S. Barkley: Guys I think he is our RB that we have been missing that gives us 10 wins..............

[Mr. Potter]

on talent alone barring injury. Reminds me of the studs we used to get that could and would carry us to national championships. Agree or Disagree? He is really special with his ability and will only get bigger and stronger and faster. However, you cannot teach his vision or talent. Reminds me of A. Peterson and Reggie Bush

 

[jrd23psu]

I think Barkley is the type of running back you're talking about. I don't know if we'll see it this year, but while at PSU I do think he'll be very special. To be perfectly honest, I think PSU is loaded with talent at RB. Andre Robinson could and probably will be very special as well. Although I think the sky is the limit with Barkley, I believe Miles Sanders will be better. And let's not forget about Akeel Lynch. Lynch can run. He will be very, very good this year. It's going to be very difficult for any RB to get reps with Akeel in the starting lineup. The guy is a very good back.

 

[GregInPitt]

Yes, Barkley looks to be a great talent. And Robinson is a tank that works very hard as well. I have seen Sanders in person, vs USC, and he dominated a blowout game on only 4 carries. A buck 50 and 3 TD's. Did notplay in 2nd half.

What is weird is that we seem to know less about the3 RB's that redshirted last year than we do about those that have yet to get to PSU......

 

[tboyer]

I'm really excited about the running backs but I wouldn't focus on any particular one at this point and nobody should overlook the redshirt freshmen. Allen and Nick Scott showed explosiveness at the BW game, and there have been great reports about Jonathan Thomas' work in practice. So add three talented freshmen and you have some fierce competition and enough numbers that it's reasonable to expect that someone is going to emerge a star. All you need is one.

Penn State hasn't had this kind of speed at running back in a very long time, maybe back to the 90s. I can't see 10 wins, but if one of these guys turns out to be a stud tailback, that would account for a win or two that PSU wouldn't otherwise get this fall.

 

[CappyToCJF]

I'm really excited about the running backs but I wouldn't focus on any particular one at this point and nobody should overlook the redshirt freshmen. Allen and Nick Scott showed explosiveness at the BW game, and there have been great reports about Jonathan Thomas' work in practice. So add three talented freshmen and you have some fierce competition and enough numbers that it's reasonable to expect that someone is going to emerge a star. All you need is one.

Penn State hasn't had this kind of speed at running back in a very long time, maybe back to the 90s. I can't see 10 wins, but if one of these guys turns out to be a stud tailback, that would account for a win or two that PSU wouldn't otherwise get this fall.

Yes. And the contribution to the wins may include kick returns. Think about Blair Thomas in 1986. He spelled Dozier at TB and was explosive as a kickoff returner. Not many kickoffs to return, as it's likely to be this year.

I remember a game where we needed a drive and score in the 4th quarter to retake the lead and Blair was on the field, the coaches having confidence in him.....

 

[Mister Magoo]

on talent alone barring injury. Reminds me of the studs we used to get that could and would carry us to national championships. Agree or Disagree? He is really special with his ability and will only get bigger and stronger and faster. However, you cannot teach his vision or talent. Reminds me of A. Peterson and Reggie Bush

Those two rb's might have been the best rb's in the country in the previous decade. Peterson damn near won the Heisman his true frosh year. An absolute specimen. One of the rare kids whom might have been able to go from high school to the pros. Reggie Bush at USC was flat-out the most exciting player in a long time. Let's pump the brakes until we see him play.

 

[WPB_lion]

I think Barkley is the type of running back you're talking about. I don't know if we'll see it this year, but while at PSU I do think he'll be very special. To be perfectly honest, I think PSU is loaded with talent at RB. Andre Robinson could and probably will be very special as well. Although I think the sky is the limit with Barkley, I believe Miles Sanders will be better. And let's not forget about Akeel Lynch. Lynch can run. He will be very, very good this year. It's going to be very difficult for any RB to get reps with Akeel in the starting lineup. The guy is a very good back.

Lynch's blocking is a major liability. Given our problems protecting our most valuable player (Hack), a good blocking back is extremely important to our offense.

IMO, if Lynch fails to improve his blocking, he will lose significant playing time to lesser runners who prove themselves to be better blockers. I believe Barkley will be the starter if he is able to establish himself as a better blocker than Lynch and his running abilities are as advertised. Unfortunately, it usually takes time for running backs fresh out of high school to become good blockers (whether it be technique issues or learning their assignments).

 

[JoeLion]

I like having a "stable" of stud running backs. Really works well in beating down defenses and running over them in the fourth quarter to grab control of the game and work the clock. I also view the various running styles as a plus as well.