SEC Stock Report

[Al Boarland]

http://www.espn.com/blog/sec/post/_/id/129215/alabama-stays-the-course-this-spring-but-auburn-is-creeping-up

[Deep Shoat]

The ability of sports writers to forecast a season is a joke.

[Al Boarland]

The ability of sports writers to forecast a season is a joke.

Agreed. I'd put it right up there with fans.

[MuskogeeHogFan]

http://www.espn.com/blog/sec/post/_/id/129215/alabama-stays-the-course-this-spring-but-auburn-is-creeping-up

The same guy wrote an article yesterday saying that RWIII's departure leaves us thin at RB. It hurts, but it doesn't leave us "thin". Just look above at the pinned thread by Mike Irwin on RB depth.

It's the off season. They have to write something. All will be proven on the field in the fall.

[870hogfan]

Devwah Whaley will be great not worried.

[Hawgar The Horrible]

Not sure why the OP doesn't just say CBB sucks, the Hogs suck, and anyone stating otherwise is a homer. Must less time consuming than playing charades all day long.

[LRRandy]

The same guy wrote an article yesterday saying that RWIII's departure leaves us thin at RB. It hurts, but it doesn't leave us "thin". Just look above at the pinned thread by Mike Irwin on RB depth.

It's the off season. They have to write something. All will be proven on the field in the fall.

thin is a pretty good description. Whaley is a very athletic back with great upside but was continually pulled off the field last year for missed assignments. There's less than 700 returning yards from last year total. Bodies may be on the roster but very much is unproven. One of them listed in the article has never been able to stay healthy. Kid yourself all you want. RB position is thin

[ricepig]

thin is a pretty good description. Whaley is a very athletic back with great upside but was continually pulled off the field last year for missed assignments. There's less than 700 returning yards from last year total. Bodies may be on the roster but very much is unproven. One of them listed in the article has never been able to stay healthy. Kid yourself all you want. RB position is thin

We had less returning in 2013 than this, and still ran the ball ok. There's no doubt Rawleigh will be missed greatly, but we have some talent, just unproven.

[MuskogeeHogFan]

thin is a pretty good description. Whaley is a very athletic back with great upside but was continually pulled off the field last year for missed assignments. There's less than 700 returning yards from last year total. Bodies may be on the roster but very much is unproven. One of them listed in the article has never been able to stay healthy. Kid yourself all you want. RB position is thin

I'm not kidding myself at all. We are about in the same position as last year but with more depth.

There is Whaley who I think will get better with more reps. He'll get those now.

A new Williams will step in and I think we will all be pleased with what we see from him. According to the staff (Enos) he has grasped the offense better than anyone of late and knows his blocking assignments and is a hard runner who has better vision than one would expect of a true freshman.

Hammonds is going to see more reps at RB with the opportunity to shift him into the Slot and he has game experience from LY.

Chase Hayden will get a stronger evaluation when he hits campus than he might have otherwise. If everyone stays healthy, I suspect he will still R/S unless he comes in and shows that we simply cannot live without him this season.

And then there is Juan Day who though he hasn't shown much so far at Arkansas, has a chance to get his shot this fall.

Had RWIII not been hurt again I would say that we are in spectacular shape at RB, but with his injury I will say that we are just in good shape at RB with a lot of talent that we can turn to when needed.

[daBoar]

Last year RW3 was proven, except coming off an injury. Whaley was regarded by many as one of the top 5 HS backs in the country.  Hammonds provided contingency. 

Now, Whaley (proven) is our top back.  The new Williams is unproven (except in Spring drills).  Hammonds, still only contingency.  Day; bad legs, not an SEC option.  Hayden, just finished his HS season.

I believe the Hogs were clearly in better shape heading into the 2016 season.  Moreover, RW3 was tremendously resilient last year....until the Spring game (go figure; why wasn't he wearing green?).

[factchecker]

I believe the Hogs were clearly in better shape heading into the 2016 season.  Moreover, RW3 was tremendously resilient last year....until the Spring game (go figure; why wasn't he wearing green?).

You realize we didn't have a spring game..... right?

RWIII was hurt during the final practice during a non-tackle drill.  It was full padded drills not a live contact, tackle, scrimmage.

Did you see the hit or are you talking out of your backside?

[RME]

Last year RW3 was proven, except coming off an injury. Whaley was regarded by many as one of the top 5 HS backs in the country.  Hammonds provided contingency. 

