White RBs and 100-yard games

Freethinker · Jan 2, 2017

This thread needs a bump as Rex Burkhead can now be added to the list!

PS - upon re-reading the thread I was reminded of a lost poster named Truthteller. He had some excellent posts over his time here but it's been nearly 2 years since his last log in.

Rocky B · Jan 6, 2017

Re-reading this thread from 6 years ago was cool, and seeing names like Bourbon (who died) Hester, Wegher (what a path he took...And now with the Rams development squad)....some guys never got a chance.....Not many 100 yard games from that post until Burkhead....It was fun watching Marc Weismann and Zach Zwinak a few years back in the big 10.....Luke Lippincott....Luke Stayley was a bad ass.....So many guys got buried in the depth charts.....Cam McDaniel, Brenden Douglas the past several years.....Ryan Nall will be a junior next year for Oregon St......Awesome runner......Cade Carney at Wake.....I hope Bisharat gets a chance at Colorado.....Same for Funk, Wegher's bro, Brodner, Ian Eriksen had some good games this year at EMU, probably 2nd string next year......Rambling on, go Zenner vs Seahawks........

Rocky B · Jan 6, 2017

Zenner's bro Sam went to SDSU and I can't find anything new about him......An article that mentioned his siblings stated they're swimmers and track athletes.....??????......He red shirted last year and disappeared this year....?????

Carolina Speed · Feb 26, 2017

In looking at the history of this thread and after reading Don's comment on white purge about Czonka and Riggins being some of the last feature RB's, 100 yard games, 1,000 yard seasons, etc. It made me think about the 1970's Oakland Raiders who had 3 white RB's on their 1975 roster who all played significantly and or were the feature back. Amazingly, it's a reminder of how things suddenly changed!

Marv Hubbard was Oakland's feature RB in the early 70's who had a 1,000- yard season, (1,100, 5.0 ypa), 1972. Averaged 4.8 yards/carry for his career!
Pete Banaszak, out of Miami no less, was a feature back for Oakland in the late 60's. He led the league in rushing TD's, (16) in 1975.
Mark van Eeghen, probably the best of the 3 and possibly the second or third best white RB of the 70's, behind Czonka. Riggins. He had 3 consecutive 1,000 yard seasons. 1976, 1977, and 1978. Won 2 super bowls.

Again, all three of these great white RB's on the same Oakland Raider roster in 1975!

link · Jan 9, 2018

Not a running back and he didn't quite make the 100 but Bortles got 88 yards rushing in a play off is decent. Could be the first since young to make the 100 as a qb. I though he may have been half black but I think it's just darker skin his family photo of him signing are all white including a smoke show of a wife she almost deserves her own thread.

Flint · Jan 9, 2018

I don't think there was a single white running back to gain 100 yards in a game this year. Going into the season it seemed there was a good chance they might be a few. Zenner abandoned, Woodhead injured, McCaffrey not used enough out of the backfield and Burkhead injured. Sheesh.

Carolina Speed · Jan 9, 2018

Flint said:
I don't think there was a single white running back to gain 100 yards in a game this year. Going into the season it seemed there was a good chance they might be a few. Zenner abandoned, Woodhead injured, McCaffrey not used enough out of the backfield and Burkhead injured. Sheesh.

Yes, very disappointing with the possibilities we had this year in all the names you mentioned. Very difficult when you only get 6-7 carries per game, CM, or hardly any at all in the case of Zenner. Zenner, what a total waste of talent!

link · Jan 9, 2018

Zenner to the patriots for 2018 lets do this! Belicheck is probs the only coach who would give him a chance. I was hoping CM might be overlooked like Gerhart and the Pats snag him then actually use him seriously. As mentioned above I think Zenners little Bro is focusing on track and field to try make the Olympics that may be dated now I think it was a 2016 or so article.

Phil · Jan 10, 2018

rockybleier said:
Zenner's bro Sam went to SDSU and I can't find anything new about him......An article that mentioned his siblings stated they're swimmers and track athletes.....??????......He red shirted last year and disappeared this year....?????

Zenner's younger brother made a youtube video about quitting football. The video is called:

"Why I Quit D1 Football" It is at the youtube channel "Sam Zenner".

celticdb15 · Jan 10, 2018

Agreed with Flint and CS... Bleak but true summary for RB position this year.. Lets hope Nall along with CM( his 80 catches are nothing to scoff at!!) can help carry the torch in near future. I hope Zenner can latch on with another team, otherwise he may soon retire to pursue a real working career..

There is still some hope for Burkhead to snag some glory in this year's Pats playoff run!

Flint · Jan 10, 2018

Re: Zenner, I can almost guarantee he is done in the NFL. He doesn't have the pedigree to get another shot (big school or high draft choice) and he doesn't do the extras that help a white player hang on (return kicks, play great special teams). Plus there is a regime change in Detroit and as much as a doofus Jim Caldwell was, he had some weird interest in keeping Zenner around. That probably won't happen with the next coach.

