So far, Isaiah Crowell has been just about everything Georgia fans could've hoped for in a freshman tailback who lacked super powers or the first name Herschel.
Over a 13 game season, he's on pace for over 1200 yards rushing and about 9 TDs. Those are pretty realistic and potentially conservative numbers given that Vandy, New Mexico State, Kentucky and likely a tier 2 Big Ten team represent four of the remaining seven opponents.
His statistical splits against ranked teams and SEC opponents are solid so he's rising to the level of the opponent for the most part. He's also playing banged up.
Obviously, the one area where he can improve dramatically is his conditioning. His average yards per carry per quarter are:
-- First Quarter = 6.2 yards/carry
-- Second Quarter = 5.6 yards/carry
-- Third Quarter = 3.4 yards/carry
-- Fourth Quarter = 3.7 yards/carry
If you prefer a look by half, it's 5.9 yards per carry in the first half and 3.5 yds/carry in the second half.
In fairness, he probably didn't see the fourth quarter of very many high school games as dominating as his team was. But still...UGA and Crowell must find a way to get him ready for more work.
The flip side of this equation...if you're an elite high school running back recruit like Keith Marshall (RB from Raleigh, NC), you can realistically look at the success of Crowell and still see tremendous playing time. Crowell would likely be happy to have you take some of his snaps. (Weirdest sentence I've written in a while)
I'm pleased for him as he's having a great freshman season. The coaches just have to find a a way to get more quality carries from him in the fourth quarter of games.
PWD
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