For the third time, Richard Samuel has switched positions on the football field in the best interests of the Bulldogs. It certainly hasn't helped his draft stock having moved back and forth so frequently because I couldn't imagine it letting him develop one set of skills in particular. And we aren't talking about moving from TE to WR, learning to play Tackle instead of Guard. Even Hines Ward would be proud of Samuel.
When Richard Samuel was recruited out of high school in 2008, Rivals had him rated as their #2 athlete. Scout rated him the 4th best RB. I remember the talk surrounding Samuel and how he had the potential to be an impact player on either side of the ball; whether it be carrying the ball out of the backfield or tracking down ballcarriers from a LB position.
Samuel played RB his first two years. He was part of a loaded backfield that featured Knowshon Moreno and Caleb King (former 5 star recruit before injury) his FR year and he only carried the ball 26 times for 133 net yards. Moreno would go on to be a first round draft pick at the end of the year, but the depth at the position didn't drop off terribly.
Going into his SO year, Samuel was joined in the backfield by another highly regarded in-state RB, Washaun Ealey. Ealey and King got the bulk of the carries in 2009-2010 and Samuel ended with the 3rd most carries (88). It made sense that Samuel move to his secondary position of LB after the year was over and Samuel took a RS to begin learning the LB position at the college level.
Going into this season, Samuel looked to join a LB unit that was long on potential but short on experience. Then Washaun Ealey transferred. I saw this as addition by subtraction and a roster shakeup that would help get yet another heralded RB recruit (Isaiah Crowell) some carries. Then earlier this month the other shoe dropped - Caleb King was deemed academically ineligible for the season. He would later declare for the supplemental draft.
All of a sudden the Bulldogs were looking real thin at a position that looked like it was overflowing with talent. So now comes the news that Samuel will be returning to his original position and playing RB for the Dawgs. Samuel's move gives the Bulldogs four scholarship players at the position - Samuel, FR Crowell, rFR Boo Malcome, and JR Carlton Thomas.
As it stands, Thomas looks to be the shifty, elusive back. Malcome is the battering ram. Crowell looks to be a mix of Thomas and Malcome. Then there's Samuel, the unknown. Like Crowell, he's high on potential but has yet to prove much over the course of a season. The few times I've seen Samuel get meaningful work, he's looked better than average. Here's to hoping that Samuel gets a chance to finally hit the playing field for significant stretches this season. I can't help but think a little bit of Hines Ward when he played every position of need for the Dawgs.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment