2020 Running Backs

[Jimmy Chitwood]

in the third game of the 2020 season for the first time in his collegiate career, Georgia State junior Tucker Gregg had double digit carries in a game. the result? he totaled a game-high 142 yards on 14 carries (and a game-high average of over 10 yards per carry), scoring 1 touchdown and having a game-high long run of 56 yards.

the aforementioned stats only happened because of an injury to GA State’s “real” running black, however, and so Gregg’s carries were reduced in the following game against Troy. still, against Troy he totaled 10 carries for 67 yards, including a game-high 27-yard run for a touchdown (for a game-high 6.7 yard average). the “real” running black? he got 25 carries for 115 yards and 0 touchdowns. his long run was 21 yards.

for the season so far, Gregg is averaging 7.6 yards per carry, has a long of 56 yards and has 3 rushing touchdowns on only 29 carries.

his “more dynamic” teammate is averaging 4.6 yards per carry, has a long of just 23 and also has 3 rushing touchdowns but on 82 carries (in the three games he’s been healthy, he’s had 35, 23, and 25 carries).

in addition to the noticeable disparity in production Gregg, a former walk-on who his high school coach “has no idea why colleges didn’t recruit him” despite being one of Georgia’s top rushers (of course), is also a much bigger back than the starter, leading you to believe he’s wear down opposing defenses even more effectively if given more carries.

so, since “the best players play,” one wonders why Gregg isn’t getting more opportunities, because clearly he’s the better player.

 

[Rocky B]

JC, Look at Jackson McChesney and TJ McDaniel last year.....They both had Tucker Gregg type games only to suffer the same fate.....To answer your Purdue question....I watched the game and they did mention “King” had a hammy......Zander did start the last game of last year over him and had a great game.....I saw some depth charts where Zander was named starter, and vise versa.....When in doubt, the magazines and bloggers will bench whitey.......

 

[TwentyTwo]

Agreed Rocky B...When in doubt bloggers will bench whitey!
YES Jimmy C! Exactly what i said after the 14 carry 142 yard performance vs. Arkansas St. on ESPN! "Who is this dude"!

Tucker Gregg (Jr.) 5'-10" 220 Georgia State
Former Walk -on....219 Yards Rushing so far on only 29 carries ( 7.6 avg) & 3 TD's. Long run has been 56! Explosive quick twitch athlete!

 

[jacque]

Gregg js litteraly the ideal running back by nfl standards. The perfect RB is 5’10” 220 with 4.5-4.6 speed. Let’s see if scouts give him a fair shot.

 

[Rocky B]

I haven’t watched much GaSt football....But if this kid isn’t playing, I’m going to guess it’s a situation like the Bears......DM starts over Nall because it’s expected....

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

please pardon this double post, but i don’t want this player to get lost in the mix ...

a name i’m unfamiliar with and haven’t seen mentioned had a solid game on Wednesday night at running back for Miami-Ohio ...

Zach Kahn, a 5-10, 211-pound senior, gained 42 yards and scored 2 touchdowns on 9 carries. he also added 2 catches for just 5 yards. if i’m not mistaken, that is the most carries, yards, and scores that he’s had in a single game in his career.

it’d be nice to learn more about this player.

 

[Rocky B]

please pardon this double post, but i don’t want this player to get lost in the mix ...

a name i’m unfamiliar with and haven’t seen mentioned had a solid game on Wednesday night at running back for Miami-Ohio ...

Zach Kahn, a 5-10, 211-pound senior, gained 42 yards and scored 2 touchdowns on 9 carries. he also added 2 catches for just 5 yards. if i’m not mistaken, that is the most carries, yards, and scores that he’s had in a single game in his career.

it’d be nice to learn more about this player.

I had him on a sleeper list a couple years ago......
90% of the guys on the list have become forgotten or never surfaced to any degree....
I went back to look at it....
Kade Remsberg and Harry Trotter were there....Jake Neatherton and some others....

You never know who the next Patrick Laird will be....
None of us had him on our radar when he emerged.....
I predicted a kid from Coastal Carolina to be a sleeper this year.....hardly any carries.

I thought ZK may be a bit high yella.....Maybe he’s 1/4
No biggie, I’ll be rooting for him......

Upon further review, it wasn’t Kahn.....
Jerimiah Knight was the kid I thought may have been mixed....
Again, no biggie....I’ll be rooting for the kid.......

 

[Phil]

An article about Arkansas St. Running back Lincoln Pare
(https://www.arkansasonline.com/news...rb-pare-makes-the-cut-for-asu/?sports-college)

Running back Pare is one of the best Tennessee high school players his senior year
"he was one of the best players on the state of Tennessee his senior year at Houston High School as he was named the state's 6A Mr. Football in 2019-20."

