@solon16 said:

Jon Dwyer is a Shonn Greene-ish back.

@riffer-x said:

TRU DAT...he has sanders cut on a dime and acceleration

@solon16 said:

He'll be a true junior this fall. The MJD comparison is interesting. Not sure he'll ever have as stocky a build as Jones Drew, but both have very good balance, which allows them to play bigger than they actually are.

In fact, Hunter's ability to absorb hits without falling turfward was what led me to the mini-Knowshon Moreno comparison. Though, on a subconscious level, I'm sure the number 24 also had a lot to do with it.

Aloysius said:

He's a mini-Knowshon Moreno. He may not be an early round guy, but I think he's got a future in the NFL.

Thanks Aloy...I think he will be as good as Maurice Jones Drew. I think that he was a true freshman last year and dont know if he is eligible to come out...may be wrong...

@oldcrow1945 said:

Keiland Williams. 5'11" and 230 lbs.

He's definitely a guy to watch. At times, he's appeared ready to harness the potential that earned him 5-star recruit status. Hopefully, the added motivation of earning bigtime draft dollars will help him play closer to his ability level this year.

Charles Scott is a real beast. Should be interesting to see if a poor 40 time damages his draft stock; he reportedly ran a 4.66 coming out of high school.

@shepwrite said:

He could very well go round one if he gains 850 yards or so.

I'm not all that high on Johnson. Based on what we've seen thus far, nfldraftscout's 3rd/4th round projection seems about right, with him just as likely to slide as he is to rise. He wasn't graded higher than a mid-round choice by National or BLESTO.

I like Joe McKnight and Damian Williams (WR) a lot more. Both are underclassmen, but I think they're stronger candidates to be selected in the first round of next year's draft.

EDIT: Here's another clip:

There are some things to like about Johnson: he's got a nice straight-line burst, and he'll bowl over defenders who try to tackle him high. But he's not a true power back, and I think he loses a lot of speed when he's forced to change directions.

He may be an early round guy, but I haven't seen it so far. I guess we'll find out more this year.

@solon16 said:

Anyone excited about the rb class next year? Would rather have had shonne Green....

I didn't know they already played the 2009 season. Why don't we revisit this subject when it's necessary? Let's give this season a reasonable chance before the doom and gloom. Training camp hasn't even started.

Didn't we draft a RB (James Davis) that had a GOOD junior year but not as solid of a senior year? MAYBE that will bring back the motivation that produced the GOOD junior year. Speaking of Green, if you went by what went on before his last season - you wouldn't have been excited about seeing what he had last year. ALOT had to happen to right that ship. That's why they actually PLAY the games.

Last I knew, we were training Josh Cribbs to compete for RB rotation with Lewis, Davis and Harrison. I didn't see ANYONE predicting Steve Slaton would exceed rotation reps or producing better numbers than McFadden or Mendenhall or Stewart or Felix Jones. In fact, I didn't see very MANY people predicting Matt Forte and Chris Johnson were going to emerge as THE BEST rookie RBs in 2008.

This MIGHT become a much stronger RB competition for us than people think. The NEW staff looks more open minded. It looked to me like Jamal Lewis found the same DEAD legs Droughns found as the 2nd season here unfolded from running into cement walls too many times. I KNOW Lewis still rushed for over 1000 yards in 16 games BUT it didn't carry the same effect he had in 2007 if we're being honest. We've got the CHANGE of pace guys to reduce reps and wear and tear in Lewis. They just need a chance. Giving Harrison 3 touches a game because he couldn't BLOCK was like saying Barry Sanders should have never started because he wasn't a BLOCKER. Absurd. Marshall Faulk wasn't a BLOCKER on poass plays - he was used as a guy that BURIED via the short passes. He had a 1000 yards receiving (in addition to over 1000 rushing) so I'm guessing he wasn't blocking.

- Tom F.

@solon16 said:

Anyone excited about the rb class next year? Would rather have had shonne Green....

The guy from Clemson, Spiller, is supposed to be a top notch prospect. Though, didn't we just take his Clemson running mate in this draft, James Davis, who is supposed to be close to Spiller? One can often find a diamond in the rough in the later rounds of the draft at RB a la Terrel Davis etc. Maybe Davis is that piece of crystallized coal.

He's a mini-Knowshon Moreno. He may not be an early round guy, but I think he's got a future in the NFL.

@oldcrow1945 said:

That may be overstating things. According to Blount, he showed up to the winter quarter late, then missed workouts because of an illness (we discussed it here). That's different from admitting that he quit going to class.

I think he's a complete stud as well. But I don't think he'd ever be considered by Mangini. I don't see him being the high character and motivated player that Mangini wants.

You could be right. But I probably would have told you the same thing about Coye Francies. Or said that Mangini wouldn't give a guy like Abe Elam a shot.

Aloysius said:

With Jeremiah Johnson gone, Blount's in line to get a ton of carries. Hopefully, we'll see more performances like this one.

Even if Harrison and Davis impress this year, I'd love to have Blount come in and close out games for us. Worn out defenders won't be able to bring this guy down.

