[inspiron]

I kind of agree with CoachDad, not the way he is putting it, but with what I think he is trying to say. Jude is a very nice player, but I feel like every year there is a player like him, short, stocky, fast, hardnosed country boy that piles up stats running the ball 35 times a game in a run heavy offense. Sort of like a Chuke Williams back. I'm thinking Michael West and Robert Christopher are 2 good examples. I believe both are in the record books, both were nice backs, but I think it is safe to say that both were product of their offenses.

This is just my opinion, I have no bias either way.

Actually IMHO neither one is the best back in the state.

I think that you have a point in saying that an offense is beneficial to the player’s abilities. But would you want Tom Brady handing the ball off every time (hope not), but that’s why you build the offense around the talent you have. You can't knock a player for having the offense around him that benefits his yardage or abilities. West had a great line in 99' then awful in 2000 when they went 5-6 and west still had 2,300 yds and 29 tds in 10 games, then his senior year Gary Mcpeek took over with the wing T (which the whole team that year had to transfer a life's mentality of downhill running into a new offense of side to side, which didn’t suite them) offense and West still rushed for over 2,000 yds 30+tds. If you look at West carries in his high school career between #1 homer and #2 Britt they had almost 400 more carries combined and they both played in lower classes and that’s when there were only 4. Christopher Robinson played with Broke hands, losing team records, no line, hardly any blocking and he still put up some great numbers going for over 2,000 yds., I believe in every season. He was a product of the offense around him just as West but it takes a special individual to play under those conditions and produce the amount of yards they did. Jude is an amazing back with tremendous talent and is going to be the state’s leading overall rusher (depending on Wales) in our history. I don’t care what offense or scheme that you run, you have to give respect to the athletes and not make excuses because of the offense that is put in place to help them. How many five wide teams and belly teams over the years have put up crappy numbers because their players couldn’t execute? Jude will go down as one of the best backs we have ever seen; whatever argument you can make against him. We should be honored and supportive to have the state's all-time leading rusher from the mountains. Do I think Jude will get a scholarship for football to a major D-1 college, no! But we should relish the gift Jude has been giving instead of bashing a kid that has the ability that so very few have or ever will. The example that running backs can be discriminated because of color is true IMO but we can never change that if we don't get behind exceptional talent from our area and give these kids a chance. Sometimes it’s better to sit back and enjoy the ride that kids like Jude,West, and Robinson gives us and be proud that you get to witness something that doesn’t come around but once in a life time, especially in our neck of the woods. I will ask you this, name me the last White tailback in the SEC that was given a full D-1 Scholly and played a complete season as the starting Tailback not fullback or blocking back? Let’s support these kids and look forward to their accomplishments instead of making excuses for something that you could never do!!