Boykin ran a now official 4.42 . Did I mention Kelly’s

Not even as fast as a DE, pathetic *

I was very wrong about Boykin's speed

I thought he looked more like a plodder and would have to make it in the NFL as a TE.

I'm absolutely stunned he ran a 4.42. Shocked. But happy for him as he just made some money.
Is it just me, or did anyone else see evidence of this 4.42 speed while at ND?

How many would have pegged Boykin as being faster than Dexter Williams?

I'm also wondering why ND coaches and ND S&C had Boykin playing 10 lbs heavier than the 220 he checked in at the combine?

In shorts and a t-shirt.

I don't consider him to be a burner in pads.

But hopefully for him, his combine numbers will help him get a longer look from some teams and be drafted higher.

I had the same thoughts as you.

I like Boykin, but I always looked at him as a "possession" type of receiver. I, too, wondered if he wouldn't be better off putting on weight and trying to play TE in the NFL.

I have to believe Dexter didn't run well at the combine. There's no way he wasn't faster than Boykin on the field last year.

And not just straight ahead speed. His cone/shuttle times

were great as well.

I wish we had better utilized his superior athleticism. His measurables suggest there was some meat left on the bone in terms of productivity at ND.

Good question on weight.

Weights/heights are embellished on rosters

They are exact at the combine. It's possible there was little to no difference between the weight he played at and the weight he performed at this weekend.

so why wasn't he open more with those measurables?

is it route running or what?

He was open all the time all year. Book can’t throw deep

So that’s why you didn’t see him blowing by people for long TDs like fuller did. His speed isn’t that much of a shock. Coming into ND he was considered to be the best WR his class and there were comparisons to Floyd during recruiting.

He was open all year. *

He was open plenty in the Cotton Bowl. *

Some meat? We left 3/4 of the cow, in my opinion *

Terry Jillery did a 4.93, #2 among DLs. So what’s becoming

more and more clear is that Balis is the best coach we’ve got. Back up the truck into his driveway.

What’s also becoming clear is we have the talent to win

And it’s the coaching staff and scheme that are the reasons we fall short on the biggest stages.

No 5-stars,no National Championships. Simple as that.... *

It's still both. *

I think Kelly is actually a pretty good judge of talent and

potential. That ability to find talent has been there even before ND.

Where he has struggled is in developing that talent further with his staff. More hit and miss. And then there is gameplanning and gameday where he does not excel at all.

He is best when the talent differential is great. When it narrows he often gets out-coached.

I'd say he's pretty standard at both.

His NFL development is on par with his recruiting rankings. After the 2015 season his NFL development actually exceeded recruiting rankings, but that may have come back down to about the base line since. (I'd have to check.). What hasn't been on par with either is the win totals. Unless Kelly has just hit a new normal. I think those call are premature. I'd like to see how year 2 of Quinn as OL coach works out before believing a coach that won 4 games three years ago has hit a new normal of 10 wins.

Actually what you’re saying is Kelly should be a scout

Not a head coach. I totally agree.

Balis is certainly a giant step up, but Longo was in a bad

Spot.

Yes, you think Book looks like a kid next to Jurkovec...

... you should have seen him ground level in the pocket at the Cotton Bowl, standing next to Clemson’s front seven.

I know, you had great seats. I was far less jealous

by the end of the game.

To your point, Book was overwhelmed. Jurkovec’s progression will be fun to watch.

I suspect we could have a QB controversy at some point this year.

We better. *

Wouldn’t expect anything less.

We literally haven’t gone a single season in Kelly’s entire 9-year tenure without at least some instability at the QB position. All of them (except 2013) had the instability during the season and only 2010 and 2015 (in addition to 2013) weren’t due to coaching decisions. Six of Kelly’s nine years, the coaching staff has decided in the middle of a game/the season to go with a rotation/backup entering at a key moment/starter switch, for whatever reason.

ETA: Actually, you could arguably put 2010 in there, too, when they called a flea flicker against Michigan for Rees’s first ever pass (intercepted) and then a couple drives later went with Montana until Crist was ready to come back in. But the latter portion of the season when Rees replaced Crist wasn’t due to a coaching decision.