Cierre Wood Named to Sporting News All-Spring Team

[Rocket89]

I think Allen and Wood will split carries for most of the season...probably 60/40 in favor of Allen. Kelly has never leaned on one running back like Weis wanted to. I'm working on an article now speaking to how good this ground game could really be.

I say give Allen 150+ carries
Wood 100+ carries
Gray 50+ carries
And turn Hughes into a Burger-type blocker. I'm sorry but do we really need a 250+ pound running back who is that slow? He's probably the slowest back in ND history and doesn't fit the offense at all. Good teams will shut Hughes down, like USC last year, lineman can catch him on stretch plays. It's sad, but I say keep him off the field and let Allen and Wood boost their confidence with short yardage touchdowns...Hughes was never that good at it anyway, especially for a big back.

 

[NDinL.A.]

I think Allen and Wood will split carries for most of the season...probably 60/40 in favor of Allen. Kelly has never leaned on one running back like Weis wanted to. I'm working on an article now speaking to how good this ground game could really be.

I say give Allen 150+ carries
Wood 100+ carries
Gray 50+ carries
And turn Hughes into a Burger-type blocker. I'm sorry but do we really need a 250+ pound running back who is that slow? He's probably the slowest back in ND history and doesn't fit the offense at all. Good teams will shut Hughes down, like USC last year, lineman can catch him on stretch plays. It's sad, but I say keep him off the field and let Allen and Wood boost their confidence with short yardage touchdowns...Hughes was never that good at it anyway, especially for a big back.

Before you write that article, if you're thinking that Hughes is as bad as you just said (slowest running back in ND history?), then you might want to check the history books. Or, you might want to just check last year's stats.

Now, I'm not saying that Hughes is great, nor am I saying that he isn't as good as we all thought he'd be...clearly he isn't. However, he isn't as bad as you claim. In fact, if you're going to give Allen 150 carries and Hughes zero...check the stats from last year. Allen averaged 4.9 yds per carry; Hughes 4.7. Allen had a long of 26 (despite all that speed); Hughes had a long of 37. Allen caught 9 more passes for a 7.7 ypc average; Hughes has an average of 10.2 yds.

As for the stretch play - of course Hughes would be caught; HE'S NOT THAT TYPE OF BACK! It used to kill me CW would call that slow-developing play for Hughes (behind that atrociously slow line). Hughes is a between-the-tackles runner, and he does it effectively enough. And in short yardage plays last year, he was 6-9. However, the 2 plays we all remember is the one where he got knocked unconscious on the goal line, and the fumble against Navy that was a back-breaker. Definitely not all-star material, and not good enough in my eyes either, but not as bad as some people seem to remember. And one more stat - he touched the ball 107 times last year, and he gained a 1st down or TD 33 of those times.

Now, having said all that, I agree with you that Hughes seems to be the odd man out. Just watching the games last year, I agree that Allen is the better back and deserves the bulk of the carries, providing he can stay healthy. But in another offense (i.e. pro-style), I think Hughes would still prove to be valuable. In any case, I think the "Hughes sucks" stories going on out there are greatly exaggerated. Great? No way. But he had a decently productive year last year as mainly a backup and probably would have had an even better year if we didn't throw the ball so much (when you have #7 and Mr. Tate, can you blame CW?)...

 

[Rocket89]

I don't want to knock Hughes too hard, but he is what he is. His averages are close to Allen, but that's only because he racked up stats against bad teams last year. Allen didn't get to play against Purdue, Washington State or Stanford...all games in which Hughes averaged 6 ypc, but Allen probably would have been close to 8 or 9. Allen has improved every year, Hughes hasn't. That's another knock too. I'll give Hughes credit for his long run against UW, but that was pretty much the highlight of the year. He really is slow, he doesn't make guys miss, he hasn't improved and he has been shut down far too often, especially against good teams. We need a dynamic running game and Hughes looked like he was running in slow motion when I saw a game live last year, and he looked the same in the spring game. Unless the line blows open huge holes, he is completely ineffective. He made some nice plays in the passing game last year, but again, mediocre competition and he's wide open, catches the ball, runs for a second, doesn't make anyone miss, and gets tackled. I can't really give him too much credit for that. I know he's a nice guy and it sucks that he's a senior, but he doesn't offer anything. I've always looked at it like this...if he was on a MAC team, would he be a star? Does he even touch the field at USC, LSU or Ohio State. I don't think so, it's not like he's Ron Dayne or even LenDale White. I'm just trying to tell it like it is, or as I see it.

 

[NeuteredDoomer]

I think the ND backs have simply been "victims" of CW's atrocious running attack and philosophy. Put any of these backs in a good scheme, and they thrive.