Pierre Strong - Will We Offer Him? (SDSt lean)

[whosiskid]

I have noticed in Richard's weekly summary of the stats of prospects that Pierre Strong has put up some really impressive numbers. I think there was one game where he had something like 250 yards on 8 carries, and every week he seems to have had really good games. So I went and watched his film footage on Hudl. Very impressive! He reminds me a lot in style of McFadden, both vices and virtues. That is, he is extremely fast (faster than the 4.45 he lists on his videos) and tends, like DMac did, to use his speed to run at spots (I always considered Darren to be a geometrical runner, in that he knew if he could get to a particular spot before anyone did, he could beat everyone for a TD - a lot of backs cut a lot and do a lot of change of direction, whereas Darren looks like he is running in barely broken straight lines - I hope I'm making sense here) and runs almost completely upright. In the footage he doesn't run up the middle much, but he seems capable of breaking tackles, so maybe this is the decision of the coach). He lines up all over the place, probably to confuse the defense. He often is the lone back behidn the QB, but sometimes lines up in the slot, and sometimes even as a WR. He breaks a lot of long runs.

There is no question that he is a great high school running back, but I wonder if any Division I offers would be at WR. There are three reasons for this. First, he is an exceptionally fine receiver. He makes some really fine catches in his highlight reel and he simply overpowers (and outruns) the defensive backs. I could easily imagine him as a big play WR at the next level. Second, he really does run completely upright like Darren did, and I'm sure they would try to correct that at the next level. But instead they could move him to WR, which would just eliminate the problem. And third, while he doesn't look small on the field, he was listed as 6'1, 180. Now, that was as a sophomore. He might easily be at 200 or 205 by the time he graduates HS, but if he is still a tad on the thin side, he might do better as WR than taking a beating at RB.

I'll confess that one reason I'm interested in Strong is that I attended McClellan way, way back (graduated 1972 - we were state champs, though I didn't play football). I'm not aware of many or any kids who ever went to Fayetteville. When I was at McClellan we had J. H Williams and David Bettis who went to ASU for basketball, but I don't know of anyone who even made it to Jonesboro in football, though this is probably my ignorance. Anyway, McClellan has not been much of a power in football in a while. But Pierre Strong looks like an exceptionally fine player to me.

I'd be surprised if he didn't get some Division One offers, though that presumes that he is OK in the classroom.

Does anyone know any more about him than this? Could he end up in Fayetteville? And if so, does anyone know if Arkansas would be more interested in him as a RB or WR?

[ErieHog]

As far as I have seen, Memphis is the only D1 program to have shown interest in him to date.

Mind, that's very dated info.

[Pig in the Pokey]

I have noticed in Richard's weekly summary of the stats of prospects that Pierre Strong has put up some really impressive numbers. I think there was one game where he had something like 250 yards on 8 carries, and every week he seems to have had really good games. So I went and watched his film footage on Hudl. Very impressive! He reminds me a lot in style of McFadden, both vices and virtues. That is, he is extremely fast (faster than the 4.45 he lists on his videos) and tends, like DMac did, to use his speed to run at spots (I always considered Darren to be a geometrical runner, in that he knew if he could get to a particular spot before anyone did, he could beat everyone for a TD - a lot of backs cut a lot and do a lot of change of direction, whereas Darren looks like he is running in barely broken straight lines - I hope I'm making sense here) and runs almost completely upright. In the footage he doesn't run up the middle much, but he seems capable of breaking tackles, so maybe this is the decision of the coach). He lines up all over the place, probably to confuse the defense. He often is the lone back behidn the QB, but sometimes lines up in the slot, and sometimes even as a WR. He breaks a lot of long runs.

There is no question that he is a great high school running back, but I wonder if any Division I offers would be at WR. There are three reasons for this. First, he is an exceptionally fine receiver. He makes some really fine catches in his highlight reel and he simply overpowers (and outruns) the defensive backs. I could easily imagine him as a big play WR at the next level. Second, he really does run completely upright like Darren did, and I'm sure they would try to correct that at the next level. But instead they could move him to WR, which would just eliminate the problem. And third, while he doesn't look small on the field, he was listed as 6'1, 180. Now, that was as a sophomore. He might easily be at 200 or 205 by the time he graduates HS, but if he is still a tad on the thin side, he might do better as WR than taking a beating at RB.

