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Bijan Robinson is special


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Here's a question for someone with a better memory  than me. Wasn't Roosevelt Leaks like all-conference the year before Earl Campbell appeared on the scene? Rosy was awesome, but he had an injury problem, and he was no Earl Campbell. Earl came in and from just about his first carry, everyone knew it was going to be the Tyler Rose. Amazing few years watching him batter defensive backs. In the pros too. I don't think there'll ever be another Earl.

Edited by Irish Wrist Watch
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29 minutes ago, Irish Wrist Watch said:

Here's a question for someone with a better memory  than me. Wasn't Roosevelt Leaks like all-conference the year before Earl Campbell appeared on the scene? Rosy was awesome, but he had an injury problem, and he was no Earl Campbell. Earl came in and from just about his first carry, everyone knew it was going to be the Tyler Rose. Amazing few years watching him batter defensive backs. In the pros too. I don't think there'll ever be another Earl.

Earl Campbell also had injury issues for a while before his Heisman season as a senior.

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Li’l Ricky? Texas RB Bijan Robinson’s breakout game evokes the past

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AUSTIN — A sheepish smile flashed across Bijan Robinson’s face last Saturday afternoon when, in the minutes following his dazzling breakout against West Virginia, one reporter drew a line from the true freshman running back to Texas legend Ricky Williams.

Just six games into his college career, Robinson’s expression revealed a sense of, “Easy now, let’s pump the brakes.” But that wasn’t in the cards after the day Li’l Ricky had in the Longhorns’ 17-13 win over the Mountaineers at Royal-Memorial Stadium.

“Ricky Williams is a legend,” Robinson said after topping 100 rushing yards for the first time. “I’m still just a freshman trying to find my way in college football. I have so much work to do as a young guy.”

He’s right. The rookie tailback made rookie mistakes in a slow-moving game in which every yard felt precious.

Robinson lost the ball in West Virginia territory after picking up 11 yards; sophomore receiver Joshua Moore swooped in for the fortunate fumble recovery bailout. And he missed an “assignment or two” in pass protection, according to coach Tom Herman.

Those correctable blips were far outweighed by Robinson’s total imprint on the game: 113 rushing yards on 12 carries (9.4 yards per carry) and 38 receiving yards on two catches. All that against a reinvigorated defense that had held its previous four opponents to a combined 309 yards on the ground.

“He’s still seeing the game,” Herman said Saturday. “He didn’t do everything perfect today. But we know that he played well, and the O-line played well in front of him. I’m sure that as we watch the film, if we deem necessary, he’s going to continue to earn more and more carries.”

Offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich designed the first play of the game for Robinson, who was starting over injured junior Keaontay Ingram (ankle). It was a counter run off a delayed handoff, and it turned into a sparkling vignette of what the Arizonan is capable of.

Robinson feinted left to sell the counter, then shuffled right toward a chasm created by blockers. The tunnel narrowed, nearly closing when WVU cornerback Dreshun Miller pounced and extended an arm to derail the 6-foot, 222-pound running back. Robinson never broke stride, blasting through the feeble tackle attempt on the way to a career-long 54-yard run.

That wasn’t the teenager’s best scurry of the afternoon. Robinson’s second carry, an 18-yard revelation, was a blend of scatback finesse and raw punishing power.

One Mountaineer went lunging into absolutely nothing after a swift spin move. The next challenger received a stiff-arm to the helmet and a shove to the turf. The final contestant, 189-pound corner Alonzo Addae, went for a ride — Robinson kept him at bay across 11 yards with that same rippling right arm, stopping only when a sliver of cleat kissed the sideline.

Texas running backs coach Stan Drayton doesn’t want Robinson to eschew his physical advantages in favor of dancing around defenders. But carrying a deep, evolving bag of tricks into each game should help the college neophyte navigate Big 12 defenses with more savvy.

“I’m just trying to improve my game,” Robinson said. “I need tools. That spin move, I never really used it in high school. But I keep going in practice and trying to work on new moves.

“Sometimes coach Drayton goes, ‘You better just run a straight. You better tighten that ball and keep running.’ But sometimes to try to break those tackles I have to add extra assets in my game, and I’ve been trying to work hard at that.”

No. 21 Texas (5-2, 4-2 Big 12) trusted Robinson enough to dial up a wheel route on second-and-7 at its own 24-yard line with 1:47 remaining.

Senior quarterback Sam Ehlinger identified the full-house blitz and lofted a pass to the tailback before pressure arrived. Robinson galloped 35 yards to secure the first down and, with West Virginia lacking timeouts, the Longhorns’ third straight win.

It was a fitting coda to a performance that, for better or worse, instigated an outpouring of postgame hyperbole.

“For me, (it’s important) having those guys like Ricky Williams pave the way, that I can follow through and try to accomplish the things that he’s had,” Robinson said. “I talk to him (Williams) here and there. He just says, ‘Stay humble, stay on the grind, and things will come.’ I’m just learning as much as I can and just got to work hard every day to keep improving my skills to try to do those kinds of things.”

