Will Kelvin Taylor compete for starting job?

[StrangeGator]

Originally Posted by GatorSean

People seem to be forgetting that Mack was #2 behind Gilly, and playing well, before he got injured. I'm not sure why its all of a sudden assumed everyone is going to pass him by.

I didn't forget. He fit much better into the scheme than Jones who couldn't get his shoulders down low enough and get his feet moving quick enough to clear the LOS between the tackles. Mack was as quick as Mike G. but wasn't quite as adapt as making the moves at the second level to get out of the secondary. He had a hell of a burst though and was making progress. Not sure how legit it was, but Mack Brown has run the fastest 20 yard shuttle time of any UF recruit in my memory.

[sleeze]

Mack has battled injuries since highschool.

Maybe he can last a whole season this coming year.

[regurgigator]

Originally Posted by GatorDoc74

Don't all players compete for a starting job every year? Most won't win it, but they all compete.

Dumb question.

Of course, you are completely correct (except for the occasional player who comes in pretty much planning to redshirt).

For your benefit I'll revise the question to what I think the questioner was really asking: "Does Taylor have a realistic chance to win the starting job even though he'll only be a freshman?"




Again: Yes, it was coach-speak, but not all coach-speak is equal or completely devoid of clues to the real answer. If Muschamp thought Taylor may need to mature more physically to be able to "compete" for the starting job, his answer would NOT have focused on how physically (and mentally) mature Taylor is. Is that an important factor in whether a freshman can win the starting RB job? I would say it is one of the more important factors when you're discussing a freshman RB.

I think the answer also indicates that Muschamp's conversations with Taylor have probably been along the lines that they both believe he has a good chance of playing as a freshman. I wouldn't be surprised if Muschamp's discussions with some players are more along the lines of : "You'll get a chance to compete for playing time as freshman, but there are some pretty good upperclassmen you'll have to beat out, and if you end up redshirting it won't be considered a failure in any sense. Some of our greatest players (throw in some examples) started out as redshirts." From his answer, I don't think Muschamp has had any such conversation with Taylor.

Could it still be true that Muschamp's thinks Taylor has a snowflake's chance in hell of winning the job? Maybe. But, my gut says that's not the case here.

[co_gator89]

Can't wait to see what Kelvin does this spring. Color me shocked if he doesn't see significant playing time next season.

[LimeyGator]

Originally Posted by GatorSean

People seem to be forgetting that Mack was #2 behind Gilly, and playing well, before he got injured. I'm not sure why its all of a sudden assumed everyone is going to pass him by.

Injury can do that for your chances. It's bad luck, but a team can't just wait until someone is healthy again and then throw them the steering wheel assuming all else has stood still while they've been out.

Some facts:

Mack Brown had the 5th most rushing attempts (25), accounting for less than 4% of the team's carries last year, behind Gillislee (244), Driskel (118), Matt Jones (52), and Trey Burton (29). He was just ahead of Hines (20) and Patton (14). 4 per cent!

He averaged 4.1yds per carry and had a long of 11 and no TDs in 9 games.

If we'd extrapolated his form before his injury, he was on for season figures of around 35 carries for 150 yards.

In 3 seasons at Florida, he has 40 carries for 167 yards and no TDs. 5 stars or not, that's a major disappointment: Matt Jones has already eclipsed that as a freshman and Kelvin Taylor has the potential to come in and be a major force too. Great players tip the coaches hand to get time on the field. Brown has yet to do that, as talented as he may be.

No disrespect to Mack Brown whatsoever, but I see no reason he should be annointed as the de facto starter because he's the most experienced of our RBs going into next season. Merit should be the reason he takes the starting job - if he's the best in camp, so be it. I hope he does well.

The cynic in me says we will see a much more balanced spread of carries between our backs next year, perhaps riding the hot hand a bit more.

[mildee]

Originally Posted by LimeyGator

Injury can do that for your chances. It's bad luck, but a team can't just wait until someone is healthy again and then throw them the steering wheel assuming all else has stood still while they've been out.

