RB position in 2 weeks

[IAROY]

Assuming Daniels is healthy in 2 weeks...who gets the nod? Wadley or Daniels. My guess is Kirk goes with Daniels.

 

[uniFIGHTuniFIGHT]

I think Daniels would probably start if healthy, but he's not going to carry the ball 25-30 times unless he gets on an unbelievable roll. Wadley will get touches and Mitchell will probably get touches. We need to abuse the front 7 of Maryland of Indiana. Hopefully we can get healthy enough to rotate some different combinations on the OL at different points in the upcoming games. I can't believe how optimistic I feel about our ground game after the efforts given so far in conference play. We didn't put up the points against Wisconsin, but we did start to wear our their D in the second half and possess the ball. These past two weeks, we physically overwhelmed our opponents' D in the second half. I think this team is ready to step on some throats and I don't see them quitting or backing down when our opponents come ready for a fight.

 

[SotaHawk87]

I agree that Daniels will start.. If we get the 4 carries for 10 yards though I hope it's a short leash..

 

[TouchdownHawks]

Wadley is the better back, hits hole faster, avoids initial contact better, and leaves less yards on the field. If he protects the ball we will see a lot of him. I think Kirk uses Daniels for short yardage and fewer carries.

 

[BioHawk]

I'm still not confident on Wadley's ability to hold onto the ball. He was still running through traffic while holding the ball with one hand. Needs to continue working on proper technique. Once he gets that down though he's probably the best back we have on the team.

 

[unoHawkeye]

I like a Canzeri/Wadley rotation, with Canzeri getting the majority of the reps, and Daniels in short yardage situations.

That's probably not realistic, as Daniels was the day one starter and will at least be the #2 back, but I would like to see the above scenario.

 

[Auger]

If Canzeri is out for a while I hope KF starts to use Wadley for 15-20 carries a game Mitchell for 15 a game and Daniels for 10 a game. Keep them all healthy. Mitchell is awesome as a 3rd down back he looked really good on the catch and run.

 

[Ladell-hawk]

If Canzeri is out for a while I hope KF starts to use Wadley for 15-20 carries a game Mitchell for 15 a game and Daniels for 10 a game. Keep them all healthy. Mitchell is awesome as a 3rd down back he looked really good on the catch and run.

It's clear that we have 4 talented RB's. That is a great position to be in, and we will need them all. Go Hawks!

 

[cedarvalleykid14]

What does Wadley have to do, people? You do realize that RBs fumble: Melvin Gordon fumbled quite a bit, but Wisconsin let the dude play anyway. Crazy, huh?

Hey, I love Koehn's kicking, but what the hey? He's been not so good lately, but KF said he still has confidence in him and has no plans to consider anyone else for the job. Really? Cool. Then why does that standard not apply to other positions like, say, RB?

Because of Koehn's poor performances against both Wisconsin and NW, Iowa was put in a dangerous position where losing was far more likely. The rest of the team baled him out. So be it.

With offensive skill positions, GD and KF have no clue. Wadley and Mitchell should be the top backs with Canzeri as a third-down back when he gets healthy, and Daniels as a backup. Daniels has never shown the elusiveness, power, or speed of either Wadley or Mitchell, and he hasn't shown the ability to cutback like Canzeri. Play the best players. Is that so hard?

 

[hawkeye ball]

No doubt Wadley deserves a shot. Reminds me of Beathard last year. Wadley waited his turn and when he got his shot, he came through for us. I agree his carrying makes you nervous sometimes but I think he should be a go for us. Atleast split carries with Daniels 50/50. Once you see who looks better in the first half, I would stick with the better back for 75% of the carries. Wadley is 26th in rushing for the B1G and has "pretty much" played in only one game. (I know he got a couple carries in a couple games)

Heres how our RB stats are:
Canzeri = 136 carries for 698 yards (5.1 yards per attempt)
Wadley = 34 carries for 239 yards (7.0 yards per attempt)
Daniels = 52 carries for 226 yards (4.3 yards per attempt)
Mitchell = 17 carries for 131 yards (7.7 yards per attempt)

I think GD needs to give Wadley/Mitchell a shot.

 

[FBletterman]

Canzeri wont be back probably for 3-4 weeks. Daniels is still not 100%. Wadley will be our starter for Maryland with a steady dose of Mitchell. So not to worry Wadley will have the next two games most likely to further prove his case.

 

[FBletterman]

Canzeri wont be back probably for 3-4 weeks. Daniels is still not 100%. Wadley will be our starter for Maryland with a steady dose of Mitchell. So not to worry Wadley will have the next two games most likely to further prove his case.

 

[BUCKSNDUCKS]

Wadley /Mitchell / and Daniels = winning!!!

 

[BulliesOfTheBigTen]

Canzeri wont be back probably for 3-4 weeks. Daniels is still not 100%. Wadley will be our starter for Maryland with a steady dose of Mitchell. So not to worry Wadley will have the next two games most likely to further prove his case.

The way it looked on tv, I'm not sure he'll be back at all this regular season. Severe sprains can sometimes take longer to recover from than broken bones.

 

[ghostOfHomer777]

Once there is enough tape on ANY back ... then opposing Ds will try to learn from it to shut the guy down.

Herein lies the problem with prepping for Iowa.

- Daniels has great explosiveness and strength when healthy. Given how the team is blocking now ... 12 yard runs he was making early in the season will stretch to 20 to 30 yard runs. Anyhow, he's obviously Iowa's more prototypical "power" back.

- Mitchell has a wonderful combo of speed and strength. Furthermore, like Canzeri, he's a danger in the passing game too. He's a match-up nightmare for LBs.

- Wadley is quick, quick, quick ... with wiggle to spare. Definitely the shiftiest of our RBs ... and that's saying something given that Canzeri and Mitchell are no slouches in that regard. He also appears to have the highest end speed out of the RBs.

I anticipate that the Hawks will try to let a guy be the primary carrier. However, they will also rotate guys in order to keep guys fresh. From there, if a guy makes the most of his carries - my guess is that they'll ride the hot hand.

I didn't mention Canzeri because our most recent opponents don't need to worry about prepping for him.

Anyhow, Iowa has really now become a hard prep for opposing Ds. They cannot focus on a single back. Furthermore, Iowa can effectively run it from a multitude of formations. Worry too much about the run and the TEs slip out. Put too many hats in the box ... and a healthy Tevaun or Jerminic Smith will blow the top off the D.

Most important ... what has led to Wisconsin's success through the years has been their ability to run the ball. This attribute becomes exceptionally important as the cold, strong midwestern winds blow ... and even the best passing games get affected by the wind. But a strong running game keeps on chugging ....