white running backs

Draft Daddy, as usual provided some incredibly perceptive insight about the Kyle Bell injury.

DD.com comment: Devasting loss for the Rams. This is the type of injury that could, potentially, change CSU's entire upcoming season -- for the worst. We ranked Bell as the 4th best running back in the junior class, so we thought extremely highly of him as a pure combination speed/power tailback....Expect him to make a full recovery by next season, but this injury could be serious enough to have some lingering effects down the line -- perhaps this knee injury (and the perceived loss of speed from it) will skew NFL teams towards bulking up this very talented runner and using him merely as a blocking back at the next level?

i keep wondering why they don't just come out and say that these white guys only suffer the poor treeatment because they are white?
 
UCLA freshman running back Chane Moline got some playing time in the Bruins' season opener. Moline was one of the highest rated running backs in the country last year, but of course most folks considered him just a fullback.

here's an interesting article from scout.com that says the folks who weren't impressed by his 40 time missed out on a great player...

Chane Moline, the 6-2, 240-pound running back from Mission Viejo (Calif.) High, just firmed up his commitment to UCLA Saturday at the game, and it's a huge get for the Bruins.
Perhaps bigger than many are making it out to be.

Moline might not be getting the acclaim he deserves, since he came out to a couple of combines and camps in the spring and ran in the 4.7 range. So, his stock immediately dropped in the eyes of many Internet recruiting reporters, especially the national ones.

In football, in rankings and evaluations by scouts/Internet guys, too much emphasis is placed on the camps and combines, and this could be the case with Moline.

A couple of legitimate west coast scouts believe Moline is one of the handful of best all-around prospects on the west coast. They think it's a crime that Moline wasn't invited to the U.S. Army Game.

While many readers here might not be be celebratng as much as they might since Moline is just a "four-star" recruit, Moline should be considered a bigger get than that. He is a potential difference-maker, the type you need to bring in to take (or keep) your program competing at the top of the conference and among the best in the nation.

He's potentially on the same level as Manuel White or former Purdue All-American Mike Alstott.

It's also a huge commitment because UCLA has established pretty strong ties with Mission Viejo, which would have been almost as inconceivable as UCLA establishing a pipeine with Mater Dei (well, maybe not that inconceivable) just a few years ago.

This is a very big get. Chane Moline is a difference maker.

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Draft Daddy again posted a link to a story about a talented white skill player. how is it that they are the only site/group in the country to give fair treatment to white guys? anyway, as i mentioned before, Stanford's freshman running back Toby Gerhart looked good in camp, and according to his teammates was the best player on the field in their blowout loss to Oregon on opening day.

here's the link to the whole article. but the following snippet gives the bits about Toby:

The one Stanford running back to turn in a decent performance was true freshman Toby Gerhart. He gained 55 yards on 16 carries.

"He was out there making plays when he really didn't have a lot of space," wide receiver Mark Bradford said.

Expect to see more of Gerhart when Stanford plays at San Jose State on Saturday (3 p.m.).

"I'm glad he got healthy so he could play," (head coach Walt) Harris said of Gerhart (6-foot-1, 229 pounds), who missed much of fall camp with a hamstring injury.

Stanford's experienced offensive line... was once again unable to get enough of a push for a run game to get established.

"Experience is one thing," Harris said. "We had some mental mistakes, but physically we got dominated."

that's great news! he put up good numbers with no blocking at all. just imagine if the o-line gets it together...
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Edited by: Jimmy Chitwood
 
I watched the game and he looked pretty good.I'm excited about this kid.Stanford is probably one of the few pac ten schools that will play a white running back.ASU is the other one as they played Tom Pace a few years back.Can Gerhart bring back memories of Vardell?Only time will tell.I sure hope so.He is built like a freight truck.
 
Toby Gerhart had 13 carries for 82 yards today.He is getting better by the week.I think Stanford has found their running back for the next few years.
 
a positive report about UCLA's freshman running back, Chane Moline:

Bruins Have Big Plans for Youngest Moline
Kevin Pearson
10:00 PM PDT on Thursday, September 7, 2006

LOS ANGELES - With Chris Markey and Kahlil Bell serving as the 1-2 combo of UCLA running backs this season, the one thing the Bruins were lacking in their backfield was a big, strong back.

