'11 CA RB Amir Carlisle (Notre Dame Football Player)

[Luckylucci]

Sorry if that came across rude but you are comparing a red shirt freshman RB to our best kickoff returner and a guy that averaged 7yds per carry against a pretty tough schedule. He also scored 5tds on 51 carries that's pretty good

 

[DillonHall]

Sorry if that came across rude but you are comparing a red shirt freshman RB to our best kickoff returner and a guy that averaged 7yds per carry against a pretty tough schedule. He also scored 5tds on 51 carries that's pretty good

George often looks too timid while running the ball, whether it's returning kickoffs or taking the ball from the backfield. Sure he's got potential because of his speed, but I think he's just as unproven as Mahone and Cam. I think it'll be a legitimate battle between those three for playing time.

Oops, ironically forgot about Amir. He'll be squarely in the mix too

 

[Luckylucci]

For me if Kelly is trying to get him the ball that's all I need to know.

 

[Old Man Mike]

If I was rating these guys on raw athletic talent, it would be GAIII, either McDaniel or Carlisle, and then Mahone. But if I was rating them on knowledge and instincts on running the ball, it would probably be Carlisle or McDaniel, then Mahone, then, far last, GAIII. If I was rating them on pass receiving, it would probably be Carlisle, McDaniel, Mahone and GAIII. And if I was rating them on blocking, GAIII would probably be last too.

Everybody loves the idea of a 90 yard run. But although Kelly said the politically-correct things about getting GAIII the ball more, it's obvious that he didn't mean it the way we'd like to think he did. He meant: IF he could find weaknesses in the opponent that allowed him to utilize GAIIIs straightline speed, he'd love to do so. But when it came down to the nut-cutting, Kelly knew that Riddick's overall play was more valuable by far, and Cierre's superior ability to find holes and block was a no-brainer second choice.

I have nothing "personal" against GAIII, he seems like a great kid. But he seems to be the most unfinished college-level RB we have, maybe by far. This is why I'm REALLY hoping that Carlisle is "Riddick", and Mahone is "Jonas Gray", and Greg Bryant is ready beyond his years. If none of that is true, and we finally give in and give Cam his shot, we'll still be fine. If GAIII becomes Eric Dickerson, "Standing Hurrahs", but I'll be utterly stunned.

 

[GoIrish399]

Here are some high school highlights for comparisons sake:

Carlisle:
'11 CA HB Amir Carlisle - YouTube

Atkinson III:
George Atkinson class of 2011 Senior Highlight (Notre Dame) - YouTube

McDaniel:
Cam McDaniel Senior Highlights 2010 - YouTube

Mahone:
William Mahone Highlights - YouTube


As well as their (247 Composite) ratings out of HS:

Carlisle: 80th overall, 7th APB

Atkinson III: 226th overall, 29th WR

McDaniel: 675th overall, 42th RB

Mahone: 239th overall, 15th RB

 

[NDisme]

ga3 would be a top back in the ncaa if he had any wiggle or shake to compliment his speed but he is so stiff laterally it hurts his game so much. sure he'll run away from u, but all his long runs this year he was barley touched

 

[Bluto]

GA III is by far the best kick return threat we have.

 

[ThePiombino]

GA III is by far the best kick return threat we have.

***WARNING: UNPOPULAR OPINION TO FOLLOW***

I don't know how you can say that with such certainty. GAIII has phenomenal straight line speed, but very little lateral shiftiness. Outisde of a few big returns in two full years, he hasn't done much back there. I'm not saying he can't improve, but he's hardly proven himself to be a threat every time he touches the ball. I'm sure there are a couple others on the team who would fair just as well as he.

 

[Bluto]

***WARNING: UNPOPULAR OPINION TO FOLLOW***

I don't know how you can say that with such certainty. GAIII has phenomenal straight line speed, but very little lateral shiftiness. Outisde of a few big returns in two full years, he hasn't done much back there. I'm not saying he can't improve, but he's hardly proven himself to be a threat every time he touches the ball. I'm sure there are a couple others on the team who would fair just as well as he.

