I said SR year, but really I meant his last year at Miami. He left as a JR.
2015 he was at 3.5 YPC as a freshman
2016 he was at 5.3 YPC
2017, before he got injured, he was at 7.6 YPC
Majority of the stats you're throwing are from his sophomore and FR year.
Now, Scarlett didn't play in 2017, but in 2016 when UF and Miami both lost to FSU, Walton/Scarlett both had 14 carries. Walton had 39 yards and Scarlett had 53, except Scarlett dropped a swing pass that game while Walton had 3 catches for 42 yards.
Also, here's the kicker. Scarlett as a SR had 2 games where he rushed for 100+ yards (that's including non P-5 opponents). Walton, as a Sophomore, had a 3 game stretch alone (not even counting the rest of the season) where he went for 100+ yards. The 4th game, he only went for 60 rushhing yards, but had 4 catches for 46 yards to supplement it (Scarlett had 5 catches all of his SR year).
Stats really don't tell the whole story. If you're going to talk about stats lets talk the whole package. Walton as a FR had more receptions than Scarlett did his whole career at UF. Infact, to make this even more laughable, Walton, with 5 games played as a JR, had 7 catches. Scarlett had 11....total...for his whole career.
Agreed - stats don't tell the whole story. But they can paint a pretty clear picture at times, and it wouldn't be smart to dismiss them.
That's an excellent point about Walton's receiving. Walton crushes Scarlett here.
If we had used Walton as a 3rd down pass catching back, that would've been perfect. Unfortunately we used him as 200+ carry workhorse back. I can't fault Walton for being used wrong, that falls on Richt.
I'll compare Walton's Rushing & Receiving vs. just Scarlett's rushing - is that fair?
But first the YPC:
Walton
2015 - 3.5 YPC, 3.1 P5
2016 - 5.3 YPC, 4.4 P5
2017 - 7.6 YPC, 2.6 P5 (4 games)
Scarlett
2015 - 5.3 YPC, 5.8 P5
2016 - 5.0 YPC, 4.9 P5
2018 - 5.9 YPC, 5.8 P5
Scarlett's 5.4 YPC against P5 teams is better than Walton's 5.1 YPC against everyone. Walton in his best P5 year was a half yard behind Scarlett in his worst P5 year.
Let's look at the 7.6 YPC his Junior year
Here's our Top 3 leading rushers through 4 games in those years:
2015
Yearby - 58 att - 423 yds - 7.3 ypc - 4 TD
Walton - 46 att - 184 yds - 4.0 ypc - 5 TD
Gray - 16 att - 118 yds - 7.4 ypc - 1 TD
2016
Walton - 63 att - 445 yds - 7.1 ypc - 8 TD
Yearby - 44 att - 323 yds - 7.3 ypc - 5 TD
Gus - 13 att - 127 yds - 9.8 ypc - 1 TD
2017
Walton - 56 att - 428 yds - 7.6 ypc - 3 TD
Homer - 25 att - 307 yds - 8.3 ypc - 3 TD
Gray - 4 att - 34 yds - 8.5 ypc - 0 TD
Walton had the 3rd best YPC in all 3 years. He's the only one not to average over 7 YPC in through the first 4 games.
If you're looking at just the first 4 games, you're doing it wrong. We could've used anyone in these games - they'd have put up big numbers.
Yearby wasn't great in 2015 because he had 7.3 YPC. Walton wasn't great in 2016 with 7.1 YPC. Walton wasn't great in 2017 with 7.6 YPC.
If you want to make a point about Walton's 7.6 YPC in 2017, just be aware, those numbers are almost identical to Yearby in 2015.
Now let's look at Walton's Rushing & Receiving vs. Scarlett's rushing
VS. P5
Walton - 284 att - 1,081 yds - 3.8 ypc - 11 TD & 45 rec - 553 yds - 12.3 avg - 2 TD
Walton Total - 329 touches - 1,634 yds - 5.0 avg - 13 TD
Scarlett - 300 att - 1,624 yds - 5.4 ypc - 10 TD
So even if Scarlett never catches a pass, he gives you the same yardage as Walton does rushing + receiving, and averages about a half yard more per touch.
Scarlett averaged 4+ YPC in 17 games (64%). Walton averaged over 4+ yards per touch in 13 (59%).
Scarlett had 50+ yds rushing in 15 games, and 100+ in 5. Walton had 50+ total yds rushing in 15 games, and 100+ in 6
Scarlett had 10+ att in 15 of 27 games. Walton had 10+ total touches in 20 of 22 games.
Walton needs his receiving to pull about even - but I'll give Walton the edge here. It's pretty clear Walton sucks at running the ball, and Scarlett sucks at catching it.
Best 3 game stretch
Walton - (Pitt, UVA, NC St) - 49 att - 356 yds - 7.3 ypc - 5 TD & 6 rec - 54 yds
Scarlett - (USC, FSU, Michigan) - 47 att - 306 yds - 6.5 ypc - 2 TD
Walton wins here - no question. If you're making the case for Walton - there it is. It's look at these 3 games, throw out the other 19. Boom!
When you look OUTSIDE of their best 3 game streak, it becomes a bit more problematic for Walton. And unfortunately that's 86% of his games
Walton (19 games):
3 100 total yd games
0 100 yd rushing games
1 rushing game over 60 yards
0 games over 3.5 ypc against teams not named Duke or UVA
16 out of 19 games with 3.5 ypc or less (84%)
9 straight games with 3.5 ypc or less leading up to the 3 game streak
3 out of 4 games with 3.5 ypc or less after the 3 game streak
Looking at both ends of that streak - he had 3.5 ypc or less in 12 out of 13 games.
Scarlett (24 games):
4 100 yd rushing games
13 games over 4.5 ypc - including games against Georgia (twice) and LSU (twice)
7 out of 24 games with 3.5 ypc or less (29%)
4 straight games with 4.5 ypc or more leading up to the 3 game streak
3 out of 5 games with 7+ ypc or more leading up to the 3 game streak (Walton had 7+ ypc in 1 game in his career)
Did you think of any Cane RB's to compare Walton to?