Following Robinson’s Zoom interview, one longtime Texas staffer joked about déjà vu and the passage of time.

He bore witness when fans hailed Ricky Williams as the next Earl Campbell. Now it’s Robinson drawing comparisons to an adored tailback who starred in burnt orange two decades ago.

And if Robinson keeps running like this, those comparisons won’t cease — no matter what he says.

nmoyle@express-news.net

 

https://www.expressnews.com/texas-sports-nation/college/article/Li-l-Ricky-Texas-RB-Bijan-Robinson-s-15714173.php?utm_campaign=CMS Sharing Tools (Premium)&utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=referral

Edited by LTtxfan
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I wish the Bijan thread had been around longer, because there’s definitely quite a few people who’d been saying he wasn’t that special and didn’t get why he was a 5 star before this game. 
 

His agility and balance are absolutely elite, and he hasn’t got to show it a lot yet, but he’s an elite receiver too. He would’ve been a nationally coveted slot receiver recruit if he didn’t play RB. 

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6 hours ago, Bill Lumbergh said:

If he played under Riley, would it have taken over half of the season before he had his first breakout game?

It's great to know we have a player with this kind of game changing ability on offense where we so desperately need one, but equally frustrating how poorly we've utilized him this year.

While mostly true, the kid got folded in half a few weeks ago. It was always going to take him a few weeks to fully come back from that even if there wasn’t an objective injury. He’s on track now let’s see if they keep using him, have my doubts.

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On the LHN Rewind program Herman pointed out the lack of ball security by Robinson.  During his incredible run, with the spin and stiff arm, Herman stated that he missed a read (cut/hole) and was carelessly carrying the ball.

My take is to continue to be frustrated with Herman's reluctance to load Robinson up with carries.

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7 hours ago, mininghorn88 said:

On the LHN Rewind program Herman pointed out the lack of ball security by Robinson.  During his incredible run, with the spin and stiff arm, Herman stated that he missed a read (cut/hole) and was carelessly carrying the ball.

My take is to continue to be frustrated with Herman's reluctance to load Robinson up with carries.

Herman’s right. Can’t trust Bijan’s ball security. We need to give more carries to Ingram. 

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7 hours ago, mininghorn88 said:

On the LHN Rewind program Herman pointed out the lack of ball security by Robinson.  During his incredible run, with the spin and stiff arm, Herman stated that he missed a read (cut/hole) and was carelessly carrying the ball.

My take is to continue to be frustrated with Herman's reluctance to load Robinson up with carries.

Herman is such a fake tough guy.  thinking he is Parcells or something.  Ingram misses holes and cuts into tacklers on the reg and he's fumble prone.  Fuck this guy.  Lets get a real damn coach

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3 hours ago, dcar00 said:

Herman is such a fake tough guy.  thinking he is Parcells or something.  Ingram misses holes and cuts into tacklers on the reg and he's fumble prone.  Fuck this guy.  Lets get a real damn coach

I realize we shit on Ingram because he's good not great and obviously not as explosive as Bijan, plus recency bias and shit, but his two fumbles this year are the only two fumbles of his 3 year career. It's not like he's Toneil Carter coughing the ball up or anything.

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My thing is if the running back is going to hit the hole and the front line hasn't cleared a way, why stay committed to the play calling designed route. Is it to satisfy the coaches so that it shows that they are doing what they are being asked to do. If so, the blame goes on coaches. Players won't speak ill of that reason against the coach because they'll lose playing time. However if the  player goes off the reservation, video game mode and gets yardage, then that player is not doing what the coach is asking therefore disciplined by being benched. (no insight if true)

Sure, players need to make a name for them self to get to the NFL but need playing time to showcase their talent. Not saying this is what's going on but look at the analytics "coach". Come to the reason that if you do not deliver you will lose your job. To not lose your job, you need to find more touches for this guy.  /rage

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5 hours ago, dcar00 said:

Herman is such a fake tough guy.  thinking he is Parcells or something.  Ingram misses holes and cuts into tacklers on the reg and he's fumble prone.  Fuck this guy.  Lets get a real damn coach

You can tell he means business because he called our future HoF punter “punter”.  

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2 hours ago, ClubWhatever said:

You can tell he means business because he called our future HoF punter “punter”.  

He does this stupid shit everywhere he coaches. The punter at Houston said Herman called him by his name once and then immediately recognized his “mistake” and started calling him “punter“ again in front of everyone.

This fucking childish man is coaching our team. 

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32 minutes ago, MrBig said:

He does this stupid shit everywhere he coaches. The punter at Houston said Herman called him by his name once and then immediately recognized his “mistake” and started calling him “punter“ again in front of everyone.

This fucking childish man is coaching our team. 