Now, Whaley (proven) is our top back.  The new Williams is unproven (except in Spring drills).  Hammonds, still only contingency.  Day; bad legs, not an SEC option.  Hayden, just finished his HS season.

I believe the Hogs were clearly in better shape heading into the 2016 season.  Moreover, RW3 was tremendously resilient last year....until the Spring game (go figure; why wasn't he wearing green?).

Mike Irwin just wrote that Day had his best spring during his time at Arkansas, FWIW.

[daBoar]

You realize we didn't have a spring game..... right?

RWIII was hurt during the final practice during a non-tackle drill.  It was full padded drills not a live contact, tackle, scrimmage.

Did you see the hit or are you talking out of your backside?

You surmise correctly; the backside. The point is, why was he not wearing green.  We hold out the center, but risk our most important back.  That's the go figure.

[MuskogeeHogFan]

Last year RW3 was proven, except coming off an injury. Whaley was regarded by many as one of the top 5 HS backs in the country.  Hammonds provided contingency. 

Now, Whaley (proven) is our top back.  The new Williams is unproven (except in Spring drills).  Hammonds, still only contingency.  Day; bad legs, not an SEC option.  Hayden, just finished his HS season.

I believe the Hogs were clearly in better shape heading into the 2016 season.  Moreover, RW3 was tremendously resilient last year....until the Spring game (go figure; why wasn't he wearing green?).

Whaley is our current top back with experience.

Enos seems to have more confidence in M. Williams than I have seen him have in any other Frosh RB we have had since he has been here and according to reports, has "gotten it" faster than anyone else. Even the Jr's and Sr's on offense are impressed, but you can remain milk toast if you so choose. He has to prove it on the field in live action, but he is obviously (according to those who should know) well ahead of where Whaley was this same time LY. Not sure about you, but that sounds good to me.

Hammonds was learning last year and even then, he demonstrated moments when he flashed his talent. He'll be more of a regular contributor this year which is why they played him at both WR and RB in the spring. He has big play ability.

Day has been injured a lot but according to the staff, he seems healthy and has had his best spring so far. He'll have his chances, even as a back up.

Chase Hayden is indeed a kid coming directly out of HS and not reporting until next month. But as I said, if everyone stays healthy he will R/S in my opinion, but he is there if needed, giving him time to learn.

[factchecker]

You surmise correctly; the backside. The point is, why was he not wearing green.  We hold out the center, but risk our most important back.  That's the go figure.

So you didn't see the hit? 

Here..... I'll help you out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJib0dYyJ6U

Skip to 1:54 and you will see the hit.  Better yet watch the whole video. You might learn something about this team you are supposedly a fan of.

He wasn't drilled.  He wasn't face-masked.  The contact he made would have been made in a green jersey.  The only other thing we could have done is held him out completely.  Ragnow was held out because he is a senior.  RWIII wore a green jersey all last spring when he came back from the surgery and during the spring game in 2016.  I remember plenty of people bitching about him not getting enough contact back then..... go figure.

[MuskogeeHogFan]

You surmise correctly; the backside. The point is, why was he not wearing green.  We hold out the center, but risk our most important back.  That's the go figure.

It wasn't even a hit, it was incidental contact, a non-incident. If it happened that easily in a non-tackling play, it could have just as easily happened next Fall, but might have had worse consequences for RWIII. If it had to happen, I'm glad it happened when it did and how it did, for him and for the team. They held Ragnow out because they didn't feel like he could learn anything from the process...already as good as he could be. RWIII was a Sophomore with plenty still to learn.

[factchecker]

Last year RW3 was proven, except coming off an injury. Whaley was regarded by many as one of the top 5 HS backs in the country.  Hammonds provided contingency. 

Now, Whaley (proven) is our top back.  The new Williams is unproven (except in Spring drills).  Hammonds, still only contingency.  Day; bad legs, not an SEC option.  Hayden, just finished his HS season.

I believe the Hogs were clearly in better shape heading into the 2016 season.  Moreover, RW3 was tremendously resilient last year....until the Spring game (go figure; why wasn't he wearing green?).

More info for you:

Going into last season our returning production was the following:

Kody Walker (coming off of multiple injuries/surgeries): 394 yards rushing
RWIII (coming off of neck injury/surgery): 254 yard rushing

We lost our leading rusher (Alex Collins - 1577 yards rushing) to the NFL draft.

