Hurd vs T. Henry

[Jasongivm6]

Let's just look back and remind ourselves how spoiled we were in the late 80s to 2000ish.

Cobb/Webb/Thompson

Stewart/Hayden/Garner

Graham/what could've been with Onterrio Smtih

Lewis/Stephens/Henry

 

[Nationdom]

Let's just look back and remind ourselves how spoiled we were in the late 80s to 2000ish.

Cobb/Webb/Thompson

Stewart/Hayden/Garner

Graham/what could've been with Onterrio Smtih

Lewis/Stephens/Henry

If we are counting what could of beens I'm taking Coker over Hurd as well. Absolute burner.

 

[butchna]

If we are counting what could of beens I'm taking Coker over Hurd as well. Absolute burner.

Unfortunately. :cool2:

 

[Pacer92]

all of those running backs where good and I loved them. But you cant compare Hurd to them, they where in a different offense with good offensive lines and good passing games. Hurd started as a freshman and it was pretty much just Hurd. He has pounded that rock for us like no other and fought for every yard and he gets back up and does it again and again and again.

If he breaks the record this year he will have earned every single yard and he will be the BEST running back in UT history.

end of story.

Disagree. He will also have far more opportunities to carry the ball than anyone else.

 

[KBVol]

all of those running backs where good and I loved them. But you cant compare Hurd to them, they where in a different offense with good offensive lines and good passing games. Hurd started as a freshman and it was pretty much just Hurd. He has pounded that rock for us like no other and fought for every yard and he gets back up and does it again and again and again.

If he breaks the record this year he will have earned every single yard and he will be the BEST running back in UT history.

end of story.

Nope.

 

[Nationdom]

all of those running backs where good and I loved them. But you cant compare Hurd to them, they where in a different offense with good offensive lines and good passing games. Hurd started as a freshman and it was pretty much just Hurd. He has pounded that rock for us like no other and fought for every yard and he gets back up and does it again and again and again.

If he breaks the record this year he will have earned every single yard and he will be the BEST running back in UT history.

end of story.

nope.

 

[Wizard of Orange]

I love me some Hurd and if he stayed throughout his senior year, he might have a shot of replacing Henry as my all-time favorite.

...But Henry absolutely mistreated would-be tacklers and it was often hard to find defenders in the 4th quarter that even wanted to try...

 

[gule]

Curt Watson was the best Vol rb...... then Webb.

 

[xpsyclonex2002]

Hurd seems to be missing a 4th gear. He gets ran down from behind too often. He's good for a 20-30 yd sprint but any run longer than that, he's going to get tracked down.

 

[KBVol]

Hurd seems to be missing a 4th gear. He gets ran down from behind too often. He's good for a 20-30 yd sprint but any run longer than that, he's going to get tracked down.

Including by linebackers, which just shouldn't happen. Hurd is very, very good, but the lack of that last gear keeps him from being elite IMO.

 

[pismonque]

Travis Henry was an absolute warrior! His game against Arkansas the Championship year was epic. That final drive no one could have stopped him! If they had 25 defenders out there they would not have stopped him! One of the best ever!

Wasn't it against Arky that Henry had broken loose along the right sideline and threw that defender to the ground with one hand like a ragdoll? Somebody with time on their hands oughta find that vid and gif it. One of my all-time favorite clips.

 

[Wizard of Orange]

Yep, Pismonque, My favorite run ever.

 

[vols4evah]

Disagree. You don't "earn" the BEST label by having it rougher than other candidates. This is just a fan debate anyway...absolutely no science to it. I have Chuck Webb #1, Charlie Garner #2 and Jamal Lewis barely edging Hurd for # 3 presently. Hurd has a whole season to shake up that OPINION.

Oh I know its just a fan debate and I am just looking at it from a different perspective.
I say if you took Hurd back in time and put him on the same teams as the other running backs he would have much better stats than he does now. Also if you took those other running backs and put them on the teams that hurd has been on I doubt their stats would be near as good. Its all subjective and you cant really compare them because its apples against oranges.

I know nobody here is trashing Hurd but I think some are not giving him the credit he deserves. I watched all the RB's named here that played from 68 till now and I love them all. But I think Hurd is special and he has the chance to set a record that if he comes back for his senior year could be decades before its broken if ever and that's amazing.

In his own way Hurd is as good as any running back we have had and if he does break the record then he will have the only real claim to being the best ever.

I am going to really enjoy this season as we watch him make history.

 

[norriscraftbasser]

I hope Hurd does break the record but I still won't believe he was the best. Some on here probably don't remember players like Webb,but I would have to believe if everyone here had seen him they might think differently.And maybe they wouldn't it's all just an opinion.

 

[hndog609]

In his own way Hurd is as good as any running back we have had and if he does break the record then he will have the only real claim to being the best ever.

