Let's let W Franklin have a year in the weightroom before we say he will never do anything at ISU.
Talent???
- Thread starter KMAC_ATTACK
- Start date
Let's let W Franklin have a year in the weightroom before we say he will never do anything at ISU.
You are ******** if you think Blythe runs a 4.8 40. I know it probably seems like I'm Blythe's mother or something, but I just think he gets way too much hate for being the greatest Cyclone receiver of all-time. Oh, and yes he did lead the team in receptions, yards, and receiving touchdowns this season....again.
It's not A-Rob's fault, he had no holes whats-so-ever to run through.
After watching the Okie State game last weekend, I was surprised at KU's defense. #40 was spying A-Rob all game and he shut him down. As fans I think we under-rated KU's defense.
I'm looking forward to watching KU and Mizzou next weekend, it might be a game of the ages!!! It's absolutely nuts to think they'll be playing for a chance to play for National Championship!!! Whoever wins that game will win the Big XII.
I understand where you're coming from, but Mizzou's defense isn't even close to KU's.
I wouldn't be surprised to see KU whooping Mizzou (I hope so, man I hate Mizzou).
You got home early... say goodnight to the miss' We need to hook up again for an away basketball game.
Perhaps they'll show the game in HD, nice to see ABC put the Okie vs. Texas Tech game on HD....bastards!!!
Thanks for the great food and company....hope 4vrcy gets to feeling better!!! See ya Tuesday!!!
Cyclonepride
Thought Police
Kansas does have good talent all over the field. Not necessarily great in all spots, but they all know what they are supposed to do, and they do it. The difference between a play that goes 7 yards and 40 is a combination of an individual player making a play, and the rest of the team all working as one unit. If they succeed consistently, it's because everyone is doing their job. That is what Chizik is trying to mold our team into.
KU fan here, no flaming, I respect ISU fans the most in the Big XII. Anyway, just thought I'd clarify that Henry is not a JuCo. He was an overlooked WR in HS ball in Oklahoma, we happened to catch him in a state all star game. The fatman is excellent in identifying overlooked talent. It took him a while to break out (we had a bad OC before this year), but his height and speed are finally producing.
Glad this game is over... go Clones!
Glad this game is over... go Clones!
Just adding that as a KU fan, I have nothing but respect for Blythe, I think he's awesome. It seemed you guys had a young OL; Meier (sp?) and Blythe seemed to kill everyone a few years back. Aqib Talib (our CB) said Blythe and Sweed (UT) are the two hardest WR to cover in the Big XII.
Sorry to invade your board, I'm sure this is your safe haven from trolls. Go Clones!
Sorry to invade your board, I'm sure this is your safe haven from trolls. Go Clones!
Thanks for clarifying things Bird!!! Your welcome here anytime...until the week we play you in basketball. If we win, feel free to come on and congratulate us, if we lose, stay away!!! :twitcy:
I pray to the Heavens above you KILL MIZZOU. Tell Mangino to feel free to run up the score on them!!!
I pray to the Heavens above you KILL MIZZOU. Tell Mangino to feel free to run up the score on them!!!
Here's my armchair evaluation of ISU's returning talent:
QB - Arnaud. Seems similar to Meyer in terms of athletic ability although he might have a better arm. Chizik has referred to Arnaud as a "clone" of Meyer which seems accurate based on what we've seen so far. Neither of them have quick feet. Arnaud should improve during the offseason in terms of his strength and conditioning and his knowledge of the system.
QB- Bates. He didn't throw a single pass all season so I will be surprised if he's the starter next year. Nevertheless, the same could be said last year of KU's Reesing and he won the starting job in Spring ball over a returning Meier. Some people are wondering if Bates will be moved to WR. I haven't seen enough of Bates at that position to know if he is a playmaker like Jeremy Maclin or more of a possession receiver like Sumrall. If it's the latter, I would keep him at QB.
RB - Robinson. He finished with 465 yards on 118 attempts (3.9 average). He is great in space, but doesn't push the pile. I would have liked to see him improvise more on runs where the hole wasn't there (just to see what he could do).
RB - Bass. He finished with 462 yards on 123 attempts (3.8 average). It seemed his leg was really bothering him in his limited appearances at the end of the season. The competition between him and Robinson should help both these guys get a lot better.
OL - They opened up some huge holes at times (especially in the spread offense), but couldn't get much push, if any, against the better defenses like Texas, OU and KU. I really hope we can get Mack to commit as he could be the difference maker here. Otherwise, it's hard to be overly excited when ISU's rushing yards per attempt was tied for last in the Big 12 with Baylor.
