Posting this here for reasons that will be obvious. Let me preface this by saying I wear a #5 jersey to every game and Venric is still my favorite player since I started following NU.
I was thinking about all the players we lost before the season and couldn't help but wonder if Venric's transfer was really a good thing. The emergence of JJ was maybe the only bright spot on offense this year and I think we were probably better off with him as the main running back, especially without Colter. Of course, having Mark as a change of pace and return specialist would have been a HUGE help this year if he had stayed. Not trying to start a debate about coaching, but you have to wonder if Jackson would have emerged as the lead back with Venric still around.
I actually think he would have. He was never going to redshirt, and once you see what he can do I don't know how the coaches wouldn't keep giving him the ball. And I'm sure they'd be happy to keep Venric healthy and performing at an all american level as a returner.
Then THAT makes me wonder if Venric might have known JJ was going to be getting a lot of carries and if that might have factored into his suspension/departure. Maybe not directly, but he's publicly admitted to having had an attitude problem about playing time early in his career. Maybe the coaches talked about the possibility of JJ becoming the feature back after seeing him in camp and Venric didn't take it well. I could be way off base but it seems a lot more plausible than whatever other theories were floating around at the time. Anyone have any thoughts?
This post was edited on 11/25 7:38 AM by PurpleHaze525
I was thinking about all the players we lost before the season and couldn't help but wonder if Venric's transfer was really a good thing. The emergence of JJ was maybe the only bright spot on offense this year and I think we were probably better off with him as the main running back, especially without Colter. Of course, having Mark as a change of pace and return specialist would have been a HUGE help this year if he had stayed. Not trying to start a debate about coaching, but you have to wonder if Jackson would have emerged as the lead back with Venric still around.
I actually think he would have. He was never going to redshirt, and once you see what he can do I don't know how the coaches wouldn't keep giving him the ball. And I'm sure they'd be happy to keep Venric healthy and performing at an all american level as a returner.
Then THAT makes me wonder if Venric might have known JJ was going to be getting a lot of carries and if that might have factored into his suspension/departure. Maybe not directly, but he's publicly admitted to having had an attitude problem about playing time early in his career. Maybe the coaches talked about the possibility of JJ becoming the feature back after seeing him in camp and Venric didn't take it well. I could be way off base but it seems a lot more plausible than whatever other theories were floating around at the time. Anyone have any thoughts?
This post was edited on 11/25 7:38 AM by PurpleHaze525
