#8

[FirstDownB]

Watching the interview with Markell and I'm wondering if we fans had unrealistic expectations for him, especially going into last season. After all the high school accolades and that breakout freshman season. Everyone was thinking he was going to be the man at the RB position for four years (if he didn't turn pro first!). Coaching issues, offensive line play, and injuries have surely left a mark. But entering into his prime years he is simply fighting for a spot on the depth chart. As good as it seems to have a 'loaded' crop of running backs, it would be great to see #8 emerge as that clear-cut dominant runner.
But when you think about it objectively and remove the early expectations, this is a guy who had the exact same recruiting ranking as Keyante Green and Dalyn Dawkins. Think about that one for a minute and it'll reset your expectations in a hurry.. If anything it just goes to show how starved we were for decent recruits under DH2.
Hopefully a combination of new schemes, coaching, and a patchwork offensive line can open some running lanes this year. And hopefully he stays healthy and works his way back to the top. I'll be pulling for him!

 

[nat100]

Barring injury, i would be shocked if he wasnt the starter the majority of the year. He is the most talented back.

 

[ossim]

Jones was never a home-run hitter. Stat stuffing against sub-par defenses at the Indiana HS level created lofty expectations. But he's a workhorse and plays smart. I think he'll have less carries than he did under whatever Hazell was using as an excuse for an offense, but he should still see the majority of the downs.

 

[nat100]

Jones was never a home-run hitter. Stat stuffing against sub-par defenses at the Indiana HS level created lofty expectations. But he's a workhorse and plays smart. I think he'll have less carries than he did under whatever Hazell was using as an excuse for an offense, but he should still see the majority of the downs.

This is fair. He is still a quality P5 back who can move the chains. Needs to protect himself better.

 

[PaBoiler78]

This is fair. He is still a quality P5 back who can move the chains. Needs to protect himself better.

personally, #37 intrigues me the most.

 

[nat100]

personally, #37 intrigues me the most.

Yeah, i like BLJ too. I dont think he is an every down back.

 

[PaBoiler78]

Yeah, i like BLJ too. I dont think he is an every down back.

but for this O, I think he has a chance to shine.

 

[Wolegib]

First down: By your comments, and comparing him to other 3* recruits who failed, and don't get your hopes up too high, it appears as if you were saying the national rankings are an objective measure of a player's actual talent level, And that the offers a player receives do actually provide a true picture of a player's ability. Many have previously said Jones' accomplishments were against lesser teams.

There are always exceptions to the rule, and good coaching will bring out the best in the player. And some players are late bloomers, while others play for a small school and against lesser competition. But for the most part, I believe The player ratings are fairly accurate.

How good is Jones? Is he one of the better RBs in the conference? Or did he just accumulate a lot of yards because he ran the ball for us so much? Is he a good blocker and protector of the QB on passing downs? I know that issue has surfaced before. I recall many NFL running backs with over 1,000 yards who had a 3.2 gain average, but since they had a 1,000 yard season, they were considered great. Despite his high school success, I know a lot of major schools shied away from him. It would be nice to prove them wrong.

 

[BoilerBiker]

This is fair. He is still a quality P5 back who can move the chains. Needs to protect himself better.

and protect the ball. didn't he lose the ball several times last year?

team stats show 12 fumbles/7 lost, but don't see the individuals stat

 

[ossim]

He was doing really well at one point but I think there was a game when he fumbled twice that took us completely out of it. Anyway my understanding is Jones lost his job because the staff didn't see the commitment in Spring not necessarily due to a lack of skill/talent.

 

[nat100]

He was doing really well at one point but I think there was a game when he fumbled twice that took us completely out of it. Anyway my understanding is Jones lost his job because the staff didn't see the commitment in Spring not necessarily due to a lack of skill/talent.

He was injured too.

 

[nat100]

and protect the ball. didn't he lose the ball several times last year?

team stats show 12 fumbles/7 lost, but don't see the individuals stat

5 fumbles, two lost in 2016. Some of the fumble issues were the shoulder injury.

 

[FLAG HUNTER]

Jones shouldn't have been playing with the injury

 

[FirstDownB]

First down: By your comments, and comparing him to other 3* recruits who failed, and don't get your hopes up too high, it appears as if you were saying the national rankings are an objective measure of a player's actual talent level, And that the offers a player receives do actually provide a true picture of a player's ability. Many have previously said Jones' accomplishments were against lesser teams.

There are always exceptions to the rule, and good coaching will bring out the best in the player. And some players are late bloomers, while others play for a small school and against lesser competition. But for the most part, I believe The player ratings are fairly accurate.

How good is Jones? Is he one of the better RBs in the conference? Or did he just accumulate a lot of yards because he ran the ball for us so much? Is he a good blocker and protector of the QB on passing downs? I know that issue has surfaced before. I recall many NFL running backs with over 1,000 yards who had a 3.2 gain average, but since they had a 1,000 yard season, they were considered great. Despite his high school success, I know a lot of major schools shied away from him. It would be nice to prove them wrong.

Not sure I followed that entirely. All I was trying to say was that his freshman year performance and HS accolades set the bar pretty high in a lot of peoples' minds, probably too high. He can still be a very productive player, but we shouldn't scratch our heads about what went wrong just because he isn't All Big Ten or even head and shoulders better than the other Purdue RBs.

