I wouldn't mind seeing Russell Shepard in those types of situations. With his elusiveness and open field capabilities, it should be very fun to watch. As people have said, perhaps use him in a "Percy Harvin" type role. He should definitely touch the ball a lot more than he does even though catching and hanging onto the ball has been somewhat of an issue for him.
Supposedly Krag doesn't like to do a whole bunch of personnel groupings. He prefers to have the best guys on the field all the time. However, our RB coach has typically had the freedom to choose who goes in for any given series, so I assume our RB rotation will be similar to what we've seen in the past. That means 1 guy being the primary RB, with a second guy getting the bulk of the rest of the carries, and the rest picking up just a handful of carries mostly in blowouts (outside of the special Sheppard carries). At this point, it's simply beyond me how anyone could predict somebody other than Ware to be our go-to-guy.
This is a little disappointing to me considering how many playmakers LSU has. Sometimes seems like there's a lack of vision, but like most people, I'm an armchair qb, I don't do it for a living.
I see the carries being distributed as such.. If we follow suit and let the best players play, regardless of class.. Spencer Ware (45 %) = Best all around Back. Power, speed, vision, hands and agility is unmatched by any other back on the roster... Period!! Michael Ford (30%)= Could start for any other school in the country. Best pure runner. Has exceptional vision and is strong as and ox from the waist down. Kenny Hilliard (10%)= Will definitely get his chances to run the ball because he has carried around a collegiate body since the 10th grade. Hilliard has great feet for a back his size. Not the most elusive in tight spaces, but can definitely make hard down hill cuts on defenders in the open field. Jeremy Hill (5%): If the legal issues don't loom long, and Hill is given his opportunity to compete early, could be the star of the class. This kid has a special plend of size speed and power that is rarely seen. In two years I'd bet good money that Hill will begin to see more carries than Hilliard in the LSU offense. Jahkari Gore (5 %) Great agility and elusiveness. Needs to see some live SEC action before much can be said. Has a tough mountain to climb with the amount of young, physical halfbacks on the roster. Russell Shepard (3%)= Most elusive player on the field besides Rueben Randle. Can score from anywhere. Shepard will probably be less involved in the running game because we won't need him to be. Should see many more soilid opportunities to make plays as a WR with the arrival of Kragthorpe and Mettenberger. Alfred Blue (2%) =Will get carries by default because miles loves him. But he would rank as the least talented of all the backs on the roster. Not a knock on Blue. He is a great inside runner who always falls forward. #1 transfer or position change candidate if he begins to become unhappy with his playing time or if the coaches see where he could work out.
I think some of you are selling Michael Ford short. Pound-for-pound, he's the strongest player on the team. So the ability to pick-up tough yards and to be a good blocker is certainly there, even if he may be a little under-developed as of yet. He is explosive, elusive, and has great vision. He had several flashes of brilliance this year, and I think he's earned serious consideration to start. Certainly, the future looks very bright for Ware. However, he really only had one good game this year. But it was the last game, so it's still fresh on everybodys mind. Before that, he really didnt do much of anything except throw a TD pass. I think he'll be a better multi-use back since he's got good hands. But whether or not he can be a between-the-tackles runner and pass blocker remains to be seen. Regardless, I think that the healthy competition will benefit both guys, and will ensure that whoever wins the starting job will certainly have earned it.
I like Ford as the every down guy, but Ware is more versatile as you said, and likely a bit more dynamic. I am really excited about those two forming a one-two punch. I'd love to see Shepard get some snaps there as a 3rd down guy. Blue will be in the mix on 3rd downs as well. As I see it: Ford 1A/Ware 1B Shep 2A/Blue 2B Gore 3 Hilliard RS
I have read that krag also uses a two back backfield often. Do you think we will see both in the backfield or see more full back use. He would use one back to help protect the qb and one to go out in passing plays to be the dump off guy if the recievers are covered. I agree that shep being the dump off guy would be a mismatch on a linebacker. He would really burn a defense if they tried to drop a defensive lineman back in the middle in coverage and stunt a linebacker in for a blitz. Just getting the ball off on a short three yard pass while on man coverage with a linebacker or lineman would result in a great oppertunity for either shep or blue. Play action was a hallmark of a krag coached passing attack. On smart football .com they're a couple articles describing krags approach to playcalling and offensive philosophy. He works both the single back four reciever set and a two back one tight end set. The two back set using a fullback to punnish Oregon's smaller defensive front will be something I'm sure we will see. I'm looking forward to seeing more smash your teeth out football and less qb read option plays. I hope we have a monster fullback to punnish defenses this year so we can keep a fresh tailback rolling. I enjoy seeing the defense on opposing teams will be broken by a physical hard hitting running game like in 07 with Hester.
Ford is strong, and has shown flashes of brilliance - true. He was, however, behind both Ware & Blue on the depth chart at points this past season. There's a reason for that. I too thought Ford would be a good one, but he hasn't shown that he has it. Nothing he did last season showed he could be a complete RB, much less a starter. Honestly, I don't know why people are still so high on Ford after the season he had - other than his potential as a recruit. And if we're going off of highschool film/ranking, then let's not forget that Ware was a 5 star RB even though he played QB through all of HS. Ware started the season off as a bit of an H-back, where he was a great pass-blocker and receiving threat. He had some decent runs through the season as well, but you're right - he never had a great running game until the bowl. You can discount the Cotton Bowl all you want, I won't blame you. But Ware had more success than Ridley on the exact same defense...
LSU fans (and I'm sure fans of other schools as well) always say this - that some backup of ours could start for any other school in the country. It is never true. It is especially untrue in this case. Ford has shown nothing to be considered a potential starter here or anywhere else. I hope that he gets it together this off-season because I really am pulling for him, but I have to go off what I've seen so far. Getting here in time for Spring ball definitely gives him a leg up. He's been better built than most other highschoolers for sure, but he needs to get in better shape this spring/summer if he wants a chance at PT. Hill won't sign LOI on signing day. Best case scenario is a greyshirt. As far as highlight reel material, I agree = least potential. But Miles doesn't pick RB's based on highlight reels. That's why Ford may well slip down the depth chart. I wouldn't be surprised to see Blue switch to LB though. IMO, it all depends on Ford & Hilliard. If both of those guys impress (which I don't personally expect), then I think Blue moves to LB.
