Offensive backfield depth

[fourthandshort]

Well, I don't disagree that the failure to bring a 4-5 year QB from freshman class to a successful career is a weakness in Spack's program, but you also have to give him some credit for "recruiting" Roberson and Davis (anyone else I'm forgetting?) - I mean, they didn't just show up on the curb. Somebody talked them into coming to ISU. Granted, the relative weakness of the incumbents must have looked attractive to them, but they would have gone elsewhere if Spack and/or Beathard (or Dicken and the other guy) weren't halfway decent recruiters.

As for RB depth, I'm seeing on the roster a guy named Tyler Pennington, 5'10, 225 lbs., appears to have transferred in from Arkansas. He's from our Cary-Grove HS. Says he redshirted in 17 at Ark, looks like he was at Ark last year but didn't see the field. Listed as a LB at Ark. Gaudy HS stats, all time Cary-Grove rushing leader and 15 all-time IHSA!. Anyone know anything? Is he a dark horse to provide some depth?

https://www.nwherald.com/2018/12/02...ennington-transferring-from-arkansas/a4l9li4/

Agree Spack is good about finding and attracting FBS talent to plug holes as needed. Just wish we could identify, attract, and develop our QBs out of HS once in a while. We sure figured out the RB position .. in fact so well, we've lost some quality back up RBs who would evebtually start for half the MVFC teams.

Again, Spack is a strong recruiter overall .. just not at QB. Hoping Jefferson or Baltz breaks the trend and proves me wrong.

I don't want to give the impression that I am negative about Coach Spack, Beathard or Davis. I really am not. Coach Spack turned this program around and has done a really good job. Recruiting is pretty solid overall with the exception of QB. Every Coach and every program has weaknesses. It hurts bad when that is at the QB position. I wish nothing but the best for Coach Beathard. Football is his job but he had more important things to be concerned about last season. Davis I hope has a tremendous year and we see D Coordinators pull guys out of the box to help defend against the ISU aerial assault. But if you asked me what I was concerned about for the 2019 season it would be QB play, offensive productivity, receivers who can stretch the field and catch in traffic and the kicking game. Those are the areas the 2018 Redbirds struggled at times. Coach Spack will pull out a defense that will cause the opponents problems...I have no doubts about that. Offense...we will have to see what happens. Robinson will be a marked man. They better have something else in their game plan.

I believe Proctor is going to be a difference maker and will take pressure off Robinson and bring a different dimension to our offense than Marke Smith did ... and I was a big Markel Smith fan (putting aside his divisive antics). And bext thing about Proctor being 2nd string is he they can try him out at KR and maybe even PR ... he could be a league leader. I think his hands might be good enough for PR.

Can you imagine putting Uphoff and Proctor back there on KR ... teams will be pooch kicking to the 25 after couple games. Uphoff avegrage 26.1 ypr (2nd in MVFC) and that was after calling back at least 3 big returns (50+ yards) due to penalties. Only issue is I believe Uphoff (6'3" 195 lbs) is slated to start at Safety this year, so they may not want him on KR as much. But I would love to see Uphoff and Proctor on KR together ... teams would eventually have to avoid them ... which if some of you recall my field position stats in all of our losses would at least solve the "average starting field position" aspect after kicks. I also think RB Proctor and WR Edgar could share time at PR and be a real threat.

 

[ekeyfanclub]

Hard to throw last season when we were in formations with only 1 WR half of the game. Spring game was encouraging because we seemed to go back to spreading the field.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[Total Red]

As for RB depth, I'm seeing on the roster a guy named Tyler Pennington, 5'10, 225 lbs., appears to have transferred in from Arkansas. He's from our Cary-Grove HS. Says he redshirted in 17 at Ark, looks like he was at Ark last year but didn't see the field. Listed as a LB at Ark. Gaudy HS stats, all time Cary-Grove rushing leader and 15 all-time IHSA!. Anyone know anything? Is he a dark horse to provide some depth?