Don't you stick a guy back there to make a couple "big returns" on top of getting it past the 20 consistently? He had a few near miss long returns this past year and scored the winning TD against BYU with some nice shake n bake. I don't think that all happens with McDaniel. As for the he wasn't even touched theory well...duh that's because he outran everyone as soon as he had a slight crease. Also avergaing 7 yards per carry seems to blow some holes in your argument. Anyhow, saying he "hasn't done much" is a bit off and the fact that we're arguing about how good GA III is bodes well for us next year.

 

[Buster Bluth]

***WARNING: UNPOPULAR OPINION TO FOLLOW***

I don't know how you can say that with such certainty. GAIII has phenomenal straight line speed, but very little lateral shiftiness. Outisde of a few big returns in two full years, he hasn't done much back there. I'm not saying he can't improve, but he's hardly proven himself to be a threat every time he touches the ball. I'm sure there are a couple others on the team who would fair just as well as he.

I actually think Atkinson has a very fine side step. It's not a juke per se, but when he gets going his side step is absolutely nasty. It's been on display fairly often.

 

[Booslum31]

***WARNING: UNPOPULAR OPINION TO FOLLOW***

I don't know how you can say that with such certainty. GAIII has phenomenal straight line speed, but very little lateral shiftiness. Outisde of a few big returns in two full years, he hasn't done much back there. I'm not saying he can't improve, but he's hardly proven himself to be a threat every time he touches the ball. I'm sure there are a couple others on the team who would fair just as well as he.

Though the coaches have seen alot of GAIII...we have seen relatively little. He's definitely a different kind of runner and I guess that it's "yet to be seen" if he can be an every down back. I kind of like knowing that if he get's a step (or a crease) that he's gone. In the BYU game he basically just ran straight...stopped...and started running again. Though it was hardly "shake and bake...fast guys can get away with that. It was fun looking at his, Amir's, and Mahone's HS film again.

 

[Bogtrotter07]

I wonder if the coaches sit around and try to poke holes in each other with opinions.

(My apologies to OMM and Buster, who expressed their own perspectives without any hou-hah.)

Does anybody remember the summer tape from last year on Alford where it showed GeoIII learning how to plant and cut up field? Watch that again.

Isn't it a wonderful thing having a bunch of developing, by in large unproven underclassmen at running back? With a quarterback developing by leaps and bounds? What tape is an opponent going to watch preseason to prepare for our offense?

 

[Old Man Mike]

In all the big GAII kickoff returns to my memory there was a tremendous block at the crease in the first wave. [ McDaniel one time, I believe; Salvi maybe one time; ?? who else?? I don't remember]. That said: YES, GAIII IS the biggest kickoff return threat that we have, and by no means should be taken out of that job. To optimize his homerun threat, the special teams coach needs to put his craziest but competent blockers in a position to make those sell-out crease openers. Then GAIII is away.

I'd not be opposed in theory to the concept of trying Niklas out as a crease creator. He has the athleticism to go along with the power. One wonders if Daniel Smith could do it. Baratti? Badger?? Jaylon?? Randolph?? Deeb?? We need athletic hammerheads there.

As to GAIII as RB: I'll wait on that. Kelly very much dislikes the ball mismanagement with GAIII too. We'll see how it goes. Right now I'm hoping for Carlisle.

 

[scUM Hater]

All I know is, it seems like our special teams are not on par every year where I believe they should be. GAIII getting any returns for td's shows his abiliity to run the ball. Comparing high school tapes of these guys doesn't show what they can do in college. GAIII has more college td's and carries than the others, the coaches must know something as to why he is playing.

 

[ResLife Hero]

I think Carlisle is the real deal, but if GA3 focuses on the LOS-type moves, he could be outstanding. If the guy gets a hole, there aren't but a handful of NCAA players that have the speed to track him down, and with the development of our O-Line, I anticipate him having way more opportunities to sprint to the endzone.