Pare talks about his recruitment
"I had a lot of walk-on opportunities at Power 5 schools, but at the end of the day, I wanted to be where I was wanted. And Arkansas St. wanted me."
It is so great to see a top high school player not blinded by the big names or history of universities, but rather choose a lower ranked school that will more likely showcase his talents. If a player has the talent of Pare, why waste that talent sitting on the bench of a bigger name school?

Now in steps the hero of the story. Desmond Lindsey.
"Arkansas State running backs coach Desmond Lindsey went to see Pare the spring before his senior season and immediately knew he was watching a hidden gem. After his visit to Houston High Lindsey told offensive coordinator Keith Heckendorf that Pare was worth taking a chance on. We continued to watch him throughout the year and Coach Lindsey kept saying kept saying 'Here's his tape'."

You would think being named Mr. Football in the southern state of Tennessee would get him serious interest from big time programs right?
"But ASU was just about the only Division 1 school to give Pare a serious look. He had offers from FCS schools like Dartmouth, Austin Peay, Colgate and Mercer, but had only one other FBS offer(Navy). Multiple Power 5 programs reached out to Pare offering him a preferred walk-on spot, including Ole Miss and Virginia Tech, but he wasn't interested. Many of the bigger programs, and even Group of 5 schools, didn't know if Pare was big enough or had the athletic skill to overcome his size."

Running backs coach Lindsey says why he thinks Pare might have been overlooked.
"It is what it is, Lindsey said. 'You have what I call genius recruiters. You've got a lot of genius recruiters out there saying he's a white running back or he's not big enough or we're not going to take him. And that's my opinion, but I think that had a lot to do with it."

A very, very interesting article.

 

[Freethinker]

Good on Coach Lindsey for calling out the racial bias that Pare faced! Need more coaches like that and less of the “aww shucks, I have no idea the reason” types.

 

[Leonardfan]

2020 Top 10 White RBs

Jake Funk UMD (4) 60 car 516 yds 8.6 ypc 3 TD 10 rec 68 yds 1 TD
Lincoln Pare Ark St (9) 72 car 450 yds 6.3 ypc 1 TD 12 rec 85 yds 2 TD
Zander Horvath Purdue (6) 89 car 442 yds 5.0 ypc 2 TD 30 rec 304 yds
Tucker Gregg Ga State (9) 82 car 441 yds 6 td 2 rec 10 yds
Brad Roberts Air Force (3) 64 car 461 yds 7.2 ypc 5 TD
Mike Epstein Illinois (7) 69 car 367 yds 4 td 5.3 ypc 2 rec 29 yds
Tyler Lavine SMU (9) 61 car 310 yds 5 td 5.1 ypc 8 rec 93 yds
TJ McDaniel SMU (4) 60 car 297 yds 4.9 ypc 4 rec 11 yds
Harry Trotter KSU (9) 72 car 260 yds 3.6 ypc 3 td 8 rec 34 yds
Cooper Lutz Syracuse (8) 43 car 246 yds 5.7 ypc 1 td 8 rec 56 yds

 

[Rocky B]

2020 Top 10 White RBs

Jake Funk UMD (4) 60 car 516 yds 8.6 ypc 3 TD 10 rec 68 yds 1 TD
Lincoln Pare Ark St (9) 72 car 450 yds 6.3 ypc 1 TD 12 rec 85 yds 2 TD
Zander Horvath Purdue (6) 89 car 442 yds 5.0 ypc 2 TD 30 rec 304 yds
Tucker Gregg Ga State (9) 82 car 441 yds 6 td 2 rec 10 yds
Brad Roberts Air Force (3) 64 car 461 yds 7.2 ypc 5 TD
Mike Epstein Illinois (7) 69 car 367 yds 4 td 5.3 ypc 2 rec 29 yds
Tyler Lavine SMU (9) 61 car 310 yds 5 td 5.1 ypc 8 rec 93 yds
TJ McDaniel SMU (4) 60 car 297 yds 4.9 ypc 4 rec 11 yds
Harry Trotter KSU (9) 72 car 260 yds 3.6 ypc 3 td 8 rec 34 yds
Cooper Lutz Syracuse (8) 43 car 246 yds 5.7 ypc 1 td 8 rec 56 yds

I had my production prediction before the season....
I’ll need to re visit that list......

Pare, Gregg, Roberts, Lavine and Lutz were welcomed additions....
Funk was a highlight of the shortened season, for sure.

 

[Leonardfan]

I had my production prediction before the season....
I’ll need to re visit that list......

Pare, Gregg, Roberts, Lavine and Lutz were welcomed additions....
Funk was a highlight of the shortened season, for sure.

Funk only played 4 games - 1/4 of what a team usually plays so he could of ended up with 1500 yards rushing (that is a conservative projection). What he did in 4 games was outstanding and yet there is no recognition or "buzz" for him anywhere.