That’s absolutely nuts to me. Again, the dropoff (if any) between a sophomore Evans and freshman Najee is negligible at best. I would prioritize almost any elite OL or DL over Najee based on what we have and what we need. Not even close. Unless the position is QB, one player just doesn’t have the impact in relation to basketball. Hell Fournette couldn’t even dominate against certain teams when LSU proved incapable of blocking. I’m 100% certain Najee wouldn’t be effective at Fournette level as a freshman.
‘Honorable mention: New Michigan commit Chuck Filiaga out of Texas struggled throughout the week with both the strength and the quickness of the defensive linemen he was going against. Georgia offensive line commit Netori Johnson’s play throughout the week was less than memorable, and he was beaten badly more often than not during Saturday’s game.’
Yes I do, as a matter of fact.
I totally get the need for a dominant O-Line to be a dominant team. But you also need star power at the skill positions (maybe our disagreement stems from different perceptions of Evans). The future production of O-line prospects is widely regarded as the most difficult to predict. The ‘bust rate’ of highly touted QB/RB/WR is much lower. The likelihood of Najee giving high-level production for 3 years is so much higher than the likelihood of an O-line prospect producing for 2 years, probably even 1 year. I will take the sure-thing star skill player over the best-guess O-lineman 9/10. I’d consider adding Ruiz to my list, because Cole is on his last year of eligibility and Kugler appears to be a bum.
Edit: If Fournette is your anecdote, just look at what Barkley has done for PSU (a below-average O-line, at least in the B1G)
Very good point, as I think Evans will certainly be a very good running back next year. While he doesn’t have great top end speed (above average though), he has tremendous footwork, good vision, and absolutely elite acceleration in my opinion. If he can add 10-15lbs, I think he’s got serious potential to be a 1000 yard runner next season.
In a nutshell, I just don’t think there would hypothetically be a big dropoff from Evans to Najee. I’ll also add that Derrick Green and Ty Isaac were five stars who haven’t exactly produced at the level that your skill position success rate would suggest. And I can make an educated guess as to why…the OL was horrible.
To be fair, I voted for Willie gay. You can subtract a vote from the Willie Gay total and recalculate if you so please.
Awesome!!!
His acceleration is definitely elite, and it’s hard to not love his vision since we are biased and comparing it to Deveon and Isaac’s. But he rarely got anywhere without a gaping hole. Dalvin Cook, Saquan Barkley, McCafferey, etc. make something out of nothing.
And of course there are 5 star RB busts. FWIW Green didn’t do anything at TCU, either.
Agreed, but he’s also a lightweight at this point, hence my 10-15lbs comment. If he adds that, he’s likely a every down back.
Gosh, I hope you’re right. Because Najee already ensured that this is nothing but a philosophical argument 
You thought most people wanted Becton over Gay. I disagreed. Rather than going back and forth for another 40 posts, I figured I’d create an objective poll on a predominantly football forum.
Don’t be mad that the results don’t side with you.
I’m not mad at all. Based on the results you’re correct. I have no issue with that
81 responses in 19 minutes is pretty neat, I haven’t spent much time on The Wolverine
It’s almost too active. And the basketball discussion there doesn’t come close to the basketball discussion here. MattD gives us more basketball recruiting info than I’ve seen there and Dylan is probably the top Michigan basketball writer (on any site) IMO.
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If it makes you feel better Evans rushed for 614 yards as a freshman. Granted some of that was against bad comp level, but when he’s breaking off runs like he did vs FSU it’s hard not to look at that and think upper tier B10 RB next year.
I can definitely get on board with upper-tier B1G RB, especially if he get’s RB1 touches. But I still think the difference between Evans and Najee is likely the difference between Justin Jackson and Saquon Barkley; the difference between an above average player and a super star (3 years of super stardom, minimum, no less).
I think that is basketball recruiting in general. Scout filing for Bankruptcy, ESPN cutting way back, etc. As an FYI Rivals just hired Corey Evans so I’m anticipating much improved bball recruiting content there.
I wasn’t aware of that. I don’t keep up with news during my 7-on work week. I try to catch up during my 7-off week.
Who is that