greatest UCONN rb

[chapwilvaug72]

the only back i ever saw live was clements and he good

tork had good nfl stint in green bay (currently on gb website is interesting video interview with tork

was Donald brown better; how does McCauley or other backs stacks up

 

[Palatine]

Terry Caulley was something special.

 

[businesslawyer]

it is easy to forget how great TC's career might have been had he not destroyed his knee in Blacksburgh that day. He was a very, very special talent.

That having been said, the answer is the Donald by a lot. Unless you think we've had other players who you could seriously argue deserved a Heisman. (Which he did, even though due to the perceptions of our program and his pedestrian year the year before he didn't get the consideration he deserved.)

 

[uconndogs]

Donald Brown was the perfect combination of strength, power, speed and quickness for the college game. He was absolutely terrific at seeing his blocking develop and then committing and exploding through a seam.

I really liked what I saw from the three frosh on Friday. Frankly, if Max puts it on the turf next Sat. I would relegate him largely to pass blocking. You absolutely can NOT put the ball on the ground on the first play from scrimmage to start the season. That essentially ended the game.

Anyway, it would not shock me at all if we eventually end of talking about one of Arkeel, Johnson or Meriner in the same breath as Brown and Cauley. We might finally have another back to ride.

 

[UCPusky]

the only back i ever saw live was clements and he good

tork had good nfl stint in green bay (currently on gb website is interesting video interview with tork

was Donald brown better; how does McCauley or other backs stacks up

I have to go with Terry Caulley. Prior to his knee injury, TC was the most dynamic runner I ever saw at UConn.

 

[RedStickHusky]

Equal time!

 

[huskysupporter]

Donald Brown,without question. Power, speed, toughness. Teams knew he was getting the ball, and they couldn't stop him.

 

[Nostical]

My Avatar is a hint.

 

[Fairfield_1st]

I've got to vote for Caulley as well. That guy was worth the price of admission. He could get yards on plays he had no right getting them. Elusiveness was his biggest asset. This is spoken as a fan, not a coach or GM. I assume Brown was overall the better player, but I loved to watch Caulley run.

 

[freescooter]

I've got to vote for Caulley as well. That guy was worth the price of admission. He could get yards on plays he had no right getting them. Elusiveness was his biggest asset. This is spoken as a fan, not a coach or GM. I assume Brown was overall the better player, but I loved to watch Caulley run.

This is my view too. He just did things that nobody could do. Plus though he was small he hit guys with power and didn't go down easily. 2 plays come to mind for me. first was a catch and run against Kent State in the last game at Memorial Stadium. The pass was too high but somehow he went up, tipped it, came down and caught it with his other hand and at the same time spun away from a defender and scored. One of the most athletic plays I ever saw. the second one was the touchdown that started the comeback in the Iowa State win. You could feel the game slipping away as Iowa State had come back from a 10 point deficiet and extended its lead. UConn seemed to be stuck. The situation called for a big time play and he broke off a 65 yard scoring run that got us back in the game.

 

[Dooley]

it is easy to forget how great TC's career might have been had he not destroyed his knee in Blacksburgh that day. He was a very, very special talent.

That having been said, the answer is the Donald by a lot. Unless you think we've had other players who you could seriously argue deserved a Heisman. (Which he did, even though due to the perceptions of our program and his pedestrian year the year before he didn't get the consideration he deserved.)

1000% agree. Caulley's injury, unfortunately, derailed what looked to be a promising shot at the next level. Because of the injury, the answer to this poll is very easily Donald Brown. I use him as an example of what I LOVE in a RB every time I mention "finish runs". Brown was a complete package. Could block, could catch, had breakaway speed, and my favorite attribute, could get those extra 2-3 yards (sometimes more) by taking on tacklers.

I also think Todman deserves some love in this thread too. I'd rank Todman as "2A" tied with Caulley behind Brown.

 

[Dooley]

The omission of Brown from the Doak Walker list that year is still as inexcusable today as it was back then.

 

[UConnSean]

Brown was the best but I definitely agree that Todman deserves a shout out. His games against WVU and PITT the Fiesta year were unreal!

 

[LRock34]

Pre-injury Terry Caulley was the best I've seen in a UConn uniform. Donald is a VERY close 2nd. Terry had freshman and sophomore 1AA talent blocking for him when he was in his prime. Donald faced better comp but he also had legit 1A linemen with years of experience under their belts. But than again Donald faced 8 to 9 in the box on every handoff while Terry had an NFL QB in the backfield with him.

