RB Group

[BleedingBLue]

I’m not that crazy about the RB group as it stands.

Jones is good, but is he ready to be a lead back? Needs to add size and strength.

Coon is fine to spell guys, shouldn’t be a lead back or even RB2 if we’re being honest.

I don’t have any confidence that Davis can stay healthy, if he’s even staying. He also didn’t seem as explosive when he came back. Did he lose the juice? Just slow coming back from injury? I don’t know.

ULH appears to be dynamic, but he’s slight. Can he break tackles or is he better suited as a 3rd down back right now?

I think they desperately need bigger back, or two, that can play the lead role. Ideally a drop down, but I’d look for someone from another FCS school too. Anthony Woods (formerly of Idaho) isn’t a bigger back but he’s transferring from Utah. Could be a decent add.

Jones has been the lead back for 2 months.

But he didn't break many tackles. He's not a bruiser that you give the ball to on 3rd and 2 and say yep we"re getting a first down. Someone above mentioned Theis and how he wasn't big. He's bigger than Scottre and was a bruiser.

[BelligerentBobcat]

I’m not that crazy about the RB group as it stands.

Jones is good, but is he ready to be a lead back? Needs to add size and strength.

Coon is fine to spell guys, shouldn’t be a lead back or even RB2 if we’re being honest.

I don’t have any confidence that Davis can stay healthy, if he’s even staying. He also didn’t seem as explosive when he came back. Did he lose the juice? Just slow coming back from injury? I don’t know.

ULH appears to be dynamic, but he’s slight. Can he break tackles or is he better suited as a 3rd down back right now?

I think they desperately need bigger back, or two, that can play the lead role. Ideally a drop down, but I’d look for someone from another FCS school too. Anthony Woods (formerly of Idaho) isn’t a bigger back but he’s transferring from Utah. Could be a decent add.

Jones has been the lead back for 2 months.

Yes, and his performance was…average.

[TomCat88]

I’m not that crazy about the RB group as it stands.

Jones is good, but is he ready to be a lead back? Needs to add size and strength.

Coon is fine to spell guys, shouldn’t be a lead back or even RB2 if we’re being honest.

I don’t have any confidence that Davis can stay healthy, if he’s even staying. He also didn’t seem as explosive when he came back. Did he lose the juice? Just slow coming back from injury? I don’t know.

ULH appears to be dynamic, but he’s slight. Can he break tackles or is he better suited as a 3rd down back right now?

I think they desperately need bigger back, or two, that can play the lead role. Ideally a drop down, but I’d look for someone from another FCS school too. Anthony Woods (formerly of Idaho) isn’t a bigger back but he’s transferring from Utah. Could be a decent add.

I don’t disagree that MSU needs a bigger back do you have another non-example other than Anthony Woods? Seriously, what other BSC teams have big backs?

[VimSince03]

I’m not that crazy about the RB group as it stands.

Jones is good, but is he ready to be a lead back? Needs to add size and strength.

Coon is fine to spell guys, shouldn’t be a lead back or even RB2 if we’re being honest.

I don’t have any confidence that Davis can stay healthy, if he’s even staying. He also didn’t seem as explosive when he came back. Did he lose the juice? Just slow coming back from injury? I don’t know.

ULH appears to be dynamic, but he’s slight. Can he break tackles or is he better suited as a 3rd down back right now?

I think they desperately need bigger back, or two, that can play the lead role. Ideally a drop down, but I’d look for someone from another FCS school too. Anthony Woods (formerly of Idaho) isn’t a bigger back but he’s transferring from Utah. Could be a decent add.

Jones has been the lead back for 2 months.

Yes, and his performance was…average.

Disagree with your assessment of Jones and Coon...from what I saw.

[Hawks86]

Bunch of people on here must sleep on a mattress from Mattress Firm.

[Lord Vigo]

I’m not that crazy about the RB group as it stands.

Jones is good, but is he ready to be a lead back? Needs to add size and strength.

Coon is fine to spell guys, shouldn’t be a lead back or even RB2 if we’re being honest.

I don’t have any confidence that Davis can stay healthy, if he’s even staying. He also didn’t seem as explosive when he came back. Did he lose the juice? Just slow coming back from injury? I don’t know.

ULH appears to be dynamic, but he’s slight. Can he break tackles or is he better suited as a 3rd down back right now?

I think they desperately need bigger back, or two, that can play the lead role. Ideally a drop down, but I’d look for someone from another FCS school too. Anthony Woods (formerly of Idaho) isn’t a bigger back but he’s transferring from Utah. Could be a decent add.

I don’t disagree that MSU needs a bigger back do you have another non-example other than Anthony Woods? Seriously, what other BSC teams have big backs?

