Worth a read - email distribution plug here

hmm. interesting. I figured Holyfield would be #2 RB for the opener

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Later he said Holyfield is doing well in camp but is not expected to get a lot of carries in the opening game.

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I disagree. From everything Smart has said I think Holyfield will be the no. 2 guy. If not in the UNC game, definitely starting after that.

I personally hope Douglas never sees the field again. Good kid, but we have 4-5 backs that are better than him.

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. If not in the UNC game, definitely starting after that.

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I agree that once Sony is healthy and Holyfield picks up the offense and scheme a little better that Douglas will slide down the depth chart. This is the first game of the season, though, against a pretty good team. If and when Eason plays, the UNC D will be throwing everything they have as far as blitz packages go to try and rattle the freshman into a mistake or two. Pass-pro is going to be very, very important at that point. Douglas is one of the better RBs that we have when it comes to that and his blitz pick-up is likely lightyears ahead of where Holyfield is right now.

Douglas went from a fan favorite after his freshman year to being in the dog house after a few costly turnovers. He's NOT an SEC-caliber back and he was asked to do far too much. As I said earlier, he can't create his own space/hole like a great RB can. He lacks that explosiveness at the point of contact on the LOS, so when a hole isn't there he gets bogged down and swallowed up. However, he is a load to bring down once he can get 4-5 steps going. The good news in this game is that UNC has a very weak run defense and our O-line appears to be much improved. Douglas will be the #2 guy off the bench because he will protect the freshman QB.

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We definitely don't have 4-5 backs better than him. Pass blocking is HIGHLY underrated. It's very important and Douglas does that well. Also, he knows the offense and has experience. I don't get the Douglas hate we have had the last year or so. Someone posted stats showing that he does not fumble as much as many on here think. His problem was he fumbled twice in key situations....AS A FRESHMAN. And we give Chubb and Michel passes on their fumbles against GT at crucial times. (Obviously because of their superior talents, but lets give Douglas a break)


Don't get me wrong....is he in the same class as Chubb or Michel. No way. But we really don't know what any of the rest of our RBs can do, yet. Do we want to see Douglas out there as our #1 or #2 back? No. But #3? Definitely, until Holyfield proves he can pass block and run without fumbling.

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Again I disagree. I can see where he has been a solid pass blocker, but his overall talent is still too low. I think when he is in, defenses are more likely to know that we are in a safe running mode, and don't have to worry about trying to contain him. He just doesn't have the skills that our RB's should have.

I don't want to see him #3 because I feel like that means our young guys are not as good as they have been talked about. I think Douglas may be 2 or 3 for UNC, and he will drop to 5th or 6th string right after that if everyone stays healthy.

Kirby moving Shaq back makes me think our RB's are looking really good.