Starting RB

[volinbham]

I think you're WAY off on this one Dan.

First of all, he was a no show against the Gators and Marshall because of his ankle injury. I'm pretty sure he came in the UF game and tried to cut, but his ankle was clearly still bothering him.

If Arian comes out "amazingly" healed for the UGA game, it's not because he's trying to get noticed. It's because the coaches made the right call and gave him some time to heal before we get into our SEC schedule.

I'm not sure where all this NFL minded talk is coming from either. I've read a lot of Foster's quotes and I don't ever recall him even mentioning the NFL. Of course, every player has dreams and aspirations of playing in the league one day and there's nothing wrong with that.

As for Arian not having heart, you're talking about a kid who had an injured knee and shoulders last year and still managed to be the only bright spot on our offense. One game he carried the ball 40 times. I'd suspect he never would have missed a game this season with his ankle if we didn't have some depth at RB this year.

:clapping:

 

[volinbham]

I didn't see the Marshall game so I can't fully comment but:

Does breaking an 89 yarder against Marshall really mean you are the hot RB? After the Cal game, Hardesty was the hot RB because of the broken tackle run. Before the Cal game, Foster was the hot RB.

I say go with Yancy - he's got to be the next hot one...

We've got 3 good ones but I don't see how anyone can say one is much better than any other one.

 

[WA_Vol]

I didn't see the Marshall game so I can't fully comment but:

Does breaking an 89 yarder against Marshall really mean you are the hot RB? After the Cal game, Hardesty was the hot RB because of the broken tackle run. Before the Cal game, Foster was the hot RB.

I say go with Yancy - he's got to be the next hot one...

We've got 3 good ones but I don't see how anyone can say one is much better than any other one.

Hardesty played in the same game against Marshall as Coker did. He broke off a 20 yd run but otherwise wasn't effective.

After Coker's game, almost 150 yds in 8 carries, why would you want to play Hardesty over Coker? Obviously Coker is playing better of late.

 

[volinbham]

My point is that 8 carries in one game with one going for 89 is not really a "trend" that we can count on.

Hardesty had a good run, breaking tackles to score the TD.

 

[rwemyss]

Coker was consistently gaining 5-6 yards on his runs. Not to fully blame Hardesty for his poor production, as he was met in the backfield on more than one occasion. Coker was a more effective back even without his 89 yard run.

 

[OWB]

I didn't see the Marshall game so I can't fully comment but:

Does breaking an 89 yarder against Marshall really mean you are the hot RB? After the Cal game, Hardesty was the hot RB because of the broken tackle run. Before the Cal game, Foster was the hot RB.

I say go with Yancy - he's got to be the next hot one...

We've got 3 good ones but I don't see how anyone can say one is much better than any other one.

Well, it was the 3rd longest run in Tennessee's history, so it was kind of special in that aspect. I think people are just excited to see a long run for a TD. That run pretty much broke Marshall's back considering it was still a pretty close game. So it was certainly a big run to be talked about.

At this point, it's hard to say that one is better than the other, but you can say they are definitely different. Once Foster gets his ankle back in shape, we'll have 3 backs that are all talented and all capable of making big plays in their own way.

 

[cibai]

FWIW, I wouldn't hold up Notre Dame as a Bastion of rushing defense. I would take Vandys D over NDs.

 

[WA_Vol]

My point is that 8 carries in one game with one going for 89 is not really a "trend" that we can count on.

Hardesty had a good run, breaking tackles to score the TD.

RUSHING GP Att Gain Loss Net Avg TD Long Avg/G
----------------------------------------------------------------
LaMarcus Coker 4 19 199 0 199 10.5 1 89 49.8
Montario Hardesty 4 49 178 15 163 3.3 4 43 40.8


Coker is averaging 10.5 yd/carry for the year. Hardesty is averaging 3.3 yds/carry.

