Similar statistical comparison between Isaiah Crowell, Herschel Walker to this point
Isaiah Crowell's cutting ability is reminscent of former Georgia running back Garrison Hearst. (UGA photo by Rob Saye)
ATHENS – This is not at all to say that Isaiah Crowell is the next Herschel Walker — there hasn’t been a “next” so far — but their statistical comparison to this point in their respective freshman campaigns is remarkably similar.
- Through the first four games of the 1980 season, Walker had 419 yards rushing on 77 carries.
- Through the first four games of the 2011 season, Crowell has 411 yards rushing on 77 carries.
Walker had outscored Crowell 5 touchdowns to 3 at this point and, of course, the Bulldogs were 4-0 then as opposed to 2-2 now. Also, of note, Walker was injured early in the fourth game against TCU and was sidelined. Similarly, Crowell watched the second half of the Coastal Carolina game from the sideline due to injured ribs and an early blowout.
Walker finished the 1980 campaign with a freshman record of 1,616 yards and 15 touchdowns. That does not include his 150 yards and 2 TDs in the national championship win over Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl. Bowl stats were not included then.
At Crowell’s current pace he would finish the regular season with 1,236 yards and 9 touchdowns.
Here’s the game-by-game comparison:
WALKER<————————————–>CROWELL
Opp., Att-Yards-TDs—————————Opp., Att.-Yards-TDs
Tenn., 24-84-2————————————-Boise St., 15-60-0
Tx A&M, 21-145-3———————————S.Carolina, 16-118-2*
Clemson, 23-121-0——————————–C.Carolina, 16-86-1
TCU, 9-69-0**————————————–Ole Miss, 30-147-0
Total 77-419-5————————————Total 77-411-3
* 1 pass reception for TD
** Injured/sidelined during game
Here’s how some of Georgia’s other great backs looked statistically in their first season the last 20 years or :
- Rodney Hampton 126-890-4
- Garrison Hearst 162-717-5
- Knowshon Moreno 248-1,334-14
- Tim Worley 116-627-9
- Kregg Lumpkin 112-523-6
- Thomas Brown 172-875-8
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371 comments Add your comment
Bama Mike
September 27th, 2011
2:41 pm
JB correct. Go back and look at some of the games during the 70″s and 80″s teams that were successful had offensive lines dominated by senior leadership. You didnt see or hear of a freshman guard or tackle.
Mike
September 27th, 2011
2:42 pm
I knew it was coming … give the guy a break. Compare him to Knowshon … Garrison Hearst … Rodney Hampton. Don’t do the hershel thing yet. Please. Musa even. Come on. He’s not even clear on who to block yet.
1eyedJack
September 27th, 2011
2:44 pm
Herschel was so big and fast he made the earth spin backwards.
Joe Piskepo
September 27th, 2011
2:44 pm
One knock I have on Crowell is that he hasn’t learned how to run between the tackles yet. He get most of his yards off of wide runs to the right or left. I want to see him hit the hole like Hearst or even Ealy.
1eyedJack
September 27th, 2011
2:45 pm
Herschel could make Chuck Norris cry.
JB
September 27th, 2011
2:45 pm
The point in Athens has gotten to this. I remember about 3 years ago at LSU they wanted Miles run off because……….He was 7-0 but they didn’t like the way he as winning and playing. Lucky breaks and sloppy play…….and they wanted him replaced. They knew that “style” of play was going to catch up with them.That’s were Richt is, only he ain’t 7-0. Nobody see’s this program last year or this taking on a good ranked team and winning. Feel good wins of coastal Carolina and Ole Miss ain’t getting it.
Blue
September 27th, 2011
2:45 pm
1 4 GT…come on, Barry Sanders isn’t in that group of “stop and watch”??
trueblueBravesFan
September 27th, 2011
2:46 pm
Geesh Frannie…..can you hold up that ACC title that Tech won. Oh thats right….your school doesn’t have it anymore because your school and coach cheated and then lied about it the NCAA…Its amazing that your AD and Coach still have their jobs.
TampaDawg
September 27th, 2011
2:46 pm
Frannie, if you had anything of merit to back that up, that would be one thing. But CMR recruits from the same pool that EVERY school is gunning for (yes, GT included), he disciplines the kids hard when they screw up (Mettenberger is the prime example), and the most they have done that someone could yell “cheating” over is the Ray Drew press conference with Pollack and Godfrey there (which was just another example of the NCAA being out of control). Thanks for your input Frannie, but all of that is just misinformed opinion at best with no facts to back it up.
