'13 FL RB Tarean Folston (Notre Dame Signed LOI)

[Booslum31]

I never realized how much TF runs north and south. Between him and Cam, can't speak on GB yet, I am most excited about that. Obviously TF has some wiggle and can break off 15-20 yard runs with a little hole, but even if it is a tight squeeze, he should almost always gain something. That's what made Cam the solid contributor he is, north and south running.

I really appreciate Cam...I do for all the reasons that people have posted. My (unpopular) opinion is that he shouldn't get more than 10% of the touches next year. He's disciplined, runs hard, runs north/south but he's not explosive, doesn't make many tacklers miss him, and strikes no fear in the opposing team. If GB is everything we think he is then Cam's contribution could/should be less than 10%. There, I said it and I won't do it again. I know I'll be jumped on for this opinion.

 

[CanadalovesND]

I really appreciate Cam...I do for all the reasons that people have posted. My (unpopular) opinion is that he shouldn't get more than 10% of the touches next year. He's disciplined, runs hard, runs north/south but he's not explosive, doesn't make many tacklers miss him, and strikes no fear in the opposing team. If GB is everything we think he is then Cam's contribution could/should be less than 10%. There, I said it and I won't do it again. I know I'll be jumped on for this opinion.

re-watch some games. He actually does a decent job of making tacklers miss. USC, BYU... most of his yards came after contact.

 

[Cackalacky]

Dat Navy game.

 

[koonja]

Love how he never goes down at first contact in the box. Knew he had a good season but honestly didn't realize he was that impressive for a freshman.

It's interesting that Kelly seems to want to talk about Bryant's physicality because it seems like the best package to accentuate Folston would be a true burner. Instead of a change in style and speed leading to the big play, I would guess that means that Kelly is looking to just beat up defensive fronts with a steady dose of our huge O-line, plus "no regard for his own life" Cam, and two physically gifted bruisers. I'd be willing to bet we start seeing lots of 12 yard gains through arm tackles in the 4th quarter this year.

If you had to explain to someone who knows nothing about football what a perfect RB is like, Folson is exactly that. Height is basically irrelevant, and speed is always great, but not necessary at all. You want a compact runner, who makes great reads and can cut on a dime, lower his head and finish off a run. That's exactly what Folston is.

Bryant is all to be determined. I don't see him as the North/South guy Folston is, though. He's somewhere between Folston and Amir I'd say. His cuts are electric, and he'll probably fall forward for a few yards better than Amir would, but not break as many tackles as Folston I'd guess. I could be completely wrong and he'll just crush everything, but I see him as being an smaller, but incredibly strong runner who excels at 'jukes'.

And trust me, I've been watching Bryant film.

 

[Old Man Mike]

Well, we still aren't figuring the "Cam factor" as a superior back [so far] when it's a passing call. He probably is still the best blocker [Coach and GB both say GB needs work still there] and has probably the best "hands" too. We should never under-rate what Kelly thinks about these two things. The relevance to carries is that Coach likes to give it to that "passing down" back as a surprise, and let him run into the second level for ten yards. ...

plus watch Coach Alford with Cam in practices ... actual affectionate hugs and helmet pats regularly. The staff really likes the guy... that almost always translates into playing time.

 

[Bluto]

Contrary to your memories the Defense was pretty good last year despite the injuries that decimated what was supposed to be the Best DLine in the country. The DLine started out injured and played injured and shorthanded the entire season. The Defense also didn't have the support of a ball control offense nor a game changing plays by special teams. As I recall Starting Field Position relative to the Opponents Starting Field Position was a definite Disadvantage for ND last season.

Despite that the D were:

Passing D 15th out of 125, 198 ypg (#11 Alabama gave up 18 ypg less)
Scoring D 27th, 22.4 ppg. #10 Stanford gave up 3.4 ppg less)
Total D 31st (20 yds/game higher than #15 LSU)
Rushing D 71st. 168 ypg ( #14 USC was 46 ypg less BUT only by 0.23 ypa, 3.95 vs 4.18)

If you look at those numbers ND is pretty close to the lauded Defenses. Had Nix not gotten injured or if Tuitt not started the season injured ND's defense would have gotten rave reviews.

The weak point was the Rush but looking at our numbers vs USC's, ND's opponents rushed about 100 times more during the season than USC's because that's where the injuries made ND more vulnerable.

