters and outside runs. Ideally, the Duck-R is enough of a running threat that defenses keep a LB on the field to help against the run, which makes the ideal mismatch when a LB has to cover him in space as a Slot-WR.
Toure is a Z. Nixon and Alante are Duck-Rs. Rahmir is a RB who can play Duck-R.
I agree duck-r doesnt seem as important now, but someone in another thread was talking going I formation every once in awhile, as an offspeed curve ball, and so too is the duck-r position.If we are worried about the duck-r in 2021 then we don't have a winning season.
Our future hopes are tied to a down hill running game, controlled passing game with 70+ percent completions to our big receivers both WR and TE corps.
We finally have a O-line that can compete in the BiG that can make the above happen, so no more scheming, just fundamental football, combined with hopefully much improved special teams play and 6-8 wins is doable.
Do it the old fashion way, "earn it" (E F Hutton flash back ).
Duck-r is NOT required to make that happen, in fact takes away from the changed philosophy that is needed and outlined above.
GBR
One of the only things I like about the portal is that in pre-portal days, if you had a schollie player who just wasn't going to play, you were "stuck" with him (not trying to sound mean here) until he left. Think of the Bo recruited DT named Guy. Played like 4 snaps in 5 years. Ate up a schollie for 5 years (maybe it was 4, he may have left after 4 years). Now? They bail, opening up that schollie. But again, that is one of the only things I like about it. Why? Cause for every "Guy" that leaves via the portal, you have a WanDale or a Spielman that leave, too. Plus, like has been mentioned previously, it allows players to give up on themselves during a tough time. I am 3rd string and am behind 2 younger players? Screw that, portal time. In the old days where you worked your rear off to prove to the coaches, and, more importantly, to yourself, that you could play. If you still don't play or play much, at least you found it in yourself to gut through a tough tough and build character. Call it "intestinal fortification" building. Of course, some players properly use the portal, like when a coaching change is made and a totally different scheme is brought in that you don't fit, then that's another reason I like the portal for the players. But for most, it is all about instant gratification.The portal is really a sign of the times imo. I like flexibility when there is coaching change or philosophy change. These kids caught up in those situations should have an out. As for how the portal is today, I'm not a fan. Shows no intestinal fortitude and a lack of commitment to tuck tail and run. These kids should sit. Grad transfers I'm all for. Clearly they took care of business and deserve the opportunity to make one last move since it may help them get their masters.
Yes people will always transfer. If they don’t make kids sit out for a year, it won’t stop. W O a penalty, kids will leave at will. It’s simple, if they have to sit out a year, it will slow, if not, it will continue.I think starting next year it will slow down a bit once a bunch of kids get left out without a scholarship. I think this year is unique because of Covid and it being the first year of no restrictions. Guys will always transfer, I just don't think it will be this many.
Yes people will always transfer. If they don’t make kids sit out for a year, it won’t stop. W O a penalty, kids will leave at will. It’s simple, if they have to sit out a year, it will slow, if not, it will continue.
I said in another thread that as more and more kids fail to get picked up. Kids will start to think before entering the portal. Right now it is still the shiny new dime of hope.Colleges are just going to have to adapt. Kids will be coming and going yearly. Might be something to that. I’m not sure how that’s going to pan out. All I know is what we’re seeing. Use them, or they will leave.
Maybe, but if you’re a power 5 recruit, you will find a landing spot at an FCS, or lower division school most often, at minimum. And if you do suck that bad, and are that dumb to give up your scholarship somewhere to try to go somewhere else, maybe you deserve to have none available. Consequences. As for the lower tier kids, you could be right. As long as there is no penalty, it will continue.I said in another thread that as more and more kids fail to get picked up. Kids will start to think before entering the portal. Right now it is still the shiny new dime of hope.