#BarryJackson

[CFLCane]

IMO

If he thinks he's good enough to make an NFL roster, then he should have the confidence that he will be the 2nd string RB here and beat out a couple of freshmen, a sophomore who only has a couple collegiate carries, and another back who he's competed with for the last few years. If he doesn't think he's good enough to be the 2nd string RB here then how can he possibly think he's making an NFL roster? That's even more of a reason to stay and get your degree.

It's called alpha athlete disease. 182 underclassman declared for the NBA Draft this year....which only selects 60 players.

 

[rudebuddha]

IMO - This is on Richt. His devotion to Walton sort of forced the situation. I'm guessing he thought he was fine if Yearby and Gus left because he thought McFarland was a lock at that point.

Stats thru the VT game (7 games - half the season) last year.

Yearby - 73 for 493 yds - 6.75 avg - 6 TD's
Walton - 112 for 604 yds - 5.39 avg - 8 TD's

If I'm Yearby - I'm probably thinking why the f^ck am I 2nd string to a dude I averaged 1.4 ypc more than last year, and 1.3 ypc more than this year???

At this point I can:

1) Go pro
2) Come back and continue to be 2nd string, which won't help my stock
3) Transfer, but I would have to sit out a year

IMO - the only reason for Yearby to come back would be to get another free year of schooling. Coming back this year wouldn't have affected his stock.

I don't blame Yearby or Gus for leaving.

WTF are you talking about?

So it's Richt's fault that Yearby gave up a free college diploma to falsely pursue an NFL gig that was never guaranteed?

Seems like terrible decision making by a young man who's responsible for a family. So its suddenly the schools' obligation for Yearby to go make millions in the league??



No, he was provided a free college degree (more than most people ever get), and he blew it. That's on him. At some point, people need to start taking responsibility for their own lives and the choices they make.

Put yourself in Yearby's shoes.

You've been dominating football since optimist. You be became a Dade county football legend as a Sophomore. All you've probably thought about becoming or wanted to be is an NFL football player.

Now you're a Junior in college. You've lost your starting spot to a RB you've consistently been better than the first half of the season and all of last season, and fell to 3rd string by the end of the season.

At the time Yearby had to decide to go pro - Gus hadn't decided to transfer, and it looked like Burns and McFarland were coming in, so there's a good chance you could fall even further than 3rd on the depth chart.

Your dream is to go to the NFL. You're 21 years old. Do you:

A) Turn pro and hope to get drafted, but if not, have a good chance at catching on as a UDFA and still have an NFL career. You know you can always go back to college for a year to get your degree. You know you have 1 shot at getting drafted.

B) Come back, knowing there's a good chance you get very little playing time and have almost no chance of getting drafted, making it much harder to even get an UDFA. You're pretty much giving up on your dream of being an NFL player, but you'll have a college degree.

What would you do?

Nailed it.

You forgot option C.

Not get drafted at all. Realize that you haven't improved since high school, and that running backs with your measurables and skill set are a dime a dozen in NFL camps. Make a little UDFA signing bonus, per diem while in training camp, then get cut and be out looking for a job in the real world where football skills mean nothing.

Richt knew the depth chart, and knew what he had. I like Yearby as a player, but look at Duke playing second fiddle to Crowell in Cleveland. Cleveland! Yearby is nowhere near the player that Duke was and is right now. Yearby was a decent college player, who would have started on a lot of college football teams, but none of the top 25 teams. If he didn't like his lack of playing time, then work harder. College football, for the vast majority of players, is not about putting in your time before going to the NFL.
Only the best of the best get to the NFL, where you have to beat out other former high school superstars, and college stars, just to make a roster, or even a practice squad roster.

Think about all the college stars who never made it in the NFL. The list is staggering, and we have all this angst over a 2nd string running back's NFL chances?

He has a 1% chance to make it in the NFL, the same as every other high school superstar.

 

[bshaw28]

Yearby is not the back Walton is. Please stop with that nonsense. His numbers were inflated because he tore it up against FAMU and FAU. He ran it 27 times for 226 yards the first two games. The rest of the season he carried 75 times for 382 yards. Although he did have a good game against North Carolina.