I would say a very dark horse. I believe Pennington is a walk-on as a transfer from Arkansas.
We have some positions where the backups are breathing down the necks of the starters but fullback isn't one of them. McCoyn is option 1, 2 and 3 at the blocking back position. Robinson owes him a watch or something special because McCoyn leads the way on a lot of running plays. If we take the FB off the field we'll likely go with 2 TE's, like Gillum and Taula together. If we do put someone else in the backfield to block I know they've tried using TE Jacob Carl behind the line in more of an H-Back position. Pennington is an option after all of that along with Vesley.

As far as the recruiting of HS QB's goes it's hard because the FBS schools really stockpile the QB position. They take more than they need knowing that the losers can often make good safeties, corners, linebackers, receivers, TE's or whatever. Or they can transfer out and they get the scholarship back. They are a few really good QB's that get overlooked by the FBS but only a few. Baltz could be our next QB. His frame should fill out over time and he could be a big strong-armed passer will some mobility. Or we could bring in another FBS transfer. There will continue to be plenty on the market. Coran Taylor of Peoria was a QB we offered out of HS but couldn't get a grip on. He went to Illinois but he's 3rd string now and he may fall to 4th when the freshmen arrive. Taylor may become available. If not there will be plenty of others. I too like the idea of recruiting QB's out of HS and keeping them 4 or 5 years but in the final analysis you've got to take the best available and like I say the vast majority of the good ones go FBS first.

 

[Sanantoniobird]

Only disagreement with TR ... though I have not seen Bryce Jefferson throw yet, other than HS video .... highly doubt his arm is as suspect as Broadnax at FCS level .... if it is, I'm even more concerned with our HS QB recruitment. Dual threat QBs are helpful .... but they have to be able to throw or they will fail !!!!! I like Broadnax physical skils and how he managed that SDSU game with no real mistakes .... but he is/was not a throwing QB and was never going to be.

It does appear that we emphasize dual threat as a skill at QB, but that's a recent development. Would appreciate corrections if my memory is faulty, but our typical QB for years was of the Winkler/Kolbe skillset. Even Glenn was used as a drop back QB despite a clear ability to run with the football.

So if you're at ISU's place in the football pecking order and want to target dual threat QBs in recruiting you may have to roll the dice on your ability to teach a kid to pass. Roberson had a shortcoming in the short-intermediate passing game, but was such a punishing runner that it didn't matter.

We also appear to be developing an affinity for the FBS transfer approach. Kids that are blocked nowadays want to move to a place where they'll have an opportunity, so our classification as FCS is an advantage.

Robinson will be a senior. It will feel like we've wasted our time with this really skilled RB if we don't make some noise in the playoffs.

When Spack arrived in 2009, he already had 3 good QBs here ... all primarily passers ... RS FR Brown, SO Kiel, and RS FR Lancaster. It was possibly the deepest we were ever at the QB position and Brown would eventually take the job after Kiel suffered injury. All were recruited prior to Spack regime.

As mentioned, and I think it is overlooked in this thread, is the hoarding and stockpiling of the FBS schools with usually the best HS athlete on the field: QB.
So to be fair, if you are going to make this analysis, I think you'd want to look at the same time frame of all MVC schools (not named Dakota). There are a lot of variables that make including NDSU/SDSU problematic, a big one being competition for their best athletes in their 3-4 state area.
QBs aren't just made in a couple of years, and it is probably evident before the first off-season ends if they will need to recruit over the guy. That's why you rarely, if ever see guys transition into QB vs in other position at this level. You can teach anybody a "swim technique" to get into the backfield if they have above average athleticism.

 

[chuckie1980]

Living in east central Illinois...what amazes me is the area's best HS football (plus other sports) graduates tend to do one of these 3 things when choosing college....

-3- choosing Division 2 schools in Missouri or Wisconsin
-2- choosing Division 3 schools in Illinois and planning on playing multiple sports
-1- PWO, Preferred Walk On to the Illini squad

Just an observation.

