Sophomores to be Robert Hughes (RB) and Harrison Smith (S) were named the MVPs for the 2008 Blue Gold Game on Saturday.
Hughes ran the ball a game high 22 times for an even 100 yards and a touchdown. Hughes’ 22 carries were twice as many as other Irish running back registered and more than all of the other backs combined. Armando Allen gained 50 yards on 11 carries, James Aldridge six for 18, and Gallup four for three.
From Weis:
“Because he’s so big and physical, you can get away with that a lot of times. But all I’m saying is when you start going for real, the difference between maybe getting five yards and getting seven yards, you know, that subtle hidden yardage could just be the difference between running like this and running like that.
It might be a yard or two. But those yard or two add up as the game goes on. It might not be the difference between rushing for another 50 yards, but it might be another 20 yards. And instead of it 2nd and 5, it’s 2nd and 3. It’s something that we’ll continue to work on.”
Harrison Smith got the defensive MVP after picking off Jimmy Clausen and returning it for a touchdown in the second half. He also totaled 5 tackles and nearly recorded a sack of Clausen as well.
From Weis:
He’s not playing linebacker, actually. He’s playing a safety that we’re dropping down. That’s, as I said the other day, we have a couple of different packages. But one package, you saw Scott Smith playing a lot of the same position. We’re trying to get interchangeable parts so that we can play the same defense with what we call “base people” with linebackers with a big body like Scott Smith. Then play it with a smaller body that is more of a safety type like a Harrison Smith.