I'll confess that one reason I'm interested in Strong is that I attended McClellan way, way back (graduated 1972 - we were state champs, though I didn't play football). I'm not aware of many or any kids who ever went to Fayetteville. When I was at McClellan we had J. H Williams and David Bettis who went to ASU for basketball, but I don't know of anyone who even made it to Jonesboro in football, though this is probably my ignorance. Anyway, McClellan has not been much of a power in football in a while. But Pierre Strong looks like an exceptionally fine player to me.

I'd be surprised if he didn't get some Division One offers, though that presumes that he is OK in the classroom.

Does anyone know any more about him than this? Could he end up in Fayetteville? And if so, does anyone know if Arkansas would be more interested in him as a RB or WR?

any relation to Charlie Strong?

[PGTIGERHOG]

David Hines quarterbacked the McClellan state championship and went to A-State.  Think he played on a 10-0 team for them either his junior or senior year. 

McClellan also produced Bobby King and Kasey Keuttle who played at Arkansas and Tavie Hampton who played at Ok St.

[whosiskid]

David Hines quarterbacked the McClellan state championship and went to A-State.  Think he played on a 10-0 team for them either his junior or senior year. 

McClellan also produced Bobby King and Kasey Keuttle who played at Arkansas and Tavie Hampton who played at Ok St.

I went to school with David. We ran exactly the same speed on the track team. It surprised me when he got a shock at the NFL, albeit briefly, because I really didn't think I was fast enough for the NFL, so I doubted that he was. He was kind of a jerk. Definitely on my list of kids I knew in HS I never want to see again. Maybe he became a better person after high school. He played defensive back at ASU for three seasons and then played QB his senior year. Led the NCAA in TDs.

[flagstaffhog]

Didn't LR McClellan produce Keith Jackson jr., and another 1 or 2 players for the Hogs? Seems like I remember a deep snapper from there too..
Bobby King, Tavie Hampton, and Kasey Kettle all played on the same d-line togther, although Kasey Kettle graduated a year later. All 3 were great players who took care of business in the class room too.

[whosiskid]

Didn't LR McClellan produce Keith Jackson jr., and another 1 or 2 players for the Hogs? Seems like I remember a deep snapper from there too..
Bobby King, Tavie Hampton, and Kasey Kettle all played on the same d-line togther, although Kasey Kettle graduated a year later. All 3 were great players who took care of business in the class room too.

I don't think Keith Jackson Jr. went there. I think the others were all after my time and when I was living elsewhere and not following the Hogs quite as closely.

I'm not quite sure why McClellan has been so spectacularly unproductive in athletics. It was not an academic powerhouse when I was there. I had very high test scores but was completely uninspired or motivated to do anything in the class room, and I think that was typical of almost all the kids there. I mean, we elected a kid senior class president who went on to go to prison for thirty-something counts of rape. I've always considered my McClellan years as the bleakest of my life, though I suppose a lot of kids feel that way about high school. Sadly, I'm not in contact with a single person I went to school with.

[immahog]

Yes Keith jackson Jr was from McClellan. Pierre Strong is a good back an He doesn't even know it. He plays the game with Ease but still so raw. Reggie Arnold (former McClellan & stAte RB). Is going to be working with him over the summer.

[Peter Porker]

Wait, so he's faster than most NFL runningbacks? Ook.

[ricepig]

Wait, so he's faster than most NFL runningbacks? Ook.

Sure man, didn't you put a stopwatch on him in his highlights? I'm pretty sure that's the standard.

[Peter Porker]

I'm not trying to knock Pierre. He's clearly a really good football player. He ran track last season. He ran the 200 amd 400 sprints. Here's where he ranks among 2017 kids in the 200.

[Deep Shoat]

Wait, so he's faster than most NFL runningbacks? Ook.

I'm sure you are aware of this, but most NFL RB's pack on extra pounds and actually slow down when they hit the league.  Without doing so, they don't last more than a season or three.

And DMac was faster than most NFL RB's in HS, too.  It isn't like it's unheard of. 

[Peter Porker]

I'm sure you are aware of this, but most NFL RB's pack on extra pounds and actually slow down when they hit the league.  Without doing so, they don't last more than a season or three.

