I was following along with the robust debate on another thread I saw about Ashaad Clayton, that I believe was posted shortly after the win over San Diego State.
Don't mean to initiate a full regurgitation of that convo, but Karl Dorrell today had some remarks that certainly are applicable to it.
In short, Dorrell basically said that how he, Darian Hagan and the offensive coaches are handling the No. 2 running back shot has a lot to do with that the backs themselves are showing in practice.
Now, that in and of itself seems a 'duh?' statement; of course playing time is in large part determined by what the guys show in practice.
For me personally, given what I've seen sample size-wise from Jaren Mangham and Joe Davis, I was of the thinking that it wouldn't hurt to throw Clayton out there in the primary No. 2 spot, give him a few series on offense, and see what happens.
But per Dorrell's statements, perhaps it's fair to say that Clayton simply is not showing the coaches enough in practice to date to warrant such a roll of the dice on him during an actual game.
Ultimately, if these guys aren't ready to go or not overly impressing in practice, then it is what it is. Recruiting stars and hype goes out the window the second fall camp starts.
Here are Dorrell's full remarks when asked about the RB rotation and specifically what goes into determining how is directly behind Jarek Broussard, given we've seen a shuffle between Mangham and Davis.
Dorrell's initial remarks on the matter:
“You want to keep the hot guy going. Jarek has been tremendous these first three games and he’s definitely a big part of our success in terms of how we're able to run the football. But those other guys have to be ready when their number’s called. It’s the nature of that position — there’s usually some kid of rotation there and we have four really quality running backs. We had two that played last week and we didn’t get the other two in, but the goal is to try to get everybody a chance to show themselves and sometimes it doesn’t quite go out on paper as you would want it to in the course of a game."
Dorrell on managing the guys behind Broussard / their playing time:
"It is difficult on the players’ side. I understand that they want to prove and show that they have the ability to help this team...So it is something that’s difficult to manage and we have to continue to massage that as we continue to move forward. The best thing that we can do is to make sure we’re in constant communication as to what our process is and why it is. They do have an understanding of the ‘why?’ — Jarek’s playing well...I know all the other guys are hungry to get in there too.
Dorrell on determining playing time for that group, specifically the No. 2 guy:
"I think we judge it week to week. If guys are having great weeks of practice — and Joe (Davis) had been great in practice last week, so I put him in the No. 2 spot. Same thing can happen with Jaren, same thing can happen with Ashaad. Both of those guys are really playing hard and practicing hard and they’ve already proven to us that they’re capable and very good backs that can help us be successful. It’s a position that does get nicked with the carries and the pounding that they get a lot of the time, so they do understand that their number can be called at any point in time."
“It is judged during the week in terms of how good of practices they’ve had and we kind of end the week by figuring out ‘Okay, we’re going to roll out with so and so.’ We’ll judge them by their preparation, their practices and how it looks by the end of the week in terms of how the rotations should start.”
.....
I'd personally like to see Clayton get a couple meaningful series in a game by the end of the season. But it's not due to no reason that he hasn't been given such an opportunity.
Don't mean to initiate a full regurgitation of that convo, but Karl Dorrell today had some remarks that certainly are applicable to it.
In short, Dorrell basically said that how he, Darian Hagan and the offensive coaches are handling the No. 2 running back shot has a lot to do with that the backs themselves are showing in practice.
Now, that in and of itself seems a 'duh?' statement; of course playing time is in large part determined by what the guys show in practice.
For me personally, given what I've seen sample size-wise from Jaren Mangham and Joe Davis, I was of the thinking that it wouldn't hurt to throw Clayton out there in the primary No. 2 spot, give him a few series on offense, and see what happens.
But per Dorrell's statements, perhaps it's fair to say that Clayton simply is not showing the coaches enough in practice to date to warrant such a roll of the dice on him during an actual game.
Ultimately, if these guys aren't ready to go or not overly impressing in practice, then it is what it is. Recruiting stars and hype goes out the window the second fall camp starts.
Here are Dorrell's full remarks when asked about the RB rotation and specifically what goes into determining how is directly behind Jarek Broussard, given we've seen a shuffle between Mangham and Davis.
Dorrell's initial remarks on the matter:
“You want to keep the hot guy going. Jarek has been tremendous these first three games and he’s definitely a big part of our success in terms of how we're able to run the football. But those other guys have to be ready when their number’s called. It’s the nature of that position — there’s usually some kid of rotation there and we have four really quality running backs. We had two that played last week and we didn’t get the other two in, but the goal is to try to get everybody a chance to show themselves and sometimes it doesn’t quite go out on paper as you would want it to in the course of a game."
Dorrell on managing the guys behind Broussard / their playing time:
"It is difficult on the players’ side. I understand that they want to prove and show that they have the ability to help this team...So it is something that’s difficult to manage and we have to continue to massage that as we continue to move forward. The best thing that we can do is to make sure we’re in constant communication as to what our process is and why it is. They do have an understanding of the ‘why?’ — Jarek’s playing well...I know all the other guys are hungry to get in there too.
Dorrell on determining playing time for that group, specifically the No. 2 guy:
"I think we judge it week to week. If guys are having great weeks of practice — and Joe (Davis) had been great in practice last week, so I put him in the No. 2 spot. Same thing can happen with Jaren, same thing can happen with Ashaad. Both of those guys are really playing hard and practicing hard and they’ve already proven to us that they’re capable and very good backs that can help us be successful. It’s a position that does get nicked with the carries and the pounding that they get a lot of the time, so they do understand that their number can be called at any point in time."
“It is judged during the week in terms of how good of practices they’ve had and we kind of end the week by figuring out ‘Okay, we’re going to roll out with so and so.’ We’ll judge them by their preparation, their practices and how it looks by the end of the week in terms of how the rotations should start.”
.....
I'd personally like to see Clayton get a couple meaningful series in a game by the end of the season. But it's not due to no reason that he hasn't been given such an opportunity.
