A Deep Backfield Gets Deeper
Amidst all the hoopla surrounding this past weekend's Carr Wash 4 Kids, the news of senior running back Jerome Jackson rejoining the team was lost in the shuffle. The return of Jackson will add that much more depth to a solid backfield that features:- Mike Hart (Junior): The 2004 Big Ten Freshman of the Year who returns healthy and ready to go after after having his sophmore year slowed by injuries.
- Kevin Grady (Sophmore): He graduated high school early so he could attend the 2005 Rose Bowl and participate in spring drills last year, Grady was one of six true freshman to see playing time last year. He was the team's second leading rusher last year with 483 yards behind only Mike Hart.
- Mister Simpson (So./Fr.): He did not see game action last year but the 5'10", 210 lb. back is ready to show what he can do.
- Carlos Brown (Freshman): People have high expectations for this all-everything former high school QB with blazing speed. Expect to see Offensive Coordinator Mike DeBord try to get the ball in Brown's hands in a lot of creative ways this season.
The return of Jackson, the group's only senior, will be a steadying influence on the extremely talented but somewhat inexperienced squad of running backs. Jackson is a two-time letter winner and has played in 24 career games including two starts at tailback in his career. Welcome back Mr. Jackson! Go Blue!
posted by mzgoblue @ 10:49 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
Hey. First visit to your blog. I found it thanks to MGoBlog.
Where is Alijah Bradley? How could you leave him off the list? I think he will be contributing this season and is more useful than Jackson.
Thanks for reading the blog and for leaving the comment. I debated about including Alijah Bradley (5th yr. senior) on my list but I decided not to go that far down the depth chart. I decided to cut it off at top 5 backs as I did in my analysis of the 1981 and 1975 backfields. My projection is that Bradley will be behind Jackson on the depth chart once again this year.
In 2005, Bradley tallied 19 carries for 91 yards and 1 touchdown in 7 games. Jackson (a true senior this upcoming season) rushed for 230 yards on 54 attempts and scored 3 tds. in 10 games last season. I think Bradley will continue to be a special teams contributor in '06 but I do not forsee a substantial increase in his rushing workload over last season.
Thanks for the comment and keep reading. Go Blue!
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