It looks as though the Bruins have found their man.

Freshman Chane Moline saw his first bit of playing time in Saturday's 31-10 victory over Utah and was a bright spot in an otherwise abysmal running game.

"I wasn't sure if I was going to get in or what was going on," Moline said. "At halftime, they said to warm up, and I was pretty stoked."

Moline, out of Mission Viejo High, had seven carries for 19 yards and a 12-yard reception. In the 2006 recruiting class, he was rated the No. 5 fullback by rivals.com and the No. 28 running back by scout.com.

The 6-foot-1, 240-pounder is the youngest brother of defensive tackle Chase Moline, who earned freshman All-American honors last season, and walk-on linebacker/special teamer Chad Moline. All three brothers saw playing time Saturday.

"He gives us a bigger-back presence," Dorrell said. "He has some versatility, and he is everything we thought he would be for us."

UCLA has not had a true "big back" since Manny White graduated two seasons ago. While Markey and Bell are both capable of running between the tackles, there was a pressing need for someone who had enough size to bully his way through the line in short-yardage situations.

Fullback Michael Pitre, who is slightly more compact than Moline, has served in that role but is more of a blocking back.
 
here is a nice in-depth look at Stanford's best running back, true frosh Toby Gerhart. he's obviously a humble, hard-working talented kid. so far, he's led Stanford in rushing in limited playing time in their first two games, which were sadly both losses. good luck to him this season!

Stanford counts on freshman
By Darren Sabedra
Mercury News

Not much about Toby Gerhart, Stanford's latest two-sport athlete, suggests that he is a freshman -- until he grins. The braces give him away.

But that aside, Gerhart already is showing that age hardly matters. In his first college game, Saturday at Oregon, he led the Cardinal in rushing.

It wasn't a brilliant performance -- 55 yards in 16 carries -- but Gerhart provided glimpses of the power and grit that made him a schoolboy legend in his hometown of Norco (Riverside County).

``It was kind of surreal,'' Todd Gerhart said of watching his son play on network television just three months removed from high school. ``I don't know how to explain it -- other than it was surreal.''

Surreal is a good way to describe Gerhart's résumé. In football, he finished his career at Norco High as the state's all-time leading rusher (9,622 yards) and was named Cal-Hi Sports' state player of the year. In baseball, Gerhart was ranked among the top 50 high school prospects by Baseball America. An outfielder with power and speed, he would have been drafted in June had he not set his price ``really high'' -- according to his dad -- because he wanted to go to Stanford.

Todd Gerhart, who coached his son in football at Norco, portrayed him as a ``basic kid'' who ``willed his way'' to stardom. Gerhart (6-foot-1, 228 pounds) not only excelled on the field but also in the classroom. He has never brought home a grade lower than an ``A,'' his dad said.

``He's no-nonsense, hard-nosed, and that's nice not only for football but also for baseball,'' said Stanford baseball coach Mark Marquess, who also was a football and baseball player at the university. ``He's a real quiet kid -- humble.''

Gerhart is so quiet and humble that, according to his hometown newspaper, his girlfriend's neighbor once asked him, ``Do you know that Toby Gerhart guy?''

Some people in the Riverside area might not recognize the face -- but the name, well, they probably will never forget. As early as Gerhart's sophomore season, then-Norco Coach Gary Campbell was telling the Los Angeles Times, ``He's by far the best back we've ever had, and we've had some great kids.''

The thing is, Gerhart could have gained even more yards in high school had he played more. He was pulled at halftime in some games because of the score, had his touches limited in other games to save him for the postseason and also missed a handful of games because of injuries. As it was, Gerhart shattered the state's previous career rushing record, held by Florida State's Lorenzo Booker, by 1,127 yards.

But the record wasn't his goal. ``My high school career would have felt incomplete, and not entirely successful, if we didn't walk away with the championship,'' Gerhart told the Times.

In his final high school game, Gerhart won his section championship, avenging losses in the final the previous two seasons.

