Robert Hughes

[fightincolts]

What if Robert Hughes got 5/10 carries every game for the entire season? 4/5 games we lost Hughes did not get a single carry. 7/8 games we won, Hughes had at least one carry. When we need a first down, Hughes got it. Only one game Allen did not play, we lost. (Navy)

Comparison:

ARMANDO ALLEN JR: 107 attempts, 514 yards, 4.8 avg, 2 TD's in 8 games.
ROBERT HUGHES: 68 attempts, 300 yards, 4.4 avg, 2 TD's in 8 games.

Hughes was great late in the season when ND needed him to get a spot in a bowl game, and he picked up clutch first downs. I would much have rather seen Hughes get more carries, because he is an absolute force at 255 pounds. Anybody else with me?

 

[Kak7304]

"Intitially as we went through spring ball and summer camp, he ran like he was a 172-poounder, always looking for cuts and trying to outrun people around the corner rather than lowering his pads and taking on tacklers and getting the tough yardage that way. Now he's using his natural strength and power, he's really starting to utilize that, break tackles, running guys over. Hopefully we'll see the same thing from him this game."

This was from Molnar in a Sun Bowl interview. Over his career, Hughes tried to be a speed back when he should have been a punishing runner. I remember Alford saying something very similar last year. Only at the end of this year did he finally accept that he is a big bruising RB and not a speedster.

 

[fightincolts]

"Intitially as we went through spring ball and summer camp, he ran like he was a 172-poounder, always looking for cuts and trying to outrun people around the corner rather than lowering his pads and taking on tacklers and getting the tough yardage that way. Now he's using his natural strength and power, he's really starting to utilize that, break tackles, running guys over. Hopefully we'll see the same thing from him this game."

This was from Molnar in a Sun Bowl interview. Over his career, Hughes tried to be a speed back when he should have been a punishing runner. I remember Alford saying something very similar last year. Only at the end of this year did he finally accept that he is a big bruising RB and not a speedster.

Even still, guys bounce off him like its rugby. You need 3 or 4 guys to bring him down.. I feel like there was a lot of wasted talent this season by not playing him.

 

[Riddickulous]

I think he will find himself a fullback role in the NFL.

 

[PJWhitfield]

Great post and great reply. Can't argue with anything said here. Hughes was a north-south bulldozer in the games I saw. The spread offense has led coaches to forget the virtues of power running. I hate those jitterbug left-right runners always trying to break the big run and so they lose two yards when all you need is three. But didn't Kelly use Hughes more near the end of the year? I don't have the stats but it seemed so.

 

[IrishInColumbus]

I have never understood this fascination with Hughes. Outside of the USC game, in the slop with defensive players unable to get good footing, he never did much.

As far as yards per carry, Wood averaged 5.1, Allen averaged 4.8, and Hughes averaged 4.4. That should tell the whole story. For every time Hughes bulldozed through a defended, he was tackled very easily ten other times.

 

[PapaIrish37]

Congratulations to Robert for his award last night.

The coaching staff saw him everyday in practice. When he decided to always run North and South he started to play.

Even the biggest bruiser is fairly easy to bring down when he is headed to the edge and he can be hit from the side. Once someone like Hughes has his shoulders square to the line of scrimmage and a little head of steam it is very hard to stop him. All his "big" runs at ND fit this mold - USC or Miami this year, late in the Washington game last year or even when he scored the short yardage TD the week after his brother was killed.

I hope there is a place for him to play fullback on Sundays next year. He seems like a great kid and all the best parts of what is meant by "a ND man."

Thank you Robert for your class, work and effort.

One sound I will miss with this team next year _ "HUUUUGHES!"

 

[Rocket89]

I have never understood this fascination with Hughes. Outside of the USC game, in the slop with defensive players unable to get good footing, he never did much.

As far as yards per carry, Wood averaged 5.1, Allen averaged 4.8, and Hughes averaged 4.4. That should tell the whole story. For every time Hughes bulldozed through a defended, he was tackled very easily ten other times.

^This.

I can't remember a player in recent memory who's performance has been so skewed by a fan bases want of success for him. It's a credit to Hughes being a stand-up guy, a good leader and someone who didn't complain while falling down the depth chart, but c'mon people.

The last drive against USC was great, but another series in the Sun Bowl was more fitting in my mind.

1st and Goal from the Miami 3 yard line.

Hughes for 2 yards, Hughes for no gain, Hughes for loss of 1 yard. Kick FG.

