I think he has to. Frank needs to do whatever it takes to fast track him into the game plans as early as possible. One, we're thin at RB, and he has the size and speed to play as a true freshman. It's typically been one of, if not the, easiest position to translate immediately to college from high school from. I think a lot has changed in the passing game the past decade though, and RBs in offenses like LSU's have to not only know their pass pro assignments, but be able to actually pick guys up.

Don't have to pancake them or be as good as Josh Williams, but have to at least get a big enough piece of them to knock them off their path and give Nuss that valuable extra second or so to step up and deliver the ball. They also have to be able to run routes and catch the ball out of the backfield and be a part of the passing game. It's a great way to get them the ball in space with either a designed pass to them or to be open for a check down.

Frank likes to use a lot of backs, especially upperclassmen who may not be as explosive as the freshmen, but who can do everything right. It makes us less predictable. When Williams is in there, we can run anything. If Jackson was in there last year, he was probably getting the ball. But I think this year is extremely important because of the guys we have coming in in '25. Jackson has to separate himself from Durham and Durham has to have enough touches to separate himself from the group of '25 guys. We're trying to sign the best RB in the '25 class and 2 more really good ones (or at least 1). It's imperative that everybody is has developed to their respective class level by he end of the season. God love him, but we can't have Josh Williams playing most of the snaps just to keep the defense honest and not figuring out tendencies.

Frank has got to find expanded roles for Jackson and Durham so that there is clear separation from them and the incoming '25 class with Berry, Linsdey, and hopefully Simon. But a lot of that is going to come down to how hard Jackson and Durham work on the little things, how much effort they put into learning the mental part, and how much Frank gives them opportunities that he might not have previously. Partly because we can't have predictable tendencies when they come in, partly because we need clear separation in classes when that early signing period comes for the class of '25, but maybe mostly because they're both really fricking good and could really be weapons this year.

And I think big, strong, fast backs like Jackson and Durham can do big things in the "new" running game that's gonna feature more pulling and take advantage of the athleticism of our tackles. Frank's gonna have really try to speed up his development process for the young guys for a lot of reasons. A big one also being we're very thin there--I'm not convinced Holley plays this year or that he's even that good--and we're gonna need them both to be big parts of the offense at some point THIS YEAR to make it as well rounded, unpredictable, and explosive as possible.

One good thing about not having numbers at RB--having 8 scholarship guys last year was absurd--is that they'll all get more attention than usual. And Josh knows everything, he can basically be a coach on the field, an extension of Frank. But if those 3 backs stay healthy, and Frank gets Jackson and Durham up to speed fast enough that we can play any of the 3 on any play without giving up anything on tendencies, this offense should be fricking elite. As long as Nuss stays healthy. He's got weapons galore, and I think Sloan will have him spreading the ball out to 4-5 WRs, 2-3 TEs, and a couple of backs. If we get Jackson and Durham breaking some long runs, the play-action game is going to really open up, and Nuss will be hitting Lacey, Hilton, and Daniels for TDs were they're just standing in the end zone, with the closest DB 20 yards behind them. Zavion Thomas is gonna be a beast with YAC too. Pimpton's gonna make some big contested catches to move the chains or go over guys for TDs.

But a lot of this year's success--and next year's recruiting success--is gonna come down to how fast we can get Jackson and Durham up to speed.