Nate Johnson scores on 80 yard run

[ProudUte]

I heard that Nate scored on an 80-yard run. He was playing RB at the time. Sources close to the program tell me that he will be used as a hybrid player, much like Taysom Hill for the Saints. I welcome that idea. Beck is working on how best to utilize his skills in the offense.

KSL has a nice article on Dampier. KSL article

It sounds like he is the kind of player we want leading our offense.

Go Utes!!!

[chinngiskhaan]

ugh… I know that should be a good thing, but I cringe every time I hear that the offensive staff is trying to squeeze a player into the rotation. Just pick a team identity and stick with it. Get players that fit that identity. If they don’t fit, they can play somewhere else. Now, maybe hybrid player Nate does fit that identity, and that is great, but I don’t like the idea of spreading the ball around too much. Let your best players carry the team as much as possible.

[thirtyfour-thirtyone]

I hear you, but sometimes it can go well (see Taysom Hill, Tebow, etc.). Our lord and savior Urban Myer was very good at coming up with ways to manufacture success through things like this. Obviously these sort of “hybrid” situations look great when they work, and terrible when they don’t, and they haven’t worked well at Utah for a few years now.

I do have some faith unsubstantiated hope that Beck will do what it takes to make something like this work, like keep it unpredictable, and use it in a way that either makes sense situationally, or really catches opposing teams off-guard. We will see.

[Ute Dub]

Eric Weddle, anyone? Get your best athletes on the field.

[pedro]

It sure didn’t pan out for Weddle

[chinngiskhaan]

Eric Weddle is the exception to the rule and always has been. So the best player in Ute history made it work against vastly inferior competition. Is that supposed to mean its a good idea now, with these players?

Also, you are ignoring the last point in my post. I said let your best players carry the team as much as possible, which is exactly what we did with Weddle. He was so much better than everyone else on our team and the other teams that it was perfectly logical to put him on the field whenever possible.

If they have a package of 2-3 plays for Nate, I predict it will work once or twice, then it won’t work at all. History with this team suggests that is accurate. If he is to be a consistent part of the offense, rather than a player with a small package of plays, that is a different story.

[RedUte14]

It worked fine for Vaki.

[chinngiskhaan]

Vaki had more than one or two plays he ran effectively, and he was a physical freak of nature. Vaki did a good job of running inside and out, and catching the ball. With Vaki it wasn’t obvious what the play would be when he came in the game. That is what I don’t want. I don’t want a Dixon or Stanley situation where everyone watching knows exactly what is coming every time they come in.

Again, like I said in the post you replied to, but apparently didn’t read to completion, I am perfectly happy letting players have special plays if they are capable of carrying the team in so doing (like Weddle, and to a lesser extent Vaki). What I don’t want is special 1 or 2 play packages for players that aren’t good enough to make those plays work when everyone knows what is coming.

[pedro]

I think the counterpoint to yours is simple, the staff, and most of us fans, want the best talent on the field as much as possible. If you have a special player like a Weddle (who wasn’t the best player ever until they moved him around), Vaki, etc.. and can solidify plays they excel at, why wouldn’t you?

[RedUte14]

I think you need to chillax 🙂 take a walk, it’s a nice day out.

[Utah]

Uhhhh…not really. Vaki proves his point. Look at Vaki’s numbers:

Game 1: 158 yards rushing, -5 yards receiving.
Game 2: 68 yards rushing, 149 yards receiving.
Game 3: 11 yards rushing, 0 receiving.
Game 4: -4 yards rushing, 67 yards receiving.
Game 5: 10 yards rushing, -8 yards receiving.
Game 6: 68 yards rushing, 0 receiving.

Vaki was exactly what he was talking about.

[Ute Dub]

Last season Nate Johnson, while and Vandy, rushed the ball 11 times and averaged 10.4 ypc. He can do whatever the fook he wants, if he’s averaging 10+ ypc, as far as I’m concerned.

[UteButters]

I love the role they have Nate playing. The role fits his skillset perfectly. Nates going to play a similar role to how New Mexico used Sol-Jay Maiava-Peters (Former BYU QB turned athlete for New Mexico). Sol-Jay played some wildcat, Running back, and receiver for New Mexico.

I appreciate that this offensive staff is willing to be creative with their best athletes to get them the ball. That’s something the former staff could never figure out.

[chinngiskhaan]

Whether the previous staff figured it out or not, they sure talked about doing it an awful lot, and they sure tried. Visions of Dixon, or Stanley being subbed in for the ONE PLAY they were known for keep coming to mind. I’m well aware that this could be successful, and maybe the previous coaching staff was just terrible at it, but they tried it, and those efforts were one of the major causes of offensive inconsistency.

[Charlie]

You do both, to fail to do one or the other has problems.

[Uteanooga]

The problem comes when everyone in the stadium can tell what the next play is depending on the personnel. If Beck can be creative then I could get excited. If the defense plans for the obvious play, and the obvious play is ran, I am skeptical that Nate’s athletic talent will consistently overcome the defensive preparation.

Our history is the latter much more the predictable plays rather than creative- well at least since Urban left.

Having said that, I am excited to have Nate back on the team and hope Beck can produce a threatening offense.

[chinngiskhaan]

Yes, that is exactly what I’m getting at. If he’s going to be integrated into our offense, and on the field consistently in a variety of situations, I see no problem with it assuming he produces. If we just have a package for him where he comes in in certain situations with a couple of possible plays, that will be detrimental to the offense.

[ProudUte]

Nate Johnson is an amazing athlete. I think you keep the opposition on their toes by putting Johnson in at different positions. More often than not, he could be a decoy.

Someone above wondered if he could be productive just playing the position and not just on trick plays. I believe the answer to that is YES. I think he could develop into a solid wide receiver or maybe a running back. We have converted a ton of players to new positions like Jackson, Vaki, Chase Hansen and many more.

I hope to see Nate Johnson play an important role for the utes the next two seasons (just not at QB).

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