Leonardfan · Jan 11, 2018

It will be interesting to see who Detroit hires. If it is a New England coach maybe Zenner will get another shot. I believe the GM is a former New England guy but I won't hold my breath.

Don Wassall · Jan 11, 2018

Unfortunately I think Flint's right. After how well Zenner played at the end of the 2016 season when he finally got an opportunity only to go to the back of the bench this year likely sealed his fate. Undeniable talent at a position that Whites are forbidden from playing, great character guy who's going to become a doctor, he's an ideal candidate to be discarded by the NFL.

And the fact that it can so easily be done speaks volumes. Rip on blacks all you want, but they support their own and raise hell when they think they're being mistreated (even though that is very rarely the case). White fans . . . crickets.

PHillisFan · Jan 11, 2018

https://twitter.com/zenner31

Check out Zenner's twitter. He is almost naive to a fault. I do sometimes wonder if these athletes realize what is truly going on?

Rocky B · Jan 13, 2018

The Falcon/Eagle game does nothing for me.......

This year was a disappointment......Let’s look at next year:

CM....Should get more carries (How do you think Norv will help/hinder)
Rex isn’t signed, Gillesee is the oneness with the three year deal, so who knows?
Danny is getting older, not expecting a lot of carries even if he’s healthy.
Zenner, ugghhhh.....Let’s hope he get a shot with the Cowboys or someone like that as a backup.......I loathe Dallas, but a place like that would be perfect.......

Nall needs drafted....Just getting an invite to a camp will be a big disappointment to anyone that leaves eligibility on the table

Phil · Jan 16, 2018

PHillisFan said:
https://twitter.com/zenner31

Check out Zenner's twitter. He is almost naive to a fault. I do sometimes wonder if these athletes realize what is truly going on?

He is a typical naive Germanic. Germanics are smart, hardworking, honest people, but they are also painfully easy to manipulate.

Westside · Jan 16, 2018

Don Wassall said:
Unfortunately I think Flint's right. After how well Zenner played at the end of the 2016 season when he finally got an opportunity only to go to the back of the bench this year likely sealed his fate. Undeniable talent at a position that Whites are forbidden from playing, great character guy who's going to become a doctor, he's an ideal candidate to be discarded by the NFL.

And the fact that it can so easily be done speaks volumes. Rip on blacks all you want, but they support their own and raise hell when they think they're being mistreated (even though that is very rarely the case). White fans . . . crickets.

50 years of psyops-ops will do that to a lot of ppl. In 2016 Trump gave ppl the backing to question it. I am pessimistic that White will speak up.

Thrashen · Jan 17, 2018

PHillisFan said:
https://twitter.com/zenner31

Check out Zenner's twitter. He is almost naive to a fault. I do sometimes wonder if these athletes realize what is truly going on?

I looked through his twitter posts and I’m not sure what you’re referring to. Can you be more specific?

PHillisFan · Jan 26, 2018

Thrashen said:
I looked through his twitter posts and I’m not sure what you’re referring to. Can you be more specific?

There are no positive affirmations just scripture. Basically, he strikes me as someone that is just happy to be there and will take whatever plans god has for him. He probably doesn't realize he's getting screwed over by the caste system.

Truthteller · Sep 27, 2018

Time really does fly? I recall spending quite a bit of time scouring stats from the 1970's (post NFL/AFL merger), looking for white RB's that had 100 yard games. I thought it was about 4 years ago; turns out it was 2010.

Have 2 NEW names to add today to Colonel Reb's list, last updated December 2011: One is very obvious; other is about as obscure as you can get.

First: Christian McCaffrey, who finally had a 100 yard game last Sunday. Hopefully he'll have many more.

Second: Bob Burns, who ran for 101 yards in Jets/Giants match up in New Haven, Connecticut back in 1974

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Burns_(American_football)

This happened well before I began watching football, but was made aware of this while watching a Yankees/A's game back in 2016, when Bob's son (Billy Burns) came to bat for Oakland. Unfortunately Billy Burns, who some had hoped would be a Brett Butler type outfielder (small CF/with blazing speed), has been out of the Majors for a while. Good news is he's made a few million dollars in his brief MLB career. Had he followed his family into football, Billy probably would not have made a penny in the sport, even if he had the talent to be an NFL 1,000 yard rusher.

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/profile.asp?ID=148836

Shadowlight · Sep 27, 2018

To follow up on the skullduggery deluxe post above Billy Burns had a brief day in the sun and one of the players I put in the special folder due to his truly blazing speed. In 2015, see link above, with Oakland, Burns stole 26 bases, 9 triples and batted .294. Not considered a top tier prospect he was in his mid 20's but I still thought after that season he might stick. He couldn't follow up those numbers and didn't see consistent playing time and then was traded off to the Royals where he struggled in short stints before being sent down to minor league hell.

