RB Jaamal Berry (Transfer to Murray State)

[Merih]

your certainly right about the redshirting of tb's. though i see him putting on about 10 lbs before next season. i could certainly be wrong there, jmo. my concern with playing him this late in the season isn't so much the timing but the amount of practice he has missed.

wouldn't be the first time jt skipped on a redshirt that i wouldn't have :P.

I don't think he's actually missed much practice...it was just a tweak. JT was just airing on the cautious side and not putting him into games yet. Now he is 100% and the decision on his redshirt can be made in full.

 

[Fremont Buckeye]

if he were a true sophomore id agree with you. but being a true freshman? sure, the big 10 title and a trip to the rose bowl are ours to loose. but unless we loose another tb to injury i think we can limp through the rest of the season with the pair minus the spare. with 4 games left in the year and him missing out on practically the entire season largely due to injury... at this stage id feel a lot more comfortable giving him some more time with the offense and the opportunity to bulk up a bit. it would be different if he had been available all year.

If he was available all year he would have played by now. That is a non issue. If he can play and help the team get to the Rose Bowl, why red shirt him. If the kid can play, let him play if he is 100% and ready to contribute.

There is no time like the present.

What is the difference if he were red shirted and a good soph year and an above average jr year and bolted for the NFL instead of not red shirting and contributing as a frosh and then having a good soph year and an above average jr yea.

 

[Mike80]

i see this speculation every week and every week I've said that we likely won't see Berry unless it is absolutely necessary.

I doubt it will be necessary this week.

 

[jwinslow]

i see this speculation every week and every week I've said that we likely won't see Berry unless it is absolutely necessary.

I doubt it will be necessary this week.

true, but they probably have to make that decision for Penn State a week early, to get him some actual game reps.

 

[Mike80]

true, but they probably have to make that decision for Penn State a week early, to get him some actual game reps.

Now there I agree with you.

However, that is completely dependent on how bad the injuries are to Boom and Zoom. If they think those two (or even one or the other) would be ready to go by Penn State, I doubt we'll see him.

But if there's any doubt (especially in Zoom's case since he could present matchup problems for Penn State), there's a slight chance we see Berry.

I still don't think we'll see him, but there's the possibility of a LOT of information we don't have being worse than we know obviously.

 

[RB07OSU]

Can't a player hit stride his redshirt sophmore and/or rs junior year when the game starts to slow down, and not bolt to the NFL? It's not like he either will break 1,500 yards or sit the bench his third year in. There is a middle ground where he could break out big later on but not do enough before that to get drafted. I'll agree with you and say the probability is higher for either leaving early or getting passed up. Don't get me wrong, I would love to see Berry in action on Saturday instinctually...I was really eager to see what he could do this season.

 

[osugrad21]

Can't a player hit stride his redshirt sophmore and/or rs junior year when the game starts to slow down, and not bolt to the NFL? It's not like he either will break 1,500 yards or sit the bench his third year in. There is a middle ground where he could break out big later on but not do enough before that to get drafted. I'll agree with you and say the probability is higher for either leaving early or getting passed up. Don't get me wrong, I would love to see Berry in action on Saturday instinctually...I was really eager to see what he could do this season.

The question that late in his career is if the opportunity is still there whether by depth chart or by offensive direction. If he can contribute now, why wouldn't you play him?

 

[Oh8ch]

Another factor in this equation is recruiting.

If your message to recruits is that they can play as Frosh if they earn it in practice you have to stand behind that.

 

[WaitingforKickoff]

With the top two backs dinged up, you have no choice but to play him. Hopefully he can be a spark for us.

 

[Taosman]

I would contend that Jordan Hall is every bit as good as Berry. And has had actual game reps and is ahead in development. And why take reps away from Hall and Martin?

 

[Merih]

I would contend that Jordan Hall is every bit as good as Berry. And has had actual game reps and is ahead in development. And why take reps away from Hall and Martin?

I don't know about that. We can't really say that Hall is better than Berry if Berry was ahead of him before he got hurt.

It's not about taking reps away. It's more about rewarding reps to someone who can do something for the team. Berry is ahead of Hall and Martin in the passing game. And with the brutal three games coming up after the Aggies, you don't want just two backs being your bellcows.

Plus there is the factor that no one has any game tape on Berry. Listen, if Tressel sees enough in Berry that he brings him up every week and was trying to get him work even WHEN Boom and Zoom were healthy, it is only logical that he gets reps now that the two are seemingly out.

 

[NateG]

My opinion is that JT would have played him 3 weeks ago but has been waiting on full clearance from the Dr's. Plus with a concussion type injury and Boom going down on one of his first carries when he returned, Tress seemed a bit concerned. If these injuries have come against the soft portion of the schedule, I am sure he could see them happening in the final 3 rougher more hardnose games. I think Berry plays.

 

[sammyjenkis]

I think it's up to Berry. A lot of people here are throwing around a lot of conjecture about an early bolt to the NFL for this kid. But nothing is ever certain. If he has a couple more injury-plagued seasons, having another full year of eligibility could mean the difference between being a high draft pick and hoping to make it in the league as an undrafted FA.

At this point, it hardly seems worth it for Berry to burn his redshirt just to get a few reps just in case everyone else breaks down. I know most people here want to break him out like's an early Christmas present, but it is up to him to decide what is in his best interest.

 

[MililaniBuckeye]

I would contend that Jordan Hall is every bit as good as Berry. And has had actual game reps and is ahead in development. And why take reps away from Hall and Martin?

Put the bong down for just a minute. We've already discussed how our top two RBs are dinged up, and that a "pair and a spare" is what we need. What happens if Hall or Martin gets dinged up? Get Berry some totes (uh, not "tokes", Taos) so he can be ready if he's needed for more than just an occasional carry or two. We have a wealth of depth at RB...we should take advantage of it.

 

[osuteke]

My opinion is that JT would have played him 3 weeks ago but has been waiting on full clearance from the Dr's. Plus with a concussion type injury and Boom going down on one of his first carries when he returned, Tress seemed a bit concerned. If these injuries have come against the soft portion of the schedule, I am sure he could see them happening in the final 3 rougher more hardnose games. I think Berry plays.

He was ready to go a few weeks ago and then reaggrevated his hamstring in practice, maybe as the result of pushing too hard too soon. If he's full go at practice again this week and everything is looking good, he's going to play on Saturday. I think the staff thinks Berry is a baller and can make an immediate impact. I can't wait to see him play.