I think what people are trying to get across is that elite talent shows itself then and there, game to game and even one play to the next. Career stats are much, MUCH more contextual to number of carries and longevity. A RB with only a 3.5 ypc average can hit 2K yards if he gets 571 cracks at it...2000yds looks a lot less impressive if you do it that way. Or from another angle were you aware Barry Sanders doesn't even make OSU's top 5 in career rushing yards? Who do you think OSU fans rank as their greatest RB?

Hurd's proven to be very good but he's not shown to be anywhere near as dynamic as any number of players cited in this thread. Does that change this year? No idea...I hope so...but just getting the career record racking up carries at a sub-5.0ypc clip isn't going to propel him to anywhere near GOAT position in most people's minds.

 

[jasonvol18]

Was watching a Mike Griffith facebook live vid. a couple of days ago. He said that he would like to see more bulldog in Hurd this yr. At this point he liked Travis Henry better; more bulldog. What do ya'll think?

I absolutely agree. Hurd doesn't use his size to his advantage a lot of time. He needs to learn to play more physical and run guys over. Henry was one of those RB's that could run by you but also loved running your a$$ over. Take Fournette as another example. He loves contact and can run right by you or is just as content running over you. Hurd is too damn big not not utilize his size more. I will say the last game we saw him in vs Northwestern he ran very physical. Ran over guys,ran past them and used his stiff arm which he rarely uses. I guarantee NFL teams will take notice of it this year and if he runs soft instead of using his size to be more physical it will hurt his draft stock. Teams don't draft 230lb+ RB's as finesse players they draft them to be physical and to be their every down work horse. Looking forward to seeing him be more physical this year. I have seen guys 20-30lbs lighter run more physical and with more reckless abandon. He is wasting all that size if he doesn't and it will cost him when he gets to the NFL.

 

[Phat-Phil]

I would take, Henry, Lewis, Stephens, Riggs, Garner, and Hardesty over Hurd at this point.

Not me. I'd take Lewis, Henry at this point, and possibly Garner and Stephens (both are toss ups imo). No way I take Hardesty or Riggs over him. They were both very good RBs but Hurd is better and I think he has a monster season this year and jumps up on that list as well. He will be neck and neck with Lewis and Henry in the eyes of us fans after this season. I believe all of that speed training over the offseason is going to pay off in a big way (on the field and in the wallet after he's drafted).

 

[jasonvol18]

I hope Hurd does break the record but I still won't believe he was the best. Some on here probably don't remember players like Webb,but I would have to believe if everyone here had seen him they might think differently.And maybe they wouldn't it's all just an opinion.

100% agree. I'm not sure I would even put him top 5. Guys like Cobb,Webb,Garner,Henry,Stewart and Lewis are just a few I would put above him right now. I know the offense has changed since those guys played but still a RB's job is to move the chains. Those guys I mentioned usually shared carries with 1 or 2 other RB's and Hurd has gotten the majority of the runs. Hopefully Kanara gets more touch's like he did the last half of last season. I would even put Cedric Houston and Hardesty ahead of Hurd. Most of those guys were bruising RB's and that's what Hurd needs to be. If Hardesty could have stayed healthy his entire career at UT I think he would hold the rushing record and go down as one of the great UT RB's. When he was healthy there weren't many better but unfortunately it hurt it college and NFL career. Same with Jamal if he would have stayed healthy he could have put up serious rushing yards and would have taken some of the pressure off of Peyton. Cobb,Webb,Garner and Stewart are as far back as my Vol watching went, im sure there were other greats before them.

 

[jasonvol18]

Not me. I'd take Lewis, Henry at this point, and possibly Garner and Stephens (both are toss ups imo). No way I take Hardesty or Riggs over him. They were both very good RBs but Hurd is better and I think he has a monster season this year and jumps up on that list as well. He will be neck and neck with Lewis and Henry in the eyes of us fans after this season. I believe all of that speed training over the offseason is going to pay off in a big way (on the field and in the wallet after he's drafted).

I wouldn't take Riggs over him either and I can see your stance on Hardesty. Like I said in my other post of Hardesty had stayed healthy his full 4 years he would hold several Vol rushing records. He was an absolute beast when he was healthy but unfortunately for him his lower body wouldn't cooperate. But I loved to watch him run. If Hurd would become more physical and use that size he could be one of the greats. I love to watch Hurd play he is a good runner,one of the better blocking RB's you will see and is a threat to house one in the pass game like he has done before. He just needs to take his game to the next level and be a complete back like Fournette and some of the great Vol RB's. I do miss the power run game and offense we had under Fulmer and Cut but I know the spread is the new age of football. But I do like the type of spread we do run because it still incorporates being physical in the run game unlike some other versions of the spread offense. I like having a big,physical RB and parlaying him with a smaller,quicker RB. Our run game could be even better when/if Hurd becomes more physical. It would wear down defense's even more and increase the chance of hitting more explosive plays. Hope Gillespie gets that out of Hurd.

