Red Five
New member
Guessing he would have a hard time breaking 4.7 nowadays. And he is still an All Pro running back.
RB Aphonso Thomas [SMU - Signed LOI]
- Thread starter Mavric
- Start date
cornographic
Banned
I suspect he's faster than that.
Somehow I feel like a bad guy here for wanting RBs that are no slower than 4.5, but I attribute that to 'Husker Apologistism'. :-0
swmohusker
Active member
This thread had taken a turn for the worst. Only 3 rb in the combine ran a sub 4.5 40. A majority of them ran in the high 4.5 to low 4.6's. This kid runs a electronic 4.71 as a Jr in high school. Speed is not an issue with this kid. He has plenty of speed and acceleration. This kid is also a hard runner and wants to be here. I am excited to see what he does his Sr year
RedSavage
New member
Agree. Think he is much better than some people in this thread are giving him credit for.
cornographic
Banned
I get a King Frazier kind of vibe from his 'film', except 30 lbs lighter.
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Ed Helms
New member
So the only RBs you would have wanted from last year's draft class are Jeremy Langford, Karlos Williams, Trey Williams, and David Johnson? After all those were the only RBs no slower than 4.5. Interesting...
I don't think you'd be a very good NFL GM.......or scout........or coach..........
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girlknowsfootball
New member
I know someone already noted this somewhere, but 247 has him as a 3*... can we update the profile at the top? Gracias!
Mavric
Yoda
Thanks, I must have missed that before. He was a 3* in the 247 Composite before he was actually rated by 247 so I thought that's what they were talking about. Updated.
girlknowsfootball
New member
girlknowsfootball
New member
You know, I really like this kid.
- he squats 560, benches 330, and power cleans 295 as a Junior in High School
- he's 6'0" 190 with room to grow and runs a 4.49 40 (hand held)
- he makes people miss, consistently throughout his highlight film. It's usually the 4th or 5th defender's attempt that gets him down.
- he has some juke to him (1:14 in his film)
- at 2:12 he shows a good one cut and go to the hole move (reminded me of Helu)
- he's good at keeping his balance when a defender comes at his legs, his lower body seems very flexible and he seems to maintain his balance very well. On a play at 4:40 in his film you see a defender take a helmet straight towards his legs and he keeps is upper body in place, while his lower body comes out from under him. He regains his balance and keeps getting hit and keeps at it. (I saw his lower body move like abdullah's in this video).
- he seems to have good field vision and follows blockers well. He is patient.
What do people not like about him other than he doesn't show a real big 2nd gear in the open field, and he hasn't been ranked yet by rivals or scout? We could have a steal here! I don't see anything wrong with him that isn't coachable (running too high, not switching the ball to left hand).
- he squats 560, benches 330, and power cleans 295 as a Junior in High School
- he's 6'0" 190 with room to grow and runs a 4.49 40 (hand held)
- he makes people miss, consistently throughout his highlight film. It's usually the 4th or 5th defender's attempt that gets him down.
- he has some juke to him (1:14 in his film)
- at 2:12 he shows a good one cut and go to the hole move (reminded me of Helu)
- he's good at keeping his balance when a defender comes at his legs, his lower body seems very flexible and he seems to maintain his balance very well. On a play at 4:40 in his film you see a defender take a helmet straight towards his legs and he keeps is upper body in place, while his lower body comes out from under him. He regains his balance and keeps getting hit and keeps at it. (I saw his lower body move like abdullah's in this video).
- he seems to have good field vision and follows blockers well. He is patient.
What do people not like about him other than he doesn't show a real big 2nd gear in the open field, and he hasn't been ranked yet by rivals or scout? We could have a steal here! I don't see anything wrong with him that isn't coachable (running too high, not switching the ball to left hand).
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HuskerNBigD
New member
Your username says it all and I'm being dead serious. I think he's a steal too. I have a feeling that the big time programs in Texas will make a move on him come the fall.
cornographic
Banned
The reason why I am not a very good NFL GM, scout, or coach is because none of those were my chosen profession. First of all, we all know that the rushing game has been demphasized in pro football big time and RBs are purhaps not chosen as to home run threat ability but moreso as to how well they can grind it out between the tackles for 20+ carries, get the tough yards, etc. If they can do that and take it to the house with breakaway speed, more the better. I didn't realize Langford was a 4.4 guy, but it seems legit since that's what he timed in h.s. also.
