quote:
This doesn't even make sense. You say physical tools aren't the problem, but he's slow, doesn't have good feet, and isn't physical. I may disagree with your entire premise based on how you define problem.

Dude... read that again. I said its not really his physical tools that are the problem, EXCEPT that hes slow and thats really it. Meaning besides his speed, he doesnt really have any problems physically. Healthy, good size, looks the part and all that. Looks like he should be a power back that is tough to take down.

And you dont have to be big, or strong, or fast or whatever to be a physical football player. Its an attitude and a mindset. And, like I said, Hilliard looked great his freshman year and was not soft that year... hes shown that. But he hasnt since his freshman year, and thats why I think its mental for him. Not sure what it is or whatever, but he just looks like a completely different runner than what he was as a freshman. Losing 10lbs doesnt mean you lose being physical... and it didnt really help him get faster or quicker either.

And these past 2 years, hes been soft. He plays a lot smaller than he is and is not a hard tackle at all. If he ran with Wares style and attitude, he would be killing people. But he doesnt. Hes a 235lbs RB that runs upright, not explosive and little to no burst, cant make people miss or change direction, gets caught in the open field and goes down way too easy for a RB his size. Hes a power back with no power, yet we saw him be a physical RB his freshman year. I dont get it.

In 2012, he had 82 carries for 464yards and 6 TDs. 303 of those 464yards and all 6 of his TDs came against North Texas, Washington, and Idaho. The other 10 games, he had 161yards on 45 carries, a 3.5ypc.

In 2013, he had 68 carries for 310 yards and 7 TDs. 3 of those TDs were against Miss St, 2 were goal line punch ins, and the other was a 34yard TD with a huge wide open hole. He never was touched til the endzone. The rest were a TD here and there randomly throughout the year.

He has a lot of TDs, but he also gets a lot of chances to score TDs. 15 of his total TDs came within 5 yards of the end-zone, 17 of them came within 10 yards of the end-zone....he gets a lot of goal line work.

He only has 3 100yards in the last 3 seasons, 37 games, and they came against Arkansas, North Texas, and Idaho. He only has 8 games where he went over 50 yards, 4 coming in his freshman year.

And most of his work comes in blowout games.... 145 carries for 879yards and 19 TDs in games where LSU wins by +15pts. Thats 145 of his 212 carries and 879yards of his 1110 yards and 19 of his 21 TDs coming in blowouts. In close games, where the margin is 0-7pts, hes had 46 carries for 159yards and 2 TDs, 3.45ypc. Meaning when we play good teams, he doesnt do much.

And what annoys me the most, and stumps me the most, is that everyone saw that flash from him as a freshman. Everyone thought he was gonna be a monster after that year. But hes gotten worse each year it seems, and hes been giving every opportunity to play a significant role for us but just gets passed up by other players.

I really hope he can somehow turn it around this upcoming season because we are 1 injury away from having Hilliard play his largest role yet.

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Posted by LSU_Saints_Hornets

Uptown NO,LA

Member since Jan 2013

9739 posts

Posted on 6/10/14 at 1:44 am to KG5989

looking forward to magee and hilliard to shine

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Posted by inadaze

Member since Aug 2010

4836 posts

Posted on 6/10/14 at 2:18 am to KG5989

quote:
Dude... read that again. I said its not really his physical tools that are the problem, EXCEPT that hes slow and thats really it. Meaning besides his speed, he doesnt really have any problems physically. Healthy, good size, looks the part and all that. Looks like he should be a power back that is tough to take down.

No. I don't need to read it again. I know what you said. You said he's slow, doesn't have quick feet and isn't physical. Those are physical tools. But, right before that you said physical tools aren't the problem. It's a contradiction.

You can't say size is an asset for KH, and also say that he isn't physical. That doesn't make any sense.

quote:
And you dont have to be big, or strong, or fast or whatever to be a physical football player.