This season our returning rushers are:

Whaley: 602 yards rushing
Hammonds: 88 yards rushing

We lose our leading rusher (RWIII - 1360 yards rushing) due to career ending injuries.

[daBoar]

It wasn't even a hit, it was incidental contact, a non-incident.

I suspect that's right.  But, I saw enough of RW3 the prior year (pre-Aubie cheap shot) to know that if he were healthy he'd have a great sophomore season. While Whaley has pure speed, he did not demonstrate to e the same running between-the-tackles ability.   I just don't agree with the concept of great depth.  Williams was special; I'm thankful he was able to give 2 seasons, but we've lost a special one.  He's the closest thing to Emmitt Smith I ever saw.

[MuskogeeHogFan]

I suspect that's right.  But, I saw enough of RW3 the prior year (pre-Aubie cheap shot) to know that if he were healthy he'd have a great sophomore season. While Whaley has pure speed, he did not demonstrate to e the same running between-the-tackles ability.   I just don't agree with the concept of great depth.  Williams was special; I'm thankful he was able to give 2 seasons, but we've lost a special one.  He's the closest thing to Emmitt Smith I ever saw.

What did you think of RWIII before his freshman season? Emmitt Smith? Probably not because we just didn't know, despite his potential. That's my whole point, M. Williams may be better than anyone we have had at RB as a Freshman in a long time, or not. We just don't know yet. Juan Day may prove a lot of people wrong. Hammonds will bust some big plays at times. And for now, we just don't know about Chase Hayden, though he comes with a good pedigree.

[Al Boarland]

Not sure why the OP doesn't just say CBB sucks, the Hogs suck, and anyone stating otherwise is a homer. Must less time consuming than playing charades all day long.

I don't think we suck. I don't think we will contend either, but if you have an article stating otherwise I'd love to read it.

I think it's interesting to see what the national media thinks about the Hogs. We were getting a lot of love, but after last season it seems the program/CBB has lost some of its luster. CBB still has every opportunity to change the narrative.

[Bubba's Bruisers]

If you're an outsider, then I'd say the article's assessment of us is fair.  Still get to actually play the games, though.  That's all that matters.

[ricepig]

There will be an article per day, or more, until September.

https://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/sec-football/sec-rankings-based-on-2017-preseason-hype/

[MuskogeeHogFan]

I don't think we suck. I don't think we will contend either, but if you have an article stating otherwise I'd love to read it.

I think it's interesting to see what the national media thinks about the Hogs. We were getting a lot of love, but after last season it seems the program/CBB has lost some of its luster. CBB still has every opportunity to change the narrative.

You know why they are usually negative about our chances? It is because though we tend to produce a lot of NFL Picks each year, we rarely produce the higher end draft picks (talent) like a lot of the other SEC schools. We depend upon overachieving each year  with the talent we have instead of having the higher end talent of a lot of our conference opponents. Over the last 5 years (2013-2017) we have had 21 players drafted (not UDFA), but only 3 of those have been in the 1st through 3rd rounds...the higher end talent.

Who else in the SEC has had 3 or fewer 1st-3rd round draft choices during that time? 3 schools...S. Carolina, Vanderbilt and Kentucky.

[LRRandy]

I'm not kidding myself at all. We are about in the same position as last year but with more depth.

There is Whaley who I think will get better with more reps. He'll get those now.

A new Williams will step in and I think we will all be pleased with what we see from him. According to the staff (Enos) he has grasped the offense better than anyone of late and knows his blocking assignments and is a hard runner who has better vision than one would expect of a true freshman.

Hammonds is going to see more reps at RB with the opportunity to shift him into the Slot and he has game experience from LY.

Chase Hayden will get a stronger evaluation when he hits campus than he might have otherwise. If everyone stays healthy, I suspect he will still R/S unless he comes in and shows that we simply cannot live without him this season.

And then there is Juan Day who though he hasn't shown much so far at Arkansas, has a chance to get his shot this fall.

Had RWIII not been hurt again I would say that we are in spectacular shape at RB, but with his injury I will say that we are just in good shape at RB with a lot of talent that we can turn to when needed.

fair enough. I admittedly don't know much about the incoming players. My assessment of thin relies solely on my perception of the available players that I saw last year. Whaley showed great promise. TJ will hopefully get enough opportunity to show what he can do. ( I saw him too much in HS as my son competed against him). Beyond that I defer to you. Just seemed thin to me. Time will tell.