MY 2 cents
September 27th, 2011
2:46 pm
Chip,
Why oh why would you even fathom the notion to write an article like this? Even though you did say you WERE NOT comparing the two. Thanks for opening this can of worms. NO COLLEGE PLAYER NOW, IN THE PAST, OR TO COME will be the next Herschel Walker. Not even close!
Joe Piskepo
September 27th, 2011
2:47 pm
Samuels = Jasper Sanks
Blue
September 27th, 2011
2:47 pm
Walker is in better shape NOW than IC is…
Dr. Phil
September 27th, 2011
2:49 pm
How could anyone look at the film of Herschel and compare Crowell to him. Crowell is a “cat lookin’ in the mirror.”
Joe Piskepo
September 27th, 2011
2:50 pm
Crowell = Lil Wayne
Bama Mike
September 27th, 2011
2:51 pm
Offensive line development will determine how his career is defined. Freshman runner at Texas and receiver at Clemson more impressive. I will take our three freshman lineman over any 5 star running back. Can you name them? Didnt think so and that is how we want to keep it.
Saban
September 27th, 2011
2:53 pm
If the dawgs play us, Crowell will be taken out on a stretcher in the first quarter.
Saban
September 27th, 2011
2:53 pm
Crowell=Tiny Tim with a purse
WDE
September 27th, 2011
2:54 pm
@No heroes in Athens since Fran Tarkenton..there is not need for your thinly disguised racism. Get over your self.
mark PRICHT
September 27th, 2011
2:55 pm
TampaX…if leg humpers put up 768 on New Mexico, yall will throw the trash in the streets and celebrate the dream team is for real…..and yall hate pricht more than we do…now you defend him?
JB
September 27th, 2011
2:55 pm
I wish Samuels was a good as Jasper……..And I know he caught hell in the hood with the name Jasper, just say’n
Joe Piskepo
September 27th, 2011
2:55 pm
An old ball coach told me the other day that he never saw a great running back out of Columbus GA. Now that scared me….Crowell = Jasper Sanks
JB
September 27th, 2011
2:56 pm
We go to Bama next year. That will be interesting.
IC Wild
September 27th, 2011
2:57 pm
IC runs for 200 against miss state—dawgs roll in blowout! Dawgs 39 msu 19
JB
September 27th, 2011
2:58 pm
I never saw any good ole ball coach’s out of Columbus.
JB
September 27th, 2011
3:00 pm
That ole Caps Lock button is broken at Harold’s house I guess.
Bama Mike
September 27th, 2011
3:00 pm
Saban fyi. Arkansas had 14 players held out of Mondays practice due to injuries sustained in Saturdays game. Bama only one who was still riding a stationary bike at practice. Not saying we will run the table but defense should keep us in most if not all.
WDE
September 27th, 2011
3:01 pm
@harold its nap time, go lay down.
bigcalidawg
September 27th, 2011
3:03 pm
If I’m not mistaken, Herschel, during that time he wanted to come back to the league (or maybe he was just joshin’)
HE RAN a 4.39, at 51!
On that recent ESPN show, he was 51 and said he ran a 4.39 (a few weeks ago).
Not only that, I would guess that he is in better shape than any kid in the SEC, much less our program.
You take a genetic freak and give him OCD, and gear him toward fitness………It’s over………
Joe Piskepo
September 27th, 2011
3:04 pm
JB = Crowells jock strap
Get some air dude. Breath…Bama..Breath
Bama Mike
September 27th, 2011
3:04 pm
JB. If early in the season advantage Dawgs as we lose 9-10 defensive starters. It took us until the bowl game to soldify the defense last year after replacing 9 starters. We will have a cold one waiting for you before and after the game win or lose.
Cindy Hendrix
September 27th, 2011
3:08 pm
UGA fans be thankful & proud that we had a player like HW who won a heisman & was a part of out team that won us our national championship. There will never be another HW. Any school that is lucky enough to have a player of his capability is very lucky whatever position he plays. I am very proud that HW played for UGA. IC is his own man & player let us support him without any pressure or comparison to HW he appears to be a good RB so far & I hope will continue to play well for UGA. AS ALWAYS GO DAWGS SIC EM WOOF WOOF! GATA!
Joe Piskepo
September 27th, 2011
3:09 pm
HW = Hines Ward?
Dawg fans please RELAX
September 27th, 2011
3:10 pm
Is there another freshman as good right now as IC honestly? I think we really got ourselves a star in the making here.
