who do you think will be running back

[notredomer23]

title says all. I say its gonna be aldridge, i just have a good vibe about him. I know some people are gonna say dfferent so lets see what you think

 

[wheeler418]

I want Aldridge to start, but I think Weis will play Thomas at the start of the season for his leadership. It will be fun to watch both of them this year.

 

[The Chosen One]

If Allen is learning quickly and progressing well in spring ball, I don't see why we shouldn't start him. If we do he will gain the experience to become an impact player next year.

Number 1 reason to start him: 4.31

 

[RichardRiot]

It is a nice position to be in, but agree with the comment that Coach Weis will likely give a nod to Thomas for the additional leadership on a young team. That being said, young Mr Aldridge has apparently gotten his speed back, so he may very well play his way into the starters.....

I think that Allen will see some action, for his speed, and Robert Hughes may see some goal-line duty (ala Mark Edwards....one of my all-time favorite Irish backs)

 

[stonebreakerwasgod]

I think the Hotzian (Yeah, I borrowed that term) will be used and alot more RB will see more time this year. I also think ND will sport more different looks than last year. There are too many good TE, WR, and RB with differing abilities to just have Thomas or Aldredge run in the backfield. But what the hell do I know.

 

[Win4Gipper]

This is going to sound dumb to those of you guys who know the Irish much better than I do......but who who has the best hands out of all these guys......I think catching out of the back field is going to be huge this year(I know DW caught a ton last year but I think for the new QBs sake it is going to be a huge part of the whole mix this year)......of all those guys who best catches the ball out of the backfield???? Picking up the blitz will also be important

 

[Zorro50]

Picking up the blitz, better knowledge of the offense is why TT gets a majority of the snaps.

 

[knute]

All of them will get a look on the field. Remember at the end of last year Weis had DW run most of the plays, but brought in Aldridge and Prince for one series each. TT will start the season in the poll position because of his pass blocking, strength, maturity and leadership.

If Allen or Aldridge take advantage of their snaps and show something special, all bets are off.

 

[Irishknight1023]

Marc Edwards is the reason I played RB my whole life and wore #44 when i started playing when i was eight, anybody who can play like him should be the Heisman. I never wanted Travis to start but after seeing him in practice it looks like hes the best prepared and Aldridge will get alot of carries as well so it should be a nice change of pace either way, Darius just didn't have breakaway speed that we oh so needed.

 

[NDgrandson]

I think the poll is flawed simply because whoever starts the first game does not mean they will start the majority of them and whoever gets the first series of a game might not get the most carries of that game.

1. Understanding of the offense
2. Pass blocking
3. Pass catching ability

I think Thomas, Aldridge, Allen and and Hughes can do great things with the ball in hand. The above three will determine playing time along with...formations. I think we will utilize Schwapp and Schmidt and we will use Hughes for more than just goal line. He is not a Marc Edwards. He is a tailback with speed, power and can catch. Allen has stupid speed. As the year goes on I think TT's carries will lessen. It should be interesting in 08 to see where Aldridge fits in among Allen and Hughes.

 

[goirish#1]

I think it will be Aldridge. He has a good combination of power and speed. Plus I think he is a good blocker, and will be pretty durable.

 

[ND4life]

1. Understanding of the offense
2. Pass blocking
3. Pass catching ability

i think all these are important. and you can add one more

how they perform in the spring game?

i dont know if you guys remember a recruit named Demarco Murray (5* from 2 years ago). i believe hes a redshirt frosh at OU. i live in norman, ok and i went to the OU spring game. the QB and RB positions were pretty even for everyone, until the end of the 3rd going into the 4th. you could tell who was stepping up and who wanted to become the starter. out of 4 QB'S playing, only one made OK reads and perfect passes. Demarco Murray stole the show with kickoff returns and some beautiful cuts and long runs while he was at running back.

i just think during and after ND's spring game we will know who's gonna step up into the starting role of alot of positions. it will be appreciated if someone can go to ND's spring game and can update all of us here at the site

 

[treefiddie]

Well, I will start by saying that I like TT as a hustle player and all that good stuff everyone else says. The thing is, I just don't see him as being our best RB. I think that if going into the fall it's a close race between all 3 (Aldridge, TT, Allen) Weis should give nod to one of the guys with more talent. I hate to see talent go to waste, like it has oh so many times at ND.