Both Thomas Brown and Mark Rich listed pass protection as a reason for making the switch to Gus Edwards last year. That might have been a BS excuse but that's the one they gave. I don't particularly remember Yearby getting beaten often but I'm not a coach.

Here's what drives me nuts about Walton defenders.

So take out the FAMU & FAU games and here's their stats for the rest of the season:

Yearby - 75 for 382 yds - 5.09 ypc - 4 TD's (a TD every 18.75 carries)
Walton - 177 for 846 yds - 4.77 ypc - 9 TD's (a TD every 19.66 carries)

So how does this make Walton better???

And who was the better RB in the GT, FSU, UNC, and VT games - Yearby or Walton?

These arguments just make no sense to me.....

 

[NVA CANE]

Yearby is not the back Walton is. Please stop with that nonsense. His numbers were inflated because he tore it up against FAMU and FAU. He ran it 27 times for 226 yards the first two games. The rest of the season he carried 75 times for 382 yards. Although he did have a good game against North Carolina.

Both Thomas Brown and Mark Rich listed pass protection as a reason for making the switch to Gus Edwards last year. That might have been a BS excuse but that's the one they gave. I don't particularly remember Yearby getting beaten often but I'm not a coach.

Here's what drives me nuts about Walton defenders.

So take out the FAMU & FAU games and here's their stats for the rest of the season:

Yearby - 75 for 382 yds - 5.09 ypc - 4 TD's (a TD every 18.75 carries)
Walton - 177 for 846 yds - 4.77 ypc - 9 TD's (a TD every 19.66 carries)

So how does this make Walton better???

And who was the better RB in the GT, FSU, UNC, and VT games - Yearby or Walton?

These arguments just make no sense to me.....

I always thought yearby was better and always wondered why Richt wouldn't play him more. Not knowing any of the stats I remember asking why Richt took yearby out when he was gaining more yards than Walton was.

I dont know the circumstances as to why yearby didn't start but I do understand why he left. Would have been nice if he and Richt came to an understanding and he stayed one more year.

 

[simplycanes]

Never understood the argument of him leaving early to start making money unless he's talking about getting a jump on a UPS job.

It doesn't hold water. It's just rationalizing a bad decision. Most of these kids need money, but he wasn't in a position to earn it as a professional football player yet.

He wasn't likely to get much playing time, and he wasn't going to develop new skills so what was the point in staying? UDFA money this year is worth more than UDFA money next year.

How much UDFA money did he end up getting? You cannot think about these decisions in a silo. What would Joe make more money at, football or everything else he does in life? When he was given the cold, hard facts, the odds were he would have to support his family by some other means. The decision to pursue the NFL EARLY was a bad one. There is no other perspective. It was the wrong choice.

Obviously there is.

There really isn't. People assign no value to him getting a UM degree. It is pretty clear his prospects at life are better off with it than without it. If there reverse were true, he would have been drafted. Unfortunately, the last down of football he will likely play is in the past.

 

[simplycanes]

IMO - This is on Richt. His devotion to Walton sort of forced the situation. I'm guessing he thought he was fine if Yearby and Gus left because he thought McFarland was a lock at that point.

Stats thru the VT game (7 games - half the season) last year.

Yearby - 73 for 493 yds - 6.75 avg - 6 TD's
Walton - 112 for 604 yds - 5.39 avg - 8 TD's

If I'm Yearby - I'm probably thinking why the f^ck am I 2nd string to a dude I averaged 1.4 ypc more than last year, and 1.3 ypc more than this year???

At this point I can:

1) Go pro
2) Come back and continue to be 2nd string, which won't help my stock
3) Transfer, but I would have to sit out a year

IMO - the only reason for Yearby to come back would be to get another free year of schooling. Coming back this year wouldn't have affected his stock.

I don't blame Yearby or Gus for leaving.

WTF are you talking about?

So it's Richt's fault that Yearby gave up a free college diploma to falsely pursue an NFL gig that was never guaranteed?

Seems like terrible decision making by a young man who's responsible for a family. So its suddenly the schools' obligation for Yearby to go make millions in the league??



No, he was provided a free college degree (more than most people ever get), and he blew it. That's on him. At some point, people need to start taking responsibility for their own lives and the choices they make.

Put yourself in Yearby's shoes.