And DMac was faster than most NFL RB's in HS, too.  It isn't like it's unheard of.

They also grow from boys to men and should get faster with strength and conditioning they get.


Makes me wonder why there are no 16 year olds winning the 100m in the Olympics....

[mhuff]

David Hines quarterbacked the McClellan state championship and went to A-State.  Think he played on a 10-0 team for them either his junior or senior year. 

McClellan also produced Bobby King and Kasey Keuttle who played at Arkansas and Tavie Hampton who played at Ok St.

1975.   10-0

[whosiskid]

As far as speed goes, if you don't pack on the pounds, you get faster and faster until about age 24. You can keep that speed for a few years if you are careful with your weight, which most Olympians are.

As far as Strong's times in the 200 and 400, those are entirely different races. It is a question of stamina and most kids don't have it. Strong seems way too big to be an ideal 200 and 400 guy. You have to hit near your top speed and hold it for 400 meters. Really, really fast guys sometimes will run faster in the second 100 meters of a 200 (like Michael Johnson and Ursain Bolt), but not all sprinters can do that. It all has to do with the percentage of fast twitch versus slow twitch muscles. Strong is plenty fast on a football field. If we don't offer him, it won't be because of speed. I don't know what his grades are like, though.

He had yet another great game this past Friday. 18 carries for 218 and 3 TDs. Actually that isn't quite as good as most of his games.

[Peter Porker]

As far as speed goes, if you don't pack on the pounds, you get faster and faster until about age 24. You can keep that speed for a few years if you are careful with your weight, which most Olympians are.

As far as Strong's times in the 200 and 400, those are entirely different races. It is a question of stamina and most kids don't have it. Strong seems way too big to be an ideal 200 and 400 guy. You have to hit near your top speed and hold it for 400 meters. Really, really fast guys sometimes will run faster in the second 100 meters of a 200 (like Michael Johnson and Ursain Bolt), but not all sprinters can do that. It all has to do with the percentage of fast twitch versus slow twitch muscles. Strong is plenty fast on a football field. If we don't offer him, it won't be because of speed. I don't know what his grades are like, though.

He had yet another great game this past Friday. 18 carries for 218 and 3 TDs. Actually that isn't quite as good as most of his games.

If someone can run at an elite speed (better than 4.45 is elite) over 40 yards, then they'll more than likely be elite at the 100m and 200m. I'll give him a pass on the 400m time. I looked at his profile and it says he's 185 lbs. That's not too big to be an elite sprinter.

I brought this young man up to someone that knows Little Rock athletics and he said he wouldn't be surprised if Strong ran a 4.8-4.9.

[tophawg19]

don't think it's possible to post numbers like that if you run a 4.9 . you would get run down on every play

[Peter Porker]

don't think it's possible to post numbers like that if you run a 4.9 . you would get run down on every play

Not if your competition is slower.


Seriously, how many high school kids do y'all think actually run a 4.6 or better?

[Peter Porker]

Jeff Demps is listed as running the 40 in 4.26 seconds.
The difference between 4.26 and "faster than 4.45" is about a stride.

Jeff Demps has a 100m time of 10.01 and a 200m time of 20.64.

[Kenny Hawgins]

I'm sure you are aware of this, but most NFL RB's pack on extra pounds and actually slow down when they hit the league.  Without doing so, they don't last more than a season or three.

And DMac was faster than most NFL RB's in HS, too.  It isn't like it's unheard of. 

That's one of the crazier things I've seen in a while.  I don't know where you came across this info but, unless you're looking for a laugh, steer clear of it.

[ricepig]

Not if your competition is slower.


Seriously, how many high school kids do y'all think actually run a 4.6 or better?

Why, all of them.......if you look at their recruiting pages, lol.

[Oklahawg]

TLDR ... but all I know is my gut says maybe.

Thanks for bringing something to the thread.

[Peter Porker]

Why, all of them.......if you look at their recruiting pages, lol.

You got that right and I get it. Perception is if you don't run a 4.4 you're not elite and if you run a 4.7 you're slow.

Maybe I have a different perspective on it because I'm around track a lot, but know this people, "faster than 4.45" is elite. I don't mean it's elite for a high schooler. I mean it's elite for a college kid, for a pro, for a human.