 

[irishfan]

***WARNING: UNPOPULAR OPINION TO FOLLOW***

I don't know how you can say that with such certainty. GAIII has phenomenal straight line speed, but very little lateral shiftiness. Outisde of a few big returns in two full years, he hasn't done much back there. I'm not saying he can't improve, but he's hardly proven himself to be a threat every time he touches the ball. I'm sure there are a couple others on the team who would fair just as well as he.

Agreed. He was the man 2 years ago, but last year he struggled back there. By the end of the year, I was rooting for a touchback and to have the ball on the 25 as opposed to him returning it to the ~18 yard line every time.

I love GA, but I didn't think he or his blocking on kick returns was very effective last year.

 

[FightingIrishLover7]

Agreed. He was the man 2 years ago, but last year he struggled back there. By the end of the year, I was rooting for a touchback and to have the ball on the 25 as opposed to him returning it to the ~18 yard line every time.

I love GA, but I didn't think he or his blocking on kick returns was very effective last year.

It was all on the blocking, not George's fault... I'd say less than 10% on him.

 

[Sherm Sticky]

Here are some high school highlights for comparisons sake:

Carlisle:
'11 CA HB Amir Carlisle - YouTube

Atkinson III:
George Atkinson class of 2011 Senior Highlight (Notre Dame) - YouTube

McDaniel:
Cam McDaniel Senior Highlights 2010 - YouTube

Mahone:
William Mahone Highlights - YouTube


As well as their (247 Composite) ratings out of HS:

Carlisle: 80th overall, 7th APB

Atkinson III: 226th overall, 29th WR

McDaniel: 675th overall, 42th RB

Mahone: 239th overall, 15th RB

Mahone's rankings are very comparable to GA III. I think the majority of you are under estimating how good Mahone could be.

 

[Bogtrotter07]

Mahone's rankings are very comparable to GA III. I think the majority of you are under estimating how good Mahone could be.

I agree with this post. We don't have a bad option. Just a little inexperience.

 

[Rocket89]

It was all on the blocking, not George's fault... I'd say less than 10% on him.

Kick returner has to make the first guy miss on almost every attempt. He'll almost never have perfect blocking and he really struggles making that first guy miss.

 

[Sherm Sticky]

Kick returner has to make the first guy miss on almost every attempt. He'll almost never have perfect blocking and he really struggles making that first guy miss.

I think you are mixing up punt return with kick return. Kick returner has to hit an alley as fast as possible and maybe make the last guy miss.

 

[ND NYC]

i think Kelly gonna be rotating in multiple RBs next year no matter what-so we should get good look at all of them.

 

[Rocket89]

I think you are mixing up punt return with kick return. Kick returner has to hit an alley as fast as possible and maybe make the last guy miss.

It's both, but obviously more important in punt returns. There were plenty of kick returns this year where GA3 would have gained a lot more yards if he could make that first guy miss. Yes, the blocking should be better but Atkinson really struggled with his vision and avoiding that first tackler---getting pasted numerous times. Probably why McDaniel started taking some reps later in the year.

 

[Emcee77]

George often looks too timid while running the ball, whether it's returning kickoffs or taking the ball from the backfield. Sure he's got potential because of his speed, but I think he's just as unproven as Mahone and Cam. I think it'll be a legitimate battle between those three for playing time.

Oops, ironically forgot about Amir. He'll be squarely in the mix too

I tend to agree with you ... George is as fast as they come and can make guys miss occasionally (we have to remember his great juke on the TD run against BYU -- it was the difference in the game), but for every nice move he makes there is another play where he looks either indecisive or unable to make a quick move to elude a tackler. HOWEVER ...

Not sure if serious. He won't be an everydown back but he is a gamechanger back there. Mahon and McDaniel can't even come close to his big play ability. Kelly specifically said in multiple press conferences that as a staff they have to do a better job of getting him the ball.

This is real. Kelly was very clear on several occasions about the fact that the staff wants to get GAIII the ball more. On one of those occasions, IIRC, Kelly was even responding to a question specifically about Cam and he brought up GAIII on his own ... his response was something like Cam is a great RB but he is one guy in a stable of great RBs and if there is anyone they need to be finding more touches for, its GAIII.