You've been dominating football since optimist. You be became a Dade county football legend as a Sophomore. All you've probably thought about becoming or wanted to be is an NFL football player.

Now you're a Junior in college. You've lost your starting spot to a RB you've consistently been better than the first half of the season and all of last season, and fell to 3rd string by the end of the season.

At the time Yearby had to decide to go pro - Gus hadn't decided to transfer, and it looked like Burns and McFarland were coming in, so there's a good chance you could fall even further than 3rd on the depth chart.

Your dream is to go to the NFL. You're 21 years old. Do you:

A) Turn pro and hope to get drafted, but if not, have a good chance at catching on as a UDFA and still have an NFL career. You know you can always go back to college for a year to get your degree. You know you have 1 shot at getting drafted.

B) Come back, knowing there's a good chance you get very little playing time and have almost no chance of getting drafted, making it much harder to even get an UDFA. You're pretty much giving up on your dream of being an NFL player, but you'll have a college degree.

What would you do?

Nailed it.

You forgot option C.

Not get drafted at all. Realize that you haven't improved since high school, and that running backs with your measurables and skill set are a dime a dozen in NFL camps. Make a little UDFA signing bonus, per diem while in training camp, then get cut and be out looking for a job in the real world where football skills mean nothing.

Richt knew the depth chart, and knew what he had. I like Yearby as a player, but look at Duke playing second fiddle to Crowell in Cleveland. Cleveland! Yearby is nowhere near the player that Duke was and is right now. Yearby was a decent college player, who would have started on a lot of college football teams, but none of the top 25 teams. If he didn't like his lack of playing time, then work harder. College football, for the vast majority of players, is not about putting in your time before going to the NFL.
Only the best of the best get to the NFL, where you have to beat out other former high school superstars, and college stars, just to make a roster, or even a practice squad roster.

Think about all the college stars who never made it in the NFL. The list is staggering, and we have all this angst over a 2nd string running back's NFL chances?

He has a 1% chance to make it in the NFL, the same as every other high school superstar.

Now this is nailing it.

 

[DTP]

Yearby is not the back Walton is. Please stop with that nonsense. His numbers were inflated because he tore it up against FAMU and FAU. He ran it 27 times for 226 yards the first two games. The rest of the season he carried 75 times for 382 yards. Although he did have a good game against North Carolina.

Both Thomas Brown and Mark Rich listed pass protection as a reason for making the switch to Gus Edwards last year. That might have been a BS excuse but that's the one they gave. I don't particularly remember Yearby getting beaten often but I'm not a coach.

Here's what drives me nuts about Walton defenders.

So take out the FAMU & FAU games and here's their stats for the rest of the season:

Yearby - 75 for 382 yds - 5.09 ypc - 4 TD's (a TD every 18.75 carries)
Walton - 177 for 846 yds - 4.77 ypc - 9 TD's (a TD every 19.66 carries)

So how does this make Walton better???

And who was the better RB in the GT, FSU, UNC, and VT games - Yearby or Walton?

These arguments just make no sense to me.....

The only game you could say that Yearby out performed Walton out of those four would be UNC.

The second half of the season, Walton dominated.

Pitt - 14 for 125
UVA - 16 for 111
NCSt - 19 for 120
Duke - 13 for 60

But yeah, you guys are right. Yearby is clearly the better player and the coaching staff was purposely playing the worse player.

And every single NFL GM and scout cant' see it either.

Joe Yearby has a lot in common with Brad Kaaya. Both are good players. Both never really got better in college. Both are limited phisically except teams can work around a slow quarterback. It's tough to justify giving a little guy with no break away speed more than 5-10 carries a game in college.

 

[bshaw28]

Yearby is not the back Walton is. Please stop with that nonsense. His numbers were inflated because he tore it up against FAMU and FAU. He ran it 27 times for 226 yards the first two games. The rest of the season he carried 75 times for 382 yards. Although he did have a good game against North Carolina.

Both Thomas Brown and Mark Rich listed pass protection as a reason for making the switch to Gus Edwards last year. That might have been a BS excuse but that's the one they gave. I don't particularly remember Yearby getting beaten often but I'm not a coach.

Here's what drives me nuts about Walton defenders.