Some facts:

Mack Brown had the 5th most rushing attempts (25), accounting for less than 4% of the team's carries last year, behind Gillislee (244), Driskel (118), Matt Jones (52), and Trey Burton (29). He was just ahead of Hines (20) and Patton (14). 4 per cent!

He averaged 4.1yds per carry and had a long of 11 and no TDs in 9 games.

If we'd extrapolated his form before his injury, he was on for season figures of around 35 carries for 150 yards.

In 3 seasons at Florida, he has 40 carries for 167 yards and no TDs. 5 stars or not, that's a major disappointment: Matt Jones has already eclipsed that as a freshman and Kelvin Taylor has the potential to come in and be a major force too. Great players tip the coaches hand to get time on the field. Brown has yet to do that, as talented as he may be.

No disrespect to Mack Brown whatsoever, but I see no reason he should be annointed as the de facto starter because he's the most experienced of our RBs going into next season. Merit should be the reason he takes the starting job - if he's the best in camp, so be it. I hope he does well.

The cynic in me says we will see a much more balanced spread of carries between our backs next year, perhaps riding the hot hand a bit more.

Good breakdown......if I recall correctly, he was a 4 star, out of metro Atlanta area. Had high hopes for him, but Matt Jones showed a whole lot of upside last year as a true fresh..... While brown hasn't showed anything in 3 years.

IMO, it's jones job to lose

[NoahBeanBizzel]

No, Brown's stats don't really jump out at you, but he is impressive to watch when he hits the hole. Strange pointed out that he had a couple of big gains called back due to penalties.

It'll be an open competition this spring, and I'm not really expecting anybody to emerge from the pack. I too think it'll be a rotation, with Jones/Brown probably getting the majority of the carries, Taylor will get carries and will need to step up when one of them tweaks an ankle, and you'll see guys like Patton, Trey Burton and Joyer get about five to ten carries a game in situational packages (i.e wildcat, jet sweeps, zone reads, etc...)

[dawny]

We could not see much from Mack Brown when he didnt get on the field very much like Gilly did, maybe we will give him his chance, he did do everything the Coaches wanted in 4years patiently waiting, if giving the chance he will start, that is my predictions

[StrangeGator]

The competition will be wide open. I'm certainly not picking any starters, but I'd predict that Taylor, Jones and Brown will all be in the running. Not as sure about Lane. I lot will depend on what our base running package will be. If we keep it between the tackles, that favors Taylor and Brown. If we go outside more, Jones is the obvious choice. He's also an excellent receiver. If he doesn't end up a starter at RB, he could take Hines' role.

[SkyChimp]

Originally Posted by co_gator89

Can't wait to see what Kelvin does this spring. Color me shocked if he doesn't see significant playing time next season.

I think we are going to see a lot of him this year. He is a very talented player.

[JefffromJax]

Originally Posted by StrangeGator

The competition will be wide open. I'm certainly not picking any starters, but I'd predict that Taylor, Jones and Brown will all be in the running. Not as sure about Lane. I lot will depend on what our base running package will be. If we keep it between the tackles, that favors Taylor and Brown. If we go outside more, Jones is the obvious choice. He's also an excellent receiver. If he doesn't end up a starter at RB, he could take Hines' role.

Know that statistics can be hugely overrated; but does anyone know 40 times for Lane, Taylor, Jones, & Brown ? How good are their receiving skills ? Realize it's hard to compare the receiving skills of a HS player versus those of a college player since DB, LB, etc at college level are more adapt at coverage.

In another post on GC, some one stated that Lane was extremely (Jet Sweep ?) fast. If so, does he get the 5-7 outside carries a game ?

Is Alex Collins still a possibility ? Would you rather have him or an additional DL ?

[gatorev12]

Based on production (and nothing else), Matt Jones will be the favorite going into next season since he really came along strong at the end of the year and will only improve with another offseason in the weightroom and with the typical second year jump.

