maiava to fullback in spring ball

[Liver]

Wow. Im sorry you were not impressed with the freshmans hand skills and footwork. Maybe you missed the OU game where he man handled their nose tackle pretty effectively in the 4th quarter.

where i did i say wasn't impressed? i was wondering about his yet-to-be-seen skills AS A RUNNING BACK, not as a lineman.

hands, as in ability to catch the football, not get hands on a d-lineman.

footwork, as in ability to make a cut or get under a guy and protect the qb as a blocking back.

hands and footwork of an ol aren't necessarily equivalent to those of a fullback.

easy there, tiger! :lol:

 

[96 Buff]

**** you.

Fixed.

 

[goldenchild]

any other position changes?.. besides solder and kai
how about the idea of herrod playing a stand up outside lb rushing the passer on passing downs?

 

[BroncoBuff]

At first read, I was thinking NOOOO!

But the you realize we're loaded at G, and light at FB. Let's see how this goes ... I would love a smashmouth, run-first offense. We gotta throw the ball too ... but 'run first', down their throats, sounds awesome.

 

[BehindEnemyLines]

with maiava moved there are only two returning starters in girthy and ryan. devin head has experience but after that there is nothing........

I'm with ya on this one. I feel certain the staff is happy with the progress of the other OL, and feel they need more at FB, but it makes the team that much younger in the trenches. The lack of experience worries me.

any other position changes?.. besides solder and kai, how about the idea of herrod playing a stand up outside lb rushing the passer on passing downs?

The question about any other pos changes is a good one. Anyone hearing anything? I seem to remember something about Kyle Black doin' some time at WR, but other than that.....

I can't wait for spring practices to begin.

 

[buffalo30]

If Maiava isn't on the field for 90-100% of the offensive plays regardless of position, it is a complete waste of an outstanding football player.

I don't ever want to see anyone playing the position the previous staff was so adept at implementing. You know, the sideline decoy... Lawrence Vickers, Jeremy Bloom.

I'll wait to see what this is about, if anything, before commenting any further.

 

[Duff Man]

If Maiava isn't on the field for 90-100% of the offensive plays regardless of position, it is a complete waste of an outstanding football player.

I don't ever want to see anyone playing the position the previous staff was so adept at implementing. You know, the sideline decoy... Lawrence Vickers, Jeremy Bloom.

I'll wait to see what this is about, if anything, before commenting any further.

:yeahthat:

I can go for this move if we go to a LOT more two back sets, but if Maiva is taken off of the line and isn't put to good use at FB, it will be a real head scratcher. Should be interesting to see how it all turns out.

 

[jjbuffs13]

Maybe the thought is he will be the guy who takes out 2 guys when he blocks for Scott/Polk, and by take them out I mean take them behind the woodshed. He also might be the only option for those 3rd and inches, and 4th and inches.

 

[Liver]

If Maiava isn't on the field for 90-100% of the offensive plays regardless of position, it is a complete waste of an outstanding football player.

I don't ever want to see anyone playing the position the previous staff was so adept at implementing. You know, the sideline decoy... Lawrence Vickers, Jeremy Bloom.

I'll wait to see what this is about, if anything, before commenting any further.

that's setting the bar for a "success" pretty high. this staff runs in lots of different groupings, as you know. even "starters" don't always get on the field for all the downs.

you can question this philosophy, and i truly see both sides of it, but if the guy goes full-time to fb, i doubt he plays 90% of the downs.

on the other hand, being a fan, like you, of smash-mouth, run it at them, football, i think this seems to be a good sign. don't you think? you don't move a guy who was just a frosh aa unless you are going to commit to use him. plus, the increased size on the o-line is encouraging. and, d. scott! you don't bring a guy like that in and not have him get a lot of touches, right?

the signs seem to me to be pointing to the staff wanting to commit to run it effectively. that would be something gb and staff wouldn't do the last few years they were here. a commitment to the run game is the first step! i personally believe that CU has to run effectively if it wants to win conference games. the b12 north is full of crappy weather locations. and, over the nearly 40 years that i've followed CU, our best teams, by far, have been the teams that could run. it is a recipe that works in this conference. this doesn't mean abandon the forward pass and go to the wishbone. you have to be able to throw to be an elite team. but, the bread and butter for CU ought to be the run game.

 

[4DemBuffs]

i will say, im not too worried either way (not that anyone else is:smile2. its spring ball. the coaching staff is going to try some things out. its not a big deal either way.

i will trust the coaching staff that if moving Kia is a bust, they will see it and move him back.

i say, ride the ride and hope for the best and expect the coaches to do the right thing.

let it ride. lets see what happens in spring ball and then moan and groan if we dont like it and they keep him there.

aint nothin to worry bout till there is somin to worry 'bout. :smile2:

 

[jrod212]

this is my first year following the buffs, (cause i just got here), but this sounds like a sweet idea. i like POWER I, and the other I forms.

