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re: Chips are down: Most immediately impactful true freshman in your team history?
Posted on 8/3/26 at 9:13 am to Naked Bootleg
Posted on 8/3/26 at 9:13 am to Naked Bootleg
It's Jamelle Holieway replaced Troy Aikman after he broke his ankle and won the 1985 National Championship.
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Posted on 8/3/26 at 9:29 am to Marcelo Lavanda
quote:
BigD sticking by his guns even when the chips are down
And don't forget about Smith who gets points taken away for being on a crappy team. He broke the single game rushing record at UF in his first start at Alabama in the 3rd game of the year.
This post was edited on 8/3/26 at 9:30 am
Posted on 8/3/26 at 9:40 am to Marcelo Lavanda
18 yr. old Jamelle Holieway took over mid game after Troy Aikman got his leg broken against Miami. OU wins the Natty this year.
Posted on 8/3/26 at 9:50 am to Marcelo Lavanda
Would go Jamal Lewis since he was able to do it on an absolutely stacked VOLS squad.
Eric Berry was just as impactful but he was playing with pure butt trash so his effect may have been magnified
Eric Berry was just as impactful but he was playing with pure butt trash so his effect may have been magnified
Posted on 8/3/26 at 10:47 am to koreandawg
quote:
Someone in here said "Bo Jackson".
Comparison in freshman years:
Bo: 829 yards in 11 games
Herschel: 1616 yards in 11 games.
Herschel and Bo Jackson were both great runningbacks from the first day on their respective teams. It is important to note that Herschel Walker was the featured back in an I-Formation offense while Auburn ran a triple option wishbone offense with Lionel James and Tommy Agee who were also great backs. Does a slight disservice to Bo Jackson to drop those stats without the context of the totally different offenses UGA and Auburn were running at that time...
Posted on 8/3/26 at 10:51 am to Marcelo Lavanda
Benny Snell
Posted on 8/3/26 at 11:24 am to TeddyWestside
quote:
Herschel and Bo Jackson were both great runningbacks from the first day on their respective teams. It is important to note that Herschel Walker was the featured back in an I-Formation offense while Auburn ran a triple option wishbone offense with Lionel James and Tommy Agee who were also great backs. Does a slight disservice to Bo Jackson to drop those stats without the context of the totally different offenses UGA and Auburn were running at that time...
What you're saying definitely says he was not as impactful. He was one of three and Herschel was the guy. That's all I'm tryiing to say, so you're actually helping to prove my point. It'd almost be impossible for another player to be as impactful as Herschel.
I've never tried to say Bo was less of an athlete than Herschel, but Herschel was much more impactful as a freshman and throughout his career than Bo.
This post was edited on 8/3/26 at 11:26 am
Posted on 8/3/26 at 11:37 am to koreandawg
Triple option wishbone is surely a lot more effective if you have Bo Jackson as a decoy as well. That's unaccounted for impact.
But your point is well made.
But your point is well made.
Posted on 8/3/26 at 12:00 pm to Marcelo Lavanda
I want to thank everyone who participated in this topic for their replies we made it all the way here without a soul wondering about chips.
Posted on 8/3/26 at 12:44 pm to CatfishJohn
quote:
Triple option wishbone is surely a lot more effective if you have Bo Jackson as a decoy as well. That's unaccounted for impact.
But your point is well made.
Brother, we went from 6-5 and won the national title and conference undefeated.
Auburn went 9-3 after 5-6. I mean, it's really not close, no matter what impact you want to give him in the triple option.
If you had a freshman come into LSU and do for you what Herschel did for UGA, you'd laugh at comparing the two.
As far as the guy who said Bo was Auburn's biggest impact as a freshman, I'm not arguing with that. My point was just to show how much bigger impact Herschel had at UGA. And that was my argument for Herschel being the greatest impact freshman in college football history. It's like Tebow doing what he did his sophomore year at UF as a freshman and also winning the national title on top of it.
Posted on 8/3/26 at 12:46 pm to Marcelo Lavanda
quote:
I want to thank everyone who participated in this topic for their replies we made it all the way here without a soul wondering about chips.
I still wonder about and still think it's really stupid. But I did like the topic this time.
Posted on 8/3/26 at 12:47 pm to Yukons Worst
Jim Donnan deserves a huge amount of credit for pulling that off.
quote:
It's Jamelle Holieway replaced Troy Aikman after he broke his ankle and won the 1985 National Championship.
This post was edited on 8/3/26 at 12:48 pm
Posted on 8/3/26 at 1:05 pm to koreandawg
quote:
I still wonder about and still think it's really stupid. But I did like the topic this time.
If you can look past the hate you will discover all my topics are great!
Posted on 8/3/26 at 2:50 pm to Marcelo Lavanda
Probably John Bond. He had a knack for triple option and had fingers long enough to manage the ball for last second pitches, or last second keepers. If he could only throw. Couldn't hit school bus 20 yards away.
Posted on 8/3/26 at 3:10 pm to Marcelo Lavanda
Jamal Lewis with a tip of the hat to Eric Berry, who was one of the best defensive backs in the country as a true freshman.
Posted on 8/3/26 at 3:31 pm to jcolding41
quote:
Herschel Walker
"MY GOD...A FRESHMAN"
Yeah this one isn't really in doubt
Posted on 8/3/26 at 3:31 pm to jcolding41
[Duplicate
This post was edited on 8/3/26 at 3:32 pm
Posted on 8/3/26 at 3:33 pm to Marcelo Lavanda
So, the correct answer for Georgia is obviously Herschel.
BUT, if we’re gonna talk about the modern era (post-2000), I would argue Brock Bowers.
Georgia was beyond stacked defensively headed into 2021, but there were a lot of question marks on offense. Bowers becoming the generational player he was, virtually from day 1, along with the emergence of McConkey made Georgia a force on the offensive side of the ball too, at least enough to truly become dominant when paired with that defense.
BUT, if we’re gonna talk about the modern era (post-2000), I would argue Brock Bowers.
Georgia was beyond stacked defensively headed into 2021, but there were a lot of question marks on offense. Bowers becoming the generational player he was, virtually from day 1, along with the emergence of McConkey made Georgia a force on the offensive side of the ball too, at least enough to truly become dominant when paired with that defense.
Posted on 8/3/26 at 3:37 pm to BranchDawg
Agree on Bowers. George Pickens was supposed to be the guy that year and without Bowers' emergence I don't think they get there in 21
Posted on 8/3/26 at 3:41 pm to Rocco Lampone
quote:
If I remember correctly, FSU seemed to be the competition.
Actually think it was Oklahoma, but yea during the Fran and Shula years it wasn't uncommon for blue chippers in the state to head elsewhere.
Tennessee signed some great prospects from North Alabama with regularity. Florida had some success in the Birmingham area, LSU signed a lot of kids on the I-10 corridor, and a lot of them went to Auburn when Tuberville was there.
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