Cody Johnson in the 2008 OU game: 3 carries, 4 yards, 3 touchdowns. I did like how every now and then (including once in that game) instead of pounding him up the middle, we'd run a sweep instead, and some 190 lb defensive back would be the one standing between Cody and a TD....
While I wish Warren well, I don't understand all of his defenders here. Did you see him run this year? He runs with no lean, and can't make anyone miss. He was dead meat. So is he worth building an offense around? I don't think so.
I just feel that there is more there than we saw last year. Warren reminds me of Brandon Jacobs, the former Giants sledgehammer. Jacobs had no shake and I don’t remember him being a receiver out of the backfield but he was a proficient back for many years including, I think, an effective Super Bowl appearance. My gut tells me that Warren will be a better pro than he was a collegian.
I didn’t think Warren would start at any major college. Now I don’t think he’ll get drafted. Might make a practice squad. Too bumbly with no rumbly. Injury problems....good kid, though.... woulda been on any Mack Brown team under the “I won’t do that to my seniors” mantra...
And I'm leaning he can't even make a practice squad ... time will tell. Hell I hope you're right we need some more 'Horns on NFL rosters. I would have liked to have seen more reps of him at H back or TE. See more of him blocking ... he did look good catching it.
You and every other Texas fan, since he accumulated a total of ONE all season. If he gets a shot with a team that teaches him to pick up the blitz, block, help OL being over powered, and run hard north and South. push the pile, he may turn into a serviceable back. I hope so for his sake. Please call little Billie Powers, who is entirely responsible
Bet it was because he didn’t bring a gun to the locker room, held the door open for girls, and went to class. Similar to Charlie, it doesn’t mean he can do the job, it’s because you can check off things that really have nothing to do with the job.
This is complete and total conjecture, but my bet is Warren has a relatively nice NFL career. He won't ever be a star, and he may not have the sill set of a RB, but he is a big strong fast kid with good hands. And after sitting on the bench most of his college career he still has his legs. I am glad Strong helped him out. Credit to both of them. I am rooting for him. Unlike you.
I hope there are no UT fans who are not wishing the best for this young man. I personally would like to have seen him on the team for 2018 and was impressed by his ability to accept the position change the coaches made last year. I thought these changes were the best thing for him. As I have said numerous times on this board, I felt that he had all of physical attributes of a power runner, but too often he was running with his pads too high, hesitating at the line of scrimmage, and not exploding through the line. That may work in high school, but not in D-1 where there are great athletes on defense with size AND speed. Perhaps the NFL will find a role for him as a situational player. And for sure, I hope that I am proven wrong and that those much smarter than me will find a way for him to have a great NFL career as a running back; because from what I have heard, he is a good kid.
I would have liked to have seen him burnt orange in 2018 too. Not sure if some posters are just angry, or they really think he was that* bad of a player. I can recall a few games this year where he was a difference maker. We could miss this kind of presence, next season:
I wish him well. When TH was putting the staff together we heard a lot of raves about Drayton's ability as a rb coach. Chris never seemed to make an effort to correct his deficiencies (running upright). Is he not coachable ? Did Drayton not work with him? We will probanly never know.
So, Warren is transferring from UT to the NFL. I thought players declared for the NFL, not transfer. Interesting concept.... Good luck to him.
My post is intended to show that strong was more guidance counselor than football coach. Enough excuses were made for warren while he was here. I expect the nfl does not coddle, as many of Mack Brown players have found out. If Warren breaks tackles by himself in the nfl, I’ll be wondering why he couldn’t evade tacklers at the collegiate level.
This game winning td happened because he was helped in by the qb. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Some will praise him for being on the practice squad in the nfl. Go for it.
I guess we'll know in a few years, but the same negativity was posted against Malcolm Brown a few years ago and now he's a serviceable back in the NFL. In fact, averaged 3.9 ypg this past season on 63 carries. I would say any back that can do that in the NFL would be pretty damn good in college behind a decent OL. Unfortunately neither Brown nor Warren ever had the opportunity to run behind even a serviceable OL in college.
Warren just needs a O-line that can get him to the second level. We all watched him run over tacklers once he got past the DL. Nobody ever expected him to be a shifty back that can evade tacklers that are meeting him in the backfield. That's why he is useful as a receiver coming out of the backfield. Once beyond the D-line he is hard to bring down. Some team may continue to train him as a TE. Or some team with an outstanding OL may see his capabilities. I have no idea if he can be successful at the NFL level. But I wish him all the luck in the world.
Believe it or not, I am a fan of Malcolm brown the running back. Too many injuries (turf toe?) held him back.
This is a good point about which I had forgotten. Based on what I saw from Warren and others, one could argue that Drayton didn’t live up to the hype, at least not in 2017.
I've stated before that i am anything but a football expert. Simply a big fan. It just seems that with the tools Warren has he should have been coached up better. Could be the player's fault or the coach.
No doubt that was an issue, SN. What I am referring to though is Warren's seeming refusal to get his pads down and truck somebody. Doesn't seem like he ever broke a tackle. Not all of it is on the line. We saw Daniel Young run with real authority and he is at least 30 lbs. lighter than Warren.
I agree that whatever Warren was being taught, it either did not translate to his natural running style, or he wasn't being taught effectively at all. I'm not about to put the problem in Stan Drayton's lap though, given his successful history coaching some backs who are/were pretty danged effective in both college and the NFL, in addition to the way D Young blossomed this season. So to me, it's either on Warren for not absorbing the lessons Drayton was teaching, or the root of the problem is external to both of them (in the OLine).
I wish him luck at the next level. I just don't understand why he would want to transfer or go pro. The smart move would be to swallow pride, stay in school another year and get better. The line will be better this year. I don't know if it's a pride thing, a don't get along with coach thing, or a don't want to compete with youngun's for a job thing. I don't get kids these days.
The biggest issue I saw with Warren is he was playing the game about 30 lbs too heavy. As a freshmen he came in about 225 and was big, fast and had quick hips. The Warren I watched last year looked like a linemen that picked up a fumble. He looked slow and un-natural. I thought the move to TE was done too late in the season, probably should have happened in September. Truth is, he isn't fat, he just looked like he out-grew the position of Running back, a concept he might never understand.
This is a good observation about which I had forgotten. With some players — and Warren is probably one of them— bigger and stronger is not better. I remember (or at least I think I remember) that when Earl put on an extra 20 pounds, it dramatically reduced his effectiveness. We will never know but, I wonder whose idea it was to increase his size and strength.
