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Who becomes the starting RB. I think all said and done Journey Brown starter

with so many options reminds me of the Ennis / Harris potential
I agree and wonder why he didn't get more carries last year.

But Slade has an awesome resume. He had a few flashes but I am concerned about his ability to push the pile when he needs that last step for a first down. Glad to see he's gained some weight. Being over 200 lbs and short, I am hopeful he can do that against a LB or DB. I am also intrigued about the kid from ND, CJ Holms. Kid had offers from every top program (UM, AL, ND, Pitt). He is also a RS Soph, like Brown, so he is three years into his college career. Time to put up or shut up.

A key will be what the staff sees in protecting the ball and pass blocking.

True Fr are always iffy but we've got two high end kids coming in. My guess is that they either RS or do special teams.

regardless, no definite starter but a ton of talent.
 
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with so many options reminds me of the Ennis / Harris potential

With all the available talent, you can't go wrong with any one of them. We don't know who is the best receiver, who ever that is will separate from the others.
 
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May come down to who can hold on to the ball! Lots of talent, speed and power, but you need to be dependable...
 
I look for a 1-2 punch of Slade and Cain. PSU definitely must have a pure, downhill, inside the tackles RB and IMHO that is Cain. He will be in the 215-220 range and will get comfortable in spring ball. If you watch his HS highlights, he looks very similar to Sanders and in fact looks more comfortable running inside than Miles did as a young player. Slade is a playmaker, will be a threat to go the distance and will make a lot of long runs. If Brown was going to beat him out it would have happened last year as he had a year under his belt and Slade was a true FR. Remember, Slade went through a lengthy period where he was in the doghouse and not playing and, even then, Brown never passed him.
I agree that Brown, Holmes and Ford give us incredible depth and there should be great competition throughout the season.
 
This might be the year we see 2 RBs in the backfield, not just due to the RBs, but with a lot of unproven guys at WR

A lot of talent at the RB position.
Would like to see a 2 RB set but then would the playbook need development.
Brings up obvious question any news of a new playbook, anything on the practice field or new we will see in BW Game.

Disagree will your premise of unproven WR position, thought there were flashes of greatness from some of the young guys.
If we see a playbook that dumps the RPO and goes wide open running / passing attack, say similar to The Indy Colts when Peyton Manning was at QB ... whoa nelly! (Keith Jackson was a hero)
 
I look for a 1-2 punch of Slade and Cain. PSU definitely must have a pure, downhill, inside the tackles RB and IMHO that is Cain. He will be in the 215-220 range and will get comfortable in spring ball. If you watch his HS highlights, he looks very similar to Sanders and in fact looks more comfortable running inside than Miles did as a young player. Slade is a playmaker, will be a threat to go the distance and will make a lot of long runs. If Brown was going to beat him out it would have happened last year as he had a year under his belt and Slade was a true FR. Remember, Slade went through a lengthy period where he was in the doghouse and not playing and, even then, Brown never passed him.
I agree that Brown, Holmes and Ford give us incredible depth and there should be great competition throughout the season.

Cain looked real good in the all-star game, reminds me of a college Frank Gore
 
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Very likely Slade will be the number one guy followed by Cain by game 3. I hope Journey gets his carries and wins the kickoff return job to keep Hamler from getting dinged doing that job.

I hope we see a big spread of our best athletes all over the place. Put these guys out there to block punts (D Harris kid blocked at least one at Alabama before he was the #1 RB on the depth chart). Variety on kick and punt returns. Hot hand in the running game unless someone is just clearly Barkley level better than our next guy.
 
I look for a 1-2 punch of Slade and Cain. PSU definitely must have a pure, downhill, inside the tackles RB and IMHO that is Cain. He will be in the 215-220 range and will get comfortable in spring ball. If you watch his HS highlights, he looks very similar to Sanders and in fact looks more comfortable running inside than Miles did as a young player. Slade is a playmaker, will be a threat to go the distance and will make a lot of long runs. If Brown was going to beat him out it would have happened last year as he had a year under his belt and Slade was a true FR. Remember, Slade went through a lengthy period where he was in the doghouse and not playing and, even then, Brown never passed him.
I agree that Brown, Holmes and Ford give us incredible depth and there should be great competition throughout the season.
Agree. Slade and Cain with Ford redshirting and Brown proving depth/change of speed.
 
May come down to who can hold on to the ball! Lots of talent, speed and power, but you need to be dependable...
I was going to say the same thing. Sander's fumbles cost us dearly last year; may have been the biggest reason we lost the Ohio State game
 
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Don’t overlook the blocking asset. In a tight race for carries that could be the deciding factor.
 
I hope we see a big spread of our best athletes all over the place. Put these guys out there to block punts (D Harris kid blocked at least one at Alabama before he was the #1 RB on the depth chart). Variety on kick and punt returns. Hot hand in the running game unless someone is just clearly Barkley level better than our next guy.
That would take some really creative .........coaching. No evidence to date that anyone on the current staff is anything but.............adequate and vanilla. No, No JF, No! Who is even going to tell JF to not go for it on your own side of the field on your first possession let alone stopping one of the worst fake punt attempts of all time? see Indiana Don't get me started on being unprepared for that trickster........D'Antonio. Shameful! Now I am going to church to pray........for
 
LoL! You put Pitt in with top prorams (UM, ND, AL);)

But Slade has an awesome resume. He had a few flashes but I am concerned about his ability to push the pile when he needs that last step for a first down. Glad to see he's gained some weight. Being over 200 lbs and short, I am hopeful he can do that against a LB or DB. I am also intrigued about the kid from ND, CJ Holms. Kid had offers from every top program (UM, AL, ND, Pitt). He is also a RS Soph, like Brown, so he is three years into his college career. Time to put up or shut up.

A key will be what the staff sees in protecting the ball and pass blocking.

True Fr are always iffy but we've got two high end kids coming in. My guess is that they either RS or do special teams.

regardless, no definite starter but a ton of talent.[/QUOTE]
 
It's a little different this year, no clear-cut incumbent. I think the younger guys get more of a chance because of that. I do expect to see a lot of Slade and Brown (Slade gets the most carries by a good margin IMO) but I think we see a lot more of the young stable of backs this year than the last couple years by a wide margin.
 
Slade #1...without a doubt. Brown impressed on the few carries he had, but pass blocking, not so much. He needs to improve that portion of his game.
 
Slade #1...without a doubt. Brown impressed on the few carries he had, but pass blocking, not so much. He needs to improve that portion of his game.

very even - all of them will get a shot. maybe no one player dominates the carries. hope all are committed to stay with the program, so we dont see a couple at the transfer portal next spring.
 
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