He had 4 catches for 42 yards in last night's Rams victory over the Seahawks. This is the same guy who one of our Board "experts" declared would not start at ND, would not be drafted, and would not make an NFL team. Ben did all of those things. What say you now GCG? Are you now able to admit that you were wrong, or does your anger at Ben for transferring prevent you from doing so?
Ben Skowronek
- Thread starter No Chores
- Start date
He had a good season at ND. It was a move that worked out for all parties involved. NU was greater than the sum of its parts, though he and Ramsey should've been a good match. Maybe we're a more complete team that doesn't blow it at MSU, but I'm content with how it played out.
I know I'm not the one that you are talking to in the post, but I might as well be. I'll fully admit that I am surprised he has gotten any play at all in the NFL. Thought he was kind of a tweener in terms of size and didn't have good enough speed/route running to make up for it. Still a bit skeptical on how long he'll stick in the NFL, but I was certainly wrong about him even making it to the league.
Ben went to ND to enhance his chances of being drafted. He played very well at ND and their alums loved him. I know because my son-in -law and several of my friends are ND alums. He was drafted because of his performance at ND, and now he has become an important player for the Rams. Seems to me he has achieved what he set out to do.
My son, my daughter-in-law, my son-in-law, and my nephew all went to ND so I watch every game I can. (The Cats still take precedence.) Ben played very, very well at ND. Every word that you write is gospel. I await GCG’s mea culpa. (Latin lingo for all you Catholics)
I think Skowronek's blocking is commonly ignored. I don't think you can make a career in the NFL only out of that, but combine that with height and sure hands and that's a fit for some teams.
When I said “doesn’t make a difference in our season” I basically meant “isn’t enough of a difference that we beat OsU or MsU.” The only argument you could make to me otherwise is that the jump ball in the end zone in the third quarter goes to him instead of Raine and maybe he comes down with it, which would definitely have changed the game radically. MSU I don’t think so. Maybe having him around means RCB doesn’t get as much of a chance too. But yeah, we agree.
That catch was my Facebook cover photo for years… until the B Jo INT took over for it. But yes, he made all the difference in 2018.
Apologies for being duplicative, but there's no reason JJBTC's place among NU greats in the NFL, and Skowronek's goals among fellow NU alums should only be on the paid board.
_________________
The Skowronek thread and this one had me looking at all-time accomplishments among NU players in the NFL. JJ passed Bob Christian and Otto Graham in career rushing yards last Thursday (up to 915). I haven't gone through it too exhaustively, but I believe Adamle (1,149) is the next he would need to pass, then only Woody Campbell (1,493) and Ron Burton (1,536) would remain. He could get to third place this year, and first by the middle of next year.
His 54 career receptions are the most since Bates's 80. Paul Flately (306, 4,905), Curtis Duncan (322, 3,935) and Christian (230, 2,048) have set receiving bars for Skowronek to shoot for.
_________________
The Skowronek thread and this one had me looking at all-time accomplishments among NU players in the NFL. JJ passed Bob Christian and Otto Graham in career rushing yards last Thursday (up to 915). I haven't gone through it too exhaustively, but I believe Adamle (1,149) is the next he would need to pass, then only Woody Campbell (1,493) and Ron Burton (1,536) would remain. He could get to third place this year, and first by the middle of next year.
His 54 career receptions are the most since Bates's 80. Paul Flately (306, 4,905), Curtis Duncan (322, 3,935) and Christian (230, 2,048) have set receiving bars for Skowronek to shoot for.
Ben is a straight-up hard working kid who wanted to play ball. It was obscene at how open he was in 2018 against ND yet there was this insistence to throw to RR and co. He was a baller that was underutilized here.
This feeds the narrative (and others) that there is talent here at NU but it is grossly under developed. What changed for Ben going from 2019 to 2020? Getting a chance to play on a big stage maybe? Rashawn proved he had nothing to prove by sitting out '20. All these kids were on the roster in 2019 which makes it more frustrating.
I still believe there was a 6-6 football team in Evanston if King Fitzy had a clue on how to mold and develop talent.
There is NO way you can tell me we had WORSE output than Joe Spivak's: 0 sacks, 0 TFL, 8 total tackles, 1 QB hit, 0 forced fumbles in 2021. I know 50 year olds who can produce this in 12 games of playing time.
Ben left because he knew he'd have no chance to showcase his abilities here.
This feeds the narrative (and others) that there is talent here at NU but it is grossly under developed. What changed for Ben going from 2019 to 2020? Getting a chance to play on a big stage maybe? Rashawn proved he had nothing to prove by sitting out '20. All these kids were on the roster in 2019 which makes it more frustrating.
I still believe there was a 6-6 football team in Evanston if King Fitzy had a clue on how to mold and develop talent.
There is NO way you can tell me we had WORSE output than Joe Spivak's: 0 sacks, 0 TFL, 8 total tackles, 1 QB hit, 0 forced fumbles in 2021. I know 50 year olds who can produce this in 12 games of playing time.
Ben left because he knew he'd have no chance to showcase his abilities here.
I think this is a very fair point. With little exception, NU’s best players are ready to play when they arrive, and guys that start at the bottom of the depth chart stay there or play by default (see: 2021 LB group).
Malik Washington and Evan Hull are the best examples of players developing into contributors this year. But Washington truly was by default (Dennis and GHP and Holman weren’t taking his reps), while the staff was so off on Hull that he began the season behind a freshman who, well, wasn’t ready to make MSU fans cry for having missed missing out.
