Indiana sophomore running back Steve Scott III was named a preseason candidate for the 2019 Doak Walker Award on Wednesday. The award is given annually to the nation’s top running back and requires all candidates to be in good academic standing and on schedule to graduate within one year of other students of the same classification.
The announcement comes just two days after Scott was named to the Maxwell Award watch list.
The Doak Walker Award will name 10 semifinalists in November with three finalists being announced on Nov. 20. The award winner will be announced live on ESPN’s College Football Awards Show on Dec. 12.
Just so you guys know, we have announced Mike’s replacement. From today’s H-T:
Welcome to the Scoop Mr. Blau!
Great Scott!…Penn State? JoePaJonBlau? Sorta has a ring to it…
It’ll be interesting to see if Mr. Scott gets enough carries to garner some post season awards.
FS,
You know, you bring up a very interesting point here. I’ve thought about the number of carries the rb’s get and have a concern which I hope TA is addressing in a very positive way. A rb only has so many carries in his career before the body wears out. Does that rb want to have any more college carries than needed to secure a nfl career? Obviously helping the team win and drawing attention to your talent is very important, but what is that worth compared to an extra year or two in the nfl?
Interesting sidebar I saw in an article from the four letter network last week regarding the basketball players coming up through the AAU circuits. Appears there is a growing concern that these kids are wearing out their bodies before they get to the nba. We all know that in baseball there is a pitch count to protect young players from wearing their arms out before time, could we not look at this in a similar vein in other sporting venues?
I could see TA saying to the rb room, “Look guys I love you all and want you to have great careers here, but I want you to have great nfl careers too. We’ve got a lot of great rb’s here and if we share the carries while getting done what we need to, then we might have helped you to have the best of both worlds. Great college career without too many carries so you can have a longer nfl career and those dollars that go with it.”
I know there may be naysayers to this concept, but let’s face it, everyone of those rb’s want to be in the league and as long as they can. Just musing on a Thursday afternoon.
You beat me to it. The paradigm has changed.
Georgia kept 4 NFL caliber running backs content and their careers should last longer because of it.
Don’t know if I saw/heard the same story, but I believe much of the theory to basketball injuries piling up in college and NBA guys is the changing sports dynamic of their early childhood days. There is too much specialization with one sport(unlike days of old when kids would grab a football…a baseball…run a little track…and play some hoops, etc). Now the focus is getting to the pinnacle of the chosen ONE sport that parents are influencing the process early. The absence of not taking ONE sport too seriously(actually having some fun in trying different sports), and, equally important, the absence of a more balanced approach found in seasonal rest mixed with the changing activities of various sports is creating certain “tired” and “overworked” specific muscles and ligaments. The injuries manifest as the athlete grinds and grinds on the same muscles of specific sport identity chosen at earlier and earlier age.
The lure of the big $$$…..influences parents to not allow their children to waste time. Pick one sport and make it your “business” rather than many sports once all enjoyable pastimes.
That’s pretty much what they said in the story THINK was talking about verbatim.
H4H, you are right about specialization in early athletic life. Parents buy into this without understanding they are not building the whole body or mind when specializing. It also often doesn’t lead to college scholarships or pro careers. I was often asked in interviews for jobs how I approached limiting players sports. I always said I wanted to have a QB that had played basketball who had to hit free throws to win the game. I pushed players to wrestle and run track seeing the ones that did improve in football. The only sports I was concerned about was a baseball picture because the damage to the shoulder joint made it more likely they would hurt their shoulder when hitting.
IU is pursuing limiting RB reps and playing a number of RBs to accomplish this goal. More and more colleges are going to this system to help RBs do well in the NFL and get more talented RBs on the team.
Agree, V-13. Remember when “cross-training” was the buzz word of the day….(and I’m not talking about scripture quoting which falls into Clemson’s “cross-recruiting”)?
Always thought Justin Smith(IU hoops) would have benefited immensely from running some football tire drills(probably done more with ropes now). When he drives the baseline, he lunges and it steals his explosive abilities. He needs to work the feet with speed in a manner that leaves the upper body out of the equation. Weight rooms are great, but I think coaches rarely think outside the box to correct bad habits. They don’t realize how other sports(and drills used in other sports) can naturally correct bad habits in the chosen endeavor. Rock climbing could increase hand strength …flexibility ….etc….maybe cure some fumblitis issues.
My daughter was a multisport athlete. In college, the track coach converter to an heptathlete.
My kids lived playing different sports. In my mind the most beneficial activity and at the earliest age, was martial arts. I think that had a very positive effect on every subsequent sport. Great for reaction time. A kid dribbling a basketball 3 feet away or a running back headed your way doesn’t seem nearly as fast as a person 20 inches away trying to punch you.
JB should be excellent.
Scott seems to be surprisingly durable.
Actually, to his credit, TA has recently made comments in the press that express the exact same philosophy articulated by think above. His motives appear to be identical. TA said that he wants his running backs to have lot’s of mileage left when they leave IU so that they have the best opportunity to have a career in the NFL. That’s what he and Mike Hart are preaching to the running backs they recruit. And it makes me wonder if that philosophy originated with or was heavily influenced by Hart? I wonder if Hart, in hindsight, believes his NFL career was shortened because of all the carries he had while playing for Michigan? Hart was a workhorse in his four years at Michigan, with 1,015 carries for 5,040 yards, averaging 23.6 carries per game. He had 282 carries in 12 games with 26 receptions during his freshman season. That’s 25.7 carries per game as a freshman. Hart had 318 carries and 17 receptions in 13 games his Junior season for an average of 25.8 carries (i.e., “touches”) per game. in 2018, Steve Scott had 228 carries and 16 receptions while playing in 12 games for an average of 20.3 “carries” per game. Unless the injury bug strikes IU’s running backs this year, I’ll bet Scott does not average 20 carries per game in 2019!
I hope not.
He’s a tough kid with a tough playing style. That has got to wear you down.
Maybe it’s time HT updates their “About The Hoosier Scoop” photo? Just sayin’….
Maybe. Maybe not.
In the above post, when I reference “carries” I included receptions too. Running the ball or running with it after a reception both involve getting hit and affect a back’s longevity.