Eli Gillman is 208, Ostmo 221.

Lan Larison is 215.

Marty Brown of NDSU is 214. Kpeenu is 209.

Travis Theis of USD is 215.

Most of these programs have multiple guys who are well over 200. With Humphrey gone, the Cats' biggest back by listed weight is 200# (Jones).

[SparkCat]

I’m not that crazy about the RB group as it stands.

Jones is good, but is he ready to be a lead back? Needs to add size and strength.

Coon is fine to spell guys, shouldn’t be a lead back or even RB2 if we’re being honest.

I don’t have any confidence that Davis can stay healthy, if he’s even staying. He also didn’t seem as explosive when he came back. Did he lose the juice? Just slow coming back from injury? I don’t know.

ULH appears to be dynamic, but he’s slight. Can he break tackles or is he better suited as a 3rd down back right now?

I think they desperately need bigger back, or two, that can play the lead role. Ideally a drop down, but I’d look for someone from another FCS school too. Anthony Woods (formerly of Idaho) isn’t a bigger back but he’s transferring from Utah. Could be a decent add.

Jones has been the lead back for 2 months.

Yes, and his performance was…average.

Disagree with your assessment of Jones and Coon...from what I saw.

Humphrey became much more physical from the 2023 - 2024 season. I’m glad our athletes work hard and continue to improve, just like Jones will. Jones actually has a great foundation to build off of and I actually think during the play off run, he was becoming much more physical. Where I think he needs some work is making a quicker cut or seeing the crease sooner.

[BleedingBLue]

Bunch of people on here must sleep on a mattress from Mattress Firm.

That was a good one.

[BLACKnBLUEnGOLD]

Unlike many here, I'm not really surprised that Davis is out. I did not expect him to stay. I think he probably wants to follow Johnson to Temple.

I think people are sleeping a little on Colson Coon as a potential short yardage back. He isn't your traditional battering ram, but he is effective at taking very small creases up the middle and slipping off tackles. He reminds me of Woodhead, in the way he is effective on big-back plays as a smaller back. I am not predicting an NFL career for him, but I am predicting that he will be a good player for the Bobcats. Also, Adam Jones was a 180 pound WR as a recruit, and two years later he's a 200lb RB. Coon is under 200 pounds now, but he may well be 205 or 210 pounds next year.

Finally, I think that if Coon isn't the answer, Vigen will not have trouble finding someone who is. The Bobcats had three guys rush for at least 15 TDs. They had 1400, 1200, and 1100 yards. Two of those guys will not be back. It's an attractive landing spot for an upperclassman to drop down or a talented guy at our level who wants to go from a passing offense to a running offense.

I'm also wondering if the RBs didn't talk to each other much about their plans. Scottre was probably gone no matter what, and Johnson leaving probably guaranteed Davis leaving. But Elijah Elliott has started games for this team, and Jared White looked like the next great Bobcat RB to me at the beginning of the 2022 season. You wonder if at least one of them thinks about staying if he knows that Davis and Scottre are both leaving.

[kwcat]

The 2024 had an embarrassment of riches at this position. We’re losing half of that to the portal it seems.

Does this position go from crazy deep to adequately deep? Is there any concern with depth at this point?

Julius Davis- may or may not be back next year? No official word yet here. Would be great to have him back with his punishing style of running to complement what Jones does.

Adam Jones- we know what we have here, legit stud who could be all over the record books if he continues doing what he did this year, but is he big enough to be a 20 carry/game up the middle type back?

Colson Coon- looked good in fairly limited reps this year. Still young, could be a great 1-2 punch.

Unterrio Latin-Henley- looked promising in very limited touches this year, I’ve heard good things, May be a star in the making.

Scottre Humphrey- gone

Jared White- gone

Elijah Elliott- gone. He didn’t play this year, so as far as what we saw on the field in 24’ this isn’t a “loss”, but he was good when healthy in prior years and when he got a shot. Seemed like a great teammate, wish this dude the best. I wish he stuck around his last year to contribute, but totally understand the situation.

I think the answer if Davis comes back is that we’re still plenty deep.

But if he’s not back, do we roll with what we have? Anticipate a transfer to help with depth?

Jones/Coon/Henley is a really good and dynamic backfield. We also have two freshman coming in with Claunch and Kornachuk. However, I'd expect one more transfer or signee by the time spring ball gets here. One thing we all likely noticed in the title game, Jones outsnapped Humphrey, had more YPC than Scottre, and is more of a threat out of the backfield as a receiver. Jones is the clear RB1 even if Davis does come back.

Need 6 good backs.