 

[TIMMY]

Are you kidding me?

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Coming for everything they told me I couldn’t have️ <a href="https://twitter.com/footwork_king1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@footwork_king1</a> <a href="https://t.co/kRNiW42KGs">pic.twitter.com/kRNiW42KGs</a></p>&mdash; Jeff Proctor (@jeffproctor31) <a href="https://twitter.com/jeffproctor31/status/1105884784662859776?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 13, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[fourthandshort]

Are you kidding me?

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Coming for everything they told me I couldn’t have️ <a href="https://twitter.com/footwork_king1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@footwork_king1</a> <a href="https://t.co/kRNiW42KGs">pic.twitter.com/kRNiW42KGs</a></p>&mdash; Jeff Proctor (@jeffproctor31) <a href="https://twitter.com/jeffproctor31/status/1105884784662859776?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 13, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Good find Timmy ... IMO, the thing about Proctor, he's not your typical undersized quick/fast RB who is change of pace but not an every down RB. He can take a hit and break a tackle .. tough as nails runner who doesn't just try to elude tacklers. He will take them on too. Assuming he stays healthy, he will be our feature RB in 2020 and contend for all conference. In meantime for 2019, I'll be surprised if he doesn't get something like 750 yards rushing with 6.0 YPC, plus be decent receiver out of backfield.

This buys our very promoising true FR class of RBs (got 3 with high potential) an extra year to develop. Though you can bet, one will probably burn a redshirt this year and another will be moved to safety or LB within 2 years.

p.s. to coaches, reminder not to force issue as slot receiver ... you tried that with very similar player in Jamal Towns during 2014. Not only did it not work at all, but I think it hurt his confidence as RB. I'm not saying Proctor will not be effective in slot, but if it aint working, cut bait sooner than later !! IMO, Proctor will be all conference level RB in 2020. I just don;t think he is your typical undersized RB .. he can be an effective every down back especially being groomed into system in 2019 to prepare hin for 2020. He will become THE man.

Welcome to ISU ... the RB University of FCS.

 

[Total Red]

Totally agree on Proctor. He proved himself as a RB in the spring. I don't see him getting 750 yards this season (unless Robinson gets injured) but Proctor could be the man at the position in '20 so let's forget that slot receiver stuff.

We have options at the slot. I would start with Grimes. We could also look at Blackman, Nagel or we could go big with a TE in the slot. It's also one of the few places a true freshman could see the field. Back in February I gravitated to Jabari Khepra because he played some high level HS ball in Dallas but the guy with the highlights that caught my attn was Kacper Rutkiewicz. He's undersized but he can catch and run. I'm taking him very seriously.

 

[fourthandshort]

Totally agree on Proctor. He proved himself as a RB in the spring. I don't see him getting 750 yards this season (unless Robinson gets injured) but Proctor could be the man at the position in '20 so let's forget that slot receiver stuff.

We have options at the slot. I would start with Grimes. We could also look at Blackman, Nagel or we could go big with a TE in the slot. It's also one of the few places a true freshman could see the field. Back in February I gravitated to Jabari Khepra because he played some high level HS ball in Dallas but the guy with the highlights that caught my attn was Kacper Rutkiewicz. He's undersized but he can catch and run. I'm taking him very seriously.

Markel Smith finished last season with 560 yards in 10 games, and he was benched a few times for partial or full games. If Spack gets a good feeling about possible playoff run, he will want to spell Robinson more in regular season. But I really like Proctor's running style, especially with most of our OL coming back. On the other hand, if Davis gets on a roll, there will be a little less running.

 

[TIMMY]

Totally agree on Proctor. He proved himself as a RB in the spring. I don't see him getting 750 yards this season (unless Robinson gets injured) but Proctor could be the man at the position in '20 so let's forget that slot receiver stuff.