Skowronek made one of the great plays in NU history, and has now earned his way onto an NFL playoff club. A great Cat.
Last edited:
It seems lost on some posters that Skowronek was injured in 2019 and played 3 games.
Prior to that he had caught 45 passes in each of two years with Clayton Thorson.
2019 was the Hunter disaster.
Guessing he looked at the quarterback room and decided to leave.
He left 4 months before Peyton Ramsey transferred to NU.
His departure certainly hurt our offense in 2020.
Happy he is in the NFL, wish he had stuck around.
Prior to that he had caught 45 passes in each of two years with Clayton Thorson.
2019 was the Hunter disaster.
Guessing he looked at the quarterback room and decided to leave.
He left 4 months before Peyton Ramsey transferred to NU.
His departure certainly hurt our offense in 2020.
Happy he is in the NFL, wish he had stuck around.
I'm not happy with the way he left NU, but he was productive here when healthy. In 2018 he was third in receptions on the team, and in 2017 he was second.
2018 45 catches, 562 yds, 3 TD
2017 45 catches, 644 yds, 5 TD
It is a basic rule of human discourse that when you say something is false, you explain what is false and why.
Imo we don’t have so much a development problem as much an approach problem on the offensive side. We run a system that doesn’t make life easier for QBs and skill players like many other CFB systems do and doesn’t give as many opportunities to make plays for WRs in particular. Of course, this leads to less talent at the positions as well.
But again, specific to Skoronek, it’s not like he blew up at ND from a production standpoint either. His best two seasons were both at NU.
Better check that out a little more carefully. Ben started the first game of the season at ND and was hurt early in that game - hamstring I believe. He missed that game and the next 4 as well. When he returned, he had an excellent year which caused him to be drafted. Lots of catches, with plenty of yards. Earlier you said he didn't do much at ND, which was simply wrong. Players who don't do much in their final year don't often get drafted, albeit in the 7th round.
Ben played 9 games for ND, caught 29 balls and averaged 15.1 ypc. He had 5 receiving TDs and one rushing. Good enough to get drafted but hardly "excellent". And I'm a Big Ben fan.
On a per-game basis, his best season was probably 2017, though his two NU full seasons and his one at ND were all pretty similar. But I doubt he gets drafted out of NU. (As always, being a free agent is often a better option than a day 3 pick. But this late round pick seems to have worked out for Ben.)
Ben Skowronek College Stats, School, Draft, Gamelog, Splits | College Football at Sports-Reference.com
Check out Ben Skowronek's College Stats, School, Draft, Gamelog, Splits and More College Stats at Sports-Reference.com
www.sports-reference.com
OK, let's change "excellent" to "good". He had 2 catches against Pitt for 110 yards and 2 touchdowns! He started every game at ND when he wasn't out due to injury. Most importantly, he had a good QB who could get the ball to him, so he made the right decision when he transferred.
He did pretty good at ND and was clutch for them at times. Wish he would have stayed, but he must have figured on 2019 not being such a hot team, besides playing at ND gave him more exposure for the potential move to the next level. It panned out for him.
Last edited:
True. I think Coach is the right guy for NU, but he has to bring this program into the present.
Fitz is a great coach, but with the rise of the spread offense, the NIL, and the portal the game has rendered his philosophy obsolete.
He was never featured here in deference to Riley Lees-type receivers. Ben had good speed, great hands, length, and some separation ability. Many games he was barely targeted and as proven he was a gamer and made the most of his opportunities (@ND).
So...The question is (like many other players here) how did this staff miss this? What do they look for that gets players on the field? When you look at over the years how much underdevelopment that's taken place its just astonishing. What is the NU coaching staff missing?
I really have no idea what you are talking about. I’m guessing you don’t either.
Skow was a key part of the offense while at NU, with consecutive 45 catch seasons as already posted several times in this thread. He was a good complement to speedy slot guys like Flynn Nagel and Riley Lees. He was not "underdeveloped" at NU.
I think our offense just wasn't and isn't good at getting guys open in space. Austin Carr's 2016 was an extreme outlier in terms of what's possible for a receiver. I'm pretty sure that even though Nagel was more productive in '18 Skowronek was being covered by the opposing team's best corner. We were just lucky whatever offensive plan we put together was able to get us through game-to-game, nowhere near enough margin for error to try and focus on getting one player more involved.
Despite my skepticism of our offensive philosophy and utilization of skill talent, both of his best two seasons were at NU, so...
Ryan Field doesn't let facts get in the way of his narrative that all the coaching at NU is bad. All those guys in the NFL must have done it on their own.
Ben was not underdeveloped at NU. You can find examples of guys that were underdeveloped, he is not one of them .
In a way, yes. He thought he had a better shot getting into the NFL at ND than NU.
The way things were going when he left, yes he made a good call. It’s possible had he stayed he would be WR#1 and combined with RCB and Lees we would’ve had enough firepower for Ramsey to throw to, and we’d have been in a NY6 bowl or, if we’d pulled it all together and beat both MSU and OSU we may have been in the same spot as ND in the playoffs. A reach for sure but maybe he gives us a spark to wake us up against MSU, and maybe he helps us get a few extra first downs and one score in the second half vs OSU which could have won that game.
Trouble was we weren't that great offensively in 2020. Yeah, way better than 2019, but we weren't going to beat OSU in 2020 with or without Skowronek. He could have been the difference in the MSU game possibly, but not in Indy.
Similar threads