But always in the back of my mind white speedsters in baseball as in football are given a very short leash. Consider the MLB black speedsters today who are full time players despite the fact they can't hit much at all. The poster boy for that is Billy Hamilton.

Speaking of father/dad combos I had mentioned this in a baseball thread a while back but MISS ST senior speedster CF Jake Mangum is the son of CB John Mangum (1990-1998) of the Bears. After some research Mangum was moved to safety in 1994. Mangum was a star CB at Alabama. Imagine a white CB at Alabama now? Imagine a starting white college CB period? (Air Force maybe?) Jake has a chance to play in MLB but stayed his senior year hoping to improve his draft stock.

So there are two examples of baseball CF speedsters whose dads played in the NFL at what today are considered forbidden positions.

Bucky · Sep 27, 2018

Thanks for sharing Shadowlight and Truthteller. Learn something new everyday, I had never heard of these guys until today.

Truthteller · Sep 27, 2018

No problem, Bucky. Honestly, I had not heard of a lot of these players myself, until I started searching through stats from the 70's and beyond. The aforementioned linked story of Joe Dudek Sr. just goes to show how long the Caste system has been in place. Does anything ever change? Dudek told he's a third to sixth round talent, but his only NFL action is in a strike/replacement game?

I don't remember Dudek with the Broncos, but I remember them having a star, white RB named Blake Ezor from Michigan State -- #1 RB recruit in the nation? Like most white RB's, his NFL career was real brief.

https://www.lansingstatejournal.com...gan-state-football/988031001/?from=new-cookie

Freethinker · Sep 30, 2018

*UPDATED* MASTER LIST OF 100 YARD GAMES BY WHITE RUNNING BACKS DURING THE CASTE ERA

2010-2019: Total of 9 so far
1) Peyton Hillis: 6
2) Toby Gerhart: 1
3) Rex Burkhead: 1
4) Christian McCaffrey: 1

2000-2009: Total of 8
1) Mike Alstott: 4
2) Brock Forsey: 1
3) Peyton Hillis: 1
4) Brian Leonard: 1
5) Brad Hoover: 1

1990-1999: Total of 9
1) Mike Alstott: 3
2) Gil Fenerty: 2
3) Merrill Hoge: 1
4) Brad Muster: 1
5) Tommy Vardell: 1
6) Scott Lockwood: 1

1980-1989: Total of 52
1) John Riggins: 19
2) Craig James: 9
3) Rob Carpenter: 8
4) Merrill Hoge: 3
5) Larry Moriarty: 3
6) Matt Suhey: 3
7) Mark van Eeghen: 2
8) Dan Doornink: 1
9) Joe Dudek: 1
10) Hokie Gajan: 1
11) John Cappelletti: 1
12) Rick Kane: 1

The decade we can use for comparison purposes, 1970-1979. The last decade before the full implementation of the Caste System against White RBs. The list from this decade is still under construction, but 138 100 yard rushing performances have been identified so far.

1) Larry Csonka: 19
2) John Riggins: 15
3) Marv Hubbard: 10
4) Ed Podolak: 9
5) Jim Otis: 9
6) Mark van Eeghen: 7
7) Donny Anderson: 5
8) Rocky Bleier: 5
9) Norm Bulaich: 5
10) Andy Johnson: 4
11) Doug Kotar: 4
12) John Cappelletti: 3
13) Paul Hofer: 3
14) Don Nottingham: 3
15) Steve Owens: 3
16) Ken Willard: 3
17) Rob Carpenter: 2
18) Jim Kiick: 2
19) Jeff Kinney: 2
20) Jon Keyworth: 2
21) Scott Laidlaw: 2
22) Rob Lytle: 2
23) Ed Marinaro: 2
24) Don McCauley: 2
25) Larry Schreiber: 2
26) Pete Banaszak: 1
27) Jim Bertelsen: 1
28) Bill Brown: 1
29) Vince Clements: 1
30) Scott Dierking: 1
31) Dan Doornink: 1
32) Doug Dressler: 1
33) Walt Garrison: 1
34) Les Josephson: 1
35) Rick Kane: 1
36) Dave Osborn: 1
37) Mike Adamle: 1
38) Fred Willis: 1
39) Bobby Anderson: 1
40) Bob Burns: 1

Edited to add: Rex Burkhead, Christian McCaffrey and Bob Burns.

Freethinker · Sep 30, 2018

While editing the master list, it dawned upon me that arguably the 2nd best White running back of the last decade Danny Woodhead retired without a 100 yard game. If someone decades from now stumbles upon this list, Danny will be long forgotten. It's a sick joke that not 1 coach would give him a proper amount of carries to achieve the milestone at least once.

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