Hughes just had those good games at the end of his Freshman year and a few Sophomore year that made me think he would develop into a beast of a back. It just didn't happen for some reason?
Those games were against terrible defenses. In fact, any game in which Hughes has looked good, it's always been against defenses that are below-average or worse.
I posted something over at Subway Domer after he reiterated that Hughes would have a big year and go onto be a decent player in the NFL, and I said basically, he's averaging something like 2.7 YPC against any top 60 defense he's faced over his first three years.
In contrast, Allen was something like 4.3 YPC against top 60 defenses and didn't have the benefit of racking up big numbers last year against Wazzu, Navy, Stanford, etc.
And I'll echo Old Man Mike's thoughts that Hughes really isn't much of a power back to begin with. He never really runs over people, he's always tried to dance around guys and he goes down WAY too easy for someone his size.
And yes, he just doesn't fit in this offense. At this point, I'd rather keep Allen or Gray in short yardage situations, because I've seen Hughes get stuffed one too many times. At least Allen or Gray will keep the defense on their toes if it's playaction.
I'd be surprised to see Hughes get even 10 carries this year, I really would. I thought he'd be a good fit as an H-back and I hope he fills that role if it happens. He could be a great blocker coming across, he'd be a nice weapon to throw the ball to in the flat and he could take a pitching up the middle once in a while too.