[bennyl08]

Last year RW3 was proven, except coming off an injury. Whaley was regarded by many as one of the top 5 HS backs in the country.  Hammonds provided contingency. 

Now, Whaley (proven) is our top back.  The new Williams is unproven (except in Spring drills).  Hammonds, still only contingency.  Day; bad legs, not an SEC option.  Hayden, just finished his HS season.

I believe the Hogs were clearly in better shape heading into the 2016 season.  Moreover, RW3 was tremendously resilient last year....until the Spring game (go figure; why wasn't he wearing green?).

Lat year, RW3 was far from proven coming in with something like 300 yards from the year before. Whaley was highly regarded. Walker was our #2 early in the season allowing Whaley more time to learn the offense before being relied on too much. Hammonds was mostly an afterthought.

Now, Whaley is actually proven. Maleek comes in as a highly regarded running back who actually went through spring ball which Whaley did not. Bay provides a similar amount of relief as Walker did later in the season. Hammonds is a bit more experienced. Chase provides a contingency.

Our depth on paper is much better in 2017 at the position than it was in 2016.

[jgphillips3]

We are thin on experience, fine on depth and rich with potential.

[Paul]

I'd feel a lot better with a graduate transfer

[azhog10]

The same guy wrote an article yesterday saying that RWIII's departure leaves us thin at RB. It hurts, but it doesn't leave us "thin". Just look above at the pinned thread by Mike Irwin on RB depth.

It's the off season. They have to write something. All will be proven on the field in the fall.

Are you joking? It leaves us really with one RB that has played significant minutes. Yes it leaves us thin when you lose one of the top rushers in the SEC. I don't care what Irwin wrote, we are thin until others prove themselves.

[azhog10]

Lat year, RW3 was far from proven coming in with something like 300 yards from the year before. Whaley was highly regarded. Walker was our #2 early in the season allowing Whaley more time to learn the offense before being relied on too much. Hammonds was mostly an afterthought.

Now, Whaley is actually proven. Maleek comes in as a highly regarded running back who actually went through spring ball which Whaley did not. Bay provides a similar amount of relief as Walker did later in the season. Hammonds is a bit more experienced. Chase provides a contingency.

Our depth on paper is much better in 2017 at the position than it was in 2016.

Maleek is still unproven, Hammonds spent most of spring as a WR and they have said much won't change. Chase is unproven, Day hasn't played at all due to injury. Yes we are thin. Every college in the nation has 6 or 7 runningbacks. We were a two headed monster at RB. Losing one makes us thin.

[MuskogeeHogFan]

Are you joking? It leaves us really with one RB that has played significant minutes. Yes it leaves us thin when you lose one of the top rushers in the SEC. I don't care what Irwin wrote, we are thin until others prove themselves.

No, I'm really not joking.

[jkstock04]

Are you joking? It leaves us really with one RB that has played significant minutes. Yes it leaves us thin when you lose one of the top rushers in the SEC. I don't care what Irwin wrote, we are thin until others prove themselves.

All you have to do is look back at the Jonathan Williams situation and see how that turned out. Most said we would not miss a beat a running back, they were all dead wrong.

[MuskogeeHogFan]

All you have to do is look back at the Jonathan Williams situation and see how that turned out. Most said we would not miss a beat a running back, they were all dead wrong.

The year we ran for 2565 yards (2015) instead of running for 2834 yards (2014) when J. Williams was healthy? About 21 yards less per game? I don't think anyone is saying that we won't miss RWIII, I just think that in terms of quality back ups (experienced or not) we are in better shape than we have been in the past.

[factchecker]

All you have to do is look back at the Jonathan Williams situation and see how that turned out. Most said we would not miss a beat a running back, they were all dead wrong.

We ran for less yards w/o J-Will and you might argue that we would have beaten Toledo BUT maybe Brandon doesn't turn the corner and become bad-ass B.A. to finish the season.  In the end, we improved from 6-6 (2-6) to 8-5 (5-2) from 2014 to 2015.  Would J-WIll helped us win more games?  I would hope so but I truly believe being short hand forced Brandon to get better.

Nobody can control injuries.  This is why you recruit.  RWIII's retirement might spell doom or it might be the beginning of Devwah's future Heisman campaign.  In the end, the most important factor will be the offensive line.  If they take a step forward then we will win more.

[azhog10]

All you have to do is look back at the Jonathan Williams situation and see how that turned out. Most said we would not miss a beat a running back, they were all dead wrong.

