[washingtonismoney]

Fixed it for you (he's probably better than Gaffney too, but I'll be conservative with this intial ranking).

Better than Gaffney? That seems unlikely--Gaffney is, after all, a junior, who's gotten better every year. Had he not gotten injured last year, I suspect he and Taylor would've split carries. Better than Jeremy Stewart? Doubtful--though to be fair Stewart's more of an intangibles guy. Better than Ricky Seale? Possible, but then again Seale looked very good in the spring game and has a year's experience in the offense. So it's hard for me to believe Carlisle would've ranked above those five guys, this year.

As to the other freshmen:

Better than Wright and Young? It's certainly possible. But there's no evidence to believe this; while Matt Barkley has been talking favorably about Carlisle, Shaw has been talking favorably about Kelsey Young and Wright. Do you have some insight as to why Barkley's hype should be taken more seriously than Shaw's? Recruiting-wise, Young was ranked #12 by Rivals and #21 by Scout; Wright was #16 by Rivals and #20 by Scout; Carlisle was #4...as an "all-purpose back"--classic Rivals code for "guy we don't think will touch the ball a lot"--and #15 by Scout. All were four-stars. I'm not as negative on the recruiting services as some are, but I do believe it's foolish to distinguish between, say, the #15 running back and the #20 running back. There's not a substantial difference between any of them to be so bullish. It's conceivable any of the three will end up being the best, and so there's little evidence to be so certain one way or another, unless you're being wholly unobjective.

by the by: I'm pretty sure we were considering turning Carlisle into a wideout or cornerback. Like I said, Carlisle was not so important to us as a running back. If he's important to you, then your depth at running back is worrisome.

[washingtonismoney]

Fixed it for you (he's probably better than Gaffney too, but I'll be conservative with this intial ranking).

Better than Gaffney? That seems unlikely--Gaffney is, after all, a junior, who's gotten better every year. Had he not gotten injured last year, I suspect he and Taylor would've split carries. Better than Jeremy Stewart? Doubtful--though to be fair Stewart's more of an intangibles guy. Better than Ricky Seale? Possible, but then again Seale looked very good in the spring game and has a year's experience in the offense. So it's hard for me to believe Carlisle would've ranked above those five guys, this year.

As to the other freshmen:

Better than Wright and Young? It's certainly possible. But there's no evidence to believe this; while Matt Barkley has been talking favorably about Carlisle, Shaw has been talking favorably about Kelsey Young and Wright. Do you have some insight as to why Barkley's hype should be taken more seriously than Shaw's? Recruiting-wise, Young was ranked #12 by Rivals and #21 by Scout; Wright was #16 by Rivals and #20 by Scout; Carlisle was #4...as an "all-purpose back"--classic Rivals code for "guy we don't think will touch the ball a lot"--and #15 by Scout. All were four-stars. I'm not as negative on the recruiting services as some are, but I do believe it's foolish to distinguish between, say, the #15 running back and the #20 running back. There's not a substantial difference between any of them to be so bullish. It's conceivable any of the three will end up being the best, and so there's little evidence to be so certain one way or another, unless you're being wholly unobjective.

by the by: I'm pretty sure we were considering turning Carlisle into a wideout or cornerback. Like I said, Carlisle was not so important to us as a running back. If he's important to you, then your depth at running back is worrisome.