Running Back U
Like I mentioned in my post yesterday, there were some good things to takeaway from the Georgia Tech game, and one of them was the running of Darren Evans. He's progressed in each game, and he's starting to develop as VT's go to guy. Beamer and Hite have generally always rotated 2 RBs, and I expect they'll continue to do the same with Evans and Kenny Lewis, Jr., trying to get a feel in each game which has the hot hand. But they also usually gravitate towards a a 'go to' RB, and I fully expect Evans to be that guy this year.
As Will Stewart wrote in his excellent article yesterday, this may have been Evans breakout game. He is starting to look the part, tough running, both inside, outside, breaking tackles, and showing speed when he gets in open space. I'm excited to watch him in upcoming games.
Evans development is sorely need especially for Hokie football fans who have suffered through subpar rushing teams in recent years. Nothing against the talent at RB or OL in recent years, but it hasn't resulted in the type of dominating running we are used to at VT in the mid-90's to early 2000's. Sure Branden Ore was a fine runner in the dominant VT mold, but consistency and distractions came with it. And the other guys we've had since Kevin Jones, they've been....well...ordinary.
For me, VT has always been about featuring premier running backs. While not always household names, Ken Oxendine, Shirone Stith, Kevin Jones, and my favorite Hokie Lee Suggs defined the rise of the Hokie program. These were combo backs, who could pound you inside, break outside with speed, open the game with a big play, and get the short yards when needed. What I loved about Suggs was his nose for the end zone. Remember the year (I believe it was 2002 but I could be wrong), when Suggs was 'money' inside the 10 yard line? You could just count on him to get the ball in the end zone.
I think Hokie fans are yearning for the next, great Hokie RB. Recruiting misses (Moreno, McCoy - ouch!) only make this more important. We all are excited about Ryan Williams, but he looks to be a few years away.
Lets enjoy watching what this young back from Indiana will do in 2008.
hokieg
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Comments
[...] explosive running backs. In fact, I’ve argued our focus should be on maintaining a “running back U” mentality, recruiting a premier ball carrier each year. I was delighted with Ryan Williams last [...]
[...] blogged many times, I believe the running back pipeline is critical to VT, one of the core success criteria for the program along with defense. With guys like Ryan [...]
[...] written on my blog many times that Virginia Tech has and should continue to define itself as Running Back-U, and we’ve got a few horses in the stable that are going to win us plenty of derbies the next [...]
The 2005 and 2006 version of Branden Ore was quite impressive. I would put Branden Ore in 2006 up against any RB in VT history. Unfortunately he had to tarnish his legend with his showing in 2007.