I'm not saying we won't be fine. That's not what saying we are thin means at all. Thin means if Whaley goes down we are in really big trouble. Thin means an injury to one guy and you lose basically everything at that position.

[azhog10]

No, I'm really not joking.

You should be.......

[MuskogeeHogFan]

You should be.......

Some of you guys need to pay attention to the facts. Who did we have returning at RB for the 2016 season?

Kody Walker: 90 carries for 394 yards, 4.4 yards p/carry, 6 TD's.
R. Williams: 56 carries for 254 yards, 4.5 yards p/carry, 1 TD.
J. Day: 4 carries for 17 yards, 4.3 yards p/carry, 0 TD's.

That's what? 150 carries for 648 yards, 4.3 yards p/carry and 7 TD's, split among 3 players.

That is basically it. Who did we have for depth? D. Evans transferred. Alex Collins went to the draft.

We did have Whaley and T.J. Hammonds coming in as true freshmen but neither got the benefit of being here for the spring and only arrived in June.

So there are your RB's for 2016 and keep in mind, everyone was tentative about how RWIII would play coming off a serious surgery.

This year we have:

D. Whaley: 110 carries for 602 yards, 5.5 yards p/carry, 3 TD's.
TJ Hammonds: 15 carries for 88 yards, 5.9 yards p/carry, 1 TD.

As a total that is 125 carries for 690 yards, 5.5 yards p/carry and 4 TD's.

Then we add Maleek Williams who Enos says (he's credible, right?) that Williams is further ahead at this point than any RB that we have had lately and has apparently impressed the staff and his team mates with his knowledge of the offense, his execution, his pass blocking, his vision in making proper cuts and with his toughness in running the ball. Now that isn't me, that is gleaned from reports about the young man. He is going to get some reps.

Day is back for his last season and reportedly has had the best off season and spring since his arrival at Arkansas.

Chase Hayden could be a play maker next year but we will have to wait to see how much he can do immediately at the college level.

So if you pay attention to the facts you can see why I am not joking. We are going to be just fine in the backfield. Five RB's again, but returning a higher per carry average. As always, just pray that we have no serious injuries.

[Dominicanhog]

Some of you guys need to pay attention to the facts. Who did we have returning at RB for the 2016 season?

Kody Walker: 90 carries for 394 yards, 4.4 yards p/carry, 6 TD's.
R. Williams: 56 carries for 254 yards, 4.5 yards p/carry, 1 TD.
J. Day: 4 carries for 17 yards, 4.3 yards p/carry, 0 TD's.

That's what? 150 carries for 648 yards, 4.3 yards p/carry and 7 TD's, split among 3 players.

That is basically it. Who did we have for depth? D. Evans transferred. Alex Collins went to the draft.

We did have Whaley and T.J. Hammonds coming in as true freshmen but neither got the benefit of being here for the spring and only arrived in June.

So there are your RB's for 2016 and keep in mind, everyone was tentative about how RWIII would play coming off a serious surgery.

This year we have:

D. Whaley: 110 carries for 602 yards, 5.5 yards p/carry, 3 TD's.
TJ Hammonds: 15 carries for 88 yards, 5.9 yards p/carry, 1 TD.

As a total that is 125 carries for 690 yards, 5.5 yards p/carry and 4 TD's.

Then we add Maleek Williams who Enos says (he's credible, right?) that Williams is further ahead at this point than any RB that we have had lately and has apparently impressed the staff and his team mates with his knowledge of the offense, his execution, his pass blocking, his vision in making proper cuts and with his toughness in running the ball. Now that isn't me, that is gleaned from reports about the young man. He is going to get some reps.

Day is back for his last season and reportedly has had the best off season and spring since his arrival at Arkansas.

Chase Hayden could be a play maker next year but we will have to wait to see how much he can do immediately at the college level.

So if you pay attention to the facts you can see why I am not joking. We are going to be just fine in the backfield. Five RB's again, but returning a higher per carry average. As always, just pray that we have no serious injuries.

Agree we are in much better shape this year than last..... as you said, we weren't sure RW3 could even go... that said, would hate to see DW get banged up, just to test your hypothesis of "We'll be fine at RB".. I'm not as confident..

[MuskogeeHogFan]

Agree we are in much better shape this year than last..... as you said, we weren't sure RW3 could even go... that said, would hate to see DW get banged up, just to test your hypothesis of "We'll be fine at RB".. I'm not as confident..