So what you're saying is ND is going 13-0! Yessssss! Haha.

 

[Jebediah Springfield]

He looked pretty good in that video.

Im starting to lean towards him getting the bulk of carries this coming season.

 

[koonja]

He looked pretty good in that video.

Im starting to lean towards him getting the bulk of carries this coming season.

Way to go out on a limb there. .

 

[Irish#1]

Well, we still aren't figuring the "Cam factor" as a superior back [so far] when it's a passing call. He probably is still the best blocker [Coach and GB both say GB needs work still there] and has probably the best "hands" too. We should never under-rate what Kelly thinks about these two things. The relevance to carries is that Coach likes to give it to that "passing down" back as a surprise, and let him run into the second level for ten yards. ...

plus watch Coach Alford with Cam in practices ... actual affectionate hugs and helmet pats regularly. The staff really likes the guy... that almost always translates into playing time.

Agree, I don't look for Cam to lose a lot of carries, some maybe, but I won't be surprised if he starts.

 

[Bogtrotter07]

Well, we still aren't figuring the "Cam factor" as a superior back [so far] when it's a passing call. He probably is still the best blocker [Coach and GB both say GB needs work still there] and has probably the best "hands" too. We should never under-rate what Kelly thinks about these two things. The relevance to carries is that Coach likes to give it to that "passing down" back as a surprise, and let him run into the second level for ten yards. ...

plus watch Coach Alford with Cam in practices ... actual affectionate hugs and helmet pats regularly. The staff really likes the guy... that almost always translates into playing time.

Thanks! That's really what you can take from a minute and a half video!

 

[T Town Tommy]

Contrary to your memories the Defense was pretty good last year despite the injuries that decimated what was supposed to be the Best DLine in the country. The DLine started out injured and played injured and shorthanded the entire season. The Defense also didn't have the support of a ball control offense nor a game changing plays by special teams. As I recall Starting Field Position relative to the Opponents Starting Field Position was a definite Disadvantage for ND last season.
Despite that the D were:

Passing D 15th out of 125, 198 ypg (#11 Alabama gave up 18 ypg less)
Scoring D 27th, 22.4 ppg. #10 Stanford gave up 3.4 ppg less)
Total D 31st (20 yds/game higher than #15 LSU)
Rushing D 71st. 168 ypg ( #14 USC was 46 ypg less BUT only by 0.23 ypa, 3.95 vs 4.18)

If you look at those numbers ND is pretty close to the lauded Defenses. Had Nix not gotten injured or if Tuitt not started the season injured ND's defense would have gotten rave reviews.

The weak point was the Rush but looking at our numbers vs USC's, ND's opponents rushed about 100 times more during the season than USC's because that's where the injuries made ND more vulnerable.

FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Innovative Statistics, Intelligent Analysis | 2013 FEI RATINGS, FIELD POSITION backs you up.

ND ranked #87th in their FEI Field Position data. The Irish starting field position ranked #101and their opponents starting field position was #64th. The delta of the two has the Irish at #84 overall.

The Irish were worse in short field drive rankings - drives starting past midfield. The Irish ranked #121 in short field drives and their opponents ranked #44 overall.

Short fields for the opposing team and poor field position for the Irish offense put a lot of strain on an already injured Irish defense last season. At least by the statistical data.

 

[Old Man Mike]

That's the BIG downside in "bend-don't-break" and why one needs to "get to the next level" as Kelly said about Van Gorder in order to unleash the offense. You don't get something for nothing ordinarily --- that means playing more aggressive defense and getting burnt once in a while.

I say let's play to dominate, not just survive.

 

[RDU Irish]

Finally found a highlight video of Tarean's freshman year.

So, for all you highlight vid junkies, enjoy..

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/ltSjIAWw7OQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Looks better on turf than that crappy ND sod, IMO.

 

[IrishLion]

Looks better on turf than that crappy ND sod, IMO.

I agree ND needs turf, but two of his best three games came on that crappy ND sod, and three of his best four overall were on grass.

He tore up Navy, and ran very well against BYU, both at home.

He also ran well against Stanford when given opportunities, which was on "suspect" grass as well.

His next best game was probably Air Force, which was on FieldTurf.