[BLACKnBLUEnGOLD]

What for? They only ever use one at a time.

[SparkCat]

Unlike many here, I'm not really surprised that Davis is out. I did not expect him to stay. I think he probably wants to follow Johnson to Temple.

I think people are sleeping a little on Colson Coon as a potential short yardage back. He isn't your traditional battering ram, but he is effective at taking very small creases up the middle and slipping off tackles. He reminds me of Woodhead, in the way he is effective on big-back plays as a smaller back. I am not predicting an NFL career for him, but I am predicting that he will be a good player for the Bobcats. Also, Adam Jones was a 180 pound WR as a recruit, and two years later he's a 200lb RB. Coon is under 200 pounds now, but he may well be 205 or 210 pounds next year.

Finally, I think that if Coon isn't the answer, Vigen will not have trouble finding someone who is. The Bobcats had three guys rush for at least 15 TDs. They had 1400, 1200, and 1100 yards. Two of those guys will not be back. It's an attractive landing spot for an upperclassman to drop down or a talented guy at our level who wants to go from a passing offense to a running offense.

I'm also wondering if the RBs didn't talk to each other much about their plans. Scottre was probably gone no matter what, and Johnson leaving probably guaranteed Davis leaving. But Elijah Elliott has started games for this team, and Jared White looked like the next great Bobcat RB to me at the beginning of the 2022 season. You wonder if at least one of them thinks about staying if he knows that Davis and Scottre are both leaving.

I’m sure there is a great chance he is leaving, Davis as of now has not put made the portal jump.

Elliot, I honestly thought was just done with football. After his 2023 and 2024 injuries, whatever they were, he never suited up again, despite looking 100%. I think the RB pecking order now, if Davis leaves is, Jones, Coon/Henley. Henley passed up White.

Agree on Coon, I actually, per my master class armchair coaching, was always guaranteed a tough 2-4 yards when needed, dude literally throws his body at defenders and hits hard.

[BLACKnBLUEnGOLD]

White is in the portal too. That's also not a big surprise, since he was passed on the depth chart by Jones, Coon, and maybe Unterrio

[FTG_1984]

Jones has been the lead back for 2 months.

Yes, and his performance was…average.

Lol, you do realize if Jones stays on the progression chart he's currently on, he will be an All-American by his junior year? Maybe next year even. By the end of this season, Jones was by far our best RB. Humphrey shouldn't have even been on the field against NDSU in the title. Jones ran much tougher against a stout NDSU D overall in his split opportunities. The reality is Humphrey will not be missed (especially post-injury Humphrey).

I still don't think average Cats fans realize how good Jones was overall as a freshman. He is the best pass-catching RB I saw at the FCS level this season (BTW, where were any play calls to throw to Jones out of the backfield against NDSU? Walker the former OC will also not be missed. Vigen needs to learn from this failure). He is also the best run & pass-blocking RB I've ever seen at the FCS level as a freshman. Intangibles are off the charts.

He put on 15 lbs of solid muscle over last summer since coming out of high school. I would not be surprised if Adam Jones shows up next early Fall 15 lbs heavier with the same speed & agility. At this point, you're basically looking at the All-American that UC-Davis had at RB this year, except smarter & a better pass-catcher out of the backfield.

[BelligerentBobcat]

Jones has been the lead back for 2 months.

Yes, and his performance was…average.

Lol, you do realize if Jones stays on the progression chart he's currently on, he will be an All-American by his junior year? Maybe next year even. By the end of this season, Jones was by far our best RB. Humphrey shouldn't have even been on the field against NDSU in the title. Jones ran much tougher against a stout NDSU D overall in his split opportunities. The reality is Humphrey will not be missed (especially post-injury Humphrey).

I still don't think average Cats fans realize how good Jones was overall as a freshman. He is the best pass-catching RB I saw at the FCS level this season (BTW, where were any play calls to throw to Jones out of the backfield against NDSU? Walker the former OC will also not be missed. Vigen needs to learn from this failure). He is also the best run & pass-blocking RB I've ever seen at the FCS level as a freshman. Intangibles are off the charts.

He put on 15 lbs of solid muscle over last summer since coming out of high school. I would not be surprised if Adam Jones shows up next early Fall 15 lbs heavier with the same speed & agility. At this point, you're basically looking at the All-American that UC-Davis had at RB this year, except smarter & a better pass-catcher out of the backfield.

I was strictly talking about how he performed as the lead back when Humphrey was injured.

I like Jones. He improved significantly. I’d also agree he played better than Humphrey against NDSU. And yet, I wouldn’t say his performance was above average. At this point, he’s still too boom or bust. Doesn’t break tackles. Could he become that guy? I really hope so! I’d still bring in a bigger back, we’ll probably need one.