We'll hear for a long time how Hughes was misused, how he didn't fit the spread as a senior, how the line sucked and didn't block, but that series against Miami was what frustrated me so much with Hughes. He had three opportunities to just run someone over, and he didn't. The line was getting a push and he was stood up each and every time.

Does Hughes have good speed and nice feet for a big runner? Absolutely. Was he ever a tough and punishing runner at Notre Dame? I would have to say no, not for someone who weighs 235 to 240 pounds. If you're that big in college and you want to be considered a tough runner, you should be crushing people. Not merely running into them and falling forward a couple yards, but running them over and continuing running down field.

Don't get me wrong, Hughes had his moments where he ran really hard, but they were preciously minimal over 4 years, and overall I was never that impressed with his power running. You could cue up every single carry from his career and an unbiased observer is never going to say, "Wow, why didn't that guy get more carries??"

Please don't take this as me bashing Hughes, because I think he is one of the definitions of a Notre Dame man. But when I see people wondering why he didn't play more or that they think he'll carve himself out a NFL career I'm just like...huh?? Have people been watching the same player as me??

Not only were those three carries near the goal line more fitting in my eyes, but so was his overall performance in the Sun Bowl. 81 yards on 27 carries...that's pretty much below-average, and average if we're talking about a smaller underclassmen. Some have said in another thread, "well he picked up big first downs and that is so crucial!" But where is the bar set when we're giving credit for someone for picking up 3 yards and getting tackled, all against a bad run defense? I'm pretty sure there are 200 other running backs in the country that can do that, including Wood and Allen..so why is it so special when Hughes does it?

Sorry if I am being one of these....

But when I hear people gush about Hughes as if he ran people over like Bettis or Brooks, or that he was the best running back on the team, or that he's a lock to play in the NFL, it's more like...

 

[Old Man Mike]

Gentlemen, may I suggest that we honor a guy who could have just quit his senior year, being buried on the depth chart but didn't. He also really helped us in a couple of games. How many guys go through their college careers who cannot say that they markedly helped their team win some really big games, which will lead to wonderful aftereffects [enthusiasm, recruiting, "momentum"] after they are gone?? Thank you, Robert, for your fortitude and loyalty. Good job, young man.

As to what happened early in the season: our offense floundered due in part to the Kelly Culture-Shift not yet taking place. In that confused time of transition, we discovered that we did not have a single on-field Fire-&-Brimstone Leader. EXCEPT Armando Allen. We HAD to keep AA in there as long as him could effectively limp---he was all we had for that "intangible".

[Harrison and, I understand, Ian, were doing that on the other side, while Manti was trying to grow his sophomore personality {quiet by nature} into the role].

AA is the forgotten "Award" of this team. Kelly should have made up one for him. Without AA we might not have won some that we did early [or have been discouragingly out of the state-of-Michigan games], and never been in position to wap Miami. Had there been more O-leadership, I believe that both Cierre and Robert would have played more early. AA obviously needed the rest but Coach thought he couldn't take him off the field.

 

[jason_h537]

Hughes when motivated is a beast. If he can play with the kind of intensity he showed against USC at the next level, he will havea solid career.

 

[Veer option]

Regardless of his individual stats, I thought Hughes was a pleasure to watch throughout his career for the Irish. For me, Hughes style of running reminds me of the days when ND was not so much as a finesse team but more about a punishing style of run first football. Many times this past season I would laugh with glee when the sound of the hits he put on people would reverberate through my TV. I sure has heck wouldn't want to try to bring Hughes down, and I think he will have a productive NFL career as a RB.

 

[irishpat183]

Same thing happened to Brandon Jacobs in the NFL.....finally figured it out that he's not a runner who can bounce around. Just lower your shoulder and use what God gave you.

Too bad it took Hughes 4 years to figure it out. But good luck to him.

 

[RyCo1983]

Same thing happened to Brandon Jacobs in the NFL.....finally figured it out that he's not a runner who can bounce around. Just lower your shoulder and use what God gave you.

Too bad it took Hughes 4 years to figure it out. But good luck to him.

Hughes could possibly be a Brandon Jacobs type...probably not as good, but he could definitely have a decent pro career...he should go late, or maybe undrafted...but I bet if he gets some workouts he'll impress.

 

[irishpat183]

Regardless of his individual stats, I thought Hughes was a pleasure to watch throughout his career for the Irish. For me, Hughes style of running reminds me of the days when ND was not so much as a finesse team but more about a punishing style of run first football. Many times this past season I would laugh with glee when the sound of the hits he put on people would reverberate through my TV. I sure has heck wouldn't want to try to bring Hughes down, and I think he will have a productive NFL career as a RB.

