Ducks Attack Message Board Forum

Haven't heard about him since the game. My brothers and I were all pretty impressed with his abilities. Sure he's young and needs some "bodywork" but he looked pretty good in the short time he was in there.

He runs hard and has some suddenness to him. You can see the potential.

Seemed to have quick acceleration.

I think he will be good. From his tape, it seems like he trusted his speed too much and danced a little too much. I'm sure he will get coached on that though.

lukeyrid13 wrote:I think he will be good. From his tape, it seems like he trusted his speed too much and danced a little too much. I'm sure he will get coached on that though.

Once the coaches get him running straight into the pile, he will probably start moving up the depth chart.

Touche

I feel like you could flop our running back depth chart, and we'd be just as good. I think Cyrus and Dollars could be running just as good as CJ or Travis at this point..

UOducksTK1 wrote:I feel like you could flop our running back depth chart, and we'd be just as good. I think Cyrus and Dollars could be running just as good as CJ or Travis at this point..

I think CJ is clearly the best option. Travis is listed as second, but I think one could argue Felix should be there. I didn't see Dollars in the Nevada game so I can't weigh in there.

In my perfect world, Cyrus moves to defense to compete with Pickett and Breeze for the strong safety spot.

Cyrus is not a good RB. He's a good program guy but I don't think he's a Pac-12 caliber runner.

StevensTechU wrote:

UOducksTK1 wrote:I feel like you could flop our running back depth chart, and we'd be just as good. I think Cyrus and Dollars could be running just as good as CJ or Travis at this point..

I think CJ is clearly the best option. Travis is listed as second, but I think one could argue Felix should be there. I didn't see Dollars in the Nevada game so I can't weigh in there.

In my perfect world, Cyrus moves to defense to compete with Pickett and Breeze for the strong safety spot.

I like your thinking Stevens. If you take into account the talent coming in (especially if Sevens reclassified) anyone in the middle of the depth chart this year might struggle for pt next yr. getting reps at a new position now makes sense. As for Dollars, IMO it is just a mater of learning the playbook and blocking responsibilities to the point he is acting and not thinking.

Cyrus was rated a 2* RB but a 4* LB.

StevensTechU wrote:

UOducksTK1 wrote:I feel like you could flop our running back depth chart, and we'd be just as good. I think Cyrus and Dollars could be running just as good as CJ or Travis at this point..

I think CJ is clearly the best option. Travis is listed as second, but I think one could argue Felix should be there. I didn't see Dollars in the Nevada game so I can't weigh in there.

In my perfect world, Cyrus moves to defense to compete with Pickett and Breeze for the strong safety spot.

I like Felix second best of our RBs. It could be because he seems like a different type of back, while CJ and Travis duplicate a lot of things. I do like Travis, he's shifty as can be. I just think Felix brings a better blend of speed/power as the second back.

Cyrus has the one thing that none of the other running backs on the roster have - size. That's pretty much a pre-requisite to be an elite running back at the college and pro levels... There are ways to get around that like being shifty and quick but you look around the league and how the elites do it in CFB and it's size. Vision matters but even Mark Ingram won a heisman and lasted for a few years in the league because he had size (+ strength). Bigger backs are also less likely to fumble the ball if they aren't being too dumb about it. I think that's a good reason to keep him at RB/goal line package. I'm just surprised as to how we don't try to recruit bigger backs as our trench strategy favors a big bruiser vs. smaller backs especially as the game drags on into the 4th quarter...

ducks5ever wrote:Cyrus has the one thing that none of the other running backs on the roster have - size. That's pretty much a pre-requisite to be an elite running back at the college and pro levels... There are ways to get around that like being shifty and quick but you look around the league and how the elites do it in CFB and it's size. Vision matters but even Mark Ingram won a heisman and lasted for a few years in the league because he had size (+ strength). Bigger backs are also less likely to fumble the ball if they aren't being too dumb about it. I think that's a good reason to keep him at RB/goal line package. I'm just surprised as to how we don't try to recruit bigger backs as our trench strategy favors a big bruiser vs. smaller backs especially as the game drags on into the 4th quarter...

I'm not so sure about that at the college level. A quick look at the 2018 NCAA stats top 10s in yards per game and rushing average, All-American teams and all conference teams are dominated by players between 5-9 and 5-11. I didn't look at the NFL because I could care less about NFL fitness when building a college team.

GrandpaDuck wrote:

ducks5ever wrote:Cyrus has the one thing that none of the other running backs on the roster have - size. That's pretty much a pre-requisite to be an elite running back at the college and pro levels... There are ways to get around that like being shifty and quick but you look around the league and how the elites do it in CFB and it's size. Vision matters but even Mark Ingram won a heisman and lasted for a few years in the league because he had size (+ strength). Bigger backs are also less likely to fumble the ball if they aren't being too dumb about it. I think that's a good reason to keep him at RB/goal line package. I'm just surprised as to how we don't try to recruit bigger backs as our trench strategy favors a big bruiser vs. smaller backs especially as the game drags on into the 4th quarter...

I'm not so sure about that at the college level. A quick look at the 2018 NCAA stats top 10s in yards per game and rushing average, All-American teams and all conference teams are dominated by players between 5-9 and 5-11. I didn't look at the NFL because I could care less about NFL fitness when building a college team.

x2

You can make the argument that small guys have a tougher time against 'big, physical' defenses, but so do slow guys. Royce struggled against Ohio State because he didn't have top-end speed. His size didn't help him.