So take out the FAMU & FAU games and here's their stats for the rest of the season:

Yearby - 75 for 382 yds - 5.09 ypc - 4 TD's (a TD every 18.75 carries)
Walton - 177 for 846 yds - 4.77 ypc - 9 TD's (a TD every 19.66 carries)

So how does this make Walton better???

And who was the better RB in the GT, FSU, UNC, and VT games - Yearby or Walton?

These arguments just make no sense to me.....

The only game you could say that Yearby out performed Walton out of those four would be UNC.

The second half of the season, Walton dominated.

Pitt - 14 for 125
UVA - 16 for 111
NCSt - 19 for 120
Duke - 13 for 60

But yeah, you guys are right. Yearby is clearly the better player and the coaching staff was purposely playing the worse player.

And every single NFL GM and scout cant' see it either.

Joe Yearby has a lot in common with Brad Kaaya. Both are good players. Both never really got better in college. Both are limited phisically except teams can work around a slow quarterback. It's tough to justify giving a little guy with no break away speed more than 5-10 carries a game in college.

You do realize the UNC game is the only one where Walton actually gained more yards than Yearby, right?

GT
Yearby - 9-65, 7.2 ypc
Walton - 15-44, 2.9 ypc

FSU
Yearby - 10-39, 3.2 ypc
Walton - 14-39, 2.8 ypc

UNC
Yearby - 10-74, 7.4 ypc
Walton - 24-82, 3.4 ypc

VT
Yearby - 9-59, 6.6 ypc
Walton - 11-38, 3.5 ypc

Yearby gained 34 more yards on 26 less carries. Walton's longest run in these 4 games was 14 yds. Yearby had a 25+ yd run in 3 of those 4 games.

For your "Dominated the 2nd Half of the Season", you left off WVU - 17 for 52. So his last 2 games he went 30 for 112. So I'd argue he played great for 3 games, no question, but didn't "dominate" all of those games, and was just average in the last 2.

For your statement - It's tough to justify giving a little guy with no break away speed more than 5-10 carries a game in college. - I couldn't agree with you more!

Yearby = 5'9" 200, runs a 4.7
Walton = 5'9" 205, runs a 4.6

Neither of those guys should be what we expect as a workhorse RB at Miami. Both are similar talents, and both of their talent levels should be what we want in a backup/2nd string, not a starter.

 

[DTP]

I've seen Walton break quite a few long runs the last two years and I've never seen him get caught from behind. I've seen Yearby break into the open field only to get caught at least three or four times during his tenure. One guy plays football much faster than the other. One guy gets hit and stays on his feet better than the other. I will give Yearby credit for being better at finding the crease when it appears there's no hole. He is excellent at picking up 3-4 yards when it looks like he shouldn't get any. The coaches obviously felt that Walton was the better workhorse and Yearby was better off as a change of pace. For the most part it was an effective combo. Neither one is Willis McGahee but I'll bet money that if Walton goes to the NFL after this season, he'll get drafted.

 

[rok]

It's just so maddening that Thom Brown hasn't landed a stud RB since arriving here to at least compete with Walton.

I'm pleased with Lingard/Davis I just hope it's not a year too late.

 

[MIATL]

Yearby is not the back Walton is. Please stop with that nonsense. His numbers were inflated because he tore it up against FAMU and FAU. He ran it 27 times for 226 yards the first two games. The rest of the season he carried 75 times for 382 yards. Although he did have a good game against North Carolina.

Both Thomas Brown and Mark Rich listed pass protection as a reason for making the switch to Gus Edwards last year. That might have been a BS excuse but that's the one they gave. I don't particularly remember Yearby getting beaten often but I'm not a coach.

Here's what drives me nuts about Walton defenders.

So take out the FAMU & FAU games and here's their stats for the rest of the season:

Yearby - 75 for 382 yds - 5.09 ypc - 4 TD's (a TD every 18.75 carries)
Walton - 177 for 846 yds - 4.77 ypc - 9 TD's (a TD every 19.66 carries)

So how does this make Walton better???

And who was the better RB in the GT, FSU, UNC, and VT games - Yearby or Walton?

These arguments just make no sense to me.....

The only game you could say that Yearby out performed Walton out of those four would be UNC.

The second half of the season, Walton dominated.