 

[wsp4820]

this is my first year following the buffs, (cause i just got here), but this sounds like a sweet idea. i likePOWER I, and the other I forms.

Did you honestly just type the words "power I" in red font? You better explain yourself or the neg rep comes in 10...9...8...

 

[87toInfinity]

Did you honestly just type the words "power I" in red font? You better explain yourself or the neg rep comes in 10...9...8...

Be careful, your one neg. rep. could bring him into the negatives. That means more red!! And he is offline, so give him a chance. :thumbsup:

 

[71buffz]

i totally agree with you about wasting a kid like Kai that likes getting all bloodied and dirty and playing the whole game. now he'll be in for special situations unless they use him as a double tight or H back or single blocking back or in motion or as a lead back. i think he may give us more offensive options that the other FBs couldn't give us. just gotta wait and see. if they are going to waste him on the bench please send him back to the OL. if none of the red shirts could beat him out last year what makes anybody think that they can this year.

 

[FlatironsBuff]

that's interesting about his hands. awesome.

you wouldn't want to be an undersized lb meeting a guy like that in the hole, that's for dang sure.

We will make sure to relay that to the CSU linebackers.......:smile2:


This is the way I see it. He was a stopgap player, we had nobody and he picked up the formations and blocking schemes well and played nasty, so he was on the field. But now with the depth we have at OL, and none to speak of at FB, this is the situation (as I see it).

By moving him to FB you may lose a little on the line, but he was too short to be guaranteed as an impact player there, so someone else (who the have seen practice for a year as a RS and they obviously have confidence in someone there to replace him) will come in and get experience and after a few games, we hopefully have a good replacement for him. On the other hand, he will give us a big, nasty, mean FB to block for the QB and as a pulling back, will lay the wood to whoever he meets. While he may of had a hard time with a few of the huge talented DL guys, he will be just fine with hammering LB's and DB's as he blows open hole for the Dynamic Duo (Polk and Scott).

 

[SD Buff]

Believe Iltis will battle big time for a starting spot in 2008. Bahr and Behrens have impressed. And if he comes in healthy- would not surprise MTM gives a big push this fall.

Although it appears strange on the surface, if Kai can drop a little weight - this could turn out to be a very interesting move. Can't wait to see how it plays out in a few weeks.

 

[Hank]

Who knows? Maybe the advent of the "O-back" will revolutionize the game.

We know that Hawk loves O lineman. So much, that he wants 6 of them on the field. Maybe Kai was the most suitable to drop into the backfield because of his athleticism.

So maybe we should look at this as putting an extra lineman on the field, as opposed to moving Kai to fullback. This looks beneficial from a run perspective, but we have also found out that Cody's ability to escape from the pocket isn't anything to write home about. Cody could use the extra protection.

 

[Darth Snow]

from what I saw it wasn't just cody's abillity to escape as much as it was an inability to run and an inability to pass block for long stretches getting the poor kid KILLED. We still don't have a lot of depth or even a true talent at WR yet, so hopefully Kai will take care of whoever gets through (by take care of, I mean KILL) on passing downs giving Cody time to find his 3rd or 4th receiver

 

[Lt.Col.FrankSlade]

If Maiava isn't on the field for 90-100% of the offensive plays regardless of position, it is a complete waste of an outstanding football player.

I don't ever want to see anyone playing the position the previous staff was so adept at implementing. You know, the sideline decoy... Lawrence Vickers, Jeremy Bloom.

I'll wait to see what this is about, if anything, before commenting any further.

This is one thing that greatly concerns me, as well. Maiava isn't the first fullback these coaches have ever encountered. The fact is, our offensive coaches haven't shown a whole lot of inclination to USE a fullback the past few years. I do rememebr a couple games where we had a fair amount of success with the fullback in the game. (The OU game comes to mind) But the majority of the season we ran a multiple formation with numerous wide receivers. We spent a lot of time running that crazy gadget play where the receiver comes along behind the play to make it look like it is going to be a reverse.

Now if they're serious about running a lead fullback for a player like Darrell Scott or whatever- great. But, as Buff30 said, if we've made a position switch and Maiava is going to only see the field for 10-15 snaps a game, that's a huge waste of a talented player, IMO.

 

[RuffBuff]

I haven't read this entire thread so I'm not sure if this has been brought up....but why not try him at DT or NT?

 

[buffsyko]

We'll see how it shakes out. It's a good move if he actually can PLAY more than 5 snaps a game and isn't WASTED on the sideline.