[Ft Lake Hog]

I officiated a McClellan game earlier this season. I saw him break 2 long runs in the first half. I would bet money he is not a 4.9 guy. He may not be 4.45, but he dang sure isn't 4.9.

[whosiskid]

Whatever his speed, one thing to notice is that he never seems to get pulled down from behind. If he was as slow as some for some reason want him to be he occasionally would have someone run him down. Instead, he seems to always be pulling away. I mean, week after week he has games where he has absurd per carry averages. 18 for 218 may have pulled his average per carry down. He had a 12 yard per carry average last friday. In his best game he had over 250 yards on only 8 carries, for a 31 yard a carry average. No slowpoke could do that.

But the thing is, he keeps on doing this. Every week he has a big game. He and TJ Hammond have ridiculous stats every week.

What I would like to see him do is go to a camp at Arkansas, see what he can do up close.

[Ft Lake Hog]

Our crew works games all over the state and he is the best I have seen in person this year, including the young man at LR Christian. Not as big as the guy at LRC but a better back, in my opinion.

[Peter Porker]

Whatever his speed, one thing to notice is that he never seems to get pulled down from behind. If he was as slow as some for some reason want him to be he occasionally would have someone run him down. Instead, he seems to always be pulling away. I mean, week after week he has games where he has absurd per carry averages. 18 for 218 may have pulled his average per carry down. He had a 12 yard per carry average last friday. In his best game he had over 250 yards on only 8 carries, for a 31 yard a carry average. No slowpoke could do that.

But the thing is, he keeps on doing this. Every week he has a big game. He and TJ Hammond have ridiculous stats every week.

What I would like to see him do is go to a camp at Arkansas, see what he can do up close.

The whole point of the matter is you said he was "faster than 4.45" and I tried to explain to you how ridiculous that is. I haven't seen him in person. I have seen his track times. The 200m is a sprint. It's not long distance. If you can run "faster than a 4.45" then you'll run a very good 200m time, unless you're out of shape. I do wonder, why he didn't run the 100m?

[Peter Porker]

I want to reiterate what I said earlier. Pierre is clearly a very good football player. He's had a lot of success and I'm hopeful he continues to play at a high level at the next level. He may even be the best football player in the state.

My issue was with the "faster than 4.45" comment.

[RazorPiggie]

Ahh the resident track coach lol.

[Peter Porker]

Ahh the resident track coach lol.

Thank you for your contribution to the discussion.

[RazorPiggie]

Thank you for your contribution to the discussion.

Thank you for telling us how fast someone isn't in every other thread.

[Peter Porker]

Thank you for telling us how fast someone isn't in every other thread.

If that's what you've got out of this thread then I've failed you. I'm sorry.

[RazorPiggie]

If that's what you've got out of this thread then I've failed you. I'm sorry.

You're not the only one. Don't get so down on yourself.

[whosiskid]

I don't think the comment about being faster than 4.45 is all that important, partly because none of the speeds that players list turn out to be true. Well, some do, like Knile Davis, but some don't, like Joe Adams. But even though Joe wasn't as fast as we thought, he was fast on the field. You hear the expression "football fast". Some top sprinters turn out not to be "football fast." Some do, like Bob Hayes, or football & track guys, like OJ Simpson and Gale Sayers. So let's just strike out my comment on what his actual time is because I don't think it is that important.

Ft Lake Hog's comment seem correct to me. Strong looks better to me than Damarea Crockett does on film.

By the way, anyone noticed that on the film he wore #5?

I guess my main point is that I really hope we offer this kid. Yahoo says his GPA is 3.0, so I would think his test scores would be OK. The only thing that concerns me is how high he runs. He is nearly straight up, which would be a problem in the SEC. Darren did as well, but he was just so fast it didn't matter. Though I did notice on Sunday that he runs lower now in the NFL. But Strong really catches the ball well. In the stats that RD lists he always seems to have 2 to 4 catches a game, usually for good yardage. Either way, I do hope we offer the kid.

[ricepig]

Hopefully he camps this summer and they get a good chance to evaluate him, that will be his best shot at an offer.

[whosiskid]

Hopefully he camps this summer and they get a good chance to evaluate him, that will be his best shot at an offer.

