RB targets

[ST26]

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.

The people bashing Fletcher where the same one's that said Martinez was overrated and a waste of money at the beginning of the year. They quickly learned they were wrong about Martinez, so they turned to Fletcher so he could be their next victim

 

[htownkidd]

The people bashing Fletcher where the same one's that said Martinez was overrated and a waste of money at the beginning of the year. They quickly learned they were wrong about Martinez, so they turned to Fletcher so he could be their next victim

Yeah, that’s not true at all lol.

 

[caneinpsl]

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.

Agree 100% on Fletcher. The only issue I have with him has been the couple of badly timed fumbles.

 

[cowboycane]

The people bashing Fletcher where the same one's that said Martinez was overrated and a waste of money at the beginning of the year. They quickly learned they were wrong about Martinez, so they turned to Fletcher so he could be their next victim

Same people I see saying Penn State’s running backs are slow. We’re so obsessed with speed sometimes it’s like we don’t watch the playoff every year. D$ is right, the teams that win big have big running backs that are fast enough to break a big one occasionally and otherwise are just running 4-8 yards through your chest every carry.

There’s a reason our run game was awesome this year…the OL was good and we had two big ol’ running backs that were grinders and also bigg play threats even though they weren’t blazers.

 

[Angry Ibis]

Yeah, that’s not true at all lol.

I concur. People fail to recognize that CIS is a social case study in Newton's Third Law of Motion -- for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. More aptly known as the CIS 1st Law of Sunshine Pumping - with an assist from Isaac Newton

A contingent sells Fletcher as Ohio State's next elite back, an opposite contingent pushes back on that.
A contingent sells Mario as an elite head coach, an opposite contingent pushed back on that.
Each opposing force ramps up when once of the forces ramp up.

A key difference being that Newton could not have accounted for "nuance", "context", "culture" and the slow walking back of sunshine over time.

 

[ST26]

Same people I see saying Penn State’s running backs are slow. We’re so obsessed with speed sometimes it’s like we don’t watch the playoff every year. D$ is right, the teams that win big have big running backs that are fast enough to break a big one occasionally and otherwise are just running 4-8 yards through your chest every carry.

There’s a reason our run game was awesome this year…the OL was good and we had two big ol’ running backs that were grinders and also bigg play threats even though they weren’t blazers.

We have one of the strongest RB duos in the country with Lyle and Fletcher. People always forget that Fletcher spent the entire offseason recovering from injury, which made it that much harder for him to take that next step in his development. If I remember correctly, he enrolled in the summer, so this will be his first full offseason participating in all the training workouts. I really see Fletcher taking his game to the next level next season. The reason Allen left is because he didn't want to split carries with Lyle and Fletcher. Hey, if the staff wants to bring one in, that's fine by me, but its going to be very hard to pitch a guy to be an RB3

 

[ST26]

Yeah, that’s not true at all lol.

Common CIS deflection when people are wrong

 

[bshaw28]

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.

100% agree.

How I see the Fletcher backlash - he was billed as a "stud" out of high school. But then he got paired with Martinez who actually is a stud, and you can see the difference. Fletcher is a truck but Martinez is a tank. So that knocks him down a level.

Then Lyle is the shiny new toy who busts 2 long runs which makes him more exciting (but not more effective) than Fletcher. So he's knocked down another level.

But Fletcher is pretty close to who I expected him to be as a prospect. I'll double down that I expect him to be better than Lyle next year, and he'll have a good shot at being an all conference RB who's a Day 3 pick who makes an NFL team (but doesn't get much NFL playing time).

Below are the RB's I compared Fletcher's talent level to when he committed (I know you made the Tavion Thomas comp too). Looking at their numbers, I still feel good about those comps.

 

[cway313]

Co-sign, he’s going to Oregon tho. We didn’t add Martinez till the spring. So that’s a possibility still. But we have to add another great back. Fletcher is ok, Lyle has a lot of potential and showed flashes that he could be something special but we’re losing our best RB. Pringle doesn’t bring the same element to his game as Martinez has / had. Martinez is an NFL back, can’t lose top five pick at qb, top 5 te, all time wr leader, your top 3 other receivers and not obsessively try to add talent on offense. Especially at RB, especially with the OL we have.