So, while I personally agree with DillonHall that GAIII has a lot to prove in terms showing he can be more than a situational back for us, Lucci is also right that Kelly seems to have a lot of confidence in him and I wouldn't say that there's no reason to put GAIII ahead of Mahone and McDaniel. Kelly really wants to get touches for GAIII and the other two are going to have to go above and beyond to take carries away from him.

Having said all that ... I do expect Amir to be the featured back, like Riddick was this year, and to get the bulk of the carries. He's electric when he's healthy ... only question is whether he will be able to stay healthy.

 

[IrishLion]

Some may disagree, but I don't think Jonas Gray had a bunch of "wiggle" or lateral agility, but he was tremendous at making one cut/sidestep and exploding through the line.

This is the type of runner GAIII can be. He's not going to juke a bunch of guys, but if he can make one cut or sidestep one defender (which he has proven he can do) and explode through a lane on a consistent basis, he will be a great weapon just like Gray was.

 

[Emcee77]

Some may disagree, but I don't think Jonas Gray had a bunch of "wiggle" or lateral agility, but he was tremendous at making one cut/sidestep and exploding through the line.

This is the type of runner GAIII can be. He's not going to juke a bunch of guys, but if he can make one cut or sidestep one defender (which he has proven he can do) and explode through a lane on a consistent basis, he will be a great weapon just like Gray was.

Yep, I think that's right. Jonas is a guy who didn't come on until late in his career too, obviously. Those one-cut-and-go guys seem to require some time to develop, maybe because they need the experience to decide quickly which cut to make. But I agree, GAIII could languish as a backup for a while and then explode

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Having said all that ... I do expect Amir to be the featured back, like Riddick was this year, and to get the bulk of the carries. He's electric when he's healthy ... only question is whether he will be able to stay healthy.

Yup. Concerns about his size and health are well-founded, but of the returning RBs, Carlisle was the mostly highly rated, and his skill set most closely resembles what Kelly seems to want from his #1 RB.

Yep, I think that's right. Jonas is a guy who didn't come on until late in his career too, obviously. Those one-cut-and-go guys seem to require some time to develop, maybe because they need the experience to decide quickly which cut to make. But I agree, GAIII could languish as a backup for a while and then explode

Agreed. Best case scenario is for GAIII to turn into a one-cut guy with exceptional speed a la Jonas Gray. But to do that, he needs to seriously improve his lower body strength and technique. I don't think he'll ever have the elusive or ball skills necessary to be the #1.

 

[EddytoNow]

Any one of Carlisle, Atkinson, Mahone, Bryant, McDaniel, or Folston could be the featured back next year. I don't think the situation is settled yet. I expect a rotation of 2 to 3 backs similar to this year. None of the six have received enough carries for Notre Dame to make a judgement one way or the other. In fact, Atkinson and McDaniel are the only ones to have carried the ball behind Notre Dame's offensive line.

Running backs need more than 3 or 4 carries per game to show what they are capable of doing. Given a sufficient number of carries any of these backs could run for 1000 or more yards per season. It will be fun to watch the battles for playing time.

 

[Irish8248]

Not sure why people knock or overlook Carlise ... Kid has prob the best vision on the team. He was originally our 2nd option at rb behind Huggins. Going into his 3rd year, I fully expect AC to come out as the "starter" with a 3 man rotation.

I can't embed on my phone but I think we have overlooked this kids talent and vision as seen in this highlight tape.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eIOI01Pugc&feature=youtube_gdata_player

 

[IrishLax]

IF he is healthy I always expected him to dominate. Was a starter as a frosh at USC because of his drive/talent. Just can't seem to stay healthy... and reports that he is still not 100% from nerve damage in his ankle?

His best trait is his gamebreaking speed. He's also incredibly versatile. If there is one player I can't wait to watch in the spring game it is Carlisle... I hope to be wowed.