Just keep in mind, coming into last season we had high hopes for Whaley and Hammonds, both arrived late and weren't proven products. The shoe is on the other foot this season, but wait, we have another true Freshman coming in who was an early enrollee that the staff has been impressed with in M. Williams and then there is Chase Hayden who is highly regarded. If a healthy Juan Day finally emerged in his Sr. season, that would be icing on the cake.

We all hope for no significant injuries that could turn optimism into disappointment during the season.

[tophawg19]

Some of you guys need to pay attention to the facts. Who did we have returning at RB for the 2016 season?

Kody Walker: 90 carries for 394 yards, 4.4 yards p/carry, 6 TD's.
R. Williams: 56 carries for 254 yards, 4.5 yards p/carry, 1 TD.
J. Day: 4 carries for 17 yards, 4.3 yards p/carry, 0 TD's.

That's what? 150 carries for 648 yards, 4.3 yards p/carry and 7 TD's, split among 3 players.

That is basically it. Who did we have for depth? D. Evans transferred. Alex Collins went to the draft.

We did have Whaley and T.J. Hammonds coming in as true freshmen but neither got the benefit of being here for the spring and only arrived in June.

So there are your RB's for 2016 and keep in mind, everyone was tentative about how RWIII would play coming off a serious surgery.

This year we have:

D. Whaley: 110 carries for 602 yards, 5.5 yards p/carry, 3 TD's.
TJ Hammonds: 15 carries for 88 yards, 5.9 yards p/carry, 1 TD.

As a total that is 125 carries for 690 yards, 5.5 yards p/carry and 4 TD's.

Then we add Maleek Williams who Enos says (he's credible, right?) that Williams is further ahead at this point than any RB that we have had lately and has apparently impressed the staff and his team mates with his knowledge of the offense, his execution, his pass blocking, his vision in making proper cuts and with his toughness in running the ball. Now that isn't me, that is gleaned from reports about the young man. He is going to get some reps.

Day is back for his last season and reportedly has had the best off season and spring since his arrival at Arkansas.

Chase Hayden could be a play maker next year but we will have to wait to see how much he can do immediately at the college level.

So if you pay attention to the facts you can see why I am not joking. We are going to be just fine in the backfield. Five RB's again, but returning a higher per carry average. As always, just pray that we have no serious injuries.

To add to this , both Walker and Rw3 were questionable as to whether they could even play due to injuries . Walker had been hurt often and Williams was coming off a Possible career ending injury . We really weren't sure we even had one healthy RB .

[Dominicanhog]

Just keep in mind, coming into last season we had high hopes for Whaley and Hammonds, both arrived late and weren't proven products. The shoe is on the other foot this season, but wait, we have another true Freshman coming in who was an early enrollee that the staff has been impressed with in M. Williams and then there is Chase Hayden who is highly regarded. If a healthy Juan Day finally emerged in his Sr. season, that would be icing on the cake.

We all hope for no significant injuries that could turn optimism into disappointment during the season.

not as concerned about toting the rock, but more pass pro, route running, pass catching, timing on screens etc.. things that take time to learn... it's not talent.. again, agree we are better off than last year but we were also a bit lucky last year w/o injuries...


Musky, BTW.. and off subject..... I thought of you when I saw Boren's comments the other day, expected to see an old thread resurface, did I miss the discussion?... seems he's hinting OSU will not be a factor, as far as he is concerned...

[RebelW]

Whaley and TJ Hammonds will be a pretty stout backfield.

[LZH]

The RB position a Arkansas is one that no one ever needs to worry about.

[31to6]

Just keep in mind, coming into last season we had high hopes for Whaley and Hammonds, both arrived late and weren't proven products. The shoe is on the other foot this season, but wait, we have another true Freshman coming in who was an early enrollee that the staff has been impressed with in M. Williams and then there is Chase Hayden who is highly regarded. If a healthy Juan Day finally emerged in his Sr. season, that would be icing on the cake.

We all hope for no significant injuries that could turn optimism into disappointment during the season.

The thing we lose with RW III is not talent level. It will likely turn out that at least one of Hammons/Barkley/Hayden proves to be as talented as Rawleigh.

What we are losing is experience and dependability in the running game which means we may take a few games to figure out the rotation.

Not insurmountable, but definitely a blow. Particularly with the TCU game being an early one where a dominant running game could make all the difference.