[Lord Vigo]

This conversation doesn’t need to be about Jones versus someone else. It needs to be about Jones plus someone else.

They went into this season with three guys they wanted to use when the games were still competitive— Davis, Humphrey, and Jones. In my opinion, three was one short. If Tommy wasn’t such a running threat, the ground game would have been in serious trouble while Davis and Humphrey were both hurt, not because Jones is deficient but because it’s more than a one man job.

One of those three is gone, a second is rumored to be going, and one is almost certainly staying. Additionally, two guys further down the depth chart are out. So they need at least two guys who can play, plus depth— I would argue they need three guys who can play.

ULH and Coon may be 1-2 of them. Depends on internal evaluation. But that still leaves a spot and what the roster currently lacks is a bigger, more powerful tackle breaking back.

So it’s a simple conclusion to me. Jones is awesome AND they need a back. Probably two.

[RobertCats]

Jones has been the lead back for 2 months.

Yes, and his performance was…average.

Lol, you do realize if Jones stays on the progression chart he's currently on, he will be an All-American by his junior year? Maybe next year even. By the end of this season, Jones was by far our best RB. Humphrey shouldn't have even been on the field against NDSU in the title. Jones ran much tougher against a stout NDSU D overall in his split opportunities. The reality is Humphrey will not be missed (especially post-injury Humphrey).

I still don't think average Cats fans realize how good Jones was overall as a freshman. He is the best pass-catching RB I saw at the FCS level this season (BTW, where were any play calls to throw to Jones out of the backfield against NDSU? Walker the former OC will also not be missed. Vigen needs to learn from this failure). He is also the best run & pass-blocking RB I've ever seen at the FCS level as a freshman. Intangibles are off the charts.

He put on 15 lbs of solid muscle over last summer since coming out of high school. I would not be surprised if Adam Jones shows up next early Fall 15 lbs heavier with the same speed & agility. At this point, you're basically looking at the All-American that UC-Davis had at RB this year, except smarter & a better pass-catcher out of the backfield.

I was strictly talking about how he performed as the lead back when Humphrey was injured.

I like Jones. He improved significantly. I’d also agree he played better than Humphrey against NDSU. And yet, I wouldn’t say his performance was above average. At this point, he’s still too boom or bust. Doesn’t break tackles. Could he become that guy? I really hope so! I’d still bring in a bigger back, we’ll probably need one.

I'm with you on this one, for sure. Jones's skillset is more suited to running outside the tackles, getting the ball in space, and catching the ball out of the backfield. While he performed admirably running between the tackles, it is not his forte, and I worry his body won't hold up as a true three-down back. I love a good thunder and lightning backfield, where Jones can most definitely be the lightning!

[MTmadeCat]

I would be surprised if there isn’t another back brought in from the portal. But let’s not forget every guy in the RB room gets another offseason with Coach Herrin who does a phenomenal job. The coaching staff was wise enough to hand Tommy the lead when he was ready, I think the end of this season showed Adam jones is the next Montana kid to be a stud and focal point for many years on offense.

[mslacatfan]

Jones has been the lead back for 2 months.

Yes, and his performance was…average.

Lol, you do realize if Jones stays on the progression chart he's currently on, he will be an All-American by his junior year? Maybe next year even. By the end of this season, Jones was by far our best RB. Humphrey shouldn't have even been on the field against NDSU in the title. Jones ran much tougher against a stout NDSU D overall in his split opportunities. The reality is Humphrey will not be missed (especially post-injury Humphrey).

I still don't think average Cats fans realize how good Jones was overall as a freshman. He is the best pass-catching RB I saw at the FCS level this season (BTW, where were any play calls to throw to Jones out of the backfield against NDSU? Walker the former OC will also not be missed. Vigen needs to learn from this failure). He is also the best run & pass-blocking RB I've ever seen at the FCS level as a freshman. Intangibles are off the charts.

He put on 15 lbs of solid muscle over last summer since coming out of high school. I would not be surprised if Adam Jones shows up next early Fall 15 lbs heavier with the same speed & agility. At this point, you're basically looking at the All-American that UC-Davis had at RB this year, except smarter & a better pass-catcher out of the backfield.

[Lord Vigo]

Even with Davis coming back-- which is great-- the Cats still only have five backs on the roster for 2025 by my count:

Adam Jones
Julius Davis
Unterrio Latin-Henley
Colson Coon
Malachi Claunch

I suppose it's possible that a guy like Kornachuk lands at RB, but even then he would be a true freshman.

For reference, last year the Cats carried 7 backs.

I think they need at least one solid transfer here.