Deon McIntosh.......
- Thread starter VTND
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He looked good today. CJ Holmes impressed me too. Not bad for our #4 and #5 RBs
Deon is the real deal - he's runs like Josh Adams and, IMO, is ND's second best back. He closed out the game against MSU and that is saying a lot.
I like the combo DMc brings with his shiftiness and tough running. He's like a combo of Dex and Josh so definitely great to see but I don't think we've seen enough of Dex for him to jump the depth chart to #2. It's good to see so many young guys playing and hopeful this translates to wins on the recruiting trail.
The hardest running back in south bend in a very long time.
Those who truly understand football know exactly how I mean that.
That's great except he's on the small side and while I love his courage to stick his nose in there he's on the small side.
His style leads to taking a ton of big hits. I'm not sure how well he can hold up.
Having said that you don't not play him based on a what if.
In other words run him until he proves he can't take all the punishment. Give him the benefit of the doubt
Those who truly understand football know exactly how I mean that.
That's great except he's on the small side and while I love his courage to stick his nose in there he's on the small side.
His style leads to taking a ton of big hits. I'm not sure how well he can hold up.
Having said that you don't not play him based on a what if.
In other words run him until he proves he can't take all the punishment. Give him the benefit of the doubt
He is your quintessential one cut and go RB. which is exactly what you want in ND zone running attack. Dexter reminds me of the late Greg Bryant pitter patter in the hole, pass up the hard two yards and try to hit a homerun and apparently cannot figure out the pass protections.
That works in HS Football but not FBS football.
That works in HS Football but not FBS football.
Are you coining the "Run DMc"
It was nice to see Holmes get some action late in the game but when BK wanted to ice the game he turned to Deon.
Theo Riddick was small too, but gritty, tough, clutch, surprisingly powerful and just a winner. I'm not even close to ready to put Deon in Theo's league, but I like his effort.
I still think there is a significant talent gap between a healthy Dexter Williams and Deon. The speed, power combination isn't close, IMO. Dex reminds me of a poor man's CJ Spiller circa Clemson.
Thank you for picking up on that! I've used it a few times in other threads .Are you coining the "Run DMc"
It was nice to see Holmes get some action late in the game but when BK wanted to ice the game he turned to Deon.
I understand where you are coming from, but my hope is that if/when Dexter get 15 -20 carries a game, he ends up being the outstanding player he appears to be on many of his carries. My guess, and it is just a guess, is that his pass blocking skills and receiving skills aren't at Adam's level yet and that keeps him off the field at times.
I think that's a fair assumption to make. Dexter was getting better and more confident each week though. The injury was really untimely because he was just getting going. Hopefully they can rest him until about Friday of this coming week, get him moving over the weekend and have him full go against USC. ND needs to run he ball like crazy and keep the USC offense on the sideline in that game.
What keeps him and others off the field is Adams earned the right to be playing.
By now...the can't get the blocking protection pick ups is a bit old...i mean seriously. If he hasn't gotten it by now he will never get it.
Regardless Adams is the guy and shouod be. He's earned that.
If I want a change of pace in a stale game McIntosh has now shown something to consider.
Without question Adams has earned the #1 starting role. That is not in question. I am referring to the number two spot. As far the "can't get the blocking protection pick ups", I am only guessing that may be a reason. It may or may not. McIntosh has shown something to consider but not more so than Dexter IMO at least at this stage.
McIntosh is out toughest hardest runner pound per pound, but he’s also our smallest. Absolutely love watching this kid run as hard as he does, and yesterday he showed the ability to make tacklers miss. That said, he is a great #3 or 4 backup and change of pace runner for us right now. He might push Jones down to four, but I don’t think we’ve seen a healthy Jones all season. Right now, Adams and Dex are our best running backs, and McIntosh is not likely to take away any of their carries. The fact we are discussing who should get what carries among four running backs says a lot about the quality and depth we enjoy.
I believe McIntosh needs more carries against a bit better defense in normal conditions....but Ive a very sharp eye for details and McIntosh I believe is the quickest abd hardest runner they have.
Understand though that him running hard is not punishing. He's just extremely hard to tackle. Some players are hard to tackle and just have a knack for breaking them. It usually comes with size but in this case, no.
Make no mistake though if we need a change of pace I believe he provides the greater change of pace from Adams.
Dexter is a change of pace but not drastic. McIntosh is a drastic change of pace.
It's all a great thing and when you're sticking with a QB who can't hit the ocean throwing from the pier running the ball is paramount.
Maybe some multi back formations because right now the five wides is a joke with Wimbush. It only enables a little more room for him to keep it and take off.
I was just pleasantly surprised with McIntosh and that's a great thing.
