'18 NY RB Ramon Jefferson (Sam Houston State transfer)

[Devo182]

We didn’t get quality production from Evans….. he basically had three good games….. Bowling Green… South Carolina and Missouri…. Had 50 yards against Florida… hardly played in the rest of the games. Jabari Small had a similar season to Evans including 180 in the bowl game…. Jaylen Wright was improving at the end of the season and should be better this season…. I will be surprised if JW is not productive as a true freshman…. Dylan Sampson will hopefully redshirt but can still be decent like Wright last year if we encounter injury issues this year.

Tbf he had 121 yards vs UF. 10.4 yards each time he touched the ball. He had 71 yards on 3 catches. He only ran it 11 times that game, but for a respectable 4.6 ypc.

The only game he wasn't efficient in was TN Tech. Can't explain that one lol. I think Cooper was out? I remember our OL looked off that game.

The guy was a stud, but it is what it is.

 

[bigl3327]

100%. Think we'll use some rollouts or screens to ease the pressure.

HH on his own does definitely need to improve on not being sacked, as well. Maybe his biggest weakness. Our efficiency is going to be helped by his maturation, which I have no doubt of. He's not quite as slippery as some guys, he'll have to learn to make quick and decisive action...either take off full-go or throw it away if nothing there.

The pace that we play actually makes it harder for a freshman because you have to recognize blitz packages that much faster. Everyone on offense is also having to process what they're seeing at break neck speed.

 

[Devo182]

In hoping we move our tight ends into a H- back role more often this year.

As an extra blocker? That would seem to defeat our goal of emptying the defensive box and minimizing the number of blockers we utilize (each additional blocker lowers the odds of a successful run via an increased blocking failure rate). Or maybe you meant on passing plays...though that might be giving things away a tad, but I do like the idea in theory. Idk. You know way more about Xs and Os than me lol. Hey, whatever works.

 

[Devo182]

The pace that we play actually makes it harder for a freshman because you have to recognize blitz packages that much faster. Everyone on offense is also having to process what they're seeing at break neck speed.

Good point. It's amazing just seeing HH run things so well 99% of the time.

 

[T2P_Priceless]

Tbf most of those guys were 5* super studs and now in the NFL. Sure if we had Nick Chubb coming in as a freshman...sure no concern.

JW is a pretty highly rated stud that is already the college size

 

[volbeast33]

Watch the games he played in. He was our best RB when healthy without question. If circumstances had worked out differently and he hadn't transferred, most everyone would be giddy as hell. Don't fool yourself into believing he wasn't productive.

He was a good player…. He also wasn’t worth the trouble and bad in the locker room… he was not the difference in a single win that we had last season…. We aren’t talking about bringing him back anyways…. It’s if our running back is good enough…. The answer is yes…. Would we bring in the right player? Yes but I r are not hurting at the position.

 

[TNHopeful505]

I wonder if it was something academically.

 

[T2P_Priceless]

Small had the better game running the football against Florida but Evans was money out of the backfield…. He barely played half a season so I don’t think he will be that hard to replace.

Pass game definitely suffered without him. I think he was the best pass blocker and he seemed to squirt through the LOS more often

 

[bigl3327]

As an extra blocker? That would seem to defeat our goal of emptying the defensive box and minimizing the number of blockers we utilize (each additional blocker lowers the odds of a successful run via an increased blocking failure rate). Or maybe you meant on passing plays...though that might be giving things away a tad, but I do like the idea in theory. Idk. You know way more about Xs and Os than me lol. Hey, whatever works.

They would be used as both, but it gives us a chance to have an extra blocker, but also make play action more effective because the LB has to respect the run with the H-back in the backfield. Heupel actually used this look a good bit in his third season at UCF.

 

[volbeast33]

Tbf he had 121 yards vs UF. 10.4 yards each time he touched the ball. He had 71 yards on 3 catches. He only ran it 11 times that game, but for a respectable 4.6 ypc.

The only game he wasn't efficient in was TN Tech. Can't explain that one lol. I think Cooper was out? I remember our OL looked off that game.

The guy was a stud, but it is what it is.

He had 14 touches for 121 yds for 8.64 ypp while small had 12 touches for 81 yds for 6.75…. Evans was a good player but we are making him sound way better than he was…. I do feel the guys on campus can get the job done and make the culture better at the same time.

 

[volbeast33]

Pass game definitely suffered without him. I think he was the best pass blocker and he seemed to squirt through the LOS more often

It’s hard to say on whether the pass game was better with him….. our best passing game of the year was against kentucky when he barely played…. He was our best running back but not by that huge of a difference…. Small definitely got the job done when he was gone.

 

[bigl3327]

He was a good player…. He also wasn’t worth the trouble and bad in the locker room… he was not the difference in a single win that we had last season…. We aren’t talking about bringing him back anyways…. It’s if our running back is good enough…. The answer is yes…. Would we bring in the right player? Yes but I r are not hurting at the position.