Pitt - 14 for 125
UVA - 16 for 111
NCSt - 19 for 120
Duke - 13 for 60

But yeah, you guys are right. Yearby is clearly the better player and the coaching staff was purposely playing the worse player.

And every single NFL GM and scout cant' see it either.

Joe Yearby has a lot in common with Brad Kaaya. Both are good players. Both never really got better in college. Both are limited phisically except teams can work around a slow quarterback. It's tough to justify giving a little guy with no break away speed more than 5-10 carries a game in college.

You do realize the UNC game is the only one where Walton actually gained more yards than Yearby, right?

GT
Yearby - 9-65, 7.2 ypc
Walton - 15-44, 2.9 ypc

FSU
Yearby - 10-39, 3.2 ypc
Walton - 14-39, 2.8 ypc

UNC
Yearby - 10-74, 7.4 ypc
Walton - 24-82, 3.4 ypc

VT
Yearby - 9-59, 6.6 ypc
Walton - 11-38, 3.5 ypc

Yearby gained 34 more yards on 26 less carries. Walton's longest run in these 4 games was 14 yds. Yearby had a 25+ yd run in 3 of those 4 games.

For your "Dominated the 2nd Half of the Season", you left off WVU - 17 for 52. So his last 2 games he went 30 for 112. So I'd argue he played great for 3 games, no question, but didn't "dominate" all of those games, and was just average in the last 2.

For your statement - It's tough to justify giving a little guy with no break away speed more than 5-10 carries a game in college. - I couldn't agree with you more!

Yearby = 5'9" 200, runs a 4.7
Walton = 5'9" 205, runs a 4.6

Neither of those guys should be what we expect as a workhorse RB at Miami. Both are similar talents, and both of their talent levels should be what we want in a backup/2nd string, not a starter.

We get it.

At minimum, you think they're even.

At most, you believe Yearby is better.

Fact is, Richt disagreed with you. Richt believes Walton to be the better back.

Fact is, Yearby didn't get drafted, wasn't signed as an UFA, and didn't make a 90-man roster after getting an invite to a team that has an abysmal situation at running back. So, if Walton gets drafted next year, gets signed as an UFA, or makes a 90-man roster, then the NFL will also believe he is the better back.

At what point will you acknowledge the folks paid to make these decisions might have better insight on this topic, than just taking a look at YPC?

 

[MIATL]

It's just so maddening that Thom Brown hasn't landed a stud RB since arriving here to at least compete with Walton.

I'm pleased with Lingard/Davis I just hope it's not a year too late.

 

[bshaw28]

Yearby is not the back Walton is. Please stop with that nonsense. His numbers were inflated because he tore it up against FAMU and FAU. He ran it 27 times for 226 yards the first two games. The rest of the season he carried 75 times for 382 yards. Although he did have a good game against North Carolina.

Both Thomas Brown and Mark Rich listed pass protection as a reason for making the switch to Gus Edwards last year. That might have been a BS excuse but that's the one they gave. I don't particularly remember Yearby getting beaten often but I'm not a coach.

Here's what drives me nuts about Walton defenders.

So take out the FAMU & FAU games and here's their stats for the rest of the season:

Yearby - 75 for 382 yds - 5.09 ypc - 4 TD's (a TD every 18.75 carries)
Walton - 177 for 846 yds - 4.77 ypc - 9 TD's (a TD every 19.66 carries)

So how does this make Walton better???

And who was the better RB in the GT, FSU, UNC, and VT games - Yearby or Walton?

These arguments just make no sense to me.....

The only game you could say that Yearby out performed Walton out of those four would be UNC.

The second half of the season, Walton dominated.

Pitt - 14 for 125
UVA - 16 for 111
NCSt - 19 for 120
Duke - 13 for 60

But yeah, you guys are right. Yearby is clearly the better player and the coaching staff was purposely playing the worse player.

And every single NFL GM and scout cant' see it either.

Joe Yearby has a lot in common with Brad Kaaya. Both are good players. Both never really got better in college. Both are limited phisically except teams can work around a slow quarterback. It's tough to justify giving a little guy with no break away speed more than 5-10 carries a game in college.

You do realize the UNC game is the only one where Walton actually gained more yards than Yearby, right?