 

[kptvol]

I'll tell you what I think is ridiculous. Is a player of Arians ability that is a no show when he's needed (Gators), not just the Marshall game where I might have benched him to avoid a injury where a far lesser team was played and to risk him to injury isnt worth it. Mark my words , we''ll end up squeaking by Memphis because their HC is an old school DC and he's tough as nails. We'll get the win on raw athletic ability.....then we face Georgia, where Arian will come out amazingly healed because he and his intrests know that a good performance against Georgia will get him noticed. Typical springboard tactic of an NFL minded kid that uses a div1a school to further his intrests. Whats ridiculous to me is people buying in to this kid, he has done precious little to further the Vols intrest but sits and waits for his opportunity to shine. When its said and done he''ll get drafted 3rd round and he'll not do to well because he has no heart. He has some athletic ability and a wheelbarrow load of selfish smack.

This is the worst post I have ever read on this board. You can question Arian's ability all you want, because he hasn't yet been able to do anything spectacular against top-notch competition. However, he hasn't played much against top-notch teams. The reason he didnt' play much against Florida is that the coaches feel that Hardesty is almost as good as Foster. Therefore, they would rather put the guy that is 100% out there, than a beatup Foster. If Arian is not on his A-game, Coker and Hardesty are probably better than he is. I'd say he really wanted to get in against the Gators, and the coaches wouldn't let him in for awhile. When he proved ineffective, he was pulled. He played through injuries last year. In fact, he had to have multiple surgeries at the year's end. This guy was 90% of our offense the second half of the year. He tried hard on every play, even though the season was quickly spiraling down the crapper. If you want to see a player that has no heart, check Robert Meachem last year. It's funny how he has suddenly become the Volunteer superhero because of a few great games, after years of underachieving. He'll be the one that leaves early for the NFL, after all he was the blue chip recruit. Arian was only a three star back and was not highly recruited at all. I'd say after not being recruited by many major colleges, he is humbled and would consider himself lucky to make it to the NFL. There is no way you can say he is using us as a springboard to the NFL. You are wrong about so many things I think I have probably forgot to mention some. I can't believe how wrong you are.

 

[volinbham]

RUSHING GP Att Gain Loss Net Avg TD Long Avg/G
----------------------------------------------------------------
LaMarcus Coker 4 19 199 0 199 10.5 1 89 49.8
Montario Hardesty 4 49 178 15 163 3.3 4 43 40.8


Coker is averaging 10.5 yd/carry for the year. Hardesty is averaging 3.3 yds/carry.

I understand the point but the numbers based on so few runs. Without the 89 yarder, Coker is averaging 5.6.

In the Cal game, Hardesty averaged 11.2 yards per carry to Coker's 4.8 -- Coker had more carries (11 to 5)

In other words, 19 carries is a low number to draw a solid conclusion. The old regression to the mean will catch up with him (actually both of them) and I bet they both end up in the mid 4's.

Don't get me wrong, I like them all. I just don't see it as a big controversy about who should start. eace2:

 

[jakez4ut]

this is a fairly heated thread.

i like the way Hardesty and Coker both run...and COker has the wheels. I don't htink you can count on 40+ and 80+ yard carries in each game (both have long runs for big plays, and that's a good thing), so using the average YPC to me is not the best indicator...and Coker doesn't exacly have a ton of carries to beging with.

the knock on Coker coming in was ball security right? they've all been raving about his speed.

i think at the end of the day, we will have 3 pretty good running backs....

And the bottom line is, all three could benefit if the O line gets better and the full backs start blocking like their supposed to.

it all starts up front, and thus far, we have yet to establish anything as far as being a "physical, pound the rock" kind of football team. JMO from what i've seen thru 4 games.

 

[WA_Vol]

Obviously Fulmer has been reading our discussions in here, and has decided to no longer fight us and start Coker instead.

I'm expecting word from the AD shortly that they are encouraging fans to tailgate on G-10 and yell as loud and often as they want.