 

[Wolegib]

Not sure I followed that entirely. All I was trying to say was that his freshman year performance and HS accolades set the bar pretty high in a lot of peoples' minds, probably too high. He can still be a very productive player, but we shouldn't scratch our heads about what went wrong just because he isn't All Big Ten or even head and shoulders better than the other Purdue RBs.

per Dakota's request, I tried to shorten my post and deleted some of it, so what you read might not make as much sense as if you had read my entire post.

Jones was highly praised before he came to Purdue, but many people said his accomplishments in high school were against lesser teams, so we shouldn't get our hopes up too high. You called him a 3* athlete, and compared him to two other 3* athletes that basically failed. OSU and Mich have 4 and 5+* athletes. is he as good as them? I don't know. What I do know is that despite his success in high school, many big name schools shied away from giving him an offer. That was their loss and our gain.

my other comment was directed at his stats verses reality. to me YardsPerCarry is as significant as total yards. Did he get a lot of yards his freshman year, because he ran the ball a lot? or because he reeled off a bunch of 5-25 yard runs? the other point I made is a lot of running backs can run with the ball. Some can catch a pass. but very few know how to block to protect the quarterback on a pass play. over the past 5 years, I saw a lot of Purdue RBs do an ole when they saw a DE or LB blitzing and got out of the way, and the QB was either sacked or running for his life. A very important part that doesn't show up in the stats is how well a RB can block. and many RBs have been benched because they were a liability at blocking.

I've seen a lot of 3* RBs excel. I've seen many fail. I know jones was injured, and he came back too soon and tried to play through that injury. I have a son. he sat out two seasons of track for what some thought was a minor injury. he too tried to initially play through the injury with terrible results. the past is behind jones. there have been many 3 * athletes that failed. but also many that have proven the national rankings wrong and succeeded.

 

[FirstDownB]

per Dakota's request, I tried to shorten my post and deleted some of it, so what you read might not make as much sense as if you had read my entire post.

Jones was highly praised before he came to Purdue, but many people said his accomplishments in high school were against lesser teams, so we shouldn't get our hopes up too high. You called him a 3* athlete, and compared him to two other 3* athletes that basically failed. OSU and Mich have 4 and 5+* athletes. is he as good as them? I don't know. What I do know is that despite his success in high school, many big name schools shied away from giving him an offer. That was their loss and our gain.

my other comment was directed at his stats verses reality. to me YardsPerCarry is as significant as total yards. Did he get a lot of yards his freshman year, because he ran the ball a lot? or because he reeled off a bunch of 5-25 yard runs? the other point I made is a lot of running backs can run with the ball. Some can catch a pass. but very few know how to block to protect the quarterback on a pass play. over the past 5 years, I saw a lot of Purdue RBs do an ole when they saw a DE or LB blitzing and got out of the way, and the QB was either sacked or running for his life. A very important part that doesn't show up in the stats is how well a RB can block. and many RBs have been benched because they were a liability at blocking.

I've seen a lot of 3* RBs excel. I've seen many fail. I know jones was injured, and he came back too soon and tried to play through that injury. I have a son. he sat out two seasons of track for what some thought was a minor injury. he too tried to initially play through the injury with terrible results. the past is behind jones. there have been many 3 * athletes that failed. but also many that have proven the national rankings wrong and succeeded.

I get the injury setbacks last year. With the timing of my post being mid training camp, my thoughts are also reflecting on his current uncertain position on the depth chart and standing with the coaching staff.

 

[Wolegib]

I get the injury setbacks last year. With the timing of my post being mid training camp, my thoughts are also reflecting on his current uncertain position on the depth chart and standing with the coaching staff.

My thoughts are if jones isn't starting, then we must have 3 awesome RBs ahead of him on the depth chart. I can believe because of injuries, he may not have looked great during the Spring. but come game day, if he's healthy and not starting, I'll be very surprised.

 

[boiler800]

Watching the interview with Markell and I'm wondering if we fans had unrealistic expectations for him, especially going into last season. After all the high school accolades and that breakout freshman season. Everyone was thinking he was going to be the man at the RB position for four years (if he didn't turn pro first!). Coaching issues, offensive line play, and injuries have surely left a mark. But entering into his prime years he is simply fighting for a spot on the depth chart. As good as it seems to have a 'loaded' crop of running backs, it would be great to see #8 emerge as that clear-cut dominant runner.
But when you think about it objectively and remove the early expectations, this is a guy who had the exact same recruiting ranking as Keyante Green and Dalyn Dawkins. Think about that one for a minute and it'll reset your expectations in a hurry.. If anything it just goes to show how starved we were for decent recruits under DH2.
Hopefully a combination of new schemes, coaching, and a patchwork offensive line can open some running lanes this year. And hopefully he stays healthy and works his way back to the top. I'll be pulling for him!

I understand your point, and I too will be pulling for him. I thought it was worth mentioning that neither Keyante Green nor Dalyn Dawkins were Mr Football in their respective states, and neither one was a Parade All-American, while Markell Jones was both.

 

[nat100]

I understand your point, and I too will be pulling for him. I thought it was worth mentioning that neither Keyante Green nor Dalyn Dawkins were Mr Football in their respective states, and neither one was a Parade All-American, while Markell Jones was both.

High school accolades are irrelevant. Dan Dierking won several player of the year accolades in HS. He was a fine player at Purdue, but not an every down player.

 

[ossim]

My take is Jones is solid to good at everything but not particularly great at any one thing. That sort of thing will make you excel at the HS level, but at the collegiate level you're not gonna stand out without some exceptional talent. Doesn't mean he's not going to be a good player here, but not likely to be a nationally featured one. He still has 2 years so let's not assume he peaked either.