GoMiddle.com ‏@GoMiddle 1h1 hour ago
#MTSU RB/WR Shane Tucker has announced he will redshirt this year after suffering a leg fracture that will require surgery.

That's a tough break (no pun intended).

USM lost a very promising Fr RB, Patrick Brooks. Out for the season (at least). We were expecting this kid to be the next Damion Fletcher.

Were we? We're absolutely loaded at running back this year: Ito Smith, George Payne, Tez Parks, February signee Andre Hale.

Payne and Parks both coming off injuries. I don't really think of that as loaded. And we lost Delaunte Thornton and Daythan Davis in the off-season.

Brooks was never going to be Damion Fletcher, that's silly, I've seen him practice at least 5 times. The kid was (or still is) going to be a good back. He's got good quickness, speed, and deceptive strength. But he has (and very few backs do) nowhere near the balance and vision of Damian Fletcher. He was going to be similar to Ito with a little less speed but a little more strength. Hope he can come back.

I also have to disagree about us being loaded at RB. Behind Ito we have 2 guys coming off major knee surgery, one of which may not be ready for the first game, and a true freshman. That is not loaded by any means. Payne was a strong downhill runner before the surgery, but that was it. Saw him several times in the spring and he looked a step slower than before the surgery. Tez, for all his talent, was an extremely raw player when he last played as a freshman. He had the size and speed but not the vision or lateral quickness or any of the other little things great backs have. And that was before he lost about 6 months of development to the knee injury. He could still be a great back, but he needed major development time and the injury cut into that. Hale looks like a good back on film, but he's a true freshman.

Hate to be a negative nancy with my first post, but to me at least, RB has gone from a strength to a major area of concern.

Great, another negative USM poster...

Nothing negative about that post. Sounded pretty informed to me.

Tucker would have been a great addition to the WR corps this year but injury seems to be his middle name. Hoping for a quick and healthy recovery. We should be all right without him (the WRs we have now are great) but it's just sad to see him hurt again...

Wonder if he'll still move to WR in 2017.

You never want to lose anyone to injury, especially not playmaking seniors, but he had been pushed out of a crowded backfield to add depth at WR and probably mostly (if not entirely) due to how many WRs Tony Franklin's offense utilizes.

(07-30-2016 12:39 AM)Eagle9 Wrote:  Brooks was never going to be Damion Fletcher, that's silly, I've seen him practice at least 5 times. The kid was (or still is) going to be a good back. He's got good quickness, speed, and deceptive strength. But he has (and very few backs do) nowhere near the balance and vision of Damian Fletcher. He was going to be similar to Ito with a little less speed but a little more strength. Hope he can come back.

I also have to disagree about us being loaded at RB. Behind Ito we have 2 guys coming off major knee surgery, one of which may not be ready for the first game, and a true freshman. That is not loaded by any means. Payne was a strong downhill runner before the surgery, but that was it. Saw him several times in the spring and he looked a step slower than before the surgery. Tez, for all his talent, was an extremely raw player when he last played as a freshman. He had the size and speed but not the vision or lateral quickness or any of the other little things great backs have. And that was before he lost about 6 months of development to the knee injury. He could still be a great back, but he needed major development time and the injury cut into that. Hale looks like a good back on film, but he's a true freshman.

Hate to be a negative nancy with my first post, but to me at least, RB has gone from a strength to a major area of concern.

Pretty fair assessment. I think the RB position is where you need the most depth on a team. For the pounding a RB takes every single play and to only have 3-5 of those guys who are valuable contributors is a tough spot. You are a rolled ankle or twisted knee away from only having 1 or 2 guys to put on the field.