Agreed. I do think one of the Hog coaches dropped by his school. I could be wrong about that, but if I remember correctly one of the reasons I first took notice of Strong was reading that a coach visited McClellan during the bye week. Like I said, I could be wrong. Though I really started taking notice from Richard's weekly updates where he noted what kids had done the previous Friday. Strong's stats are just downright silly. I would really like to see some season totals on him. I think MaxPreps has them, but I don't want to subscribe to that service, though that is the site with the most video. In fact, they have video highlights from all of his games, but you have to be subscriber to see them.

[ricepig]

Agreed. I do think one of the Hog coaches dropped by his school. I could be wrong about that, but if I remember correctly one of the reasons I first took notice of Strong was reading that a coach visited McClellan during the bye week. Like I said, I could be wrong. Though I really started taking notice from Richard's weekly updates where he noted what kids had done the previous Friday. Strong's stats are just downright silly. I would really like to see some season totals on him. I think MaxPreps has them, but I don't want to subscribe to that service, though that is the site with the most video. In fact, they have video highlights from all of his games, but you have to be subscriber to see them.

You don't have to subscribe, just sign up.

[whosiskid]

You don't have to subscribe, just sign up.

Thanks for that. They used to be subscription, but I guess they weren't getting enough subscribers so they because a free site. Really rough video, but at least you can find a lot of video on a lot of players. I watched a lot of Strong's and you have to love his versatility. He seems to be a really nice blocker. Usually they include one or two of his blocking plays in addition to his running plays. Against Sheridan he had to have over 300 yards rushing, unless some of the highlights were called back. He had two TD runs for over 90 yards each, and at least 3 or 4 other decent runs.

My favorite play was, I think, against Jacksonville, where the ball on the handoff got lost in his towel, so that he inadvertently was hiding the ball. A lot of the defensive players shifted over to the QB, thinking he had kept the ball. Funny play.

The one huge difference between these McClellan Lions and the ones of my day is the size of the offensive line (pun intended). Our biggest guy was 190 and played offensive tackle. I swear a couple of the kids playing now have to be pushing 300. They weren't particularly quick but against smaller high school kids they blocked well enough against the run. Strong does read the defenses really well, and often seems to hit the right hole. Even though my high school senior year we were undefeated and state champs, this team would have destroyed ours. They are just too huge. But that is true all across the country. My sophomore year were were state champs in basketball, and our center was 6'3, though the best player was Poppy Washington. But James (Poppy) was 6['1 and the second tallest player in the rotation. Man, kids have just gotten so big. Jerry Kramer was a HoF guard for the Green Bay Packers and generally regarded as one of the best offensive linemen of all time, and just weighed 255. He couldn't start today for most college teams. Maybe 50 years from now they will all weigh 400 pounds.

[whosiskid]

I am not watching the Pulaski Academy / McClellan game tonight in the playoffs, but 247 lists the tweets by a guy named Jeremy Muck who I guess writes for the Democrat-Gazette. Prior to the start of the game he wrote that Strong had 2,122 yards rushing for the season, which was about what I thought he had, and had scored 28 TDs. He didn't say what his per carry average was, but I think it is about  15 yards per carry.

In the game, PA leads McClellan  35-30 at the end of three quarters. Strong has at least 2 TDs and a 51 yard TD run. He also fumbled once, but a teammate picked it up and carried it into the endzone.

[ricepig]

I am not watching the Pulaski Academy / McClellan game tonight in the playoffs, but 247 lists the tweets by a guy named Jeremy Muck who I guess writes for the Democrat-Gazette. Prior to the start of the game he wrote that Strong had 2,122 yards rushing for the season, which was about what I thought he had, and had scored 28 TDs. He didn't say what his per carry average was, but I think it is about  15 yards per carry.

In the game, PA leads McClellan  35-30 at the end of three quarters. Strong has at least 2 TDs and a 51 yard TD run. He also fumbled once, but a teammate picked it up and carried it into the endzone.

You don't read the local paper and it's sports section?

[whosiskid]

You don't read the local paper and it's sports section?

No. I listen to Public Radio and read NY Times online for me news, and that's about all. I never watch local news shows either.

[ricepig]

No. I listen to Public Radio and read NY Times online for me news, and that's about all. I never watch local news shows either.