 

[ulukinatme]

Well, we still aren't figuring the "Cam factor" as a superior back [so far] when it's a passing call. He probably is still the best blocker [Coach and GB both say GB needs work still there] and has probably the best "hands" too. We should never under-rate what Kelly thinks about these two things. The relevance to carries is that Coach likes to give it to that "passing down" back as a surprise, and let him run into the second level for ten yards. ...

plus watch Coach Alford with Cam in practices ... actual affectionate hugs and helmet pats regularly. The staff really likes the guy... that almost always translates into playing time.

Agree, I don't look for Cam to lose a lot of carries, some maybe, but I won't be surprised if he starts.

OMM is spot on I think. I like Cam and what he brings to the team. I don't having anything negative I can say about him. He may not have as much potential as Folston and Bryant, but he does everything the right way, has a lot of heart, and you know when he takes the field you're going to get 110% out of him. I've got no problem seeing Cam out there as our #1 guy, I think he's earned it, with Folston sharing carries at #2. Unless Bryant proves in practice that he's head and shoulders above one of those two guys, I say give him the carries at #3 and let him earn his spot like the guys in front of him did. Cam is sure handed, he is quick, he'll fight for extra yards, and he can see the hole well. That consistency is what you want from a starting back.

I agree ND needs turf, but two of his best three games came on that crappy ND sod, and three of his best four overall were on grass.

He tore up Navy, and ran very well against BYU, both at home.

He also ran well against Stanford when given opportunities, which was on "suspect" grass as well.

His next best game was probably Air Force, which was on FieldTurf.

It should be noted that Stanford does not suffer from the poor weather than South Bend experiences, which is why they're an exception to the rule when it comes to grass surface. It should also be noted that several players slipped during the Navy and BYU games because of field conditions, the footing was noticeably bad from both TV and live attendance. If Folston tore it up in those games, it's quite possible he could have performed even better on Field Turf.

 

[IrishLion]

It should also be noted that several players slipped during the Navy and BYU games because of field conditions, the footing was noticeably bad from both TV and live attendance. If Folston tore it up in those games, it's quite possible he could have performed even better on Field Turf.

I was just disagreeing with the statement that he looked better on turf than on grass in that film. His best performances in that film came on ND's grass.

I do agree with you that he would be even more effective playing on a reliable surface every home game though, which is fun to think about.

 

[irishfan]

Would love to see Folston/Bryant getting about 40/40 of the carries with Cam mainly as the 3rd down back.

 

[Veritate Duce Progredi]

If Greg and Tarean meet their expectations this year, Cam should get no more than 20% of the carries. He also shouldn't get less than 15%.

He's a solid, reliable runner but nothing I've seen or heard from the coaches makes me believe Tarean and Greg won't give 100% every time they are on the field. And they have the added benefit of huge upside and hopefully the ability to take over a game.

Think back to how great Riddick was in his final year. If we can get that type of running out of Tarean and Greg, I'll take it all day long. Let McDaniel come in and take carries to keep all three of them fresh. I want McDaniel to succeed but he's only the starter if Bryant and Folston were over-inflated in their evaluations.

 

[koonja]

I actually think Greg's running style will be very similar to Theo's but on steroids. Quick cut, not huge but runs incredibly strong.

 

[Who'saWildManNow]

That's the BIG downside in "bend-don't-break" and why one needs to "get to the next level" as Kelly said about Van Gorder in order to unleash the offense. You don't get something for nothing ordinarily --- that means playing more aggressive defense and getting burnt once in a while.

I say let's play to dominate, not just survive.

This is what I crave. BK has been forced into survival ball year in and year out due to circumstances we are all too familiar with.

The roster is not yet ideal but the pieces are in place to do some serious damage. BK needs to step on some throats.

 

[RDU Irish]

I said LOOKED better on turf in the video, that doesn't mean he didn't do better in the mud or become ineffective in the mud.

 

[IrishLion]

I said LOOKED better on turf in the video, that doesn't mean he didn't do better in the mud or become ineffective in the mud.

He looked really nice against Air Force on the turf. You could definitely tell he looked better churning his feet through traffic on the turf, so I get what you're saying.

I was just trying to say that I disagreed and that I think the performance where he LOOKED the best, and had the most impressive highlights, was against Navy, on the crappy sod, and also against BYU on the same field. Love me some big chunk run plays.