GT
Yearby - 9-65, 7.2 ypc
Walton - 15-44, 2.9 ypc

FSU
Yearby - 10-39, 3.2 ypc
Walton - 14-39, 2.8 ypc

UNC
Yearby - 10-74, 7.4 ypc
Walton - 24-82, 3.4 ypc

VT
Yearby - 9-59, 6.6 ypc
Walton - 11-38, 3.5 ypc

Yearby gained 34 more yards on 26 less carries. Walton's longest run in these 4 games was 14 yds. Yearby had a 25+ yd run in 3 of those 4 games.

For your "Dominated the 2nd Half of the Season", you left off WVU - 17 for 52. So his last 2 games he went 30 for 112. So I'd argue he played great for 3 games, no question, but didn't "dominate" all of those games, and was just average in the last 2.

For your statement - It's tough to justify giving a little guy with no break away speed more than 5-10 carries a game in college. - I couldn't agree with you more!

Yearby = 5'9" 200, runs a 4.7
Walton = 5'9" 205, runs a 4.6

Neither of those guys should be what we expect as a workhorse RB at Miami. Both are similar talents, and both of their talent levels should be what we want in a backup/2nd string, not a starter.

We get it.

At minimum, you think they're even.

At most, you believe Yearby is better.

Fact is, Richt disagreed with you. Richt believes Walton to be the better back.

Fact is, Yearby didn't get drafted, wasn't signed as an UFA, and didn't make a 90-man roster after getting an invite to a team that has an abysmal situation at running back. So, if Walton gets drafted next year, gets signed as an UFA, or makes a 90-man roster, then the NFL will also believe he is the better back.

At what point will you acknowledge the folks paid to make these decisions might have better insight on this topic, than just taking a look at YPC?

NO QUESTION Richt & the staff have are ridiculously smarter than me, and way have better insight - I'd never argue against that.

I'm just a random fan with an opinion - like 95% of the posters on this board.

But ask yourself this - Do you agree with every decision made on offense this year? Does any fan on here just say to themselves "Richt knows more than me" and go along with everything Richt decides?

Richt preferred Walton. I would've preferred Yearby. I think they're similar, and it's a close call. My problem is when people act like the gap between Walton and Yearby is huge, so I make points that argue otherwise.

My main argument being that on the same team, behind the same OL, with the same Offensive Coordinator - Yearby averaged a significantly better ypc (2015 - 4.9 vs 3.5, 2016 - 6.0 vs. 5.3) - so that should be a pretty telling stat. Kind of like when Yearby and Cook were on the same team in high school and Cook consistently averaged a significantly better ypc.

Richt preferred Berrios as a PR. I would've preferred Coley or Elder. I don't think either Richt or myself are wrong - it's just a preference.

Jarret Payton, Tyrone Moss, Damien Berry, Graig Cooper, Javarris James, Mike James - I'd say all were similar talents. Now some played a couple years in the NFL, some never did.

I'd lump Yearby & Walton in that group talent-wise. I think all are NFL journeyman at best. But I don't think JJ playing a couple years in the NFL necessarily makes him a better RB than Cooper. I think NFL journeyman is Walton's ceiling, but don't think that necessarily means he's the better RB than Yearby if he never plays a down in the NFL. It's a close call on all of those RB's - and just a preference on who you prefer IMO.

 

[MIATL]

Here's what drives me nuts about Walton defenders.

So take out the FAMU & FAU games and here's their stats for the rest of the season:

Yearby - 75 for 382 yds - 5.09 ypc - 4 TD's (a TD every 18.75 carries)
Walton - 177 for 846 yds - 4.77 ypc - 9 TD's (a TD every 19.66 carries)

So how does this make Walton better???

And who was the better RB in the GT, FSU, UNC, and VT games - Yearby or Walton?

These arguments just make no sense to me.....

The only game you could say that Yearby out performed Walton out of those four would be UNC.

The second half of the season, Walton dominated.

Pitt - 14 for 125
UVA - 16 for 111
NCSt - 19 for 120
Duke - 13 for 60

But yeah, you guys are right. Yearby is clearly the better player and the coaching staff was purposely playing the worse player.

And every single NFL GM and scout cant' see it either.

Joe Yearby has a lot in common with Brad Kaaya. Both are good players. Both never really got better in college. Both are limited phisically except teams can work around a slow quarterback. It's tough to justify giving a little guy with no break away speed more than 5-10 carries a game in college.