Bama Mike
September 27th, 2011
3:11 pm
Going to the Swamp Saturday night. Should I wear my Bama Julio Jones jersey or go strictly with my normal Alabama red neck attire. Any help from my Dawg friends would be appreciated. I am a war time veteran but at my age going mano a mano could be an issue.
WDE
September 27th, 2011
3:11 pm
@Bama Mike your tests start this week, the Gators I hate to say will be a tougher test than Ark was…but then they have that total beatdown from Bama last year to avenge.
Skeet
September 27th, 2011
3:11 pm
Crowell needs to be Crowell………………Forget Hershel Walker……………….This is Crowel’s era
Dawg fans please RELAX
September 27th, 2011
3:12 pm
FU will lose every game in Oct.
TampaDawg
September 27th, 2011
3:12 pm
No heroes in Athens sounds like the race card just got played
Dawg fans please RELAX
September 27th, 2011
3:13 pm
@ Skeet…totally agree. He is special though
bigcalidawg
September 27th, 2011
3:13 pm
Joe Piskepo
September 27th, 2011
2:55 pm
“An old ball coach told me the other day that he never saw a great running back out of Columbus GA. Now that scared me….Crowell = Jasper Sanks”
Well now that one’s got me thinkin’. Dell was good in high school, but ended up playn corner. The best HS running back I saw (from Columbus) was a gentleman from Columbus High School named Tobin King. Sadly, he injured his knee and did not recover, but that man was lightenin’. Broke off huge runs against Bainbridge and LaGrange. I think he got hurt as a sophomore.
Wow…that’s a good point. We’ve had great corners (Nate Odomes), great baseball players (Big Frank), who also played football, at AU (TE and OLB) not sure.
Dang, Maybe Isaiah is an icebreaker. I don’t see him going the Jasper route, but it’s early. It’s easier to avoid history when you’re 1st cousins with it.
Go head IC, show ‘em what you got!
TampaDawg
September 27th, 2011
3:13 pm
who is FU? Fordham??
Bama Mike
September 27th, 2011
3:14 pm
WDE. Your are correct my friend. Good luck at South Carolina. I gotta a feeling. Just saying.
Dawg fans please RELAX
September 27th, 2011
3:19 pm
UF sounds better to me when i refer to them as FU
Spaceman Spiff
September 27th, 2011
3:24 pm
Poor little harold. Another techie that realizes that they can’t beat us on the field so he has to try to one-up us on this… and he has to “yell” to do it… poor little harold….
Gators for Richt
September 27th, 2011
3:26 pm
Caleb King was the last, next Herschel Walker. Knowshon Moreno with the previous, last, next Hershel Walker. If Crowell is the next Herschel Walker, the question must be who will be the next, next Herschel Walker? What about the next, next, next?
JB
September 27th, 2011
3:28 pm
Dawgs win in an upset Saturday, even though Vegas has us at 4.5 favorite. To us it’s an upset.
TampaDawg
September 27th, 2011
3:31 pm
JB, we are favored against Miss St? Interesting …
Alabama | MrSEC.com
September 27th, 2011
3:32 pm
[...] is #5 in the nation when it comes to stopping third-down conversions.5. Through four games, Isaiah Crowell is one pace with Herschel Walker’s start. (Now that’s called jumping the [...]
Contractor
September 27th, 2011
3:33 pm
This is precisely why other fan bases hate us, ridicule us, and rip us all the time. QUIT THE COMPARISONS!!! Herschel Walker is the greatest college football player of all time, so having another Herschel come along will not happen. Just let these guys be their selves, instead of calling them failures because they fail to live up to the greatest player in college history. Jasper Sanks, Danny Ware, Kregg Lumpkin all got this label thrown on them, and it is sheer disappointment when they don’t pan out, pretty much destroying their names. Let these guys just play ball. I understand it’s all fun to talk about the possibilities, but it solves nothing and doesn’t prove a thing. Crowell will be good like Knowshon was, so let’s just see what the kid does before we start the comparisons yet again.
Dawg Days
September 27th, 2011
3:33 pm
Can you find something else to write about? Judging by the looks of HW, he looks like he could still play and kick some ass. None of these kids were alive when HW played at UGA and it is incredibly unfair for anyone to write or blog about the comparison whether you preface it or not. It is worse than every QB in Denver being compared to John Elway or every QB that will follow Manning and Brady.
Dooley ran the ball way more than Richt does.
In UGA’s offense, Crowell would best be compared to Moreno. I would expect him be used the same as well.