RB targets

[flips]

Didn't really see Carr targeted more than once in the bowl game and it was Emory short arming it so yeah but I think we add 1 more portal wr. Might just be me but I think Upshaw gets on the field sooner than later. We added Martinez in 2nd portal window last year so not too worried about us adding a rb. Qb is what worries me right now. High anxiety until we get our trigger man.

Agree with you on Upshaw. I still don't love relying on true freshmen though, except when they're J. Smith/R. Williams types. I thought we shoulda pursued the native Floridian, Virgil, who ended up at TTU. Probably wouldn't have cost a ton and he is a deep threat/contested catch guy. Hopefully we're in the mix for Branch. If we only get 1 WR in the winter portal I think we should get 2 in the Spring window, unless 2 guys from the last 2 classes knock everyone's socks off in the Spring.

We should have a very good OL next year, but right now we need help at all the skill groups and I don't see a standout group yet, though RB is closest if Fletcher and Lyle continue to develop.

 

[Damiencane86]

Agree with you on Upshaw. I still don't love relying on true freshmen though, except when they're J. Smith/R. Williams types. I thought we shoulda pursued the native Floridian, Virgil, who ended up at TTU. Probably wouldn't have cost a ton and he is a deep threat/contested catch guy. Hopefully we're in the mix for Branch. If we only get 1 WR in the winter portal I think we should get 2 in the Spring window, unless 2 guys from the last 2 classes knock everyone's socks off in the Spring.

We should have a very good OL next year, but right now we need help at all the skill groups and I don't see a standout group yet, though RB is closest if Fletcher and Lyle continue to develop.

With Beard at wr coach almost all the wideouts have improved so I expect at least someone in house to improve. With Upshaw I'm just trusting my eyes. The hands, separation ability, and production I believe translates well IMO. Also wouldn't be shocked to see Toney push for playing time. But either way I know we'll grab another portal guy, just hinges on the qb we get.

 

[bshaw28]

RB is clearly going to be worse than this past season. Martinez is a quality back, and Fletcher is going to get an even larger workload even though imo is just average. So that alone is a net negative.

I disagree about Lyle. I mean I'm not expecting him to be a star next year or anything. But imo he's going to be clearly a good enough RB to be a starter here. At some point the young guys have to step up and produce. If we can't even count on our highly rated RB to do that, what are we doing... I do want to add a spring portal RB. But I don't think the target should be a guy expecting more than 60-80 touches this season.

2024 stats:
Martinez - 159 attempts, 17 receptions = 176 touches = 45%
Fletcher - 112 attempts, 10 receptions = 122 touches = 31%
Lyle - 54 attempts, 4 receptions = 58 touches = 15%
Allen - 24 attempts, 2 receptions = 26 touches = 7%
CJJr - 6 attempts, 8 receptions = 13 touches = 3%

What I'd predict for next season based on no portal RB addition:
Lyle - 160 touches/40%
Fletcher - 150 touches/35%
Pringle - 70 touches/20%
CWH - 25 touches/5%

If you get a portal rb you just slightly reduce to 2 touches, and medium reduction to bottom twos touches.

I wouldn't expect many to agree with me about Lyle. And I get it. Lyle's 91 & 61 yd runs on just 54 carries is pretty ridiculous.

But Lyle's splits don't look good. Fletcher was much better on meaningful carries. And Fletcher looks better on the eye test.

If they were stocks - I'd buy low on Fletcher and sell high on Lyle.

I think all 4 of our current RB's are guys Mario recruited on a full cycle - so he'll just ride with them.

Lofton is the wild card. If I'm the staff - I'd look at how Jaylen Samuels was used at NC St and try use him similarly. Lofton is the only guy I can see as a "weapon"

 

[DMoney]

I wouldn't expect many to agree with me about Lyle. And I get it. Lyle's 91 & 61 yd runs on just 54 carries is pretty ridiculous.

But Lyle's splits don't look good. Fletcher was much better on meaningful carries. And Fletcher looks better on the eye test.

If they were stocks - I'd buy low on Fletcher and sell high on Lyle.

I think all 4 of our current RB's are guys Mario recruited on a full cycle - so he'll just ride with them.

Lofton is the wild card. If I'm the staff - I'd look at how Jaylen Samuels was used at NC St and try use him similarly. Lofton is the only guy I can see as a "weapon"

Lofton is a great runner. He ran wild in spring. I’d rather get two tough, veteran TEs to free him up more in the backfield.

 

[SCarolina Ibis]

Lofton is a great runner. He ran wild in spring. I’d rather get two tough, veteran TEs to free him up more in the backfield.

Is Lofton our next DJ Dallas?

 

[caneinpsl]

Lofton is a great runner. He ran wild in spring. I’d rather get two tough, veteran TEs to free him up more in the backfield.

Did he run wild against a competent defense in the spring though? I'm not trying to be a smartass and appreciate your takes but I am concerned about guys that do things in practice and projecting that to games when the units they are practicing against aren't up to snuff. I'd prefer we bring in a solid transfer RB myself.

