Yeah, they threw at him constantly as soon as Freyler left. That spot was the weak link in the secondary. Especially with Cooper and Verdon being out.
Outgoing transfer tracker
- Thread starter Cyinthenorth
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Yeah, they threw at him constantly as soon as Freyler left. That spot was the weak link in the secondary. Especially with Cooper and Verdon being out.
Again, I'm saying that they aren't gospel, but they're at least an outside person's take on a player.
I suppose my bigger point is that playing someone who's a complete 0 in the passing game and wasn't close to a sure thing positive as a blocker is bad scheme/decision making.
I think we'll just have to agree to disagree on this. We both obviously want the best for ISU.
The problem is that having a fullback in shotgun makes you predictable. What you need is someone like Soehner who can not only lead block, but seal the edge AND be a threat in the passing game. The staff should have been finding guys like that way earlier than when they signed Burkle.
Prior to the championship game, I believe the West Des Moines Valley coach said Abu Sama was the best back he’d ever seen during his coaching tenure. Abu reminded me of a slightly smaller Kene Nwangwu. If he is given a hole to run through, he’s a threat to take it to the house. Looked like he had tremendous speed from the little bit I watched.
Ok, sure. But if he’s that guy where was he this year? Kolar, Allen, Soehner we’re all playing as RSFR if not sooner. And if he needs more time, then they should have brought someone in in the class prior.
Good ******* question. IMO he should have been playing instead of redshirting.
I'd take a stud transfer kicker over just about anything at this point
I wish all these young men the best.
I can't imagine being a student athlete these days....you'll always have a chance on a team, but there will always be new guys (freshmen and transfers) and playing time and roster spots limited.
Unlike before, where it'd seem a transfer was an indicator of something not good (on the kid or coaches), now I just assume the student is doing what is best for them personally....same way I'll feel for new guys that are brought in.
I can't imagine being a student athlete these days....you'll always have a chance on a team, but there will always be new guys (freshmen and transfers) and playing time and roster spots limited.
Unlike before, where it'd seem a transfer was an indicator of something not good (on the kid or coaches), now I just assume the student is doing what is best for them personally....same way I'll feel for new guys that are brought in.
I wouldn't categorize Rus as a fullback, more of a H-Back whose main role was to block.
Agree him being in the game and putting him in motion could be predictable. But I think the coaches felt he was a better blocker the last couple years than Allen, Kolar, Dean or Hanika. It worked and helped Breece be a high yardage guy. But I think opposing defensive coordinators figured things out this year. Obviously, our o-line play was part of it.
I rewatched a few of the 2021 games over the summer. It seemed many times, especially on scoring plays for Hall, Rus completely missed the hole or the block, but it did not matter. I even heard an announcer stating that Rus hit the hole and cleared it for Hall, but then the replay ran, and the color guy had to say Rus completely missed the hole play. He never even hit anyone.
I am not sure a full back type guy lined up in a slot and many times set in motion is fooling anyone and is likely not even being used as a key by the defense as to where the play is going. So many times the runner went the other way as Rus this year.
I am not sure a full back type guy lined up in a slot and many times set in motion is fooling anyone and is likely not even being used as a key by the defense as to where the play is going. So many times the runner went the other way as Rus this year.
I see your larger point, but wanted to say that the majority of our pre-snap action is not to attempt to fool the other team into thinking the play is going elsewhere. It is to help determine if the defense is playing man or zone coverage. Defender moves with the motion, it's generally man. Defender stays home it's generally zone.
Sometimes. They liked to pull the center in the past. I didn't see much until later in the season this year.
demoncore1031
Well-Known Member
I think Howard is gonna be great. Cooper had some decent moments this year.
I hope we bring in an entirely new O-line through the transfer portal, but I don't see that happening. We don't seem to bring in as many transfers as most other schools.
If we can’t run the ball, we can’t throw the ball. Lining up another capable pass catcher and negating the run completely wasn’t going to work. So you say “well yeah, we still have to try and run the ball” which is exactly what I’m saying. Without having Rus or anybody lead blocking, our run game would’ve been even worse. He was absolutely a necessity due to the fact that our OL was so terrible
Sounds good, until you realize that Rus whiffed on a lot of blocks. At that point, putting a wide out on the field and just running off a defender would be more productive than bringing another body in who is going to miss blocks.
