[82lsju]

When the Stanford offense was at its best, Austin Jones was a reliable target for McKee's passes.

No other running back last year showed Jones' ability to consistently make plays downfield.

I'm less sure about his blocking, but my perception is that Jones was the best among all the running backs at blocking to protect McKee.

I think both those observations are correct. Q. Does anybody have the figures re longest runs for Jones in 2019 and 2020?

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I think it's a valid critique of Jones that he was not elusive. We did not see a burst of speed to find open space. He was not able to make defenders miss. Even in 2020, his best season when he averaged 92 yards a game with a more effective OL, his longest run was 21 yards. 

In 2021, his long runs were:

KState - 6 yards

USC - 5 yards

Vandy - 61 yards (career best); otherwise he had 6 carries for 19 yards

Oregon - 11 yards

ASU - 5 yards

WSU - 9 yards



You get the idea. At the end of the season, Shaw seemed to want to give more carries to backs with more big play potential.

Really good points Spiny. I'm wondering if these late transfer decisions were at least in part due to Shaw telling them that at best they'd be sharing snaps with Smith Filkins and Farrell. That's a really crowded backfield with more than three or four.



Doubt we'll ever get the real story, but it's probably a lot more than just one or two things.

Additionally, if one does believe that next year is a "rebuilding" year (big euphemism) no matter what, and that Shaw (or Gould) knows that, the push may be to get guys who will be around for a few years the experience. Not good for guys who graduate this year.

Could it also be that Smith's dad was concerned re his son's FB future? He reportedly didn't press Shaw or his coaches re Smith's use during the season, but perhaps after it was a different story.

Per bio, Jones had a 35 yard TD run in 2019 against UCF.
Nothing in bio reflecting a long run in 2020.  A poster on TOS that Jones didn't have a lot of 10+ yard runs in 2020, so I think it's a reasonable bet that his longest run in 2020 would be in 10-25 yard range.

BTW, based on "eye test," I think Filkins has highest upside of all those in RB room.  Assuming he is healthy.  We'll see.

And you'd like to think the OL has to be better next season, meaning the ground game will have to improve.  Again, we'll see.

his longest run in 2020 was 21 yards

https://gostanford.com/sports/football/stats/2020

[82lsju]

When the Stanford offense was at its best, Austin Jones was a reliable target for McKee's passes.

No other running back last year showed Jones' ability to consistently make plays downfield.

I'm less sure about his blocking, but my perception is that Jones was the best among all the running backs at blocking to protect McKee.

I think both those observations are correct. Q. Does anybody have the figures re longest runs for Jones in 2019 and 2020?

---

[
I think it's a valid critique of Jones that he was not elusive. We did not see a burst of speed to find open space. He was not able to make defenders miss. Even in 2020, his best season when he averaged 92 yards a game with a more effective OL, his longest run was 21 yards. 

In 2021, his long runs were:

KState - 6 yards

USC - 5 yards

Vandy - 61 yards (career best); otherwise he had 6 carries for 19 yards

Oregon - 11 yards

ASU - 5 yards

WSU - 9 yards



You get the idea. At the end of the season, Shaw seemed to want to give more carries to backs with more big play potential.

Really good points Spiny. I'm wondering if these late transfer decisions were at least in part due to Shaw telling them that at best they'd be sharing snaps with Smith Filkins and Farrell. That's a really crowded backfield with more than three or four.



Doubt we'll ever get the real story, but it's probably a lot more than just one or two things.

Additionally, if one does believe that next year is a "rebuilding" year (big euphemism) no matter what, and that Shaw (or Gould) knows that, the push may be to get guys who will be around for a few years the experience. Not good for guys who graduate this year.

Could it also be that Smith's dad was concerned re his son's FB future? He reportedly didn't press Shaw or his coaches re Smith's use during the season, but perhaps after it was a different story.

Per bio, Jones had a 35 yard TD run in 2019 against UCF.
Nothing in bio reflecting a long run in 2020.  A poster on TOS that Jones didn't have a lot of 10+ yard runs in 2020, so I think it's a reasonable bet that his longest run in 2020 would be in 10-25 yard range.

BTW, based on "eye test," I think Filkins has highest upside of all those in RB room.  Assuming he is healthy.  We'll see.

And you'd like to think the OL has to be better next season, meaning the ground game will have to improve.  Again, we'll see.

his longest run in 2020 was 21 yards

https://gostanford.com/sports/football/stats/2020