[Hoot Gibson]

I think this year Coach Mills at Bell Co needs to let Cory Davenport break JJ Judes rushing record from last year. The kid could do it easy! Especially since it's Davenports Senior year.

I don't think that is as easy as Bell County fans think it is. Davenport is fast and elusive but has he ever rushed 35 or 40 times in a game? Jude is one of the best conditioned athletes in the state and he was exhausted at the end of that Woodford County game. Besides the question of carrying the ball enough times to break the record, I wonder how Davenport would hold up to the amount of contact he would receive by doubling or tripling his number of ruishes. Jude absorbs a lot of hard hits and breaks many tackles during the course of a game.

Watching Davenport's highlight video, it does not appear that he gets nearly as many yards after initial contact as Jude does. Avoiding contact is easy for a run-to-daylight running back like Davenport when he is fresh, but if fatigue begins setting in after 25 or 30 rushes, then he will take some heavy punishment. Jude is conditioned to take that kind of punishment, while playing both ways for the entire game.

I think the jury is out on whether Davenport has that kind of strength and endurance. Has Davenport missed games previously because of injuries? Will Davenport be playing defense this season?

Davenport is a great back and he is clearly capable of breaking the record on a given night, but if it was easy the record would be broken much more often.