You do realize the UNC game is the only one where Walton actually gained more yards than Yearby, right?

GT
Yearby - 9-65, 7.2 ypc
Walton - 15-44, 2.9 ypc

FSU
Yearby - 10-39, 3.2 ypc
Walton - 14-39, 2.8 ypc

UNC
Yearby - 10-74, 7.4 ypc
Walton - 24-82, 3.4 ypc

VT
Yearby - 9-59, 6.6 ypc
Walton - 11-38, 3.5 ypc

Yearby gained 34 more yards on 26 less carries. Walton's longest run in these 4 games was 14 yds. Yearby had a 25+ yd run in 3 of those 4 games.

For your "Dominated the 2nd Half of the Season", you left off WVU - 17 for 52. So his last 2 games he went 30 for 112. So I'd argue he played great for 3 games, no question, but didn't "dominate" all of those games, and was just average in the last 2.

For your statement - It's tough to justify giving a little guy with no break away speed more than 5-10 carries a game in college. - I couldn't agree with you more!

Yearby = 5'9" 200, runs a 4.7
Walton = 5'9" 205, runs a 4.6

Neither of those guys should be what we expect as a workhorse RB at Miami. Both are similar talents, and both of their talent levels should be what we want in a backup/2nd string, not a starter.

We get it.

At minimum, you think they're even.

At most, you believe Yearby is better.

Fact is, Richt disagreed with you. Richt believes Walton to be the better back.

Fact is, Yearby didn't get drafted, wasn't signed as an UFA, and didn't make a 90-man roster after getting an invite to a team that has an abysmal situation at running back. So, if Walton gets drafted next year, gets signed as an UFA, or makes a 90-man roster, then the NFL will also believe he is the better back.

At what point will you acknowledge the folks paid to make these decisions might have better insight on this topic, than just taking a look at YPC?

NO QUESTION Richt & the staff have are ridiculously smarter than me, and way have better insight - I'd never argue against that.

I'm just a random fan with an opinion - like 95% of the posters on this board.

But ask yourself this - Do you agree with every decision made on offense this year? Does any fan on here just say to themselves "Richt knows more than me" and go along with everything Richt decides?

Richt preferred Walton. I would've preferred Yearby. I think they're similar, and it's a close call. My problem is when people act like the gap between Walton and Yearby is huge, so I make points that argue otherwise.

Richt preferred Berrios as a PR. I would've preferred Coley or Elder. I don't think either Richt or myself are wrong - it's just a preference.

Jarret Payton, Tyrone Moss, Damien Berry, Graig Cooper, Javarris James, Mike James - I'd say all were similar talents. Now some played a couple years in the NFL, some never did.

I'd lump Yearby & Walton in that group talent-wise. I think all are NFL journeyman at best. But I don't think JJ playing a couple years in the NFL necessarily makes him a better RB than Cooper. I think NFL journeyman is Walton's ceiling, but don't think that necessarily means he's the better RB than Yearby if he never plays a down in the NFL. It's a close call on all of those RB's - and just a preference on who you prefer IMO.

I get that you have a preference and opinion. No knock from me on that.

But it's hard for me to receive an argument in support of Yearby because of YPC stats, but then you dismiss the stats that suggest Walton is better.

Walton had the better season as a feature back ... More yards, more TDs, higher YPC. Walton also has the higher pro ceiling, in most everyone's opinion ... Even if that's "NFL journeyman running back" versus CFL or arena league player.

I'm one of the people who believes there is a pretty big gap between Walton and Yearby. Not saying I think Walton is elite today, but I think he still has room to touch his ceiling. And, IMO, I think Yearby maxed out who he could be as a player ... With his best not being as good as Walton is currently, IMO.

... And Walton still has room for growth/improvement.

This season will give us all a more clear picture of who Walton is as a college runner and pro prospect. We need him to be better than you believe him to be for us to reach expectations.

And maybe that hope/need is clouding perspectives?

But maybe your vision is holding on a little too closely to Walton's first season?

 

[umhurricane2511]

It's just so maddening that Thom Brown hasn't landed a stud RB since arriving here to at least compete with Walton.

I'm pleased with Lingard/Davis I just hope it's not a year too late.

