Mike James

Think davenport type of role
Will get carries, but will play FB spot a great deal, not necessarily for blocking only
Mismatches out of the backfield type of stuff
Would like to see him and one speedster split in the backfield
Could create issues for a defense

Exactly what i was thinking.. This kid has all the love for the U and will do anything he's asked
 
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From the first time I saw Mike James I thought he would eventually turn into a Quad Hill type. A good pass catching albeit lighter fullback. Running back is a position where a young player can contribute immediately...so with that said I really think the majority of the carries this year go to Clements and Duke.

This. Clements should turn out this year.
 
Assuming 35 running plays a game this is my preference:

James 12 carries
Clements 12 carries
Duke 5 carries
Hagans 5 carries

QB rush 1+ carries
Crawford back to S

I will seriously question this staff if Duke and Hagans get anywhere near the same amount of carries/game. I like Hagans but if we hand him the rock 3+ times in a game we are in trouble. 5 TOUCHES per game will still be too much.
 
I'd rather see more of Clements and Johnson getting a lot of burn

I like James, but he has had a lot of opportunities and just isn't very good IMO.
 
James is just awful at carrying the ball. He is a great kid according to everybody, and when off season workout time comes he is the first player to be praised for pushing everybody else to excel. I'm guessing that he plays a lot of FB this year. He was pretty good when he played it a little bit as a freshman, even though he isn't the biggest or most powerful he always seemed to hit the guy he was supposed to hit to allow the RB to break through. He is also a guy that sneaks up on you when catching passes out of the backfield.

I think the FB position will come down to him or Hagens, and Clements will be an outstanding running back this year. The only reason he didn't shine last year was because we had Lamar Miller, and you want a guy like Miller to take as many opportunities as possible. Duke is still a little small so I see him as the number 2 running back, at least to start the year. We will have a **** good backfield, Clements is going to sneak up on a lot of people, he is more than just a solid player, he is very good, and will be our most talented RB for one year until Duke grows a little bit more.

That said, Duke will blow our minds on a couple of plays this year, but a good coach should know that a small frosh like Duke is likely to have a serious injury should he see too many carries. I'd like to see us use him in the slot from time to time to make up for that, but that is all up to Fisch and whether or not he likes that strategy. Hopefully we find a way to utilize his game changing speed and shiftiness.
 
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At 225 pounds, anyone else sense a shift in role coming for Mike James?

Initially, I thought we might give him a shot at being the workhouse. It's possible that he's the type of back that gets more better with more carries.

But with the way he is developing physically, it seems he is headed to basically three roles- I-formation fullback, goal line tailback and one-back sets.

How do you want to see Mike James used this year?
funny

i mentioned him getting more reps at fb in the thread about hall......and was called an idiot because of it

looks like im not the only the only idiot here
 
No, you're an idiot because you insinuated that somehow losing a RB means he would get more reps at FB. James has always gotten some reps at FB. This isn't anything new. But somehow, you thought that losing a RB, on an already thin depth chart, means we should give 2 RB's more looks at FB and further deplete our depth. It makes absolutely zero sense.
 
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I would like to see clements as our primary back (unless duke is so phenomenal that he just takes the job) with james and duke splitting what clements doesnt get. the little we saw of clements, he can clearly catch. but his run game didnt look bad from what i remember, so the threat of a running/catching back on any play is a nice weapon.
 
He will be in his 2nd year with Fisch system and also under Golden's development process. IMO, he could potentially surprise us with a good senior year ala Jacory Harris.
 
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