 

[ruger1234]

Wasn't it against Arky that Henry had broken loose along the right sideline and threw that defender to the ground with one hand like a ragdoll? Somebody with time on their hands oughta find that vid and gif it. One of my all-time favorite clips.

That was the 2000 beat down game where Arkansas turned the ball over several times. If I remember correctly Henry stiff armed a linebacker off the field and never lost a step.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9rBeymRD1M


The run is at 25:30

 

[KBVol]

I think what people are trying to get across is that elite talent shows itself then and there, game to game and even one play to the next. Career stats are much, MUCH more contextual to number of carries and longevity. A RB with only a 3.5 ypc average can hit 2K yards if he gets 571 cracks at it...2000yds looks a lot less impressive if you do it that way. Or from another angle were you aware Barry Sanders doesn't even make OSU's top 5 in career rushing yards? Who do you think OSU fans rank as their greatest RB?

Hurd's proven to be very good but he's not shown to be anywhere near as dynamic as any number of players cited in this thread. Does that change this year? No idea...I hope so...but just getting the career record racking up carries at a sub-5.0ypc clip isn't going to propel him to anywhere near GOAT position in most people's minds.

You nailed it.

 

[norriscraftbasser]

100% agree. I'm not sure I would even put him top 5. Guys like Cobb,Webb,Garner,Henry,Stewart and Lewis are just a few I would put above him right now. I know the offense has changed since those guys played but still a RB's job is to move the chains. Those guys I mentioned usually shared carries with 1 or 2 other RB's and Hurd has gotten the majority of the runs. Hopefully Kanara gets more touch's like he did the last half of last season. I would even put Cedric Houston and Hardesty ahead of Hurd. Most of those guys were bruising RB's and that's what Hurd needs to be. If Hardesty could have stayed healthy his entire career at UT I think he would hold the rushing record and go down as one of the great UT RB's. When he was healthy there weren't many better but unfortunately it hurt it college and NFL career. Same with Jamal if he would have stayed healthy he could have put up serious rushing yards and would have taken some of the pressure off of Peyton. Cobb,Webb,Garner and Stewart are as far back as my Vol watching went, im sure there were other greats before them.

I'm with you ,KB and Hndog but in no way trying to take anything away from Hurd.

 

[KBVol]

I'm with you ,KB and Hndog but in no way trying to take anything away from Hurd.

Me neither, just honest discussion. Jalen has been outstanding to this point, just think we've had better RBs in our program's history. Hope Jalen just blows up and does something special so we all wind up agreeing that he was the best by year's end. He just hasn't done it yet though.

 

[jasonvol18]

Oh I know its just a fan debate and I am just looking at it from a different perspective.
I say if you took Hurd back in time and put him on the same teams as the other running backs he would have much better stats than he does now. Also if you took those other running backs and put them on the teams that hurd has been on I doubt their stats would be near as good. Its all subjective and you cant really compare them because its apples against oranges.

I know nobody here is trashing Hurd but I think some are not giving him the credit he deserves. I watched all the RB's named here that played from 68 till now and I love them all. But I think Hurd is special and he has the chance to set a record that if he comes back for his senior year could be decades before its broken if ever and that's amazing.

In his own way Hurd is as good as any running back we have had and if he does break the record then he will have the only real claim to being the best ever.

I am going to really enjoy this season as we watch him make history.

I think guys like Lewis,Henry,Cobb who were the bigger,mose bruising type RB's would possibly outperform Hurd if they played in this day and age. I say that only because those guys did use their size and played way more physical than Hurd does. And none of them were Hurd's size except for Lewis who was shorter but had more weight. My only knock on Hurd is he could play and be so much more physical than he is. I don't know why he doesn't,if it's he hasn't been taught,or doesn't like the physical contact those guys enjoyed or worried about getting injured. But it could hurt his draft stock if he is 230+ but runs like a 195lb RB with decent,not great speed. But if he can be more physical and have really good speed for a 6'3 230+ RB then his draft stock will soar. I mean if you are an NFL GM would you take a 6'1 235 RB like Fournette who is as physical as they come and have home run speed or a RB like Hurd who is 6'3 235 with decent speed but is much less physical. More times than not you take Fournette or Nick Chubb who is 5'10 230 and almost as physical and fast as Fournette. Just hate to see Jalen not show he is right up there with those guys.

 

[jasonvol18]

I'm with you ,KB and Hndog but in no way trying to take anything away from Hurd.

Absolutely brother it's not a knock on Hurd at all. He is one of my favorite Vols right now, I just hope to see him become a more complete back and get mentioned with Fournette and Chubb as one of the top RB's in whatever draft class he decides to be in. He is as good as you could ask for when it comes to blocking,pass catching and how he carries himself and represents TN. I hope he stays his SR year but don't see it happening but either way I hope he becomes a complete back and is the first RB to get drafted whenever he comes out. It's just right now I wouldn't even put him top 7 in all time great Vol RB's.