Rok, Homer COMIN mane

 

[DC1986]

Yearby was a good runner. Walton is the better overall back and does everything right. Yearby refused to pass protect and that is why he was on the bench. Same with Homer. Richt wants complete backs. YPC is only part of the puzzle.

 

[bshaw28]

Yearby is not the back Walton is. Please stop with that nonsense. His numbers were inflated because he tore it up against FAMU and FAU. He ran it 27 times for 226 yards the first two games. The rest of the season he carried 75 times for 382 yards. Although he did have a good game against North Carolina.

Both Thomas Brown and Mark Rich listed pass protection as a reason for making the switch to Gus Edwards last year. That might have been a BS excuse but that's the one they gave. I don't particularly remember Yearby getting beaten often but I'm not a coach.

Here's what drives me nuts about Walton defenders.

So take out the FAMU & FAU games and here's their stats for the rest of the season:

Yearby - 75 for 382 yds - 5.09 ypc - 4 TD's (a TD every 18.75 carries)
Walton - 177 for 846 yds - 4.77 ypc - 9 TD's (a TD every 19.66 carries)

So how does this make Walton better???

And who was the better RB in the GT, FSU, UNC, and VT games - Yearby or Walton?

These arguments just make no sense to me.....

I always thought yearby was better and always wondered why Richt wouldn't play him more. Not knowing any of the stats I remember asking why Richt took yearby out when he was gaining more yards than Walton was.

I dont know the circumstances as to why yearby didn't start but I do understand why he left. Would have been nice if he and Richt came to an understanding and he stayed one more year.

I agree with you, and thought the RB rotation was weird all year long.

My personal reading between the lines take is:

Walton - This is Richt's guy. Richt recruited him hard at Georgia. Walton took his final recruiting visit to Georgia. This is who Richt likes, and is comfortable with. So Richt decided he was sticking with Walton no matter what, even when Walton struggled running the ball through the 5 games in October.

Yearby - Was Richt's clear #2 all year. When Yearby outplayed Walton in October but never saw his carries increase, he realized he was never going to jump Walton in the depth chart. Yearby probably pretty much decided he was going pro somewhere in late October.

Gus - Really only started getting carries in the Pitt game in November. At that point - the team was 4-4, Yearby's going pro, and Gus is thinking about transferring because he's not getting any carries. So with Yearby already gone and the season shot - better to give the 2nd string carries to Gus in hopes it appeases him to stay for his Senior year. But it was already too late, and a frustrated Yearby & Gus had pretty much already made up their mind.

 

[kryptonite]

It doesn't hold water. It's just rationalizing a bad decision. Most of these kids need money, but he wasn't in a position to earn it as a professional football player yet.

He wasn't likely to get much playing time, and he wasn't going to develop new skills so what was the point in staying? UDFA money this year is worth more than UDFA money next year.

How much UDFA money did he end up getting? You cannot think about these decisions in a silo. What would Joe make more money at, football or everything else he does in life? When he was given the cold, hard facts, the odds were he would have to support his family by some other means. The decision to pursue the NFL EARLY was a bad one. There is no other perspective. It was the wrong choice.

Obviously there is.

There really isn't. People assign no value to him getting a UM degree. It is pretty clear his prospects at life are better off with it than without it. If there reverse were true, he would have been drafted. Unfortunately, the last down of football he will likely play is in the past.

Maybe you should look up the meaning of "perspective". Kid made a choice different than the one you think he should have made, he obviously had a different perspective. I think he should have stayed for the good of the team, but can't fault him for leaving (which is a third perspective).

 

[kryptonite]

Yearby was a good runner. Walton is the better overall back and does everything right. Yearby refused to pass protect and that is why he was on the bench. Same with Homer. Richt wants complete backs. YPC is only part of the puzzle.

When did this happen? People keep saying this but I've seen no proof.

 

[DC1986]

Yearby was a good runner. Walton is the better overall back and does everything right. Yearby refused to pass protect and that is why he was on the bench. Same with Homer. Richt wants complete backs. YPC is only part of the puzzle.

When did this happen? People keep saying this but I've seen no proof.

I can't remember the exact play but it is definitely the reason why. I have read it multiple times. It is not a coincidence that we started pass protecting better after Yearby was on the field less and his carries went way down.