That stat should be Question #1 in next press conference
by StetsonDan (2021-05-17 15:57:05)
Edited on 2021-05-17 15:57:53

In reply to: Those names work against your point, though  posted by ndzippy

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That stat is damning both in Kelly/Alexander's inability to recruit top level receiving talent and to utilize any wide receivers until they're upperclassmen.

I limited my numbers to the past 4 years because I had to pick some sort of arbitrary cutoff, that lines up with Kelly 2.0 [or whatever version], and the game seems like's it's tilted even more towards offense since Saban has embraced the spread.

You're right that listing Jones/Robinson/Stepherson's stats cuts against my argument that you need to have legit NFL talent to contribute as a true freshman, but I think those may be off for a few reasons. First, all three had their freshman season in a season that could be considered the bottom half of Kelly's career at ND (Jones: 8-5 in '10; Robinson: 9-4 in '13; and Stepherson: 4-8 in '16).

In looking at those three, Robinson was probably the most prepared from a "traits" standpoint of any player in the Kelly era which explains why he was able to step in and play right away. As far as Stepherson, it's hard to look past his knuckleheadedness, but the coaches raved about his talent (see this tweet from Pete Sampson)

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