TE - Catlett. He was a very pleasant surprise. It seemed like he had the key block on each of Robinson's touchdown runs. It will be tough for anyone to beat him out next year, but we need to find a # 2 to replace Barkema.
WR - Hamilton. He was also a pleasant surprise. IMO, he was the only guy on the team who could consistently take a 5-yard catch and turn it into a 15-yard gain by breaking tackles. We need more guys like this. The best teams in the Big 12 have 3-4 of these guys on their team.
WR - Sumrall. I was hoping for a breakout year for Sumrall, but it never came. He is normally sure handed but dropped a couple balls late in the season. For him to be effective, we need to use Sumrall as our possession receiver across the middle of the field, particularly on 3rd down. He's not nearly as good as Hamilton on the WR screens.
I really hope we bring in 3 or 4 wide receivers in 2008. We need at least one new guy to come in next year and start... maybe Graham. Thus far, he is our only WR commit and it appears that last year's only WR recruit (Franklin) is a bust (hope not).
DL - Even with the loss of Rubin and Braaksma, our DL has more depth than any position on the team. Parker, Taylor, Frere, B. Johnson and C. Lyle all return. Plus we are redshirting guys who have a lot of potential in Black and Kellman. And next year's freshmen look good as well. This is one area where we might be done recruiting for 2008.
LBs - I was really impressed with the play of Jesse Smith and he's only a sophomore. Smith aside, the linebackers will be a big questionmark next year with the loss of Bowen and Banks. Bibbs, Raven and Garrin return plus we are redshirting a couple guys this year (Green and Mathis). I was disappointed with Bibbs this year as he had trouble shedding his blocks, but he is only a sophomore and we need guys who are athletic like Bibbs. So far Ernest Ferguson is our only LB recruit for 2008. Will anyone be able to fill Bowen's shoes for next year?
DBs - Allen Bell, Chris Singleton, James Smith, Chris Brown and Devin McDowell all return next year, but ISU had one of the worst secondaries in the Big 12 so I'm not sure that is a good thing. To make matters worse, we are only redshirting one DB (A. J. Matthews), and he is seems to be more of a safety than a CB. Losing Drenard Williams really hurts as we have very little in the pipeline here. Hopefully the coaches can find a JUCO defensive back so we can upgrade the talent at this position.
To sum up, our most important needs for next year are a big JUCO OL, a playmaker at WR, an outside LB to replace Bowen and a defensive back who can play physical. If Chizik can fill these holes, I think we can improve on 3-9...
QB - Arnaud. Seems similar to Meyer in terms of athletic ability although he might have a better arm. Chizik has referred to Arnaud as a "clone" of Meyer which seems accurate based on what we've seen so far. Neither of them have quick feet. Arnaud should improve during the offseason in terms of his strength and conditioning and his knowledge of the system.
QB- Bates. He didn't throw a single pass all season so I will be surprised if he's the starter next year. Nevertheless, the same could be said last year of KU's Reesing and he won the starting job in Spring ball over a returning Meier. Some people are wondering if Bates will be moved to WR. I haven't seen enough of Bates at that position to know if he is a playmaker like Jeremy Maclin or more of a possession receiver like Sumrall. If it's the latter, I would keep him at QB.
RB - Robinson. He finished with 465 yards on 118 attempts (3.9 average). He is great in space, but doesn't push the pile. I would have liked to see him improvise more on runs where the hole wasn't there (just to see what he could do).
RB - Bass. He finished with 462 yards on 123 attempts (3.8 average). It seemed his leg was really bothering him in his limited appearances at the end of the season. The competition between him and Robinson should help both these guys get a lot better.
OL - They opened up some huge holes at times (especially in the spread offense), but couldn't get much push, if any, against the better defenses like Texas, OU and KU. I really hope we can get Mack to commit as he could be the difference maker here. Otherwise, it's hard to be overly excited when ISU's rushing yards per attempt was tied for last in the Big 12 with Baylor.
TE - Catlett. He was a very pleasant surprise. It seemed like he had the key block on each of Robinson's touchdown runs. It will be tough for anyone to beat him out next year, but we need to find a # 2 to replace Barkema.
WR - Hamilton. He was also a pleasant surprise. IMO, he was the only guy on the team who could consistently take a 5-yard catch and turn it into a 15-yard gain by breaking tackles. We need more guys like this. The best teams in the Big 12 have 3-4 of these guys on their team.
WR - Sumrall. I was hoping for a breakout year for Sumrall, but it never came. He is normally sure handed but dropped a couple balls late in the season. For him to be effective, we need to use Sumrall as our possession receiver across the middle of the field, particularly on 3rd down. He's not nearly as good as Hamilton on the WR screens.