We don't know if the freshmen are good enough yet, and there are still questions as to whether Wright and Whitehead are good enough. Once again, this is not a debate about anyone's potential as a runner. It's about being competent as a protector in the passing game, which is the most difficult thing to do as a running back.

 

[T2P_Priceless]

It’s hard to say on whether the pass game was better with him….. our best passing game of the year was against kentucky when he barely played…. He was our best running back but not by that huge of a difference…. Small definitely got the job done when he was gone.

Small is good but Evans seemed to rarely get stopped at the line and bounced off tacklers more

 

[Volstar65]

We don’t know if this guy can block in the SEC. He is moving up in competition. I know the experience thing and all but still unknowns for him also.

 

[volbeast33]

We don't know if the freshmen are good enough yet, and there are still questions as to whether Wright and Whitehead are good enough. Once again, this is not a debate about anyone's potential as a runner. It's about being competent as a protector in the passing game, which is the most difficult thing to do as a running back.

Jaylen Wright will be fine and came on at the end of last season…. I really don’t think that blocking from the running back position will be that huge of an issue…… in college… it is always next man up…. We didn’t know about Travis Henry till he got his chance… Travis stephens until he got his chance…. Tony Thompson is an even better example…..if our coaches can’t have Wright, JW, or Sampson ready to be competent backs then we have bigger issues than adding another RB…. Even counting pass protection…. Running back is the easiest position for a player to step in and perform…. We should be fine.

 

[Pacer92]

Remember when a trifecta of freshmen RB’s carrying the load on a run heavy ‘91 team…

We will be more than ok..

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

Even if he is, he's still a true freshman and will make his share of freshman mistakes. We can't lose HH because JWT is lacking in pass protection.

How do you know JWT is lacking in pass protection? The guy has barely been here.

 

[SoilVol]

We are one injury away from it being a major concern unless Whitehead improves exponentially.

Crazy stat that I think ChattaVol posted a few weeks ago. Might need to recheck it. I don't think Whitehead had a single run for a loss last season. And he averaged more per carry than all other backs?

I always noticed he seemed to have massive holes to run through and remembered thinking, "If Jaylen Wright had that hole he would house it," but Wright never gets that hole🤷🏼‍♂️ idk if it's a Whitehead thing or a different blocking scheme, or deferent defensive scheme where they don't respect Whitehead as a back... but he gets yards. Slowly.

 

[bigl3327]

How do you know JWT is lacking in pass protection? The guy has barely been here.

How many true freshmen have you seen not get blown up by 6'4" 250lb edge rushers that run 4.5 forty yard dashes. I'm not saying he can't do it, but assuming that it's something he'll be proficient at immediately isn't realistic. College linebackers and edge rushers lick their chops at the sight of a true freshman running back on obvious passing downs.

 

[Devo182]

JW is a pretty highly rated stud that is already the college size

Uhh he was #284. That's a long ways from day-1 5* studs like uga and bama have had. We're talking guys that were wanted by every major program.

We don't have to play pretend for every guy we recruited. Realistically he could be very good in due time. I believe he will. But he had 4 bigtime p5 offers.

We're simply talking different tiers of prospects.

 

[bigl3327]

Uhh he's #284. That's a long ways from day 1 5* studs like uga and bama have had. We're talking guys that are all-sec capable off the bat and for sure by y2.

Bama had a bevy of young 5* RB's last year that they couldn't trust enough for extensive playing time.

 

[Devo182]

Bama had a bevy of young 5* RB's last year that they couldn't trust enough for extensive playing time.

Yeah I changed that. Even 5*s aren't assured day 1. It's such a heavy ask for anyone in the SEC. But those that do succeed...the odds are in the studs' favorite by a lot. They are freaks. Chubb averaged something like 7 ypc iirc lmao. Gurley...Michel...both over 6...as freshman! 2 of them had over 1,300 yards...smh. That's just unrealistic.

 

[bigl3327]

Yeah I changed that. Even 5*s aren't assured day 1. It's such a heavy ask for anyone in the SEC. But those that do succeed...the odds are in the studs' favorite by a lot. They are freaks. Chubb averaged something like 7 ypc iirc lmao. Gurley...Michel...both over 6...as freshman! 2 of them had over 1,300 yards...smh. That's just unrealistic.

Jamal Lewis was the most college ready running back in UT history, but couldn't get much PT till after the Florida game because they didn't trust him protecting Manning.

 

[bigl3327]

Remember when a trifecta of freshmen RB’s carrying the load on a run heavy ‘91 team…

We will be more than ok..

Key words being run heavy. We're discussing being able to pass protect. That '91 offense was an old pro- style offense with a fullback.

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

How many true freshmen have you seen not get blown up by 6'4" 250lb edge rushers that run 4.5 forty yard dashes. I'm not saying he can't do it, but assuming that it's something he'll be proficient at immediately isn't realistic. College linebackers and edge rushers lick their chops at the sight of a true freshman running back on obvious passing downs.

It may not be realistic to think that but stating flat out that he can’t do it isn’t realistic either. We just don’t know.