Compared to who, was he Breece Hall or Montgomery good, no, not even close. He was an average college back all but a couple of games. He still suffers from seeing the hole and wanting to bounce everything instead of hitting the hole and taking a few yards on the carry, That is what Hansen did a great job there, when there was not much of a hole, he still plowed forward to get yards.
Just comparing Sama to Hanson (and just out of curiousity, not purposely trying to argue with you or anyone). I don't believe Hanson was so much better at just diving forward and getting a few years than Sama was. Would need to really plot every carry of both players all season long to really see if that was true or not. At least I'd love to how many negative carries, how many between 0-5 yards, how many between 5-10 yards, etc.
Sometimes stats can fool a person when you rely on them too much. Watching Hall and Montgomery running you could see they had it as a running back and both have gone on to the NFL and been successful. Sama after that first game against KSU in the snow we all thought he was going to join the other two as a very valuable weapon, and it just never occurred. It was telling that Hanson was starting and getting more carries as the season went on, instead of Sama, the staff had made their decision on which back they wanted to get the most carries and it was Hanson.
This describes every running back ever.Not really, when you look at his stats, he would have one large run a game, and then do nothing for many of his runs. He had runs of 44, 20, 28, 38 and 40, those runs really skewed his overall performance. When he didn't break off the long run in the other half of the games he was held in check. He finished the season with 140 for 732 and 5.2 average with 5 touchdowns. He only had one game over a hundred yards rushing, 177 and another at 96.
Abu Sama III 2025 Stats per Game - NCAAF - ESPN
The 2025 NCAAF season stats per game for Abu Sama III of the Iowa State Cyclones on ESPN. Includes full stats, per opponent, for regular and postseason.www.espn.com
Not really, a back like Hall got plenty of 10 to 15 yard runs and then would break one for 75 to 80 yards. For an average back like Sama it was a lot of 2 and 3 yard carries and then a 45 yard run. That is a big difference between a good running back and a great one. Sama never scared a defensive coordinator, backs like Hall do. I would say the same thing about the EIU running back a few years ago, he would just wear you out and then break a long run for a touchdown. Sama had 5 touchdowns all of last year, he is what he is, a nice 2nd running back option but not a leading character on the team.
Psu roster is not ISU last year roster at all
People forget that Penn State was one of the favorites going into last season to win the championship. Now it did all go sideways, but they had a lot of talent on that team, it just did not translate into wins.
Watching from a well elevated position above the play: how could he not see that the play wasn't there, he doesn't have good vision. Lol.
I realize, but the Big 10 pushes false narratives all the time. Let’s do the same.
Great speed, but too often liked to go 1 on 11 costing first downs. Averages don't tell you everything. Unless you take it to the house every time you get downfield I'll take a runner whose mode is 4-5 yards over a player with a mean of 5 yards. 18, -2, 1, 3 gets you a 5-yard mean, and a punt. I'd like to see yardage gain numbers by the yard for the season. For example, how many 1 yard gains did each have, 2 yard gains, etc. I think you would see that stats skewed heavily in the 1-3 yard range for Sama. A high number of 4-to-5-yard gains controls the ball and wins games.
On the flip side, if they don’t have success, it is not because “you can’t win in P2 with Iowa St/Big 12”