Mack Brown has the talent and the potential--but has yet to put everything together and has struggled with injuries. It'll be a tough road for him to re-establish himself...especially if the freshman come in ready to play.

Bottom line: we'll have a beefed-up OL that should continue to plow holes for our rushing game--and hopefully Driskel gets a bit better in the passing game with more practice time and coaching from Pease.

[fox]

If Jones and Brown are beat out of serious playing time I will be shocked and awed.

[Tito22]

Originally Posted by NoahBeanBizzel

No, Brown's stats don't really jump out at you, but he is impressive to watch when he hits the hole. Strange pointed out that he had a couple of big gains called back due to penalties.

It'll be an open competition this spring, and I'm not really expecting anybody to emerge from the pack. I too think it'll be a rotation, with Jones/Brown probably getting the majority of the carries, Taylor will get carries and will need to step up when one of them tweaks an ankle, and you'll see guys like Patton, Trey Burton and Joyer get about five to ten carries a game in situational packages (i.e wildcat, jet sweeps, zone reads, etc...)

Impressive to watch? I disagree. Mack Brown usually runs right into the backs of our OL. He has no wow factor. I doubt he is ever starting at RB for us but I do see him in on short yardage situations. This is Matt Jones job to lose

[orangeblueorangeblue]

"He's impressive to watch when he hits the hole"

"No, he's not impressive to watch when he doesn't hit the hole."

[theologator]

All four RBs will have a fair shot at serious playing time. I don't see an Emmitt vs. Wayne Williams disparity among any of them, but I fully expect Kelvin will be in the rotation and I won't be surprised if all 4 play.

[regurgigator]

Originally Posted by NoahBeanBizzel

No, Brown's stats don't really jump out at you, but he is impressive to watch when he hits the hole. Strange pointed out that he had a couple of big gains called back due to penalties.

I agree.

I thought Brown ran very hard (maybe not as hard as Jones ran later in the season), very fast (faster than Jones), and with excellent vision (which Jones seemed to lack early, but which improved some).


What was Brown's injury?

[NoahBeanBizzel]

Originally Posted by Tito22

Impressive to watch? I disagree. Mack Brown usually runs right into the backs of our OL. He has no wow factor. I doubt he is ever starting at RB for us but I do see him in on short yardage situations. This is Matt Jones job to lose

We must be watching two different players. When I've seen Brown run, he's impressed me. He runs hard, does it in between the tackles, and has looked good in limited action. He's spent a good part of his career dinged up, but he's impressed me when he's been in ball games.

He doesn't run right into the backs of our linemen. I'm not sure where that came from, but you must have film of somebody else. The guy I've seen runs hard, has breakaway speed, and looks like he has the potential to really help the running game if he can just stay healthy.

The staff seemed to be awfully impressed with him last year heading into the season. He must have been doing something right. Guys with "no wow factor" normally receive no praise at all. Maybe you know something the staff doesn't?

[NoahBeanBizzel]

Originally Posted by regurgigator

I agree.

I thought Brown ran very hard (maybe not as hard as Jones ran later in the season), very fast (faster than Jones), and with excellent vision (which Jones seemed to lack early, but which improved some).


What was Brown's injury?

Matt Jones really wasn't all that big of a deal until the FSU game. That was really the first time he actually blew me away.

I'm not sure what Brown's injuries have been, but I know he hasn't put together full season yet. Not even close. I really don't know how people can say he's not all that impressive, considering we've yet to see what he can do with 10-15 carries a game.

I'm not sold that anybody is the "clear" choice at the position. We'll see how it plays out going into the fall. I think Mack Brown is about to surprise some people on this board-if he stays healthy.

[SECund2nun]

RB is where it is easiest for a freshmen to contribute. We have just had subpar RB recruits the past 7-8 years which is why we have not had a freshmen stud RB. Kelvin and Lane fit that mold.