'08 Preview - Top Five Offensive Players to Watch For: #2 ROBERT HUGHES

(Continuing a look at who the top offensive play-makers will be for Fighting Irish this year...)

#2 Impact Player on Offense:  Robert Hughes, RB (Sophomore)

Vital Statistics:  5'11, 240 lbs

Player-unrealistically-and-unfairly-compared-to:  Jerome Bettis

Yeah, you heard that right:  Jerome Bettis.  And yeah, you read that right:  240 lbs!  (Although the blogosphere rumormill has rumblings that Hughes is reporting for fall camp "overweight..." sheesh!)

All the players that I have previewed so far have a lot of their merit based on potential and Hughes is no exception.  However, of all the offensive skill players who saw action last year, Hughes alone stands out as a player who actually showed something a little bit more than potential.

Behold...

...the vision and the burst of speed...

Online Videos by Veoh.com

Online Videos by Veoh.com

Online Videos by Veoh.com

...and the power (6:00 minute mark for your TD)

(3:10 minute mark for a long James Aldridge run, followed by Hughes TD)

Last year, Hughes at times reminded me of a bigger version of Darius Walker:  Darius also had that vision, that feel for the game that takes the RB to positive yardage when there doesn't seem to be a hole or a lane to run through.   And let's face it, Hughes had a lot of practice at that last year.

Vision... power... perhaps not elite speed but a quick enough burst to do damage... and although we didn't see it last year, apparently Hughes also possesses good hands.  Dare I say it... the complete back?

A quick look at the season-ending statistics reveals a few enlightening tidbits:

1)  Average yards per carry  -> Aldridge (3.8), Allen (4.0), Thomas (2.1), Hughes (5.5)!

I realize that Hughes was not a full-time starter and that a lot of his damage was done against teams that were actually worst than Notre Dame (yeah, that's you Stanford and Duke), but 5.5 yards per carry is what Julius Jones averaged during his stellar senior year in 2003. 

 And even though he's not the speed back, Hughes had the two longest runs from scrimmage last year.

2)  Returning RBs and their rushing TD total -> Aldridge (0), Allen (0), Hughes (4).  Travis Thomas actually led the team in rushing TDs last year with 5 (he was kind of the goalline specialist).  The only other player with a rushing TD last year was Jimmy Clausen (2).

The big question going into fall camp and the games beyond:  how will Weis divvy up the reps at RB between Hughes, Allen, and Aldridge?  Will Hughes get enough carries to make the difference he can make?  Will Weis actually stick with the run long enough and consistently enough for it to make a difference?

Devil's Advocate

I'm sorry - Hughes finished the year with back-to-back 100+ yard games (victories, mind you) over which two teams?  Was that... Stanford... in the video footage?  Duke?  And that's why we're optimistic?!? 

Where was Hughes vs. USC?!?  Michigan?  Penn State?

I would also have to say that I really hope reports circulating on the internet concerning Hughes's summer weight gain are grossly overexaggerated...

2008 Projection

Hughes should be the main option towing the ol' pigskin next year.  His decent production in the worst of years speaks volumes; I can only imagine what this year might look like.

A Second Opinion:  Blue and Gold Illustrated/Post Spring Projection for Robert Hughes

'08 Preview - Top 5 Offensive Players to Watch For: #3 DUVAL KAMARA

(Continuing a look at who the top offensive play-makers will be for the Fighting Irish this year...)

#3 Impact Player on Offense:  Duval Kamara, WR (Sophomore)

Vital Statistics: 6'5, 225 lbs

Players-unfairly-and-unrealistically-compared-to: Maurice Stovall, Jeff Samardzija

Duval Kamara came to Notre Dame last year as somewhat 

of a recruiting anomaly:  a highly-rated player (rated #8 WR by college football guru Phil Steele) whose arrival elicited little buzz and even less expectation.  

A main reason for the low-level of hype/expectation had to do with the fact that two WRs rated even higher than Kamara = #1 Arrelious Benn and #6 Greg Little (ratings courtesy of Phil Steele again) - spurned Notre Dame to attend other schools, allegedly after verbally committing to attend ND.  In many ways, Kamara wasn't the first choice many fans had envisioned in their minds, a la Michael Floyd this year; in many ways, fans might have felt they were "settling" with Kamara.

Whatever. 

 Kamara walked into a dream scenario at Notre Dame last year (how often have you heard that phrase in describing the football nightmare that was Notre Dame last year?):  after two years of Charlie Weis ball, three receivers (the aforementioned Stovall & Samardzija, along with Rhema McKnight) rewrote the record book... and by last season, they had all graduated.  Only one receiver on the roster had any playing time to speak of, the competition and existing talent was left wanting for more (to say the least) and no position was locked up and spoken for.  Kamara, whose height and frame, if not playing style, drew close comparisons with Stovall in particular, had the opportunity to play right away, had the chance to even start as a freshman.

Which he did.  Kamara led all ND WRs in catches (32) and TDs (4) - numbers which also happened to be a school record for freshmen - and was second in yards (357).  None of these numbers come close to what Stovall, Samardzija, & McKnight put up in '05 and '06, but for a freshman playing on what was statistically the worse offense in college last year, that's not bad.

The question is what is the ceiling for Duval Kamara?  How good can he get?  Can he dominate the way Stovall did in '05 (69 catches, 1149 yards, 11 TDs)?  

One columnist from the Sporting News seems to think so:  

WR Duval Kamara, 6-5, 222, So., Notre Dame. Scout's take: "Saw them twice last year, and he's the only guy on offense who looked comfortable. He knows how to get off the jam (at the line of scrimmage), knows how to use his hands to separate. He's got good speed. Once he figures out how to use his big frame to shield himself, he'll be a terror. No one in college football will be able to match up with him -- no one."

Devil's Advocate

Reasons to doubt Kamara having a breakthrough performance in 2008:

1) I think the other reason Kamara arrived with less than expected fanfare is a lack of difference-making speed:  he does not seem to be the deep threat who will burn by defenders.

  

2) Will he play at the next level?  Will he continue to develop into the kind of player who doesn't just get you the first down but gets you TDs and wins?  Time will tell, but Kamara will only be a sophomore this year.  Stovall didn't have his monster year until he was a senior...

3) Apparently Kamara was having some issues in the spring practice in regards to drops...

4) I hear there are three very highly-rated WR recruits showing up for fall camp, looking for playing time as first-years, maybe even looking to start and break some freshmen receiving records...

2008 Projection

If any current WR's playing time in lieu of freshmen arrivals is safe, it's Kamara's.   In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Kamara's numbers doubled from his freshman output, to somewhere in the range of 60 catches, 600 receiving yards, and 8 TDs.  

Does this mean I think Kamara is on the path for All-American status?  Not necessarily.  I think Kamara's production in 2008 - much as was the case last season - is just as much a reflection of the lack of talent at the wideout position around him.  I, for one, am not sold on the quality of players we currently have on our roster at wide receiver (Kamara and in-coming freshmen not withstanding).  Kamara may be "the man" and put up obscene numbers only because there isn't any other option.

But if he can turn into an All-American... if he can turn into a first day NFL Draft prospect... whether its Armando Allen at RB or Duval Kamara at WR, if Notre Dame is to return to a BCS Bowl-level, championship-caliber squad, some offensive players need to start realizing their potential.

A Second Opinion: Blue and Gold Illustrated/Post Spring Projection for Duval Kamara

And here's a look back at when we last saw Kamara in action...

Online Videos by Veoh.com

And here's a nifty TD against Navy (go to the 8:15 mark, unless you really want to re-watch the entire 2nd quarter...)