Right. It's a set of different factors. But generally, size and physicality go hand in hand, albeit to varying degrees. There are a lot of variables at play.

quote:
But he hasnt since his freshman year, and thats why I think its mental for him. Not sure what it is or whatever, but he just looks like a completely different runner than what he was as a freshman. Losing 10lbs doesnt mean you lose being physical... and it didnt really help him get faster or quicker either.

I agree with you here. I'm not sure what it is either, but losing weight could definitely be a factor. Different guys have different ideal playing weights, and some guys WILL lose that physical edge if they drop enough weight. Kenny is a naturally big guy, so it might have benefited him to stay in that 240 range, where he could use his weight/power to his advantage against defenders. There could be something to that because when he was running really well, he was more powerful than explosive. Also, as general rule, you're going to have more energy if your weight is going up (or you're at least maintaining) rather than down. *Caveat - the previous sentence doesn't apply as much to people who are severely out of shape. I'm talking about relatively high-level athletes -- people who work out a lot and put a lot of emphasis on nutrition, rest and recovery, etc.

If all other variables are relatively even, it's almost definite that a guy will be stronger at a higher weight (aside from relatively minor fluctuations). This is well-known amongst powerlifters, bodybuilders, wrestlers, et al.

quote:
And these past 2 years, hes been soft. He plays a lot smaller than he is and is not a hard tackle at all. If he ran with Wares style and attitude, he would be killing people. But he doesnt. Hes a 235lbs RB that runs upright, not explosive and little to no burst, cant make people miss or change direction, gets caught in the open field and goes down way too easy for a RB his size. Hes a power back with no power, yet we saw him be a physical RB his freshman year. I dont get it.

That word soft is making me cringe. I agree that he hasn't been as physical as he was in 2011, but I can't put the soft label on Kenny.

KH is just not that same style of runner Spencer Ware was, but in my previous post I made the point that both of their styles have their own particular attributes. Hilliard doesn't have Ware's explosiveness or violence. But if given a chance, Kenny can get physical with a defense in his own way and be very effective.

In 2011, Hilliard averaged 5.4 YPC, while Ware averaged 4.0.

I really think that Spencer could have been more effective than he was at LSU if he would have utilized more of his skill set at times, instead of constantly trying to punish the defense. Sometimes it is beneficial to avoid the flush hits and find creative ways to make the defense miss.

quote:
He has a lot of TDs, but he also gets a lot of chances to score TDs. 15 of his total TDs came within 5 yards of the end-zone, 17 of them came within 10 yards of the end-zone....he gets a lot of goal line work.

Why does he get a lot of goal line work? Because he is a big, powerful, physical runner!

You can't write him off completely because he hasn't been up to the high standard he set as a frosh.

quote:
And what annoys me the most, and stumps me the most, is that everyone saw that flash from him as a freshman. Everyone thought he was gonna be a monster after that year. But hes gotten worse each year it seems, and hes been giving every opportunity to play a significant role for us but just gets passed up by other players.

Well, he is playing in the same backfield as some great RBs at LSU. And maybe on some level, it has messed with KH's confidence. I'm not sure either.

quote:
I really hope he can somehow turn it around this upcoming season

There's a lot of talent in that backfield, but if he gets the opportunity, I think KH can be a very effective RB.

This post was edited on 6/10/14 at 2:24 am

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Posted by inadaze

Member since Aug 2010

4836 posts

Posted on 6/10/14 at 2:37 am to KG5989

quote:
And you dont have to be big, or strong, or fast or whatever to be a physical football player.

This is a real broad, loose statement. I think I know what you're trying to say, but you have to realize that weight and physicality go hand in hand to a large extent. Just a couple of LSU-related examples from the NFL that I came across recently:

Eagles' Bennie Logan: I'm not too small at 319 pounds

Barkevious Mingo trying to gain weight, "psyched" to play for Mike Pettine

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Posted by Prominentwon