Now he wants to have similar team success in college, his dad said. (Gerhart wasn't permitted to be interviewed for this story because Stanford Coach Walt Harris doesn't allow freshmen to speak with reporters during the week.)

``I know he wants to go to bowl games every single year,'' said Todd Gerhart, a fullback for Cal State-Fullerton in the mid-1980s who went on to play in the United States Football League. ``He remembers seeing Stanford in bowl games.''

Gerhart, who ultimately chose Stanford over UCLA, got off to a good start last month in training camp, but a hamstring injury slowed his progress. Healthy now, he is again impressing teammates.

``He's not afraid to hit anyone; he runs through people,'' defensive end Pannel Egboh said.

Quarterback Trent Edwards called Gerhart's performance Saturday a pleasant surprise.

``His combination of power and the way he hits the hole, you're handing the ball off to him and he's hitting it very fast, and he's a big guy to take down,'' Edwards said. ``We haven't had a lot of running backs like that here.''

Gerhart, who was allowed to speak publicly immediately after Saturday's game, described his play as ``average'' at best.

``I was stumbling a couple of times in the open field, where maybe I make a nice cut and possibly break one,'' said Gerhart, who didn't touch the ball until the second quarter. ``I just need to continue to get better and keep on going.''

Next chance: Saturday at San Jose State.
 
Duke's Justin Boyle had 10 runs for 36 yards and a 6 yard catch in the loss to Virginia Tech today. Paul Chiara, backup TB at Syracuse had a 3 yard run. Edited by: Colonel_Reb
 
Idaho's Jayson Bird had 53 yards on 14 carries and a 10 yard catch in the win over Idaho State.
 
i'll try to sum up how the rest of our guys did this weekend, but if i miss anybody just add 'em. thanks for the help, Colonel Reb.

WVU FB Owen Schmitt, 8 carries for 55 yards and 1 catch for 3 yards.

LSU RB Jacob Hester, 3 carries for -4 yards and 4 catches for 27 yards.

Wake Forest TB Kevin Harris, 3 carries for 39 yards, with a long of 41.

Vanderbilt TB Jared Hawkins, 3 carries for 75 yards. for some reason he didn't even get on the field in the second half...
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Boston College short-yardage back/LB Brian Toal, 3 carries 4 yards and 2 TDs.

i'm detecting a theme here... maybe 3 is the maximum number of carries a white running back can get.
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Arkansas RB Peyton Hillis, 0 carries, 1 catch for -5 yards, and a 9-yard punt return. WTF!?!
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he wasn't even on the field for a lot of plays!

Rutgers RB Brian Leonard, 4 carries for 19 yards and 3 catches for 64 yards.

Syrcause TB Paul Chiara, 1 carry for 3 yards.

UAB TB Dan Burks was the Blazers' lone bright spot aginst UGA. Dan had 9 carries for 50 yards, with a long of 14. maybe he's finally coming back around...

Stanford TB Toby Gerhart, 9 carries for 40 yards and 4 catches for 31 yards.

Navy FB Adam Ballard, 26 carries for 120 yards with a long of 17.

did i miss anybody? all in all, a weird day...

finally, Colorado State is really missing our main man Kyle Bell. the team rushed for a paltry 64 yards on 24 attempts against Nevada this week. that's just 2.7 yards per carry, and furthermore, their longest run was 22 yards by their QB Caleb Hanie. it's looking to be a long year in Fort Collins...
 
Kevin Harris is going to be a great one.He always seems to break at least one or two long runs in a very limited amount of touches.I can't wait to see this kid over the next few years.I hope that they show a few more Wake Forest Games on tv.Keep it up Kevin!
 
Pics from this weekend.

UAB-Dan Burks
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Brown-Brandon Markey
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WVU-Owen Schmitt
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Vanderbilt's Jared Hawkins had a great game against Arkansas, albeit in a very limited role. so i posted a comment about him on the Vandy message board. i was not surprised to find that despite overwhelming factual evidence to the contrary, some posters still think he's slow.
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there were some posters who stood up for him, but always with the caveat that the other running back was "of course" better. here's the link if you want read along or add a comment.
 
i submitted a question to Brian Leonard's website, which he was gracious enough to answer, albeit in a heavily edited manner. i think it says a lot about both the positive and negative attributes of white players. here goes:

Kevin: What is your reaction when you are asked to block for the other running backs?

