forums

Duke Johnson Comparison

Advertisement
Cadillac WIlliams in college played at 190-195 He ran hard fast and shifty in college and ran harder then his frame suggested. Thats how DUke will be. Cadilac messed up by gaining all that weight in the NFL.
 
Lu

How do you think Duke compares to Freeman at FSU. Not stylistically but in terms of impact.
 
sfcane2 said:
Lu

How do you think Duke compares to Freeman at FSU. Not stylistically but in terms of impact.
Click to expand...

That's slightly unfair to compare because Freeman basically had a 9 month jump on what Duke's curve will be. Freeman was an EE. Had Duke been an EE, I would've felt comfortable saying his impact would have been similar.
 
Advertisement
Just give him the **** ball. Hold your breath, let him miss some blocking assignments, let him fumble a couple of times... let him learn on the fly and enjoy the benefits as he progresses. We need to get this kid ready and throw him into the fire because we have him for 3 and out.
 
Advertisement
Lu: From what you've seen/analyzed, where do you rank him in terms of incoming RB prospects in the last 5 years? I'd love to see where you'd rank him in comparison to not only UM RBs last 5 years, but also nationally.

TIA.
 
I'm gunna go watch Mr. Duke and his team play this Friday... am looking forward to it!

But for now, never having seen him live, I would say Warrick Dunn.

Smallish, super quick, first man never touches him.
 
AlexCane said:
Lu: From what you've seen/analyzed, where do you rank him in terms of incoming RB prospects in the last 5 years? I'd love to see where you'd rank him in comparison to not only UM RBs last 5 years, but also nationally.

TIA.
Click to expand...

In comparison to UM RBs or even top UM recruits of the past 5 years, he's slightly ahead of Lamar Miller in terms of what I'd choose for a RB. In other words, I believe he's the best RB we've picked up or had a legitimate shot at in the last 5 years. Note: seemingly easy to say now, but most would remember I was a big, big fan of Gio Bernard. He fits perfectly with my style of RBs.

Nationally is a little trickier. I had to go look at my word document of notes I take for recruiting seasons. Going back to '08, I have notes on approximately 20 RBs that stood out to me and/or were highly recruited by UM.

The first level is made up of guys I really liked and also happened to be top rated recruits: Ryan Williams (VTech), Trent Richardson (Bama), Michael Ford (LSU), Lattimore (USCa), Michael Dyer (Auburn), Brennan Clay (Okla.), Crowell (Ga.), Savon Huggins (Rutgers), Herschel Sims (OkState), Keith Marshall (#1 recruit this year).

Going into college as prospects, I wouldn't put him at the top of that group. Michael Dyer would probably be #1 for me in that group. I liked Herschel Sims a lot (he didn't get a lot of burn this year to my surprise). I liked Michael Ford a lot. I like Keith Marshall a good amount this year, but probably need to see more of this year's top recruits.

(If you notice, I like the same type of RBs: squatty, accelerate, cutback, YAC, balance).
 
Thanks, Lu. Reps your way.

Any way you can rank Duke within that group you mentioned? Where does he fall w/in those guys at this point -incoming true frosh?
 
Advertisement
Savon Huggins is a kid I think can be very special. He had most everything I looked for: good instincts, incredible balance, good speed, hit the hole decisively, etc.
 
AlexCane said:
Thanks, Lu. Reps your way.

Any way you can rank Duke within that group you mentioned? Where does he fall w/in those guys at this point -incoming true frosh?
Click to expand...

I'd rank him just outside the group. While slightly different, I'd place him right around Gio Bernard, but I was a Gio Bernard fanboy, so that might say something.

My concern is Duke's build and durability, obviously. If he were 5' 9"ish 200 or I knew he could get to 200-210 relatively easily, he'd shoot up to about the mid-area of that national group.

If I were building a RB, it'd be something along the lines of Michael Dyer, so keep that in mind.

When I think of special RBs, I think of three molds: (1) the Walter Payton mold (Tomlinson came out of this mold), (2) the modern day Fred Taylor mold and (3) the Eric ****erson mold.

I rank them in that order intentionally because I think that's the success rate order. To be *very* successful in the ****erson mold, you basically need to be a once in every 5 years type of guy.
 
Advertisement
two guys who are similar size wise who have done very well are Dion Lewis and Ray Graham at Pitt. Duke is ranked significantly higher then both of them coming out of HS.
 
Yah or nay? comparable?

thumbnail.aspx
 
So, yeah. I'm sticking to this one from December of last year.
 
Advertisement
Back
Top