My ONLY concern, he drops down to 275 and the guy replacing him PROBABLY a freshman is getting beat and isn't working out...then what?

CU didn't run the ball for 200 yds last year,now you take a damn good OL starter out and will replace him with an inexperienced freshman?

We will know soon enough what they have in mind.

CU has recruited well at OL but i'm curious whay so many buff fans just think the guy they replace him with will be just as good.

 

[BlackNGold]

I don't like the move...

This offensive staff has not shown the use of the fullback in the offense anyway. I wonder what Maiava speed is for the FB position. This mostly relates to passing to the FB out of the backfield.

I see a lot of posts that "we are loaded in the offensive line" . I am not so sure about that...if this move is made we will only have 3 OL that have taken snaps at the Div 1 level - Sanders, Miller, and Head. So that means they will be starting 2 RS Frosh...I remember how long it took Rogers and Gurode to get the hang of playing at this level and they both Red Shirted.

 

[buffsyko]

I don't like the move...

This offensive staff has not shown the use of the fullback in the offense anyway. I wonder what Maiava speed is for the FB position. This mostly relates to passing to the FB out of the backfield.

I see a lot of posts that "we are loaded in the offensive line" . I am not so sure about that...if this move is made we will only have 3 OL that have taken snaps at the Div 1 level - Sanders, Miller, and Head. So that means they will be starting 2 RS Frosh...I remember how long it took Rogers and Gurode to get the hang of playing at this level and they both Red Shirted.

Good post:thumbsup:

 

[BuffsRising]

I read in the daily camera that they are thinking of Kai as a combo TE/FB kind of deal. It makes a little more sense that way, if they are moving Nate Solder to OT. I'm okay with Cantrell and Behrens at FB, but between Geer and the incoming recruits we are even thinner at TE. And I don't think Kai Maiava can play pure fullback on an every down basis. But who knows?

As for Hawkins, I think he was mobile enough, and he threw on the run pretty well. If the receivers catch the deep ball consistently the safeties will have to move off the line, opening up the run game, which will open up the play action, and when you throw play action the qb usually stays upright. Passing on 2nd and 2 instead of 3rd and 15 will make Cody Hawkins seem alot more mobile.

 

[jjbuffs13]

I think moving him to TE would be a huge mistake. I think the FB thing might work out, more for the blocking, but as a TE Cobra Kai would not do well. That is nothing against him and his athletic ability, but he is just not built to play TE, I dont understand why Solder is moving away from TE, for the love of god the guy is 7 feet tall and can actually run well, he should be the prime target inside the red zone.

 

[buffsyko]

I think moving him to TE would be a huge mistake. I think the FB thing might work out, more for the blocking, but as a TE Cobra Kai would not do well. That is nothing against him and his athletic ability, but he is just not built to play TE, I dont understand why Solder is moving away from TE, for the love of god the guy is 7 feet tall and can actually run well, he should be the prime target inside the red zone.

It is puzzling,all we heard last year was how well solder runs and would be a stud at te.Now they want him to move to OT and put maiava at fb/te? TE at 6-0? okay.

I'm waiting to see what shakes out during the spring but for now,puzzling moves for sure.

 

[JJBuff]

You know why they are doing this? It's to give us something to talk about until spring ball gets here. They know we are starved for CU football and this is our fix. Come fall everything is back to normal and Kai is our LG. :wink2:



On a serious note, I don't know what to think about the move to FB. Does the benefit outweigh the cost of moving one of our best O-Lineman? I guess we will see. He would have to be one hell of a difference maker at FB to get me to buy into it.

As for Solder, I agree he should be at TE. Good Christ, he is a giant target and would be gold matched up against a 6' DB or LB in the Red Zone.

 

[sackman]

A thought just occurred to me, after reading all these posts. I wonder if the staff thinks Maiava has peaked at OG, and are looking for ways to keep him on the field while allowing other players to move up on the O-line. Put another way, I wonder if they feel like the guys behind Kai have more upside potential and want to get them reps as early as possible. At the same time, they realize Kai has some great blocking skills and could be utilized effectively at FB.

Thoughts?

 

[96 Buff]

Or, the staff wants the major buzz to be about this somewhat head-scratching move so no one pays attention to the real work being done in spring practice.

 

[Liver]

A thought just occurred to me, after reading all these posts. I wonder if the staff thinks Maiava has peaked at OG, and are looking for ways to keep him on the field while allowing other players to move up on the O-line. Put another way, I wonder if they feel like the guys behind Kai have more upside potential and want to get them reps as early as possible. At the same time, they realize Kai has some great blocking skills and could be utilized effectively at FB.

Thoughts?

while i have no inside info, i think you are right on target. with his frame, he can't really get much bigger, right?