Sometimes you just have to let the horses run.

 

[stonebreakerwasgod]

Well, I will start by saying that I like TT as a hustle player and all that good stuff everyone else says. The thing is, I just don't see him as being our best RB. I think that if going into the fall it's a close race between all 3 (Aldridge, TT, Allen) Weis should give nod to one of the guys with more talent. I hate to see talent go to waste, like it has oh so many times at ND.


Sometimes you just have to let the horses run.

I agree about the talent part.

 

[RichardRiot]

I think we will utilize Schwapp and Schmidt and we will use Hughes for more than just goal line. He is not a Marc Edwards. He is a tailback with speed, power and can catch. .

Actually, Hughes was not compared as a player to Mark Edwards; the comment was that he will be used in goal-line situations like Edwards was. I don't see him being used that much in any other situations; other than some limited mop-up. Coach Weis will not play 4
RBs (Thomas/Adridge/Allen/Hughes), unless he is replacing each of them for 'putting the ball on the ground'; Weis has not demonstrated the RB by committee approach in his 2 years at ND.

Oh, and BTW...Hughes is actually not that disimilar to Edwards; Edwards ran quite well for at 230lbs and had good hands.

 

[brownkj002]

I think TT will start the first game of the season.

 

[tgolden]

I think there will definitely be multiple running backs getting a good amount of carries per game. I'd think that TT will start out as the starter just b/c of his experience and leadership. Plus, he is a very good back. But I'm sure Aldrigde will get a good number of carries and Allen and/or Hughes will work their way in too.

But I have to admit I have a personal bias in wanting Travis to start and get the majority of the carries, so I don't actually have many factual reasons for my above statements.

 

[knute]

But I have to admit I have a personal bias in wanting Travis to start and get the majority of the carries, so I don't actually have many factual reasons for my above statements.

Travis switched to linebacker last year for the good of the team. It was clear that it's not his favored position, but he swallowed his personal goals to help out however he could. Then, when he switched back to tailback this winter, he worked out like a demon and showed up at spring practice as a captain, strong as a bull and able to run all day. You have to root for this guy.

That being said, I was watching the running back drills from the spring practice videos and I can see why Weis said that Allen didn't look like a freshman. He's ripped and has smooth, quick feet. He's got to learn pass protection and how to receive out of the backfield, but when he does, watch out. Aldridge is going to have his hands full holding on to the #2 RB slot.

 

[treefiddie]

I agree about the talent part.

What part do you disagree with? The whole thing is about putting talent on the field.

 

[ColonialHead]

I'm a huge Thomas fan. I agree with the folks that said we start the season with TT. After that, it's up to Aldridge to wrestle it away and earn hsi snaps... he does show promise. But I just love the team first attitude and leadership/hard work of TT. I'm pulling for him to start the season and play so well he ends the season as the starter.

 

[Junkhead]

I think Thomas will be the starter eary on. I expect Aldridge to get quite a few carries, and take over the starting role. Thomas is a perfect change of pace back. Allen will be too good to keep off the field for long. 2008 will be the Aldridge Allen show, with Hughes making a cameo.

 

[LeadBlocker]

There is no contest here. Who do you think Weis trusts the most? Who has the most game experience? Thomas will certainly get the lions share of handoffs.
That being said... other backs will peppered in.
I like this poll, because IMO the running back position at ND(whoever starts) is going to have as big an impact as the QB position.
In fact, I think Irish fans are going to be REintroduced to a dominant rushing offense this season.
The perfect RUSHING storm...the O-line talent , and the RB talent equals...
A rushing attack that has DC's blitzing safties and corners to stop thier bleeding.
I smell play action bombs coming!

 

[The Polish Irishman]

TT= 10-12 carries
Alridge= 12-15 carries
Jones will have 5 carries 20-25 passes
AA will see time in the middle of the season
Redshirt Hughes

 

[Irishknight1023]

Travis will get the bulk followed by Alridge...Armando will get just as much as Alridge in my opinion...nice change of pace back. Hughes has already stated that they are not redshirting him, the biggest reason he came here is for early PT.