[Hoggish1]

Writing nonsense is their art form...

[bennyl08]

Maleek is still unproven, Hammonds spent most of spring as a WR and they have said much won't change. Chase is unproven, Day hasn't played at all due to injury. Yes we are thin. Every college in the nation has 6 or 7 runningbacks. We were a two headed monster at RB. Losing one makes us thin.

And water is wet. What does that have to do with my post at all?

[OneTuskOverTheLine™]

I suspect that's right.  But, I saw enough of RW3 the prior year (pre-Aubie cheap shot) to know that if he were healthy he'd have a great sophomore season. While Whaley has pure speed, he did not demonstrate to e the same running between-the-tackles ability.   I just don't agree with the concept of great depth.  Williams was special; I'm thankful he was able to give 2 seasons, but we've lost a special one.  He's the closest thing to Emmitt Smith I ever saw.

His speed is an asset between the tackles too. He doesn't have to break as many tackles or shake as much. He's flat out explosive. The Freshman Williams will be the hammer this year. Will we miss RW3? Hellz yes! Will we suffer? I don't think so. I hope he is able to coach from the field as long as he is here too...

[MuskogeeHogFan]

His speed is an asset between the tackles too. He doesn't have to break as many tackles or shake as much. He's flat out explosive. The Freshman Williams will be the hammer this year. Will we miss RW3? Hellz yes! Will we suffer? I don't think so. I hope he is able to coach from the field as long as he is here too...

If we have a RB having to do a little "shake and bake" before he gets to the LOS we don't have a hole or even a crease. I realize that a lot of the holes that are open are as a result of the RB picking his way to the hole, but Whaley has the speed that when there is a clear hole ahead he hits it at full speed. That's the way that I like to see RB's be able to run the ball. But with our blocking schemes we need a RB that can explode through it (accelerate quickly) when the hole does finally occur and I think that Whaley does possess that ability. We will need both from him this year. The great thing is that he also has soft hands and is a good receiver who picks up significant yardage after the catch in space.

Maleek Williams, from all reports is going to be a "pounder" early on but they say he has breakaway speed as well when he gets an opening. If he demonstrates great ball security, he will make a great one-two punch with Whaley.

[BigE_23]

The same guy wrote an article yesterday saying that RWIII's departure leaves us thin at RB. It hurts, but it doesn't leave us "thin". Just look above at the pinned thread by Mike Irwin on RB depth.

It's the off season. They have to write something. All will be proven on the field in the fall.

I'd say "thin" is quite appropriate. We all know DW can play, there's no denying that. But what's behind him if he goes down? We've got Hammonds who was moved to slot receiver, Juan Day on two bad knees, and a bunch of freshman. If you look at it objectively, that's pretty thin.

[MuskogeeHogFan]

I'd say "thin" is quite appropriate. We all know DW can play, there's no denying that. But what's behind him if he goes down? We've got Hammonds who was moved to slot receiver, Juan Day on two bad knees, and a bunch of freshman. If you look at it objectively, that's pretty thin.

I'm not kidding myself at all. We are about in the same position as last year but with more depth.

There is Whaley who I think will get better with more reps. He'll get those now.

A new Williams will step in and I think we will all be pleased with what we see from him. According to the staff (Enos) he has grasped the offense better than anyone of late and knows his blocking assignments and is a hard runner who has better vision than one would expect of a true freshman.

Hammonds is going to see more reps at RB with the opportunity to shift him into the Slot and he has game experience from LY.

Chase Hayden will get a stronger evaluation when he hits campus than he might have otherwise. If everyone stays healthy, I suspect he will still R/S unless he comes in and shows that we simply cannot live without him this season.

And then there is Juan Day who though he hasn't shown much so far at Arkansas, has a chance to get his shot this fall.

Had RWIII not been hurt again I would say that we are in spectacular shape at RB, but with his injury I will say that we are just in good shape at RB with a lot of talent that we can turn to when needed.

I think we are in better shape this year than last, though I wish RWIII wasn't gone.

[BigE_23]

I think we are in better shape this year than last, though I wish RWIII wasn't gone.

There's definitely reason to be cautiously optimistic. The players coming in could develop into a great stable of backs. I think Whaley is special, I'm excited about what I'm hearing about Williams after this spring, and I hope that Hayden is as good as advertised.

Still a lot of unknowns at the moment...across the board for the whole program.