The Thoroughbred and the Workhorse

I am at a lost for a nickname for Andre Dixon and Jordan Todman. Fire and Ice, Thunder and Lightning etc. I was trying to come up with something with Dreads, but Todman doesn't really stick out yet. Every good running back tandem has a nickname. If someone gives me one I like I'll send you an Oklahoma media guide.  I also have Ole Miss and Tennessee hanging around if you want it.

For now, it's the Thoroughbred and the Workhorse. Looking at Dixon and Todman on paper, their stats are similar, though they have gotten there in different ways.

Take Todman. He is fast and explosive. When he gets outside in space he can run away from the defense. Get him a seam and he will race through the hole. He is like that race track thoroughbred that is beautiful to watch run. Explosive, fast and somewhat fragile. That's Todman. He is beat up after every game running between the tackles. He has 326 yards on 65 carries for a 5.0 average and pair of touchdowns. Against Ohio he dominated with speed.




On Saturday they needed something a little more physical to make the defense hurt. That's Dixon, he's the workhorse blue-collar running back that can wear a defense down. Dixon has speed, but he is at his best hitting the hole fast and making quick decisive cuts. He isn't going to have many big-time runs, but he moves the chain, gets positive yards, and can finish off a game. Todman excites and makes the Huskies a one-play scoring team. Dixon can chew yards out in bulk against a tired defense. Dixon has 270 yards on 58 carries.

"A fresh Jordan is better than a tired me," Dixon said Saturday. "And a fresh me is better than a tired Jordan."


Is this what Edsall and Joe Moorhead designed? I don't think either is going to win a job outright and get all the carries. First off, neither is built like Donald Brown and Todman is bruised up enough after 20 carries. I cringe to see what 10-15 more "tough carries" would do to him. It would slow him down, so keeping Todman fast and explosive would seem to be the most prudent course of action.

Dixon doesn't have the big play or top end speed of Todman, but he is a little like Brown in that when you feed him the ball he ends up making things happens. Dixon needs a lot of carries to get going because he does that tough inside running.  Eventually he will hit a hole and bounce it out for a 12 yard gain.


Dixon only got 7 carries against UNC, and I thought that was a mistake. The staff fixed that this week when they rode the tough running Dixon to a win over Baylor. The pair have almost the equal number of carries and that bodes well for this season. In fact, I think Dixon has been on the field for more snaps this season. Both are fresh in the fourth quarter and as the season wears on, keeping each healthy and fresh will be a key to the Huskies continued success.