Counterpoint: Hughes Will Lead Irish Rushers In ‘09

The homepage polls on BlueandGold.com are hardly passable as indisputable evidence, but a recent poll asking Notre Dame fans which running back would likely lead the Irish in rushing yards in 2009 revealed an overwhelming favorable opinion toward Armando Allen, as 71% of voters believed he would pace the team on the ground next season.

And what’s not to like? As my colleague and Blue & Gold Illustrated assistant editor Todd Burlage laid out in yesterday’s “Point” article, Allen has the potential to be an all-purpose nightmare with his combination of tough running and breakaway speed. His 940 yards from scrimmage and 1,549 all-purpose yards last season suggest he is a threat no matter where he lines up on the field.

But his value as an all-purpose contributor could be what keeps him from leading the Irish in rushing in 2009.

Hughes has shown flashes of what he's capable of but has lacked overall consistency.

Allen showed what kind of weapon he can be as a kick returner on several occasions last season, including 147 yards on five returns against Michigan State, 105 yards on two returns against Purdue, and 116 yards and a touchdown on two returns against Hawaii in the Hawaii Bowl. Since Allen’s kick return for a touchdown in Honolulu was Notre Dame’s first since Vontez Duff in 2002, it’s unlikely that the coaches will look to pull him from that unit anytime soon.

That may seem okay at first consideration, but it’s noteworthy that Allen relinquished kickoff return duties for a span of five games as the season wore on into October and November, and as his role evolved to focus more on offensive contributions, neglecting his impact on special teams.

Over the course of the first six games of 2008, Allen averaged 14 offensive touches, and saw time on special teams as a kick and punt returner. As his offensive touches increased to 17.4 per game over the next five games, his special teams touches were cut completely, and it’s worth noting that the Irish were 2-3 in that span after starting 4-2.

Now of course Notre Dame’s failures late in the 2008 season can’t be traced directly to Allen’s utilization exclusively on offense, but it’s reasonable to assume that the Irish are more complete when Armando Allen's contributions are more dynamic, and the Hawaii Bowl serves as a great evidence.

What the Hawaii Bowl also revealed is what kind of offense the Irish can be when they have a power presence in the backfield, and that game should serve as a template for how to best use a back like Robert Hughes.

As Todd also noted in yesterday’s article, Hughes is still a work in progress, and that’s likely the reason he often gets overlooked by Irish fans and media.

But if there is any single player on Notre Dame’s roster that seems to have benefitted most from the changes on the coaching staff this spring, it’s likely the soft-spoken junior from Chicago now under the tutelage of first-year Irish assistant and running backs coach Tony Alford.

For starters, at 5-foot-11, 237 pounds, Hughes has the ideal physical makeup for a workhorse back. The every-carry back is virtually extinct in today’s era of football, but Hughes has a physique that suggests he could be that kind of back if necessary.

“He’s a big back, and the biggest thing with him that I’ve been talking with him about is you’re 235, 236 pounds,” Alford said of Hughes this spring. “You don’t have to make everybody in the world miss. You can run through a lot of things just by the sheer size and strength.

“The misnomer is, ‘People are there. I’m going to run into a wall. No, I’m going to slow down.’ No, I want to see you speed up. If a guy is going to make a tackle, you don’t have to be the guy that get’s beat up all the time. You can deliver some blows too.”

At times Hughes has been reluctant at the line of scrimmage, at it has rightfully cost him some playing time in the past. But Hughes seemed rejuvenated and, perhaps more imporantly, more confident this spring as he appeared to respond well to Alford’s coaching, which culminated with a 21-carry, 93-yard, and two-touchdown performance in the Blue-Gold Spring game. Anyone who saw the game should have noticed a much more physical Robert Hughes, who seemed to heed his new coach’s suggestions to deliver blows rather than receive them.

In fact, it could even be suggested that Hughes was robbed of Offensive MVP honors, which went to Allen, who failed to match Hughes in production but clearly far exceeds him in adoration and expectations.

Also consider this, while it’s indisputable, I’ll agree, that Allen has been the far more consistent performer of the two, it’s actually Hughes who might be the truer running back. Allen has gone over 100 yards only once in his career, though he did it in style amid a 234-yard all-purpose performance last season against Purdue, and has eclipsed 75 rushing yards just twice in his career.

While it’s not a significant margin, Hughes has gone over 100 yards twice in back-to-back games as a freshman, and went over 75 yards against Michigan this season with a 79-yard, one-touchdown performance in a blowout of the Wolverines. He also has more than twice as many rushing touchdowns by an eight to three count. And Hughes has done it despite playing 140 minutes less than Allen since their rookie seasons in 2007.

The problem with Hughes has been that his volume of carries hasn’t been sufficient for his style of running. He’s not a homerun threat that can go deep on a given play. He’s more effective as the game wears on and as he wears down a defense to the tune of 15-20 carries. When Hughes has touched the ball at least 15 times from scrimmage, he’s generally been productive with an average of nearly 87 yards and a touchdown in those games.

If the Irish can find a way to allow Hughes and Allen to coexist, the team should have an effective one-two punch. Hughes has the frame to take the greater pounding, which should give the Irish a cornerstone in the backfield, allowing Allen to serve as the all-purpose threat, and as such will lead Notre Dame’s rushers in 2009.