Guest Aloysius Posted June 26, 2009 Report Share Posted June 26, 2009 Stafon Johnson Joe McKnight C.J. Gable Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Aloysius Posted June 28, 2009 Report Share Posted June 28, 2009 Some thoughts: Stafon Johnson is the most workmanlike of the three backs: he received the most carries last year, but he also had the lowest YPC. He possesses nice size (5'11", 215 lbs.) and reportedly runs a 4.4 40, but he isn't all that elusive in the open field, which was most evident when took over the punt returner role last year. He's more of an inside the tackles runner with good but not great power, which makes him a nice fit at the next level as a complementary back to a more dynamic runner. His stock could rise if he ups his play this year and dominates at the Senior Bowl, but he looks to me like a late 3rd/early 4th round pick. Joe McKnight is the big play guy. Because of that, he's frequently compared to Reggie Bush, but they're actually not all that similar. McKnight lacks Bush's 4.3 speed, but he's a a much more physical runner. Though he has a habit of dancing too much, he rarely is brought down by the first defender, indicating that he could develop into an elite inside/outside runner. What Bush and McKnight do share is the ability to cut & change directions without losing any speed. That should make McKnight a dynamic return man, but he's shown an unfortunate habit of muffing punts. He'll need to win the return job back and show improvement to keep his draft stock high. Though only a junior, McKnight likely will declare after this season. A turf toe injury affected his game last year, so I doubt he'll return as a senior and risk having his stock drop due to injury. Assuming he stays healthy, I think he'll go in the late 1st/early 2nd round. C.J. Gable is the guy who interests me most. He closed out the year by fumbling in back to back games and seems be the one most likely to fall out of the RB rotation. That could lead to him leaving for the NFL early. Though not very explosive, Gable is a very shifty runner who can dance until a hole develops. And for a guy who's only 6'0", 200 lbs., Gable is surprisingly hard to bring down and very good at blitz pickup. Those skills make him a nice option as a committee/3rd down back at the next level and potentially a very good value late in next year's draft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mz. Posted June 29, 2009 Report Share Posted June 29, 2009 What ever happened to Marc Tyler? Wasn't he a top-5 recruit a few years ago???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Aloysius Posted June 30, 2009 Report Share Posted June 30, 2009 Tyler didn't get many carries last year, but he got a lot of work this spring because the guys ahead of him of the depth chart were nursing injuries. He could be a bigger part of the RB rotation this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mz. Posted June 30, 2009 Report Share Posted June 30, 2009 Johnson, McKnight, Gable and Tyler is a deeper backfield than any NFL team currently possesses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Aloysius Posted September 3, 2009 Report Share Posted September 3, 2009 Joe McKnight will start USC's opener at tailback Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dencyguy Posted September 5, 2009 Report Share Posted September 5, 2009 USC makes my mind swim. Having just seen Tennessee (probably) lose a QB recruit--Jesse Scroggins--for next year to USC, I keep wondering how they get so many players every year. I mean, they're five deep at just about every position, and the #5 guy could easily step in and start for most other D-1 schools. One would think that a QB who's faced with the choice between going to a place where he might get a shot to start as a junior or senior and another school that can give him media exposure pretty much right away? If I were a recruit and had the choice, I would go with the school with pretty heavily USC-based coaching staff (Kiffin and Orgeron), a pro-style system, and a chance to start as a sophomore against teams like Florida, Alabama, and LSU. Of course, if the kid is able to establish himself as a starter at USC, he'll get the added exposure of not only being pretty much guaranteed a BCS bowl, but also the advertisement of having beaten out a field of twenty or so top recruits for the job. Dennis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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