Newby vs. Ozigbo - who should start & who should see the most carries

I was very impressed with the OL play and Newby's tenacity running the football compared to last year. I believe I posted in another thread earlier today that I was just impressed with how fast NU was able to play on offense. Not a tempo, but they ran plays very crisp and I didn't see the hesitation I saw last year. I REALLY think there are good things coming to NU.

Regarding the RB's. I think NU is in a situation similar to Wisconsin with having a stable of RB's. I'm sure Michigan would much rather have NU's or Wisc's back rather than their own.

After watching week 1. I think NU will give Oregon a rough time in 2 weeks, but I am also now thinking that Wisconsin is going to be a much tougher game than I originally thought. So that may turn out to be a wash, but maybe not.

Hard to really know after only 1 week. Still some surprises out there that no one is expecting.

 
Second Drive:

No hole opens up on the play side, Newby cuts back and gains 7.

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Again, no hole on the front side but a nice cutback lane (as happens in zone blocking). Newby cuts back and gets 9.

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This was probably Ozigbo's best run of the night. Hit right away but breaks that tackle. Finds a seam up the middle and pushes the pile for 10.

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Supposed to be a zone left but #42 in unblocked. Newby tries to cut back but there is nowhere to go - gain of 1.

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Two linemen fall down in front of Newby and he gains 5.

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Newby's best run of the night and I think probably the Huskers' best run. Called zone left but Newby cuts back, skips past #42, hops over another defender and gains 12 yards.

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Two unblocked defenders in the hole. Gain of 1

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Ozigbo doesn't have any room but he gets dragged into the end zone for the TD.

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So through two drives, there was really only 1 or two plays where there was a nice hole open for either back. Likely the product of three new starters on the line facing a team that they didn't have any film from this year to go on. Took them awhile to get the feel for things and get going.

Unfortunately for Newby, that was 7 of his 11 carries. Ozigbo will get quite a few more carries as the game goes on and he'll also benefit from much better blocking.

 
I don't like it when they use Newby on the goal line. He's good for outside runs, he is not good for plunges, due to the fact that he simply can't find holes and take advantage of them.

 
Third Possession

We see the line doing a much better job on this drive. This is Ozigbo's longest run of the night (17 yards) which was started with a huge hole to run through.

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Next play and our first true outside run of the night. Everyone is walled off nicely and Ozigbo finds 11 yards around the corner.

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A bit of a push but not much of a hole as Ozigbo gains 4.

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Another very nice hole opened up. Only one defender there and Ozigbo does a nice job of sidestepping him for the TD.

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Fourth Possession

Pretty ugly possession overall. Included DPE's fumbled exchange, a timeout because Foster wouldn't go in motion and a blocked punt.

Probably not great to call a draw at this point in the game (when you've only thrown one pass) and Newby has to avoid a defender as soon as he gets the ball and does well to get back to the line.

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That's all for the first half and probably all for me tonight.

8 carries for 57 yards for Ozigbo

8 carries for 40 yards for Newby

Newby never had any holes like Ozigbo did on the third possession. Newby had three times that he had to avoid an unblocked defender before he got to the line while Ozigbo only had to do that once.

I think both backs did pretty well for what they had to work with. Nothing spectacular but pretty solid.

 
Mavric said:
That's all for the first half and probably all for me tonight.

8 carries for 57 yards for Ozigbo

8 carries for 40 yards for Newby

Newby never had any holes like Ozigbo did on the third possession. Newby had three times that he had to avoid an unblocked defender before he got to the line while Ozigbo only had to do that once.

I think both backs did pretty well for what they had to work with. Nothing spectacular but pretty solid.
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Thank you for doing all that. It painted a very good, unbiased picture of the first half for both of them. I think it's safe to say they that neither one is that much better than the other, especially when a lot of their statistics are directly related to the production from the offensive line.

 
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I think Newby has (and is) improving. He appears to be a good cut back runner who move back across the flow and finds a seam if one is available. He seemed to run "stronger", wasn't immediately down on first contact.

Ozigbo though still is more explosive, a one cut and go guy. And is very good with yards after contact. Rarely does one defender bring him down. Faster than he appears too.

After the first game I was firmly in the Ozigbo camp. But there have been excellent points brought up in regards to how and when the carries came Saturday night (and the level of blocking each received). I think Newby will look better and better as the season progresses (just a gut feeling).

Overall, it's a good problem to have.

 
Newby would be at least third string behind Ozigbo and Bryant. He might even be behind Wilbon, but I haven't seen enough from Wilbon (although the runs I have seen, tells me he is a better runner).

 
Mavric said:
Fourth Possession

Pretty ugly possession overall. Included DPE's fumbled exchange, a timeout because Foster wouldn't go in motion and a blocked punt.

Probably not great to call a draw at this point in the game (when you've only thrown one pass) and Newby has to avoid a defender as soon as he gets the ball and does well to get back to the line.

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Looks like a poor read by Newby - Left side is sealed for a big gain if he cuts right away.

 
I don't get wrapped up in a snapshot of the statistics as they don't always capture the variables when trying to make a comparison. Sometimes its about the eye test, and Ozigbo passes that test for me.....he is the back I would like to see more. In seasons past, Newby's side to side dancing instead of hitting the hole would drive me nuts however, he looked much more decisive and stronger in our season opener; a major plus!

 
Tre is a big part of the future of this team - he is probably about 3 games away from seeing a large increase in action. Not a knock on Newby and Wilborn, however they are not what this staff is looking for in a RB, hence you will see less and less of them as the season goes on. When this staff is established the tie will go to the upper classmen - during these first 3 years of transition the tie will go to the young players that are the future. Zig will be the feature with Tre taking snaps from Newby.

 
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