Rating the state's RB's

[BullDoug]

No, I was not saying Hall was like those guys.  My intention was to say Hall does hit the hole extremely well but he's not on the top of the heap of college backs.  He's good but he's not Smith, Dickerson, Pederson, Phillips, White, Johnnny Rodgers, OJ or any other NFL HOFr.   Hall is good but there is still a level of RB above him.  He's not a HOFr, top 3 Heisman candidates, that was the gist of my post.  I used the obvious great backs to make it clear that I don't believe 'Dre is a first rounder.  And all I really know for sure about Hall is he exceeded my expectations last season.  I don't see any reason for him not to pull down 1200 yds in 2005 either.  So...Go Hall! Rock on FootBulls!  Beat PennState!  Keep the Faith Brothers!  Without hope and dreams there is no future (for the team).  Go Bulls!  The BCS is finally here!

[Guest Vanilla rice]

True, Andre did it against Conference USA teams.  Which isn't the best in the biz.  But there have been great players from non BCS schools like Ty Detmer and Marshall Faulk.  Only difference is, those two just didn't put up good numbers.....they put up ungodly numbers against the weak ass former WAC.  So in other words, if they were players in the SEC or whatever, they probably would have put up high numbers worthy of All American recognition but not ungodly numbers.  Those two were special and blew away the low competition.  Andre would be in their class if he not only put up Marshall like numbers, but had the type of runs that he had.  HAve any of you ever seen Marshall when he was in college?  One of the best college RB's ever.  

[USFreak]

If someone wants to throw stats out there, I guess Timmy Chang of Hawai'i is the greatest college QB of all time then huh?   He owns like every college passing mark out there breaking a lot of Ty Detmer's records and he won the Heisman.  

Why not throw Steve McNair in there?  DII Alcorn State.  Big Records.  The guy is a duffer, hunh.

Andre just kept doing his thing until people stopped him.  Turns out they didn't stop him.  It isn't like the guy got all his yards in garbage time.

[Guest Vanilla Rice]

Exactly.  Stats don't say the whole story.  The nation's leading rusher last year was a guy from North Texas.  ANd he's not as good as Andre Hall although I'm sure No. Texas fans will disagree.  

That's why I say the kid from FSU is the state's best back but people are arguring and throwing Andre's stats compared to his.  Again, stats doesn't tell the whole story.  

[Guest S.  Bien]

**** back and forth, back and forth.  Stats never tell the whole story, and Andre's no exception in that matter.  If USF had surrendered earlier in many games we could have padded his stats with gaudy numbers.  I mean **** run him in the second half of the Cinci game, or against USM when we were down 20-3 and he would have had 200 more yards alone.

You say Booker's possibly better than Andre, but I say no, he's to one dimensional- all speed, and no ass.  The kid couldn't drive a pile if his mother was pushing back.  He's lucky if he's 185lbs, but he's got great speed and wiggle, just to soft in traffic and short yardage.  He's not better than Washington but yet he plays as much.

The fact remains that Hall was draftable last year and stuck around to improve.  If he improves this season we'll benefit and he'll benefit from a probable improvement to his draft status.  First round, probably not at this juncture, but definitely drafted and then NFL teams can work to see what he can do.

Washington is great, but to me the best RB in the nation after Peterson is Maroney at Minnesota.  He's got it all, blinding speed, moves, and size.  You see someone's always better than you, and it doesn't matter who you are, unless your Michael Jordan, so work ethic and development is sometimes the most important ingredient.  Skills alone does not make for a great back or guarantee success in the NFL.  I've seen to many backs like Andre excel in the NFL, and to many that had mad skills tank.  

It's just not worth worrying or bickering further about it at this point since no one knows for sure and the story has yet to be written.  All I can say is Andre is a kid I would never bet against, and will give everything he has to make it in the NFL.  In the mean time I just hope he tears up the Big East and helps to lead us to our first bowl.

[USFreak]

Exactly.  Stats don't say the whole story.  The nation's leading rusher last year was a guy from North Texas.  ANd he's not as good as Andre Hall although I'm sure No. Texas fans will disagree.  

That's why I say the kid from FSU is the state's best back but people are arguring and throwing Andre's stats compared to his.  Again, stats doesn't tell the whole story.  

Yes, but for North Texas he's getting the job done.  Just like McNair at Alcorn, just like Detmer at BYU, Ward at FSU....

These guys are great players.  

Tough argument because when it comes down to it you are looking at how the player performs against the 11 or 12 teams on the schedule.   You don't necessarily care if he would beat Leon Washington in a footrace, the Battle of the Network Stars obstacle course or a intense game of thumb wrestling.

I think the board is trying to say he is a great back.  You are trying to say he'll go low in the draft.  Who knows.   The argument could go on forever.  It is nice to see him getting some major media attention, though.  When is the last time that happened for a Bull?

Scott Baio -- Greatest tailback of all time and Battle of Network Stars champion

[Brad]

I won't dive into the debate, just let Mr. Hall speak for himself:

IS HALL TOP FIVE? Does South Florida's Andre Hall belong in the conversation about the nation's top running backs? The senior who led the Big East with 1,357 rushing yards last season certainly thinks so. "I'm definitely one of the top five backs in the country," Hall said. "Personally, I think I'm No. 1." With USF's starting quarterback job up for grabs and a young offensive line returning, Hall may struggle to match last season's stats.

Link

[KeysBull]

Gotta love that kinda confidence.  Anyway, I have been reading this thread for a while and it is getting pretty repetitive.

 I agree that Leon Washington is more athletically gifted than Hall, and that Booker,Wynn, and the Miami backups have just as much if not more potential.  (Not tyrone moss though, that guy is absolutely terrible.)  However, with the possible exception of Washington, Hall is the most accomplished back, and is certainly the one most valuable to his team. As far as Halls NFL potential and size/speed #s, this is really all conjecture.  I wouldnt be surprised to see him run a 4.7 at the combine, but neither would i be shocked to see him run a sub 4.4.  Remember when Kevin Jones ran a 4.6 + at V. Techs pro day.  (on their infamous downhill track, they have like 5 guys run under 4.3 every spring on that track.)  Watching Jones on TV, I thought he was one of the fastest backs in college football.  Now that he's in the league, he still looks just as quick.  My point is that speed is really fluid, and that the difference in a 4.3 guy and a 4.6 guy is not so great that it can't be overcome with accelaration and instincts.

VR also seems to have to have a problem with people on this site being overly enthused about Hall.  Its a fan site.  People are gonna be a little biased.  The comparison to dickerson payton, etc is ridiculous yes, but that was just one guy throwing out a thoughtless comment.  Not everyone on the board is a "crazy" who sits around stroking it while looking at the official site rosters.  In fact, based on the number and length of posts, I would say that VR has spent more time on this board than anyone the last few days.

I am sure that being a D-1 student athlete is rough, but its not like its not without perks, ie. a full scholarship for four years.  

As for fans not being knowlegeable about football, i tend to disagree.  I only played one year of HS football, and i was pretty awful (I moved on to track, where I progressed to being mediocre), so i probably couldnt tell you much about blocking schemes and other fine points, but I think that a lot of fans know just as much or more about college football as a whole than student athletes who are "much too busy" to keep up with it.

[KeysBull]

oh yeah not to stoke the fire but CFN just rated Hall as the 5th best back in America, 3 spots ahead of washington.

[No_Willie_Jokes_Yet]

oh yeah not to stoke the fire but CFN just rated Hall as the 5th best back in America, 3 spots ahead of washington.

What the hell do they know have they ever strapped on pads....

oh, wait, um. ahhhh nevermind......