 

[DMoney]

Did he run wild against a competent defense in the spring though? I'm not trying to be a smartass and appreciate your takes but I am concerned about guys like do things in practice and projecting that to games when the units they are practicing against aren't up to snuff. I'd prefer we bring in a solid transfer RB myself.

Against our first team defense. Not exactly the 2000 Ravens but not our backups.

 

[pacusmc]

We will have to rely on defense next year.
We don’t have a qb nor are we getting one anywhere near Ward’s level. I also have reservations about the scheme that Dawson ran in 24 to be anywhere near as explosive without ward.
A lot of teams have won a lot of games without a top draft pick at qb.
So we better get the dc and the portal picks correct.

Sucks to have the offense to make a deep run this year and not have a defense to be able to showcase it in the playoffs.

We went from potential acc champs in 24 to trying to have a respectable 25 by relying on the portal and a new dc.
I haven’t been too negative on Mario, but that’s poor planning.

I’m cool with small incremental steps as long as we see improvement.
But I’m sure he wasn’t hired and it also wasn’t his expectation to hope to win 9-10 games and sneak into the acc championship this deep into his tenure. This conference is dog water asz cheek juice. Miami has recruited well enough to win it going away.

If this year was a success we should be acc champ favorites in 25 but I don’t see that being the case as of right now.

My expectation was that by 25 we would be the clear top dog in the acc with any team in the country not wanting to play us or at the very least respecting us if we’re in their schedule.

Instead we have more question marks on almost every position group and a defense that scares no one. And I literally mean no one.
And that’s a **** shame considering the level we’ve recruited on that side of the ball.

If he’s the guy he believes he is then we should have a top 10 defense in 25 or we’re in for another long season and a meaningless bowl game full of opt outs.

And we’ve already been doing that sht for the past 20 years. So unless we win the acc next year he isn’t super Mario. He’s just a younger Mark Richt.

 

[bshaw28]

Lofton is a great runner. He ran wild in spring. I’d rather get two tough, veteran TEs to free him up more in the backfield.

Lofton was immediately our best RB when he got a look there in Spring.

Sometimes a dude is simply more talented than the others and it's clear to see.

I 100% agree getting a competent TE would be huge in freeing up Lofton to be used more creatively.

 

[GOCANES05]

We will have to rely on defense next year.
We don’t have a qb nor are we getting one anywhere near Ward’s level. I also have reservations about the scheme that Dawson ran in 24 to be anywhere near as explosive without ward.
A lot of teams have won a lot of games without a top draft pick at qb.
So we better get the dc and the portal picks correct.

Sucks to have the offense to make a deep run this year and not have a defense to be able to showcase it in the playoffs.

We went from potential acc champs in 24 to trying to have a respectable 25 by relying on the portal and a new dc.
I haven’t been too negative on Mario, but that’s poor planning.

I’m cool with small incremental steps as long as we see improvement.
But I’m sure he wasn’t hired and it also wasn’t his expectation to hope to win 9-10 games and sneak into the acc championship this deep into his tenure. This conference is dog water asz cheek juice. Miami has recruited well enough to win it going away.

If this year was a success we should be acc champ favorites in 25 but I don’t see that being the case as of right now.

My expectation was that by 25 we would be the clear top dog in the acc with any team in the country not wanting to play us or at the very least respecting us if we’re in their schedule.

Instead we have more question marks on almost every position group and a defense that scares no one. And I literally mean no one.
And that’s a **** shame considering the level we’ve recruited on that side of the ball.

If he’s the guy he believes he is then we should have a top 10 defense in 25 or we’re in for another long season and a meaningless bowl game full of opt outs.

And we’ve already been doing that sht for the past 20 years. So unless we win the acc next year he isn’t super Mario. He’s just a younger Mark Richt.

Just sharing,

4-7 2025 , 2026 7-4 and 2027 ACCCG

Three years to filter out D weaknesses especially D front

 

[Calinative]

I wouldn't expect many to agree with me about Lyle. And I get it. Lyle's 91 & 61 yd runs on just 54 carries is pretty ridiculous.

But Lyle's splits don't look good. Fletcher was much better on meaningful carries. And Fletcher looks better on the eye test.

If they were stocks - I'd buy low on Fletcher and sell high on Lyle.

I think all 4 of our current RB's are guys Mario recruited on a full cycle - so he'll just ride with them.

Lofton is the wild card. If I'm the staff - I'd look at how Jaylen Samuels was used at NC St and try use him similarly. Lofton is the only guy I can see as a "weapon"

In no universe was Mark Fletcher better than any of our RBs "on the eye test" to me lol. In fact I would say it's probably the exact opposite. He is the worst on the eye test, but statistically produced at a pretty high level, mostly imo due to our oline being very good, and because we force feed him the ball, whil his talent is essentially just always licking up 3-5 yards. He's almost the opposite of Camron Harris who I also didn't like. But they are opposite ends of the spectrum. One is a bunch of big explosive plays with low success rate the other has basically no explosive plays but good success rate. What I like is something in the middle. That to me is hopefully what Lyle can be.

I have no problem with using Fletcher as a good short yardage and goal line back.

 

[CBurrr93]

Mario can only fix one position group per off season guys. We’ll find out against notre dame which position group he’ll focus on in 2026. Get with the times.

 

[OnlyCanes01]

Elijah Lofton should be a full time RB. To me he will be a 8-10+ year pro if he makes the switch now. His route running will translate out of the backfield and his in line blocking will translate in pass pro. From a body type standpoint he is a SEC type back. The other RBs in our room definitely need to hit the weight room. Mark Fletcher needs to strengthen his core, lower body, and gain 2 to 3 pounds of muscle mass. Lyle just needs to add more upper body muscle mass, his core/lower body are college ready. That was Chris Johnson's problem.. he wasn't built to get 8-10 carries in a 12 game season, so he is relegated to being a gadget player. To his defense, Shannon Dawson didn't even properly utilize him as a gadget player. I can remember one time that he was split out wide out of an empty set, and during that play he blew by the LB in single coverage for what should have been a TD. Tbh I'm not sold on Dawson as a elite OC. We had a lot of underutilized weapons that could have been used for easy scores on drives that we ended up settling for fgs. He isn't a bad but there is definitely room for improvement, in regards to getting easier scores in the red zone. With our O line there is no excuse for some of the FGs we settled for against the teams we played this year.

 

[BALLHAWKU]

The more think about we need another big back . Fletcher and lyle was dinged up a lot this year .

 

[No_Fly_Zone]

The more think about we need another big back . Fletcher and lyle was dinged up a lot this year .

Right. Now imagine adding Pringle to the mix, but distributing another ~190 carries between them to make up for what's leaving the RB room. Plus additional carries for our return to a run-heavy offense.

 

[edge]

Lofton is a problem. He has proved that

 

[flips]

Right. Now imagine adding Pringle to the mix, but distributing another ~190 carries between them to make up for what's leaving the RB room. Plus additional carries for our return to a run-heavy offense.

We had ~390 RB carries in '23 when we were 50/50 run/pass. ~320 this year when we're 45/55 run/pass.

Lost 175 carries (Martinez/Johnson/Allen). So that's ~250 carries to distribute, and probably more unless we get much better receivers than we have right now.

Move Lofton to RB, give Lyle more carries, and Pringle some. Get that TE from Tulane and someone in the Spring if Carver/Schott aren't ready. I wouldn't mind adding another RB in the Spring if CWH doesn't project as a contributor, to hedge against injury and/or Fletcher having fumbling issues.

I think we can be an even better running team than we were this year with this setup and if we manage to keep all our top OL on the team.

 

[bshaw28]

In no universe was Mark Fletcher better than any of our RBs "on the eye test" to me lol. In fact I would say it's probably the exact opposite. He is the worst on the eye test, but statistically produced at a pretty high level, mostly imo due to our oline being very good, and because we force feed him the ball, whil his talent is essentially just always licking up 3-5 yards. He's almost the opposite of Camron Harris who I also didn't like. But they are opposite ends of the spectrum. One is a bunch of big explosive plays with low success rate the other has basically no explosive plays but good success rate. What I like is something in the middle. That to me is hopefully what Lyle can be.

I have no problem with using Fletcher as a good short yardage and goal line back.

I get it - I wouldn't expect many to agree with me on Fletcher. Again - Lyle's long runs were awesome to watch. I agree with you - Fletcher doesn't have that big play ability.

But what I'm talking about is "meaningful" carries. Carries that aren't late in the 4th when we're already up 20+ on a weak opponent.

I'm not hyping up Fletcher (who I don't think is a "stud" but is getting more criticism than he should IMO) - I'm saying on these "meaningful" carries Fletcher was pretty clearly better than Lyle.

I'm looking at the splits in bold

 

[Tony4Canes]

 

[DMoney]

I get it - I wouldn't expect many to agree with me on Fletcher. Again - Lyle's long runs were awesome to watch. I agree with you - Fletcher doesn't have that big play ability.

But what I'm talking about is "meaningful" carries. Carries that aren't late in the 4th when we're already up 20+ on a weak opponent.

I'm not hyping up Fletcher (who I don't think is a "stud" but is getting more criticism than he should IMO) - I'm saying on these "meaningful" carries Fletcher was pretty clearly better than Lyle.

I'm looking at the splits in bold

View attachment 316161

Good breakdown. I think Lyle is the type of guy who will be better with more carries, but it's something to monitor.

The Fletcher backlash (which seems to only be on this board) baffles me. He's a good runner and he punishes defenses.

He's not a first round runner or anything, but it's the total package- good running, elite size and physicality, short-yardage dominance, elite intangibles, and pass protection. We pass more than we run and he's basically a 6th OL because of his size and IQ. If teams don't respect him in the pass game, he has enough juice to hurt you in space. He can also play split backs and lead block like a fullback.

If this guy was in the Portal, an elite program would snatch him up in a minute.