It's a disappointment for Blue, because obviously he had the coaching staff's confidence, and was looking like the guy who would get the most carries game in and game out. You hate to lose any contributor. But -- hear me out, hear me out -- running back is probably the one position where we could lose someone of Blue's calibre and have it not really hurt us. He was only averaging 13 carries a game, and he was getting more carries than anyone. Hilliard and Ford can easily divide that number of carries between them -- and that's assuming Ware will never get back in the mix. I'm sure he will. Also, notice that Shepard got four carries the other night, so figure him in the rotation as well. Oh, and then there's Jeremy Hill.
Ware and Hilliard are likely, over the course of the rest of the season, to be the two with the most carries. I like that Ware is being rested now. He got worn down toward the end of last season. He may or may not be the BEST back on the team, but he's most certainly the most physical. Dude looks to inflict pain on defenders. Ford's biggest contribution is going to be in the kick return department. And it'll be a big contribution.
As an LSU fan first, looking at the depth at running back we have, I don't think it's that big a deal. As an Alfred Blue fan, this completely sucks. Blue is probably the most underrated tailback in the country, and in my opinion is definitely the most versatile back we have, with Spencer Ware coming in 2nd. I hope he can get back in time for the game following Towson.
Well to be honest, when Miles said "not optimistic", I fully expected he'll be in the lineup Saturday.
