Rod is a special football player - he reminds me of Eddie. When do you think Urban will let him touch the rock 10+ times? It seems like he's gotten better about fumbling. The penn state "fumble" wasnt even close to being a fumble - Rod was down already.







When he stops dropping the ball. He is either losing the ball or nearly losing it once every three or four carries. I know he's explosive, you just never know when he's gonna blow up for a big play or blow up in your face.
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I bet 12-15 carries & Hot Rod would have 100 + yards.
"You win with people." - Woody Hayes
If he doesn't drop the ball in practice and in games, I think he'll get more carries game to game. He still makes me nervous, but I like the 'physicality'.
He is getting there. UFM knows Rod is a special talent he is just bringing him along and keeping him honest. He will be there soon.
Rod is getting much better and doesn't go down on the first hit. I still have no complaints with Hyde.
I'd like to see if he can bust long runs on fresh defenses. He can spring for nice gains after Hyde and Braxton have wore the D's down all game, I just wonder if he would look so good right off the rip. Hyde may not have had many YPC or total yards the other day, but he got a lot of really nice tough runs when the sledding wasn't easy. He kept coming through with 4-6 yard runs. The 2nd half that D-line of Penn States was gassed and it had a whole lot to do with Hyde's hard work.
His time will come and probly sooner than later after his performance at Penn St
O H I O is the Buckeye State
Another rod smith thread?!?!
I like Smith's role on the team. Hyde wears the defense down with some punishing runs and then Smith just comes in and grabs their lunch money.
@William - Althought I agree with you, Smith could just as easily wear down a D given the chance. At 6-3 230, he can leave his cleat prints on someones ass just as easily as Hyde @ 6-1 235. We may not have a flash and dash but we definitly have a bash and crash (not sure I would dig these nicknames...just sayin').
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He'll see a few more carries against Illinois IMO. Not sure if anyone noticed but he was in very early against Purdue. He's getting there but I agree that right now Hyde is softening teams up a bit & Smith has benefitted from that on the long runs. I would love to see him get 10-12 carries against Illinois to see what he can do in an larger role.
The world is full of kings & queens who'll blind your eyes & steal your dreams - it's heaven & hell - Ronnie James Dio.
Oh boy here we go...
IMO his lack of carries has a lot more to do with Hyde playing well than his fumble problem. We all know he is prone to a fumble but if that was UFM main concern with him he probably wouldn't be receiving all the kicks. Hyde is just the perfect compliment to Miller right now. Smith may be comparable to Hyde in size but he isn't as physical. Having Hyde and Miller is almost like Alstott and Dunn back in the day for Tampa.
He get's his chance every game, but only when Hyde gets gassed. He's doing a nice job on kickoffs and he's proven to be explosive coming off the bench in relief. Hydes earned the chance he's getting this year by moving the pile and holding on to the ball. You never know how it will shake out next year, both guys will be pushing each other during the offseason. Our backfield is lloooaaaadddddeedd!!!!
An angry fan...rooting for an angry team...led by angry coaches
When he learns how to protect the pig!
BuckeyeJason may go crazy with another Rod thread haha
I'm a fan of the kid, and have been for a while. But, why mess with a good thing in Hyde/Braxton right now. In the offseason, I could legit see Rod passing Hyde on the depth chart, but with 3 games to go, I say give it to the workhorses whom have gotten you there. That means Hyde over Smith
Carlos Hyde. That is all.
Wouldn't be surprised to see Rod bust out against scUM a la Beanie in 2006. Beanie had trouble holding onto the pigskin that season, and we all know what he did in The Game.
I like Rod a lot and have been an avid supporter of him getting more touches, but its not gonna happen this year unfortunately. Hyde has earned his touches through consistency and hard work and has really improved on his weaknesses as the year has went on. Rod although explosive still has some work to do. He will see the field more a la the Hyde/Brax/Smith backfield package which is good, but I think his chance to really shine will come next year as long as he keeps working hard in the offseason.
I support R. Smith like waycracken supports Timmons. I think his window is closing as we end this year with hall maybe staying and talent coming up in the underclassmen.
My gut feeling is Smith will get touches based on effort in PRACTICE which we do not get to see. Game performance has a lot to do with it, but Urban always stresses Tues and Wed are the days that make a difference for playing time.
We are too loaded in the backfield. Somebody will have to transfer: Ball? Smith? Dunn? Elliot? Hyde? Hall maybe? Plus Braxton needs his carries.
I would say that Ball and Dunn are the 2 most likely to transfer.
Hall is definitely not transferring, his presence next year provides Elliot time to learn the offense and grow into that roll.
Hyde is too involved to transfer, why would you transfer when you are getting this many touches and you are the #1 player in your position (power runner).
If Smith transfers is a stupid move. If it is a possibility, why would you transfer the year after Coach tells you its a good idea. Did he think he would pass Hall, Hyde, and Dunn on the depth chart? Remember, Urban loved those three, he didn't talk about Smith in the Spring. He would have to sit out a year...it just doesn't make sense.
"Michigan and "huge mistake" are synonymous"
-Mark Titus
I don't think anyone has to transfer; i think they need to understand their role may not be one of feature back.
Everyone talks about next year being crowded, and it is, but that is a 1 year thing. Hall and Hyde are gone after. It's actually pretty well spread out so the upperclassman if they work out will get the majority of carries, and the younger guys can be brought along unless/until they impress. Hall won't get as many carries likely, and may get more slot passes, like Elliott may as well...who knows really. Good problem to have
@donkey
agree. Sorry, my post was disorganized. I was just listing the backfield talent, not suggesting transfers. But, yeah, Ball or dunn. Maybe Smith.
There will be 2-3 backs used and its up to the rb's if/when they see any playing time. I dont see any reason for a running back to leave
O H I O is the Buckeye State