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Elijah Lofton vs Miami Central

Hstokes1447

Hstokes1447

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There has been a lot of debate about his ability to play RB at this level. Although this highlight is a small sample size it shows he is a very capable power running back that is difficult to take down. He had his way with a very talented Miami Central football team. You can really see how versatile and dominant he can be lineup all over the field.



Starters on that Central defense:

Seniors

5 star DT Armondo Blount

4 star CB Lawayne McCoy

3 Star LB Vincent Shavers



Juniors

4 star S Amari Wallace

4 star S Tony Williams

3 star LB Ezekiel Marcelin Jr.

3 star DT Randy Adirika

3 star CB Zion Paret
 
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We have an offense, I get it but having high level players and not intentionally scheming up to get them the ball isn’t t doing us or them/recruiting any favors. I understand taking what the defense gives you but after having a #1 offense we’ve entered the space of “we dictate what we want regardless of what you’re trying to do…”

We have to get our playmakers the ball… and often. This kid is one of them. He should be getting a nice mix of targets and carries every game if we are going to utilize him correctly.
 
I don’t think a lot of people understand why they want to play Lofton at running back. It’s not a “we don’t have anyone else so we can just give him carries to rest Fletcher and Lyle” situation. He’s a legit option and is likely better than someone we would get out of the portal to be RB3. It would be a disservice to just line him up at tight end and limit his effectiveness.
 
DTP said:
I don’t think a lot of people understand why they want to play Lofton at running back. It’s not a “we don’t have anyone else so we can just give him carries to rest Fletcher and Lyle” situation. He’s a legit option and is likely better than someone we would get out of the portal to be RB3. It would be a disservice to just line him up at tight end and limit his effectiveness.
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Why not run him in from the 3 to beat Iowa State?
 
I don't expect him to come off the field much this season. I would expect less 4 wide, but less run heavy than people seem to think. I expect a more balanced attack than last season with less down field downfield throws, but I don't expect a run heavy O. Run heavy and Dawson don't fit unless Beck goes down. If Beck goes down, it's over.
 
Angry Ibis said:
Agreed.

In terms of the portal, the people who were looking to upgrade at RB were looking for RB1, not RB3.
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Unless one of them leaves, Fletcher and Lyle will be the two feature backs. That’s one of the best duos out there. The odds of us getting another RB1 on top of what we have are extremely low
 
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Angry Ibis said:
Agreed.

In terms of the portal, the people who were looking to upgrade at RB were looking for RB1, not RB3.
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If we could manage to land another Martinez type in the portal, I wouldn’t hate it but I don’t think that’s what the team is in the market for. They got Martinez last season because Fletcher was recovering from foot surgery, Parrish transferred out and Lyle was still in high school. We have two proven commodities now.
 
DTP said:
If we could manage to land another Martinez type in the portal, I wouldn’t hate it but I don’t think that’s what the team is in the market for. They got Martinez last season because Fletcher was recovering from foot surgery, Parrish transferred out and Lyle was still in high school. We have two proven commodities now.
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Agreed on the market look. Played vs Proven RB1 is where a debate may be on the board. I lean toward neither is Martinez and Martinez was a major loss, especially if we are leaning into more of a run game with Cam headed to the NFL.
 
ST26 said:
Unless one of them leaves, Fletcher and Lyle will be the two feature backs. That’s one of the best duos out there. The odds of us getting another RB1 on top of what we have are extremely low
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Especially if we are not trying for an RB1.
 
Angry Ibis said:
Especially if we are not trying for an RB1.
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Unless one of those two decides to leave, we won't be shopping for an RB1 in the portal like Martinez. Look, Martinez might be the better player overall, but there is no reason Fletcher can't have that type of production this season. He's finally healthy and a this is his really his first full offseason at Miami. Lyle is a beast and should have a big year as well
 
ST26 said:
Unless one of those two decides to leave, we won't be shopping for an RB1 in the portal like Martinez. Look, Martinez might be the better player overall, but there is no reason Fletcher can't have that type of production this season. He's finally healthy and a this is his really his first full offseason at Miami. Lyle is a beast and should have a big year as well
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That’s the plan. We’ve been dealing with “should” for decades now. So we’ll see how it plays out. Lots of offense to replace heading into 2025.

ACC Championship / Playoff or bust
 
Hypothesis: Lofton is a BALLER. I've heard @DMoney describe Lofton as the best pure football player on the team, and allege he heard it from multiple sources. Larry Bluestin thinks the kid walks on water, is a early Day 1 talent, Ahmmon and Geo said he was our best weapon, Mario glows about him.

The Socratic method demands we test that hypothesis. I say put him in as many situations as possible to have game breaking impact. I want to see this kid at TE, HB, RB, and even split end. I want Lofton both lead blocking and as a ball carrier. If he's our power forward, use him that way.

Again, if he's that good, he should be getting 10-15 touches and be a critical contributor on 25-30 plays a game.
 
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How about this.
Why don’t we use Lofton the way Bishop Gorman used him?

From those highlights alone, he likely had the ball 15 times, and we may have been involved even more as a lead blocker (not shown if it happened). But rather than us fans wringing our hands, lets appreciate the fact that UM has a player who is likely to be a mismatch for most DB’s to tackle, for most LB’s to cover, and he also looks like a very good short yardage RB, specially with our Oline.

And with a QB in Beck who is more likely to dump the ball off to RB’s, I think Lofton will get a lot more naturally selected opportunities than any of our RB’s had last year in the passing game. We all know Ward loved the big play sometimes to the exclusion of the short pass.

So sit back and enjoy as this could be a fun ride.
 
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Cane30 said:
I don't expect him to come off the field much this season. I would expect less 4 wide, but less run heavy than people seem to think. I expect a more balanced attack than last season with less down field downfield throws, but I don't expect a run heavy O. Run heavy and Dawson don't fit unless Beck goes down. If Beck goes down, it's over.
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Houston Cougars averaged 36 runs to 32 passes per game in the 2021 season. Although QB Clayton Tune ran quite a bit that year. They were very balanced and averaged 36 points per game.
 
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