Brian: I pride myself on my blocking. I worked on it all summer and I think it paid off in the North Carolina game. When Ray and the other running backs get the big yards, I take pride in that I helped open up holes for them. I am not worried about how many times I touch the ball. All I care is that the final score has Rutgers on top.

another poster asked him who in the NFL did he consider himself similar to. i hope Brian's response doesn't foreshadow bad things in his future...

Brian: I really don't feel like I am like a specific person in the NFL. I think of myself as more of a new type of back. If I had to compare myself to someone though, I would say Mike Alstott on Tampa Bay or Rob Konrad on Oakland.
 
normally i wouldn't post something on a true fullback, but this is an interesting tidbit.

it's gotta be tearing up ol' Bobby Bowden that, aside from the fact his Seminoles aren't very good, his most productive running back through three games is a big ol' white full back.
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Joe Surratt is currently leading FSU in yards per carry, with a 2.9 average, which isn't bad considering he only gets the ball from the fullback spot in short yardage situations. Surratt also has scored all 3 of FSU's rushing touchdowns.
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additionally, Surratt hasn't lost yardage on a single carry.

compare that to the "all-American" afaleets lined up behind him. lorenzo booker is averaging just 2.7 yards per carry, while antone smith is even worse, at 2.5 per.

Draft Daddy again exposed this nugget, so accolades go to them.
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A pleasant sursprise for Bobby Bowden's crew has been big junior fullback Joe Surratt, who has run the ball 15 times of 44 yards and has scored all 3 of F.S.U's touchdowns on the ground. Surratt, a bullish 6' 1", 256 pound runner with 4.70 speed, is very adept at picking up first downs in short yardage situations. Even when teams know Surratt will get the ball in short yardage and goaline situations, they haven't been able to stop the powerful fullback, who is also an excellent blocker and very durable -- he's played every down so far this season. (emphasis added by yours truly)

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Tre Smith actually got some carries today and had a nice game.What is up with Peyton Hillis?Is he hurt because he hasn't even been in the box score.
 
Yep, Peyton has a deep thigh bruise and missed the game. Way to go to Auburn for playing Tre! He had 8 runs for 57 yards and a TD.
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Louisville's Brock Bolen had 5 carries for 53 yards, including a 17-yard touchdown.

he also added 1 catch for 3 yards.

this was the first time i had heard of him, and of course on the highlight show, the ESPN announcers belittled his performance, saying "Who is Brock Bolen? i guess anyone can score for Louisville."
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Don't forget Toby Gerhart of Stanford. He is playing very good football averaging 4.6 ypc. He should get a look for the NFL.
 
yeah i wonder how many of the above mentioned players will get drafted? (because a white rb, even if signed as a RFA has 0 chances for making the roster)
 
holy crap! i know he plays in Division 1-AA, but i can't believe we've failed to mention Rhode Island's Joe Casey! he led the Atlantic 10 conference in rushing last year as a freshman!

this season, he's being challenged for playing time by another white sophomore running back, Jimmy Hughes.
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Thanks for that info on Casey and Hughes, Jimmy. I think we may have mentioned him last year, but I can't remember for sure. There are white RBs tearing it up in I-AA, D2, D3, and NAIA schools all over the country. As technology in these smaller schools gets better, we will be able to keep up with and publicize them as much as we have been doing for men like Brian Leonard, Peyton Hillis, Dan Burks, Tre Smith, Jared Hawkins, Brian Toal, Kyle Bell, Toby Gerhart, Owen Schmitt, Justin Boyle, Chad Hall, Jayson Bird... well you get the picture!
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Edited by: Colonel_Reb
 
it's sad that you just named every white tailback in Division I, and it took up two whole lines...
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Did I really? I was thinking there were several more I left out because my brain is tired after a long day at work.
 
several more you left out? there aren't several to begin with!
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sometimes i just hate the way things are...
 
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