If only he had a cool mantra like "Row the Boat" or "Only Piss Clear" he would have the full Bingo card of coaching schtick

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4 hours ago, Halohal said:

My thing is if the running back is going to hit the hole and the front line hasn't cleared a way, why stay committed to the play calling designed route. Is it to satisfy the coaches so that it shows that they are doing what they are being asked to do. If so, the blame goes on coaches. Players won't speak ill of that reason against the coach because they'll lose playing time. However if the  player goes off the reservation, video game mode and gets yardage, then that player is not doing what the coach is asking therefore disciplined by being benched. (no insight if true)

Sure, players need to make a name for them self to get to the NFL but need playing time to showcase their talent. Not saying this is what's going on but look at the analytics "coach". Come to the reason that if you do not deliver you will lose your job. To not lose your job, you need to find more touches for this guy.  /rage

"Do YOUR job!"  fake tough guy coach trying to act like Bill Belichick.

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36 minutes ago, longhornmatt said:

Eh, that was one where I thought he looked fine.  Jamaal Charles and Ramonce Taylor would have housed it, but they’re the exception rather than the rule and Bijan ran on par with their DBs.

This wasn’t Ingram catching a ball in stride vs. TCU a full 10 yards behind the defense and then getting walked down from behind by guys with no angle before he even reached the red zone.   Or Ingram last year against Baylor where he broke into the clear on a run from our own 10 or so, and half the Baylor defense had caught up to him by the 50 even with bad angles.  Or Tarik Black, Kai Money, or Cade Brewer trying to run ... well, just in general.  

Now,  if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go vomit after thinking about how many snaps we play with a combination of skill position players that might be the slowest collective group in the P5 simply because our coaches won’t play the good players all at once.  

our speed has been a problem for years, everywhere.  its embarrassing.  tech/ok state/etc. all have faster overall speed than we do.

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8 hours ago, TheBryMan81 said:

I realize we shit on Ingram because he's good not great and obviously not as explosive as Bijan, plus recency bias and shit, but his two fumbles this year are the only two fumbles of his 3 year career. It's not like he's Toneil Carter coughing the ball up or anything.

1) Ingram also fumbled against LSU last year, luckily a teammate recovered it.

2) Carter fumbled twice during his freshman season (one of which resulted in a turnover) in 53 carries. That's the exact same rate as Ingram, who has fumbled twice (losing both) so far this season on 53 carries.

Edited by satyanash
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4 hours ago, ClubWhatever said:

He looked a little gimpy to me on that run, but having said that I recall reading from at least one national 9.95er during recruiting that he did not have elite top end speed.  He was a five star because his acceleration and short area quickness are elite even though he is stacked. 

both the runs in the last game showed exactly that.

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I find it amazing that a coach on the hot seat needing a win with a rb starting hot the way bijan did didn't tell his OC to pound the rock. Oh that's right Herman doesn't involve himself in the offense his team runs, stupid me. Here I thought head coaches could suggest things during a game lol. It's a strange thing to watch herman unravel, but it's really sad that the players get fucked by it also.  

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5 hours ago, satyanash said:

1) Ingram also fumbled against LSU last year, luckily a teammate recovered it.

2) Carter fumbled twice during his freshman season (one of which resulted in a turnover) in 53 carries. That's the exact same rate as Ingram, who has fumbled twice (losing both) so far this season on 53 carries.

Well, fuck me, I stand corrected. See kids, this is why you always check the stats before you trust your own biased memory.

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4 hours ago, TommyGufano said:

I mean... not really. Unless if you think the 300+ touches before this season are meaningless 

Yea not in the fact that, looking at the stats, I still don't think he's fumble prone. But I compared him to a guy that I thought was and they have the exact same fumble rate. Turns out memory bias is a real thing.

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7 minutes ago, TheBryMan81 said:

Yea not in the fact that, looking at the stats, I still don't think he's fumble prone. But I compared him to a guy that I thought was and they have the exact same fumble rate. Turns out memory bias is a real thing.

Ingram this year has Toneil's career fumble rate (on carries; not touches). Toneil's career fumble rate is 360% higher than Keontay's

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2 minutes ago, TommyGufano said:

Ingram this year has Toneil's career fumble rate (on carries; not touches). Toneil's career fumble rate is 460% higher than Keontay's

I haven't followed his career after he left Texas... But I do remember while he was here being concerned about his ball security.

Just reminds me that if I thought he was fumble prone that year, I can see why people would think the same of Ingram this year. Granted, Ingram has more goodwill built up with two years of no fumbles lost first, but still, I can see how, if people disregarded that, they could jump to "fumble prone"

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On 11/12/2020 at 8:29 AM, jinx said:

If only he had a cool mantra like "Row the Boat" or "Only Piss Clear" he would have the full Bingo card of coaching schtick

It’s hard to row the boat with a baseball bat.  Herman could always go with tow the bloat.  Seems to pretty much describe UT football the last 10 years.  

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Did everyone complaining about his carries not notice when he got hurt in the first half? He was clearly favoring his shoulder after one of his early runs. I think that is the simple explanation for not seeing him again until late in the game.

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  • immamac changed the title to Bijan Robinson is special

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