 

[GoldenToTheGrave]

If Greg and Tarean meet their expectations this year, Cam should get no more than 20% of the carries. He also shouldn't get less than 15%.

He's a solid, reliable runner but nothing I've seen or heard from the coaches makes me believe Tarean and Greg won't give 100% every time they are on the field. And they have the added benefit of huge upside and hopefully the ability to take over a game.

Think back to how great Riddick was in his final year. If we can get that type of running out of Tarean and Greg, I'll take it all day long. Let McDaniel come in and take carries to keep all three of them fresh. I want McDaniel to succeed but he's only the starter if Bryant and Folston were over-inflated in their evaluations.

Having Cam in doesn't just keep Folston and Bryant fresh, it also reduces the chance of injury. No sense risking your potential superstar backs in Folston and Bryant risking injury during garbage time when you can send your durable back who is still very effective.

 

[wizards8507]

Having Cam in doesn't just keep Folston and Bryant fresh, it also reduces the chance of injury. No sense risking your potential superstar backs in Folston and Bryant risking injury during garbage time when you can send your durable back who is still very effective.

Right. Everyone knows that we blow out opponents on a regular basis. It's nice to have a viable #3 running back for those times.

 

[GoldenToTheGrave]

Right. Everyone knows that we blow out opponents on a regular basis. It's nice to have a viable #3 running back for those times.

Haha true to a point. Even though we've played down to the competition a lot during the BK era, it's not like we haven't had blowout games.

2013: Temple, Air Force
2012: Navy, Miami, BC, Wake

None of those games required a feature back in the 4th quarter.

 

[wizards8507]

None of those games required a feature back in the 4th quarter.

Which is good, because we didn't have one

 

[Pachuco]

If Greg and Tarean meet their expectations this year, Cam should get no more than 20% of the carries. He also shouldn't get less than 15%.

He's a solid, reliable runner but nothing I've seen or heard from the coaches makes me believe Tarean and Greg won't give 100% every time they are on the field. And they have the added benefit of huge upside and hopefully the ability to take over a game.

Think back to how great Riddick was in his final year. If we can get that type of running out of Tarean and Greg, I'll take it all day long. Let McDaniel come in and take carries to keep all three of them fresh. I want McDaniel to succeed but he's only the starter if Bryant and Folston were over-inflated in their evaluations.

I'm curious about you bringing up Theo. When I think of on-the-field heart, Cam has carried the torch that Theo lit.

He's consistent, follows through with his assignments, has big game experience, has decent hands, doesn't run with breakaway speed, but is gritty and will put his nose right at you.

Is it possible for Cam to have a breakthrough year or has he maxed out his playing potential?

There is often more to see from a person with will and determination, and an improved Cam wouldn't surprise me in the least.

I don't have a problem with Cam seeing the bulk carries if he continues to improve on what he's demonstrated.

An upperclassman with great leadership and character on and off the field can be a galvanizing force for the younger guys as they continue to develop.

With that said, I trust the coaches, and I'm excited to see all these guys run the ball.

Folston is definitely my kind of back. And I can't wait to see what Bryant adds to the mix.

It's pretty exciting, fellas.

 

[GoldenToTheGrave]

Which is good, because we didn't have one

You are a cheeky bastard aren't you lol.

 

[dublinirish]

they ALL have good hearts

 

[NDohio]

I'm curious about you bringing up Theo. When I think of on-the-field heart, Cam has carried the torch that Theo lit.

He's consistent, follows through with his assignments, has big game experience, has decent hands, doesn't run with breakaway speed, but is gritty and will put his nose right at you.

Is it possible for Cam to have a breakthrough year or has he maxed out his playing potential?

There is often more to see from a person with will and determination, and an improved Cam wouldn't surprise me in the least.

I don't have a problem with Cam seeing the bulk carries if he continues to improve on what he's demonstrated.

An upperclassman with great leadership and character on and off the field can be a galvanizing force for the younger guys as they continue to develop.

With that said, I trust the coaches, and I'm excited to see all these guys run the ball.

Folston is definitely my kind of back. And I can't wait to see what Bryant adds to the mix.

It's pretty exciting, fellas.

During last year's season, whenever the camera panned the sideline while the defense was on the field, it always seemed to me that Cam a TF were together. Cam seemed to really take him under his wing.