You really can't argue against either one of them.

 

[freescooter]

I agree that Brown was the best, but I think Caulley was the most fun to watch. I think Caulley would be 2 and Todman 2b. I remember watching Eric Torkleson and while it was a different era and a different level of football, he was a very good runner. His performance against Yale was remarkable. UConn linemen were actually coming to the line and telling hte defnders he was going to get the ball and he still couldn't be stopped. He had a terrific game against Rutgers where he totally out played their All-American running back.

 

[LRock34]

Brown was the best but I definitely agree that Todman deserves a shout out. His games against WVU and PITT the Fiesta year were unreal!

Agreed, Todman does deserves a major shoutout and should be in the conversation. He faced 8 in the box at all times and put up some impressive numbers.

Dixon, Brockington, Bellemy and Allen were all great backs as well.

1. Caulley
1A. Brown
1B Todman
2 Dixon
3 Bellemy, Brockington and Allen are all a tossup.

 

[BlueMAB]

I'm only judging the D1A era cause that's what I've seen.

1) Brown (not his fault Caulley got injured)

2) Todman (incredible production)

3) Caulley (not his fault either, but can't give him credit for what he "could/would" have done")

If not for the injury, Caulley would have been number 1.

It's still criminal that Brown wasn't the Doak Walker winner.

 

[uconnfan68]

Donald Brown,without question. Power, speed, toughness. Teams knew he was getting the ball, and they couldn't stop him.

Even when they hit him 2 yds deep he still gained 4-5. Uncanny ability to get more than appeared to be available.

 

[Skiblets]

No love for Wilbur Gilliard. C'mon man!

 

[Catsailor]

the only back i ever saw live was clements and he good

tork had good nfl stint in green bay (currently on gb website is interesting video interview with tork

was Donald brown better; how does McCauley or other backs stacks up

I would up the evaluation of Vinny Clements to very very good. It was unfortunate that injury cut short his cup of coffee with NY Giants.

Impossible for me to compare him to backs from this century as things are very different now strength & conditioning, supporting cast, and competition. VC's success despite inferior s&c, suporting cast yada yada... So hard to say which is more impressive.

A few of us remember how very very good Wes was on the bb side, kudo's to chap for remembering VC.
I remember him as a hellova talent.

OT we also had an Olympic caliber (qualified) sprinter on the swim team, in that time frame, Danny Sullivan. Would have been on 4x100 relay team except for a run in with notorious UConn winter ice patch, broken ankle, opportunity missed.

Baseball & soccer also very good back then.
All this to say UConn has a rich athletic history, which I guess is the underlying theme.

 

[Jimdish255]

I've got to vote for Caulley as well. That guy was worth the price of admission. He could get yards on plays he had no right getting them. Elusiveness was his biggest asset. This is spoken as a fan, not a coach or GM. I assume Brown was overall the better player, but I loved to watch Caulley run.

Caulley and Thomas both had a stubborn unwillingness to concede any play being over until after the whistle. Different styles but amazng to watch. Our three-headed monster is going to be great to watch moving forward and I wouldn't rule out one of those guys getting themselves into the conversation.

 

[Husky25]

No love for Wilbur Gilliard. C'mon man!

Tory Taylor before he was converted to WR. Man, he was fun to watch.

 

[ktuck911]

Caulley and Thomas both had a stubborn unwillingness to concede any play being over until after the whistle. Different styles but amazng to watch. Our three-headed monster is going to be great to watch moving forward and I wouldn't rule out one of those guys getting themselves into the conversation.

Who's Thomas?

 

[ktuck911]

Terry Caulley was a human highlight real for us... If he didn't get hurt, there'd be zero debate.... I vote for him though.. He's the best I've seen at RB at UCONN..

BTW, FWIW, the little I've seen of Arkel Newsome, brings back memories of TC... The kid has the same kind of wiggle.. He's elusive and breaks tackles... Looking forward to seeing his career blossom...

 

[Excalibur]

I give it to Brown by a nose over Caulley. I think Caulley (pre-injury, of course), had higher top end speed and was more elusive, Brown had better acceleration and vision, and they were both difficult to tackle. The difference, for me, was Brown's proficiency with the stiff-arm. It made him a more complete runner.

Todman is third, then there is a large gap, Dixon, another large gap, then Brockington, Bellamy, Gilliard etc . . .