Sporting News ranks the top 25 RBs

#1
Freak

Freak

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#1
Chubb is No.5 and Fournette is No. 2

13. Jalen Hurd, Tennessee

Hurd enjoyed a 1,288-yard, 12-TD breakout season for the Volunteers as a sophomore, which was somewhat expected. This 6-4, 240-pound force closed the season with 401 yards in wins against Missouri, Vanderbilt and Northwestern. A time-share with Alvin Kamara helps Hurt and Tennessee, the preseason SEC East favorite.
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Ranking nation's Top 25 college football running backs | Sporting News
 
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#2
#2
With the way our O (Hurd, Kamara, Dobbs) is set up, I don't see how Hurd will get the yards as some of the other guys. I'm not sure I would trade him for any of the others on the list, though. He seems to fit in perfectly into this system.
 
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#7
#7
Too low of a ranking but I think a lack of breakaway speed in the open field hurts him a little. He's a bruising workhorse and a load to tackle but just doesn't have that gear to run past defenders for long gains of 50+ yards.
 
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#8
#8
Now that's just DISRESPECTFUL. They had some guy from New Mexico State ahead of Hurd as well as the guy from Northwestern we shut down.

Sporting News is officially a joke.
 
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#10
#10
I'm iffy on the idea of trying to add things like return yardage to a list specifically about RB's. As a pure RB I can't imagine McCaffrey being ahead of Fournette.

I'm a believer in Chubb's talent but we won't know how well that knee looks until we see him in some games.

It's been brought up before but Hurd simply isn't going to get near the top of these lists without big plays and higher ypc.
 
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#11
#11
fade route said:
Too low of a ranking but I think a lack of breakaway speed in the open field hurts him a little. He's a bruising workhorse and a load to tackle but just doesn't have that gear to run past defenders for long gains of 50+ yards.
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I agree with your statement completely so far in his career. I think Jalen has worked extremely hard to CHECKER BOARD a couple of those big runs he got caught on the past 2 seasons. Very excited to see him hit a crease and find that gear he hasn't had yet in 2 seasons!
 
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#12
#12
delfonic said:
The guy from NMSU is legit. Of course, I only know that because I watch a LOT of football.
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See, I can't take you seriously because you didn't insult all of VN while simultaneously declaring yourself to be more knowledgeable than NFL scouts.
 
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#13
#13
Kamara will help "Hurt" and Tennessee win the SEC East. Of course VN thinks Jalen's ranking is to low and are justified in doing so. Most of the backs ranked ahead of him play in weaker leagues where a half-way decent RB can easily put up big numbers. McCaffrey is #1 based on his versatility , Jalen's ranking show's he received no consideration for the all-purpose back he is, playing in the country's toughest conference . The only difference in CM and JH is is Jalen is the better runner. :yes:
 
#15
#15
Jalen has had crap blocking too. The bowl game was the first game where he was able to hit a hole and roll. The Oline will be better next year and he should benefit from it.
 
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#16
#16
Well, we should finally have the OLine we need to get him to the next level, so let's do it.
 
#18
#18
i think also, having to share carriers with kamara and dobbs, it just hurts his chances of putting up big #'s like some of the others ahead of him.

plus, while Hurd's been good for us, he's not yet had one of those break out, difference maker type games that both Chubb and Fournette have both had.

he'll have those opportunities this season, early and often. and it still may not matter, b/c as the season goes on, and the big games fade, Chubb and Fournette and others will still have huge games on the schedule garnering national attention later in the year.

while we're playing Vandy and KY, Fournette and Chubb will be playing FL, Auburn, Bama etc....
 
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#19
#19
jakez4ut said:
i think also, having to share carriers with kamar and dobbs, it just hurts his chances of putting up big #'s like some of hte others ahead of him.

plus, while Hurd's been good for us, he's not yet had one of those break out, difference maker type games that both Chubb and Fournette have both had.

he'll have those opportunities this season, early and often.
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While our O-Line has improved, Chubb and Fournette has had much better O-Lines to run through than Hurd has these last couple of seasons.
 
#20
#20
VolFreakJosh said:
While our O-Line has improved, Chubb and Fournette has had much better O-Lines to run through than Hurd has these last couple of seasons.
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don't disagree. i think Hurd is a beast.

but he's not the only feature back, our o line hasn't been as good as GA or LSU's, and he's not had that "breakout" big game where he was the difference maker.

long story short, there's a host of reasons Hurd still isn't necessarily front and center on the national stage.
 
#21
#21
jakez4ut said:
don't disagree. i think Hurd is a beast.

but he's not the only feature back, our o line hasn't been as good as GA or LSU's, and he's not had that "breakout" big game where he was the difference maker.

long story short, there's a host of reasons Hurd still isn't necessarily front and center on the national stage.
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I don't disagree with this either. Hurd is a great back but to be fair, his running style is best suited for the I-Formation running offense, similar to LSU's. He's not the type of back that's made for Butch's offense. Like you said, he's more of an power back with good straight line speed that lacks the 2nd gear to pull away from defenders. Still, he's put up some great numbers in the SEC against good competition. He deserves to be in the Top 10 IMO.
 
#22
#22
Look at the GA game -- Hurd chased down his lost ball 99 yrds, and was back on the field just moments later running the first or second play, while that return-for-td defender Floyd was resting on the sidelines.

Hurd is the man, at this time, proving it over and over ! Go VOLS !!
 
#23
#23
VolFreakJosh said:
I don't disagree with this either. Hurd is a great back but to be fair, his running style is best suited for the I-Formation running offense, similar to LSU's. He's not the type of back that's made for Butch's offense. Like you said, he's more of an power back with good straight line speed that lacks the 2nd gear to pull away from defenders. Still, he's put up some great numbers in the SEC against good competition. He deserves to be in the Top 10 IMO.
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i don't know that we know htat for sure yet.

he's only had a couple of games where i can look at him and say he actually had room to operate. against N'Western and Kentucky, and in both games, the KY game especially, he put some moves on folks that i didn't know he could do....as a big guy.

think about it, it's not been very often he's running in open field. everyone plays us up front, so lanes aren't open generally past the 2nd level.

where you take a guy like Derek Henry, who routinely got that one big run a game, was in part at least, due to the fact the defenses couldn't just focus on him.

and he's a lot faster than he looks. i think the same to be true of Hurd, we just haven't seen it yet. and that's not to say he's as fast as Chubb, Fournette or even Henry, just that we really just haven't seen it.
 
#24
#24
When it comes down to it, the only backs I even consider taking before Hurd is Perine, Cook, Fournette, and McCaffery.
 
#25
#25
That's a joke. I would put Hurd at number 6 or 7 on this list, and like another poster said, we don't know how Chubb will return from that gruesome injury. Lattimore did something similar and was never the same. I think that LF7, McCaffery, Cook, are the only ones I would confidently put ahead of Hurd. A fully healthy Chubb is better than Hurd, but I wouldn't take Freeman from Oregon over Hurd.

Edit: I forgot about Perine. I would put him and Hurd as equal. If Perine is better, its not by a lot.
 
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