It was as if Hughes was just 10 years too late. He would've been the starter back in those days. Don't know about the pros, you can never tell. He'll have to work his way onto a squad, but that suits him well. He battled adversity, and battled for PT his entire ND career so I think he'll work his way on to some NFL team.

 

[irishpat183]

^This.

I can't remember a player in recent memory who's performance has been so skewed by a fan bases want of success for him. It's a credit to Hughes being a stand-up guy, a good leader and someone who didn't complain while falling down the depth chart, but c'mon people.

The last drive against USC was great, but another series in the Sun Bowl was more fitting in my mind.

1st and Goal from the Miami 3 yard line.

Hughes for 2 yards, Hughes for no gain, Hughes for loss of 1 yard. Kick FG.

We'll hear for a long time how Hughes was misused, how he didn't fit the spread as a senior, how the line sucked and didn't block, but that series against Miami was what frustrated me so much with Hughes. He had three opportunities to just run someone over, and he didn't. The line was getting a push and he was stood up each and every time.

Does Hughes have good speed and nice feet for a big runner? Absolutely. Was he ever a tough and punishing runner at Notre Dame? I would have to say no, not for someone who weighs 235 to 240 pounds. If you're that big in college and you want to be considered a tough runner, you should be crushing people. Not merely running into them and falling forward a couple yards, but running them over and continuing running down field.

Don't get me wrong, Hughes had his moments where he ran really hard, but they were preciously minimal over 4 years, and overall I was never that impressed with his power running. You could cue up every single carry from his career and an unbiased observer is never going to say, "Wow, why didn't that guy get more carries??"

Please don't take this as me bashing Hughes, because I think he is one of the definitions of a Notre Dame man. But when I see people wondering why he didn't play more or that they think he'll carve himself out a NFL career I'm just like...huh?? Have people been watching the same player as me??

Not only were those three carries near the goal line more fitting in my eyes, but so was his overall performance in the Sun Bowl. 81 yards on 27 carries...that's pretty much below-average, and average if we're talking about a smaller underclassmen. Some have said in another thread, "well he picked up big first downs and that is so crucial!" But where is the bar set when we're giving credit for someone for picking up 3 yards and getting tackled, all against a bad run defense? I'm pretty sure there are 200 other running backs in the country that can do that, including Wood and Allen..so why is it so special when Hughes does it?

Sorry if I am being one of these....

But when I hear people gush about Hughes as if he ran people over like Bettis or Brooks, or that he was the best running back on the team, or that he's a lock to play in the NFL, it's more like...

Exactly. You hit the nail on the head. Guy looked incredible at times, but had an overall dissapointing career. Wish him luck in the future. Like I said, he'll have to battle to get into the league....

 

[irish1958]

Rickey Watters had a similar problem problem with dancing around instead of hitting the hole hard. Holtz could never get him to cut it out. When he got to the pros he was told that if he didn't stop it he was out of a job, he finally stopped it and became a great runner and receiver.
I am afraid that Wood has a dancing problem also.

 

[Rocket89]

Rickey Watters had a similar problem problem with dancing around instead of hitting the hole hard. Holtz could never get him to cut it out. When he got to the pros he was told that if he didn't stop it he was out of a job, he finally stopped it and became a great runner and receiver.
I am afraid that Wood has a dancing problem also.

Every great runner has a "dancing around" problem to a certain extent.

Watters rushed for 1,814 yards on only 325 carries at Notre Dame, he was dynamic and a great player before he went into the NFL.

 

[irish1958]

Every great runner has a "dancing around" problem to a certain extent.

Watters rushed for 1,814 yards on only 325 carries at Notre Dame, he was dynamic and a great player before he went into the NFL.

Exactly correct; nevertheless, Holtz couldn't get him to hit the hole and jerked him out of the game on occasion for this reason.
Part of the reason Holtz had him play at receiver was for this reason. (Of course, Holtz had other, talented runners.) It turned out that the receiving skills he developed were golden in the NFL.
When you need one yard, dancing around it the backfield will (as pointed out above) often lead to a loss and a punt, which is exactly the same as a turnover.
A back has to learn when trying to "take it to the house" is not the purpose of the play.
Hotz and Watters didn't get alone. Holtz suspended him for the USC game one year. Another time he chewed him out for running back a punt for a TD, I think against BC, when he caught it in the endzone.
He was a very good and successful back at ND, but he could have been a whole lot better.
The point is, C Wood is dancing around, and he needs to stop it. You can get away with it in high school almost always; in college not so much against good teams; in the NFL not ever.