It was more than that Aloy. The guy admitted he quit going to class and wasn't working out. That from Blounts own lips.

That is much more than a simple "Don't slack off".

I think he's a complete stud as well. But I don't think he'd ever be considered by Mangini. I don't see him being the high character and motivated player that Mangini wants.

Aloysius said:

We'll see how he looks against a Georgia defense that returns 7 starters.

With Jeremiah Johnson gone, Blount's in line to get a ton of carries. Hopefully, we'll see more performances like this one.

Even if Harrison and Davis impress this year, I'd love to have Blount come in and close out games for us. Worn out defenders won't be able to bring this guy down.

@oldcrow1945 said:

Hunter had his left knee scoped in early December. That could be part of the reason why he wasn't as effective in the bowl game against Oregon.

Aloysius said:

.b]

He sure didn't look very big to me so I just now went to the OSU website. There they actually have him listed at 5'8" and 190 lbs. I don't think he's put much weight on at all.

I think when OSU plays elite teams outside the conference it gives us a better idea where he is at. As I mentioned earlier, Oregon completely shut him down in the bowl game last year and this year he'll get tested right away as they play Georgia to open the year. That will be a fun game to watch!

@oldcrow1945 said:

I hear he's closer to 200 lbs. He weighed 185 lbs. coming out of high school; he's probably added more than five pounds of bulk since then.

Secondly, I trust very little when it comes to offensive stats in the Big 12. No one plays defense in that conference.

You could add that he was running behind two elite run blockers last year in Russell Okung and Brandon Pettigrew. But that doesn't bother me much: from what I've seen, Hunter's the type of back who gets the most out of his opportunities, due to his great vision and being a fall-forward type (despite his diminutive size).

He may get drafted if he comes out early. My guess is the 5th or 6th round.

He'll get drafted, just not sure where. That's going to be a fun offense to watch next year: Okung and Bryant are likely 1st round picks, with Zac Robinson and Hunter's draft status a little more up in the air.

Personally, I think Robinson is a bit overrated. Hunter, on the other hand, deserves a little a more pub.

@jason-j said:

-jj

I'm not sure he's even the best back on the team. Chris Brown looked great while playing for the often injured Murray.

Murray may have first round talent but he has some real durability issues. He also had games where he didn't even average a yard per carry. I know one was against Texas. I think it was Baylor that completely shut him down as well.

It was good to see him gain some weight coming into last year. He needed it. Although he ended this season needing surgery. This is the kind of stuff that will hurt him come draft day.

I don't think he's in the same class as Spiller, Dwyer or Mcnight.

@solon16 said:

As far as the Big 12 is concerned... A couple of ill-timed flukey injuries aside, I think DeMarco Murray has demonstrated that he is a legitimate pro-ready runner. In fact, I'd go so far as to say, he's the most complete back likely to be in next year's draft class.

-jj

@lottsacardinal said:

It better be.... With a New QB and a defensive that lost a load of front seven players, the O-line is going to have to dominate and control games.

It'll be interesting to see how many of those new USC starters on defense will handle a more mature and improved Pryor in the OSU game.

Also interesting in that game will be OSU's experienced D-line against USC's experienced O-line. OSU returns not only all four starters but the entire D-line rotation is back except for Abdullah.

I have a feeling the Buckeyes will go all out and blitz Corps to try and rattle him....If he ends up winning the job ahead of Mustain that is. I heard he is probably in the lead to win the starting job.

What a brilliant move by Mustain.... Leaving Fayetteville for California to sit on the bench

@solon16 said:

You may be rigth Solon but there are two things that worry me about him when it comes to playing on Sundays.... 5'8" and 190 lbs is a very small back for the NFL.

Secondly, I trust very little when it comes to offensive stats in the Big 12. No one plays defense in that conference.

In their Bowl game OSU played a good team in Oregon and the Ducks shut him down. I think he had just over 30 yards in about dozen attempts.

He may get drafted if he comes out early. My guess is the 5th or 6th round.

This will help both Stafon and McKnight.

Keep an eye out for Curtis McNeal this year also. Not eligible until 2012, the early entry freshman was impressive in Spring Ball.

@spectrum said:

I said quite a few times this winter, I'd rather have him than any RB that was in the 2009 draft.

If you haven't seen him play, do yourself a favor and hit up youtube or something. 6'2 240lbs 1000yds and 17tds in a timeshare with Johnson last year.

I love Blount too! I think he has 1st round written all over him. A big athletic RB.

If there is a knock on him it's his dancing a bit at the point of attack. But if he gets to the second level watch out. He's a wrecking ball.

The university isn't saying exactly what happened but it's been reported that it was worse than missing a few classes.

He evidently wasn't going to team meetings or working out as well as missing classes.

He is back now but it is going to hurt him come draft day as more and more teams are focusing on high Character players.

Rey Muauluga was a good example of questionable character hurting draft status.

Blount needs to not have anymore problems and have a monster year. Then convince the various teams at the combine that the suspension wasn't anything serious and that he's a focused football player.

The funny thing about all of this is he's a sociology major.