I really hope we bring in 3 or 4 wide receivers in 2008. We need at least one new guy to come in next year and start... maybe Graham. Thus far, he is our only WR commit and it appears that last year's only WR recruit (Franklin) is a bust (hope not).
DL - Even with the loss of Rubin and Braaksma, our DL has more depth than any position on the team. Parker, Taylor, Frere, B. Johnson and C. Lyle all return. Plus we are redshirting guys who have a lot of potential in Black and Kellman. And next year's freshmen look good as well. This is one area where we might be done recruiting for 2008.
LBs - I was really impressed with the play of Jesse Smith and he's only a sophomore. Smith aside, the linebackers will be a big questionmark next year with the loss of Bowen and Banks. Bibbs, Raven and Garrin return plus we are redshirting a couple guys this year (Green and Mathis). I was disappointed with Bibbs this year as he had trouble shedding his blocks, but he is only a sophomore and we need guys who are athletic like Bibbs. So far Ernest Ferguson is our only LB recruit for 2008. Will anyone be able to fill Bowen's shoes for next year?
DBs - Allen Bell, Chris Singleton, James Smith, Chris Brown and Devin McDowell all return next year, but ISU had one of the worst secondaries in the Big 12 so I'm not sure that is a good thing. To make matters worse, we are only redshirting one DB (A. J. Matthews), and he is seems to be more of a safety than a CB. Losing Drenard Williams really hurts as we have very little in the pipeline here. Hopefully the coaches can find a JUCO defensive back so we can upgrade the talent at this position.
To sum up, our most important needs for next year are a big JUCO OL, a playmaker at WR, an outside LB to replace Bowen and a defensive back who can play physical. If Chizik can fill these holes, I think we can improve on 3-9...
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I may be ******** but, i'm not so blinded by numbers to say that this guy came in and tore up everyone his first year...then went downward the final three years.....TD's are great and i appreciate his career achievements, he may be ISU's greatest receiver of all time....now name another that he would compare with....exactly.....its not like were the U and have 12 hall of fame receivers...our previous best may have been Lane Danielson....All i was saying is, did you ever see TB catch a 5 yard pass and simply outrun the defense? Nope you didnt because he only has two patterns....the fly and the fade thats it...nothing across the middle....I shouldnt really dog his speed, because some of that has to be on the QB i don't think Meyer could throw the long ball with anything on it....and therefore that pattern of throws could affect everything the WR is trying to do and the defense knows it....A lot of Blythes problems were a result of the qb and the passing game....given....but, back to my original comment - we need raw speed that forces Defenses into bad situations....I dont think we have enough overall speed at wr with blythe and with him leaving that speed may even go down!!!!
i think this is an excellent evaluation....don't forget about Cameron Bell moving to LB as well....we seem to forget him....And Dustin Land being a Safety....
I agree, we need a juco Tackle for depth if nothing else and another wr with talent....I love hamilton and think he has a ton of potential...i think he learned a lot this season and will work his arse off as he realizes he may be in the #1 spot next year....i think he responds....i really like Graham, he looks the part, his body is there and if his mind is, we have a good one, catches everything.....
DB are our biggest needs - and i don't care if we have 22 returning players back there, they were exposed against KU, seemed slow and not agressive at all - in essence intimidated....not to mention got their arses handed to them when KU wideouts blocked them......it was a sad display!!!!!!!
I agree with you on Hamilton, i think he really stepped up this season and he has a ton of upside. That said, that 4 move he put on Tabib was awesome!!!! Turned him inside out no doubt.....
What i would like to see from a wr for ISU though is the raw ability to run a simple route and create seperation! I think hamilton has tremendous upside and he's gotten a taste of the big 12 and i'll bet he wants to be in endzone a lot next year....which obviously is great for us, a hungry player works hard which is exactly what i see from him....i'm predicting he will be in awesome shape next fall and will be a force.....
As far as recruiting....we better have another option....Sumrall, i don't think so, good little receiver, but, lacking speed, he's a great zone receiver, finds openings and catches the ball....awesome at moving the sticks - don't strike fear into anyone that once he catches it he could be gone....
We need at least 2-3 WR coming in....Franklin is a bust - sorry, i loved the signing, but, for whatever reason, should have been redshirted, didnt have a body ready for big 12 ball maybe that will change by next year, definately has the speed, not sure about everything else....We need Graham to come in and at the minimum be our #2, i would love for him to be legit and be our #1 and then Hamilton could be #2 and Sumrall could be the slot.....We need depth and talent - if that means JUCOS fine, if that means HS fine, but we need talent however it gets to Ames i don't care.....
