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Kenneth Walker III Appreciation Thread

PhDeac said:
I agree. Different offenses need different types of players.
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Definitely. Sucks to.lose a guy like that, but its hard to say we'd be any better off with him then we are right now and he's gotten a chance to show he's as good as a lot of us thought he was.
 
As crazy as it sounds, maybe it was a challenge figuring out how to get the most out of pairings with Newman and Walker because both need to have a lot of carries whereas Hartman's strength is getting the ball to any number of guys.
 
liveanddiedeac said:
I think Sorensen took a little shot at Walker on the radio post game today. He said it takes a special group of guys (our running backs) to understand its best for our team to have 3 or even 4 headed monster at running back and not be selfish. Personally I don't blame Walker, he deserves to be a feature back. Also, our running backs did a great job picking up some blitzes today.
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Heard this too and had that immediate thought. I’ll be pulling for walker and Mich State in every game until we see them in the playoffs.
 
Wish KW3 well and would love for him to win Heisman (next to Sam of course), but I don’t know how much better we could be on offense than we are right now. We have enough firepower on offense to run table- don’t think we lose games because we don’t have enough weapons on offense. Key for us to run table is defense being good enough.

Agree that our system is much more team focused- no way KW3 would get nearly these stats at Wake. This is also why we aren’t going to attract 5 star ego’s but hey- those guys aren’t coming here anyways. Our offensive philosophy is perfect for Wake but yes - it means you’re going to have guys transfer/leave early for various reasons. But look around the country- this happens to almost every program now. It’s just amplified for us since KW3 is tearing it up.
 
Ahmani Marshall made the most of his late game carries. Some impressive moves. He's probably the biggest Back Wake has, 6-2, 220.
 
Difference having Walker would make?....how about college football playoffs vs lesser bowl?
 
Difference having Walker would make?....how about college football playoffs vs lesser bowl? None of our starting 3 have his speed.
 
The difference is that our offense wouldn’t be so reliant on the pass. We currently have an average running game, production wise our running game would be much improved with KW3 because he has better vision and is more elusive than our current backs.
 
myDeaconmyhand said:
The difference is that our offense wouldn’t be so reliant on the pass. We currently have an average running game, production wise our running game would be much improved with KW3 because he has better vision and is more elusive than our current backs.
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But he pass blocks and catches like a blind man. He's an elite runner. But he decided he needed to be a featured back in a more traditional offense. And it's working well. His skill set isn't the best for the slow mesh RPO that we run. Worked out for everyone
 
wfu22fan said:
Dude was a stud at WFU and is getting tons of carries, yards, and attention at MSU. Good for him. But WF put 5 really good running backs on the field today and we are 8-0. Apparently, losing Walker hasn’t hurt us too much. And Ellison has a little Walker in him IMO. His build, vision and quickness are similar.
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We do have good RBs, but if we are looking at competing in the CFP, it would go a long way to have a KWIII's homerun ability in the backfield. None of our current RBs can create the way he can with the ball.
That said, I haven't felt critical of Clawson in this situation. The full win is getting KWIII to buy into our system for the good of the team. Clawson wasn't able to do that. However, shy of that buy in, I appreciate Clawson having the confidence to focus on the team and not try to placate a single player, though one with special ability. We've heard comments from players on what a special level of unity they have. Clawson gets credit for that and is one important cog in our current success.
If we can maintain success, the next KWIII may not want to leave, acknowledging that what he would miss out on in team success/exposure would overshadow any potential individual accomplishments elsewhere. We do need to start putting running backs in the league for that to have full effect.
 
Tobacco Road said:
We do have good RBs, but if we are looking at competing in the CFP, it would go a long way to have a KWIII's homerun ability in the backfield. None of our current RBs can create the way he can with the ball.
That said, I haven't felt critical of Clawson in this situation. The full win is getting KWIII to buy into our system for the good of the team. Clawson wasn't able to do that. However, shy of that buy in, I appreciate Clawson having the confidence to focus on the team and not try to placate a single player, though one with special ability. We've heard comments from players on what a special level of unity they have. Clawson gets credit for that and is one important cog in our current success.
If we can maintain success, the next KWIII may not want to leave, acknowledging that what he would miss out on in team success/exposure would overshadow any potential individual accomplishments elsewhere. We do need to start putting running backs in the league for that to have full effect.
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Very well said, echoes my sentiments. There's something about not setting the precedent that a single player is bigger than the team as a whole, and i think this is the firm line Clawson has, even when it means a player like KW3 leaves when they sniff individual accolades. Can't really fault any of it at this point.
 
CBS may get a look from NFL teams. Particularly if he continues to show good hands. Blitz pickups are big for NFL running backs.
 
Deaconblue said:
CBS may get a look from NFL teams. Particularly if he continues to show good hands. Blitz pickups are big for NFL running backs.
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Turner had a great blitz pickup yesterday on Sam’s touchdown run. Sam probably gets sacked if he didn’t pick it up, instead of a TD.
 
Deaconblue said:
Ahmani Marshall made the most of his late game carries. Some impressive moves. He's probably the biggest Back Wake has, 6-2, 220.
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Can we start using him in short yardage packages ASAP please? The Heavy Deac continues to be unimpressive.
 
Deaconblue said:
CBS may get a look from NFL teams. Particularly if he continues to show good hands. Blitz pickups are big for NFL running backs.
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I think he’ll get UFA or late round looks as a utility #4 RB or 3rd down RB and special teamer. Wake can market him as the guy who started over KWIII. That’s bound to draw some interest.
 
liveanddiedeac said:
Turner had a great blitz pickup yesterday on Sam’s touchdown run. Sam probably gets sacked if he didn’t pick it up, instead of a TD.
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The announcers pointed out a couple of times how good Wake's running backs blocked. Also, CBS made a couple of big tackles on kick coverage. I truly wish we still had Walker, probably the best running back in college football. However, I also love team first guys who do all the things necessary to win. Our running backs have had a lot to do with Sam's success with their blocking and pass receiving, as well as being pretty good with the running back by committee approach.
 
wufu bufu said:
Very well said, echoes my sentiments. There's something about not setting the precedent that a single player is bigger than the team as a whole, and i think this is the firm line Clawson has, even when it means a player like KW3 leaves when they sniff individual accolades. Can't really fault any of it at this point.
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It’s also not for us to know what KWIII may or may not have been like in the locker room. If he felt our system and depth chart were keeping him from reaching his goals then he may very well have been a negative impact on our team chemistry. That’s not necessarily his fault because he should be entitled to leverage his talents to achieve his goals how he sees fit. However I don’t think enough is being made about how much this team generally seems to like one another. There’s really good mojo in the locker room right now and that matters a ton in close games. I’m honestly not sure we are a better team with Walker this year despite the fact that Walker is obviously better than our whole platoon of backs.
 
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