B Back position

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stingmeyall

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just thinking over the last two years we have lost our top 3 B backs(Marshall, Mills and Benson) but look at the production of our remaining B backs Mason and Howard. I would have to say PJ has recruited that position pretty damn good!
 
Ponchez Mason looks good to me. Jerry sometimes carries the ball like a loaf of bread and he’ll fumble. Always worried when he’s in there but he has looked good as of late.
 
They have combined for over 900 yds, over 6 yards per carry and 11 TDs. Not too shabby.
 
stingmeyall said:
just thinking over the last two years we have lost our top 3 B backs(Marshall, Mills and Benson) but look at the production of our remaining B backs Mason and Howard. I would have to say PJ has recruited that position pretty damn good!
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Kind of ridiculous the injuries/attrition we’ve dealt with at AB/BB the last 4 seasons. It completely torpedoed 2015 and has cost us some wins along the way after. Mills would have been the best RB in the conference this year. And without him Marshall probably could have led the conference in rushing.
 
Marshall was Dwyer-esque. Strong guy who could drag defenders and also had a burst to outrun a defense. Losing him was a killer. Mills was decent but couldn’t get excited about him running the ball. Benson struggled with Ball security a season ago.
 
I'd take Mills and Marshall back if I had a choice, but I'm really happy with what we have. And don't forget Christian Malloy - he is an outstanding talent. Barring injury, we're going to be 4 deep with good backs at BB next season. Who gets moved to AB?? I think Mason would perhaps make a great power AB.
 
TypicalTechFan said:
Marshall was Dwyer-esque. Strong guy who could drag defenders and also had a burst to outrun a defense. Losing him was a killer. Mills was decent but couldn’t get excited about him running the ball. Benson struggled with Ball security a season ago.
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Marshall was good; but no Dwyer. I would take Mills over Marshall even though they were close. Mills was better fighting for yards inside, Marshall was the better open field runner. Benson was pretty good; but definitely behind Mills and Marshall due primarily to size. After we lost Benson, we lost the last guy we could go to in short yardage and I think that has hurt us this season. Mason looks like a breakaway runner, if he can just get past that last shoe string tackle. Howard is improving; but I have a hard time getting excited about him; but then I had trouble getting excited with Days at B-back; but he came on strong the last half of 2014.
 
18in32 said:
Dedrick Mills was an exceptional talent. As an 18 year old he was overpowering 21 year olds. That was a big big loss.
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I thought so too, believe he had the winning TD run in Ireland to beat BC, and was just a Freshman, right? Really hated losing him.
 
Vespinae said:
Did he, though? I don't remember worrying too much about him fumbling it last year.
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I do. I tried to find some stats to back that up but couldn’t locate them and am not going to get worked up over it too much as far as anyone disagreeing with my opinion of various players. I’m a lifelong fan and grad and I’m comfortable in having an opinion of team or a player as I’ve seen a lot of Tech football over 37+ years.
 
You know how good Marshall and Mills were by the strong debate here but I’m not so sure their yards per carry were much different than our current stable of B backs. That is a huge measuring stick IMO.
 
It'd be nice to put such a high recruiting priority on DLmen, since recruiting FBs is clearly not a problem. Which makes sense - FBs aren't used heavily anywhere but us and service academies.
 
TypicalTechFan said:
I do. I tried to find some stats to back that up but couldn’t locate them and am not going to get worked up over it too much as far as anyone disagreeing with my opinion of various players. I’m a lifelong fan and grad and I’m comfortable in having an opinion of team or a player as I’ve seen a lot of Tech football over 37+ years.
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Look at me post.
 
TypicalTechFan said:
Marshall was Dwyer-esque. Strong guy who could drag defenders and also had a burst to outrun a defense. Losing him was a killer. Mills was decent but couldn’t get excited about him running the ball. Benson struggled with Ball security a season ago.
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I also was more of a Marshall fan. He was explosive. He had a run against the gaggers that was very Dwyer-esque. Not quite as strong as Mills but better vision and shiftier so he didn’t need the strength as much. Dwyer was a holy terror though. That run he had against either duke or UNC where he had like 9 defenders on top of him for 10 yards was probably my favorite run of all time.

I also won’t ever forget the time dwyer took a hand off deep in our own territory and reversed field a couple of times and wound up in our end zone with several defenders and made a miraculous move to avoid the safety. It was one of the best and worst plays I have ever seen simultaneously.
 
Vespinae said:
Did he, though? I don't remember worrying too much about him fumbling it last year.
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4 fumbles in 11 games 2017, lost them all.

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edit to add, 2 against Pitt(29 rushes), 1 NC(18), and 1 Clemson(16).
 
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When the OL is doing their job and the QB can keep the defense honest, we could hand the ball to just about anyone and get what we need out of the BB. Sure wish we could get more elite BB's like Dwyer or Allen to compensate for those years where the yards are tough to get.
 
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