Cameron Bell switch to Linebacker

[ISU_phoria]

Aren't we a little thin at the two safety positions? I wonder if Bell has enough speed to play some safety, especially during running situations? Any ideas?

[Steve]

Just for the record, Kock ran the ball down Mizzou's throats last year and had 3 TD's. I mean... each carry amounted to about 5 yards. The rushing success said more about how poor our game plans were. Maybe we should have done more running the ball up the gut. We had the size on the O-L to do it, we didn't have the speed on the O-L to pull and what not.

That's all hindsight though. Better days are ahead of us.

The key point is he did it against Missou and actually it was 2 TD's (Blythe had the 3rd one). Does anyone really believe that Kock would have averaged 5.6 ypc up the gut against teams like TX, OU, or NU? He was effective in his role, but no amount of game planning would have gotten 5 to 6 ypc against top teams.

His 4 year career stats clearly show this.

Careeer: 142 carries, 503 yds, 3.5 ypc

Career against Missou: 47 carries, 229 yds, 4.9 ypc

Career minus Missou: 95 carries, 274 yds, 2.9 ypc

Against most teams, Kock did a great job of getting 3 yds when 1 was needed. Unfortunately, he would also get 3 yds when 6 were needed. He didn't have the foot speed or moves to be the feature back against good teams who know how to tackle. Missou was not smart enough to realize that we had no outside threat and adjust by overloading the inside. The career rushing stats show that other teams know how to control a back with Kock's skills.

[jdoggivjc]

The key point is he did it against Missou and actually it was 2 TD's (Blythe had the 3rd one). Does anyone really believe that Kock would have averaged 5.6 ypc up the gut against teams like TX, OU, or NU? He was effective in his role, but no amount of game planning would have gotten 5 to 6 ypc against top teams.

His 4 year career stats clearly show this.

Careeer: 142 carries, 503 yds, 3.5 ypc

Career against Missou: 47 carries, 229 yds, 4.9 ypc

Career minus Missou: 95 carries, 274 yds, 2.9 ypc

Against most teams, Kock did a great job of getting 3 yds when 1 was needed. Unfortunately, he would also get 3 yds when 6 were needed. He didn't have the foot speed or moves to be the feature back against good teams who know how to tackle. Missou was not smart enough to realize that we had no outside threat and adjust by overloading the inside. The career rushing stats show that other teams know how to control a back with Kock's skills.

Koch was also out there getting the ball when the defense was lined up in a goal line formation, i.e. 1st and goal at the 2 or 3rd and 1. Koch was used as a mule, as most fullbacks are. Most fullbacks are going to end up with those kinds of numbers. Who knows how well he might have done had he been used as a power back instead of a fullback? Of course he probably wouldn't have run well against Texas, Oklahoma, or Nebraska - who does? But against Iowa, Texas Tech, Kansas, KSU, and Colorado, he could have been a difference maker.

[Steve]

Koch was also out there getting the ball when the defense was lined up in a goal line formation, i.e. 1st and goal at the 2 or 3rd and 1. Koch was used as a mule, as most fullbacks are. Most fullbacks are going to end up with those kinds of numbers. Who knows how well he might have done had he been used as a power back instead of a fullback? Of course he probably wouldn't have run well against Texas, Oklahoma, or Nebraska - who does? But against Iowa, Texas Tech, Kansas, KSU, and Colorado, he could have been a difference maker.

I agree with the goal line explanation and the short yardage focus. At the same time, every back regardless of position has a number of carries in these situations. The good ones are also able to occasionally bust a FB trap or short yardage alignment for 15 - 20 yd gains to balance out the 1-2 yd gains. Koch seldom did this other than against Missou.

It's a real stretch to claim that Koch "could have been a difference maker" against IA, TT, KS, KSU, or CU. In the first place he was the feature back against CU - stats were OK but didn't come close to delivering a victory. Against IA, TT, & KSU we had a feature back average over 5 ypc again without coming close to getting a win. These teams actually had decent front 7's and Koch would have been lucky to duplicate the 5ypc given his 3.5 career average. Who knows about KU as they had an excellent front 7. Koch had 6 carrys for 30some yds, but we fell behind so fast that we had to abandon the run. One of the reason for the blowout was the 3 lost fumbles including one from Koch.

[herbiedoobie]

I would be willing to bet that he could hit the hole more consistently than Hicks.

[Erik4Cy]

Just for the record, Kock ran the ball down Mizzou's throats last year and had 3 TD's. I mean... each carry amounted to about 5 yards. The rushing success said more about how poor our game plans were. Maybe we should have done more running the ball up the gut. We had the size on the O-L to do it, we didn't have the speed on the O-L to pull and what not.

That's all hindsight though. Better days are ahead of us.

absolutely LOVE that last line. I can't wait to see what a Cyclone non-Barney Cotton offense can do this year!

[FirNaTine]

Rep for you Herbie!!

[herbiedoobie]

But you ain't got none to give, FirNaTine!

[Cyclonepride]

Koch was also out there getting the ball when the defense was lined up in a goal line formation, i.e. 1st and goal at the 2 or 3rd and 1. Koch was used as a mule, as most fullbacks are. Most fullbacks are going to end up with those kinds of numbers. Who knows how well he might have done had he been used as a power back instead of a fullback? Of course he probably wouldn't have run well against Texas, Oklahoma, or Nebraska - who does? But against Iowa, Texas Tech, Kansas, KSU, and Colorado, he could have been a difference maker.

Exactly. This is also why he had a disproportionate amount of touchdowns to carries. I can only remember a few times where he carried the ball, and wasn't near the goal line.