@orion said:

I never understood the thinking of turning Duke into a WR.  Fortunately, Dorsey went out and got 'real' WR's.

Probably said the same thing about Bobby Mitchell... ...

Didn't need to turn him into one... he already had the tools. Just needed to use him as one. Better than him getting splinters in his ass.

Great hands + ability to adjust to the ball + best in the open field + strength (< Average for a RB; > average for a WR)

@flugel said:

I'm gonna get myself in trouble here but I thought Johnson looked better than Hunt (who doesn't need to be sharp until November).

they were planning on giving hunt the ball close to 20 times, that didnt last long..not sure why. Johnson looked like the #2 back behind chubb.

@flugel said:

I'm gonna get myself in trouble here but I thought Johnson looked better than Hunt (who doesn't need to be sharp until November).

The good news is between Johnson and Hilliard, it looks like they can both play well in the offense and on STs if given the chance.  We'll be okay.

How many times did Hunt run the ball?  Once or twice is all I can recall.

@gumby73 said:

D'Ernest Johnson also did KO & Punt returns at South Fla..and As the ACC watcher ? this guy got late touches with some nice burst..hope to see more.. why are we looking for another FB? a 6'2" 233'er that can run 4.37  https://caneswarning.com/2019/03/25/miami-hurricanes-pro-day-early-analysis-trayone-gray-has-blazing-40/       i don't think we keep one? but we may, beef up a FB on PS?

Nice job with that Gumbs!  I read this thread from back to front so I didn't realize you already took care of where where Johnson played college ball. I thought Gray broke some tackles and moved the pile pretty well against Washington.  If he can blaze at that size like you show above - he might stick around especially if he's good on STs.  I'll have to pay more attention to how well he blocks.

Another thing he has going for him is the appreciation our FO (Eliot Wolf and Alonzo Highsmith in particular) has for the U as the inventory of camp bodies from that program clearly illustrates. 

The good news is between Johnson and Hilliard, it looks like they can both play well in the offense and on STs if given the chance.  We'll be okay.

@domcucch1994 said:

the other Johnson looking pretty solid today

He did indeed!    He played right here in Tampa at the USF just like Marlon Mack did once upon a time...

@domcucch1994 said:

the other Johnson looking pretty solid today

The way Hilliard played last week, he may have helped himself by his efforts(ie not playing) this week.  

I agree Johnson looked good

@medicineman said:

Not sure he would of been as good as Duke would of been as a split end.

Agree with this... I always felt Duke was underutilized in this role... especially in 2017 when our WR corps was nothing to brag about.

Now? Really is no need for him in that role.

@icecube said:

Wes Hills

Did you say Wes Hillis?

@gumby73 said:

why are we looking for another FB? a 6'2" 233'er that can run 4.37  https://caneswarning.com/2019/03/25/miami-hurricanes-pro-day-early-analysis-trayone-gray-has-blazing-40/

Yeah.  I WOULD like to see more of that guy.  He had 2 carries for 16 yards. (#43)

@tour2ma said:

Possible, but that's depends more upon how D'Ernest "The Other" Johnson continues to show. He had a nice little Game 1... if it continues then any vet additions can be put off until after final cuts. 

D'Ernest Johnson also did KO & Punt returns at South Fla..and As the ACC watcher ? this guy got late touches with some nice burst..hope to see more.. why are we looking for another FB? a 6'2" 233'er that can run 4.37  https://caneswarning.com/2019/03/25/miami-hurricanes-pro-day-early-analysis-trayone-gray-has-blazing-40/       i don't think we keep one? but we may, beef up a FB on PS?

@tour2ma said:

any vet additions can be put off until after final cuts. Even into the season

...what He said.

We signed the guys that we have for a reason.  We have to see them enough to be sure about them....one way or the other.

@jcam222 said:

I’d say Dorsey brings in a vet soon. I’d keep an eye out for Charkandrick West. 

Possible, but that's depends more upon how D'Ernest "The Other" Johnson continues to show. He had a nice little Game 1... if it continues then any vet additions can be put off until after final cuts. Even into the season if we have three healthy backs rostered.

@clevfan4life said:

1. i think he's solid. God forbid something happens to chubb i think he'll be serviceable for a couple games till hunt arrives.
2. Teams are not going to stack the box at all against the air show bakers gonna put on....so RB isnt going to be a heavy feature

1. Agree.... the difference in Hilliard's performance with the 1's vs with the 2's was noticable.
2. While I agree that we will be more of a "pass to set up the run" team... rather than the old school vice versa... our success rests largely upon  being able to run effectively when we do run. And in the end with (hopefully) the need to secure late leads and chew up clock we will end up being close to a 50/50 pass/run team

@texasag1969 said:

So are we going to be watching who gets cut elsewhere or hits someone's PS? Or do we stick with him through 8 games? The key will be how he is doing/improving on a daily basis on the practice field.

BTW I just saw Orchard sack the QB for Miami in watching the replay of their game against the Falcons.

I have often wondered why Orchard wasn't kept by Cleveland OR why he wasn't immediately scooped up by another team. He seemed to get to the QB.