Well, that explains a lot.

[Pig in the Pokey]

Well, that explains a lot.

Lord, you guys..

Pierre is a solid player. I hope he joins us as a walk-on.

[ricepig]

Lord, you guys..

Pierre is a solid player. I hope he joins us as a walk-on.

He's a 2017 guy, we've yet to give any in-state offers to my knowledge.

[Pig in the Pokey]

He's a 2017 guy, we've yet to give any in-state offers to my knowledge.

Well, hells bells. Facepalm. In that case, he may very well get an offer. Kid plays like a Senior.

[ricepig]

Well, hells bells. Facepalm. In that case, he may very well get an offer. Kid plays like a Senior.

Yeah, no prob. I wasn't sure what his classification was, had to look it up.

http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/recruiting/player-Pierre-Strong-186112

[LA Football fan]

Pierre is a playmaker.  All D1 schools want playmakers.  He is fluid, fast, and elusive.  He will get an offer if his grades are good to go and it sounds like they are.  I suspect an offer will be made sooner rather than later.   He is the type athlete that can play numerous positions and be a difference maker.  Kick return, punt return, wr, slot, rb.  He has the physical tools to be effective in any of those roles on offense.  Looks like he is a little timid inside the tackles but who wouldn't be with the size of high school lineman these days.  The question is does he want to play rb at the college level or be willing to play outside.  He may not make the cut as a rb for the Hogs but seems to be well qualified right now as a slot receiver/wr/special teams player.   A very good looking athlete.  Needs to bulk up some but not too much.  He won't be lacking for D1 offers come this time next year.

[FATHAWG08]

Didn't LR McClellan produce Keith Jackson jr., and another 1 or 2 players for the Hogs? Seems like I remember a deep snapper from there too..
Bobby King, Tavie Hampton, and Kasey Kettle all played on the same d-line togther, although Kasey Kettle graduated a year later. All 3 were great players who took care of business in the class room too.

Corey Nichols played for McCellan they got beat by the Zebras in the State Finals.

[whosiskid]

He will get an offer if his grades are good to go and it sounds like they are.  I suspect an offer will be made sooner rather than later.

He is a solid B student according to an article I read from earlier in the season. Not a Rhodes scholar, but should be able to get into most schools.

I don't see why he couldn't play running back for the Hogs. He ended up with over 2400 rushing yards which is absolutely amazing. 30 TDs. I think he could end up around 205 by the time he hit campus. He is about the size of Felix Jones.

He runs behind a very, very big but really slow offensive line. He has great vision and reads holes well, but he doesn't run up the middle because few of the plays run by McClellan send him up the middle. But he rushing average is around 12 to 15 yards a carry, so with that kind of success you can see why they keep sending him to the outside.

I want to know more about the Pulaski Academy QB. 5,000 passing yards in his career but only a sophomore. Some fine QB targets instate. I expect Taylor Powell to get an offer from Arkansas and Conor Noland from Greenwood is someone else we will probably recruit . . . unless the kid from PA is better. Noland already has an offer from UCLA as a sophomore and Oregon seems close to offering (the main 247 writer for Oregon thinks Noland will be the Ducks main QB target in 2018). It would be bizarre if two schools that good would go after an instate kid (though I know he moved here) but we'd have no interest.

OK, right after writing that paragraph I checked MaxPreps for info on Layne Hatcher, the QB for Pulaski Academy. Small kid. 5'10, 165. If he grows 3 inches maybe Arkansas would be interested. But Noland is already 6'2, 185. Noland could grow to 6'3 or 6'4. Hatcher will probably end up too short. PA has a really prolific RB, but he is really, really small. 5'7, 150. Kid must be fast as a bug. But obviously not a prospect for the Hogs, unless he came as a walk on.

One kid I wish we'd extend a preferred walk on to is Tre Bruce. I know he has some offers from the military academies and LA-Monroe, but he looks like one of those kids who just helps you win. We'd probably look at him as a WR, but he is pretty versatile, having played QB, RB and WR for PA. Decent size, but the question mark is his speed. Not a terribly fast kid, but I really think speed is overrated. Kenneth Dixon didn't go to Arkansas because we didn't like his 40 time. Yet he'll graduate from LA Tech with an absurd number of TDs.