We have options at the slot. I would start with Grimes. We could also look at Blackman, Nagel or we could go big with a TE in the slot. It's also one of the few places a true freshman could see the field. Back in February I gravitated to Jabari Khepra because he played some high level HS ball in Dallas but the guy with the highlights that caught my attn was Kacper Rutkiewicz. He's undersized but he can catch and run. I'm taking him very seriously.

I like that as one of the options. They can't cover a TE with a nickle or we'll run it down their throats, and it could be a nice coverage mismatch against a safety or LB.

 

[TIMMY]

Kacper as a slot. Impressive.
https://www.hudl.com/video/3/6085974/59b82f8d1763532a70816fcf

 

[TIMMY]

Kacper as a slot. Impressive.

 

[Sanantoniobird]

Kacper as a slot. Impressive.
https://www.hudl.com/video/3/6085974/59b82f8d1763532a70816fcf

Feel like if he can get better on his route running, can't see why he wouldn't see the field this year (at least for 4 games w/o losing a redshirt). He's got the size and possibly some speed.

 

[Redbird15]

Kacper as a slot. Impressive.
https://www.hudl.com/video/3/6085974/59b82f8d1763532a70816fcf

Feel like if he can get better on his route running, can't see why he wouldn't see the field this year (at least for 4 games w/o losing a redshirt). He's got the size and possibly some speed.

What position is Jalen Carr playing ? Do they have him doing special teams ? Slot or WR ? The kid is small but looks very athletic . http://www.hudl.com/v/2AzAKu

 

[Reggie Redbird]

It will be interesting to see if Kevin Brown sees the field, especially if there is a blowout. He got us back into the game against YSU throwing up the tying and go-ahead scores. He still got a R.S. for last season too.

It will be interesting to see what we do with JR if games are out of reach. Do we turn it over to the young guys and save JR’s legs? Or, will there be a push to build JR’s stats and improve his draft stock?

Coprich has 2,274 yds in 2014 and 1,967 yds in 2015. Those could both have been much higher if we gave him carries when games didn’t matter.

 

[fourthandshort]

I'm betting Proctor gets most of Grad Transfer out Markel Smith's reps .. which was nearly 40% when he wasn't in doghouse. Spack is planning on playoff run .. the more that pans out, the more he will preserve Robinson. Proctor should be ready for prime time reps ... and if Davis shores up pass game, this will be a playoff run year ... and he should save Robinson some for that if it is looking good for playoffs.

 

[ChiRedbirdfan]

Are you kidding me?

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Coming for everything they told me I couldn’t have️ <a href="https://twitter.com/footwork_king1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@footwork_king1</a> <a href="https://t.co/kRNiW42KGs">pic.twitter.com/kRNiW42KGs</a></p>&mdash; Jeff Proctor (@jeffproctor31) <a href="https://twitter.com/jeffproctor31/status/1105884784662859776?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 13, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

. Just watched the video with his footwork drills. WTF. His footwork ability is so impressive regardless of what happens on the football field. That is obviously a great foundation to go to work with on the football field

 

[ChiRedbirdfan]

I'm betting Proctor gets most of Grad Transfer out Markel Smith's reps .. which was nearly 40% when he wasn't in doghouse. Spack is planning on playoff run .. the more that pans out, the more he will preserve Robinson. Proctor should be ready for prime time reps ... and if Davis shores up pass game, this will be a playoff run year ... and he should save Robinson some for that if it is looking good for playoffs.

Btw as a side note...too bad Markel Smith seemed to be too edgy with the coaches and teammates but you gotta give him credit for what really matters ... the degree. He earned the right to transfer and play immediately the right way.

 

[fourthandshort]

Good recap chirb .. agreed and I liked Markel a lot .. rough being 2nd fiddle when your that good and kudos to him for graduating despite how much he's jumped around ... not the norm for guys that do that. Good for him.

 

[Total Red]

The well traveled Markel Smith is at Missouri Western. Interesting choice. He came to Illinois State from Central Missouri. At one time he was a University of Iowa commit and he spent a year in prep school out east.

I wonder if he even knows the name of his current team (Go You Griffons).