Coach Daz: Meet Ryan Brumfield

Ryan Brumfield would be a great get for coach Daz.
When I went to Temple too many years ago to count, coach Wayne Hardin feasted on foes by getting under-recruited running backs, mostly from the Philadelphia area, who had a chip on their shoulders.
They were really too many to mention here, but I’ll try:

“You hate to say the word ‘unstoppable,’ but that’s what Ryan is. He likes the challenges. The more he gets challenged, the better he plays. But what you like most about Ryan is that he’s a great kid. Here’s a kid that has every right to have an ego, and he doesn’t. He gets along with everyone. It’s why his teammates don’t only want to play with him — they want to play for him.”
_ Tom Barr, head coach, Owen J. Roberts

Kevin Duckett (Northeast), Sherman Myers (Coatesville), Anthony Anderson, Jim Brown (Hardin: “I like that name”), Harold Harmon, Henry Hynoski (Mount Carmel), Zach Dixon, Mark Bright (William Tennent), etc., etc., etc.
It’s funny. The schools who didn’t want those guys could not stop those guys.
Myers scored five touchdowns in a 49-17 win over a Syracuse bowl-bound team (that included future NFLers Joe Morris and Art Monk).
Bright won the MVP in the Garden State bowl against a very good Cal team.
Anderson had a good career with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Dixon was a 1,000-yard rusher at Temple (and Raheem Brock’s biological father).

All showed flashes of greatness at Temple.
Chip, meet shoulder.
Hardin had great running backs and great quarterbacks.
That’s not the whole key to winning, but it’s a good place to start.
Temple’s got a great running back now in Bernard Pierce.
When he’s on the field, he’s the best Temple running back I’ve ever seen and that includes Paul Palmer, the 1986 Heisman Trophy runnerup (sorry, Boo-Boo).
When he’s on the field, Temple can beat anybody. (I’m thinking Navy last year and Uconn this year.)
When he’s NOT on the field, there aren’t many teams Temple can beat (I’m thinking UCLA last year, Penn State, Ohio and Miami this year). I have no doubt, none, that Temple would have registered a damn historic win in State College on Sept. 25 had Pierce not snapped his ankle. Chester Stewart wouldn’t have thrown those three God-awful picks if Pierce was in the game.
So Pierce hasn’t been on the field enough for my taste and most of it has been bad luck, not Pierce’s fault.
If I had my druthers, he’s be on the field for every offensive snap in 2011. But I don’t want to go through another year when I see him limp off the field too many times.
That’s why Temple needs another Bernard Pierce.
I found him.
His name is Ryan Brumfield.
I’ve covered high school football in Southeastern Pennsylvania for 30 years and saw maybe five dominating running backs on the same level as Brumfield. Kevin Jones (Cardinal O’Hara, Virginia Tech, Detroit Lions) was one. Bill Foley (Father Judge, Southern Mississippi), Barry Compton (Central Bucks West, Pitt) and Pierce (Glen Mills, Temple) all put up staggering numbers.

Our current backup, while good, is 5-5, 150. He wore down last year. Even Stevie Wonder could see that

They were all special in their own way.
Trust me. Brumfield belongs with them and he might be the very best (and I’m partial to old-school guys).
Brumfield is the second all-time leading running back in the history of Pennsylvania. Defenses geared to stop him and they could not.
Yet he’s seriously under-recruited, much like Hardin’s stars were.
His only scholarship offer, so far, is Buffalo.
He is slightly smaller than Pierce (5-10 vs. 6-foot) and lighter (180 vs. 218) but he’s got the same speed (4.4-40), vision and power. He has the talent to make us forget about Pierce (ouch, it hurt typing that because I’m the biggest Pierce fan there is) but AT THE VERY MINIMUM he provides an insurance policy for Pierce we don’t currently have. Most of all, he is a character kid, a wonderful person and teammate.
Our current backup, while good, is 5-5, 150. He wore down last year. Even Stevie Wonder could see that.
This kid, Brumfield, does not wear down.
Unless we sign Bradenton Southeast’s Jared Williams, I don’t know if there is a guy out there who is that insurance policy.
Brumfield would be provide at least that.
Coach Daz, he’s worth a look and a long, hard one at that.

9 thoughts on “Coach Daz: Meet Ryan Brumfield

  1. I have seen you talk about Ryan several times before and in the last post we talked about homegrown underrated prospects. I really like his vision and balance which in my opinion is way more important than straight line speed and size when it comes to RB(Not saying he dosent posses straight line speed and at 5-10 180 he could probably put on 10lbs or more of muscle in a college weight program). from what I have experienced there are usually a few reasons a recruit of this quality go unnoticed. they include size, level of competition, grades/off the field incident. I dont think it can be size considering we already have a Matt Brown type and I know Bernard had some red flags before coming to temple(yet i have met Bernard and he seems like a fine young man). However, I do not know about his level of competition or his grade situation, maybe you could shed some light as to why he is lacking offers. there must be something keeping everyone except buffalo away and that includes Temple even when Golden was still here.

  2. Heard from Coach D that the Chuck Heater hire is done.

  3. I really hope Ryan comes to Temple, but I'm hearing he is leaning towards Eastern Michigan. BTW poor effort by Cestnut at the 6:15 mark.

  4. oops I meant Chestnut, he would look good in cherry and white though…

  5. TFF, if not this kid then who? Our new coaches have their eyes and attention on another RB. Who is this mystery kid? BP will play in all regular season and post season games next season, and will then go play on Sundays. Who is this new kid in the emerging calculus?

  6. Just heard our AD asked Daz to retain Matt Rhule! What are we doing?

  7. No reason other than coaches, if they had their druthers, would offer a scholie to a kid with a little more size.Coach Daz got up at the players' only meeting and said he would prefer to recruit two stars with toughness rather than five stars without toughness.Well, this is Daz's opportunity to put his (scholarship) money where his mouth is because they don't come with more character or toughness than Brumfield.No issue with grades at all.Ryan is an excellent student and a great kid with no off-the-field issues.

  8. The only thing our AD should be asking Daz is to publically say he never put feelers out for UConn.Leave the staff to Daz.This is how Jerry Jones ruined the Cowboys, by micromanaging.If Rhule stays, I want it to be as LB coach, not OC, and on Daz's call, no one else's.

  9. No doubt if BP plays in all regular season games and the bowl, he will be a first-round draft choice.If he plays only half the season, though, he won't.It's in BP's best interests to hit the weight room and be indestructable next year on the field.As far as the new kid, the staff is after Jared Williams of Bradenton Southeast and I would be fine with him backup up BP.However, it wouldn't hurt to get both Williams and Brumfield. One could play DB.I don't want to go into the season with another 5-5, 150-pound backup.I'll take a 5-10, 185-pound upgrade, thank you.

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