Given the fact that Todd Gurly is still not completely healed from his knee injury and evidently did not do a 40 time, I actually think Langford would be an excellent 1st round pick and and possibly long term RB in the NFL. I probably would take Langford over Gordon, Ameer, and Tevin Coleman. I also think Karlos Williams from FSU is a flat out stud, and oh BTW has 4.48 time. The NFL times their 40s rather conservatively, as far as I can tell. Braylon Heard, for one, is faster than 4.6, he's at least 4.5 in the real world(4.4 out of h.s.). I think Ameer is also faster than 4.6. But now that I look at the draft a bit closer, I think Gurly(healthy), Langford, and K Williams would be my top 3 choices.
So, yes, I like speed, because I hate seeing RBs chased down by DBs and LBs. I love to see them break a bunch of tackles and take it to the house. Ezekiel Elliott, 4.42, ZING!
Hasn't one of Nebraska's perennial downfalls when playing the big boy teams been a relative lack of overall team speed? Yes, it has, the last best example being vs USC. We need more team speed, as much as possible, especially @ the skill positions. That's obvious, even a non NFL coach like me can figure that out.
My intitial reaction to this Alphonso Thompson guy, and this is nothing personal at all, but going from what info's been given us so far, is, on paper, he has the hallmarks of a recruit that maybe isn't going to cut it @ NU. He is, on paper, very similar to King Frazier, who, to my eye, looked superior on his h.s. 'film', and King Frazier(who is 30 lbs bigger) didn't even make the 3 deep and consequently transferred. We have recently been updated that the initial 4.7 time--the slow time--was inaccurate and perhaps he's more in the 4.5 range, which is great by me. But still, he's going to be competeing with at least 3 legitimate 4* RBs ahead of him when he gets to NU. soooo, I guess I have to defer to the coaches' eyes here, because to me, I'm just not seeing it.
A.J. Bush was also recruited with a similar profile, and I hate to break the news to everybody, but A.J. Bush will most likely never be a starting QB @ NU. He just doesn't have the passing chops, sorry.
I prefer recuits that have been more thoroughly vetted and sought after and have a buzz about them. The under the radar guys make me real nervous, especially this late in the cycle.
If A Thompson proves me wrong and becomes the next best thing since sliced bread, I will be the 1st to corngratulate him.
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bulletbait
New member
Those hounding on Thomas's 2* rating would do well to remember how lightly recruited Ameer was in high school as a RB.
Thomas has a running style that I love. At a glance I could see someone saying he runs too high, but I'd argue he's just got a running style that isn't very common because you've got to be very strong to pull it off. I know I'm going to catch sh#t for this, and the comparison isn't perfect, but the first guy that popped into my head as a comparison (style-wise) is Earl Campbell. Of course, he needs to add literally 50 lbs (mostly in his legs) to be on Earl's level, and he's not as fast as Earl was, but he's got that same rock solid base that lets him glide through contact and stay on his feet with power. If Thomas can get his weight into the 230 range, I think he'd be an incredible power back.
Thomas has a running style that I love. At a glance I could see someone saying he runs too high, but I'd argue he's just got a running style that isn't very common because you've got to be very strong to pull it off. I know I'm going to catch sh#t for this, and the comparison isn't perfect, but the first guy that popped into my head as a comparison (style-wise) is Earl Campbell. Of course, he needs to add literally 50 lbs (mostly in his legs) to be on Earl's level, and he's not as fast as Earl was, but he's got that same rock solid base that lets him glide through contact and stay on his feet with power. If Thomas can get his weight into the 230 range, I think he'd be an incredible power back.
cornographic
Banned
I actually thought he was more 6'2" or 6'3" and 210-ish in the Hudl vid because he looks pretty big relative to other players. Then I realized the other players are just kind of small-ish since AT is 5'11"/6'0" 180/190 lbs depending on who you ask. I agree with your style eval, though, sometimes the knee high white sock and white shoes can make players look like Earl Campbell, Marcus Dupree, etc.
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Folks are trying to justify why he is a 2-star. If he was given 5 stars folks they be would justifying the rating saying he is the best thing ever.
Understandable it's the "evaluators" jobs at the recruiting services to evaluate folks, but none can determine what a kid will do in college.
The kids film is very impressive. He breaks tackles like it's no one's business, and has decent short area burst. He is going to be just fine here.
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