Why Eric Murtaugh Is Wrong About Robert Hughes

Eric Murtaugh is one of my favorite writers on Bleacher Report and Fighting Irish Gameday. As a fellow Notre Dame fan, he and I see eye to eye on just about everything. When we aren't writing about Notre Dame we often are battling half of the Cleveland Browns section together in defense of our favorite son, Brady Quinn.

One stance that Murtaugh has is his feelings about Robert Hughes. He feels that Hughes just doesn't have much to offer the Notre Dame football team. Murtaugh feels that when Armando Allen is out of the game, the carries should go to the younger more talented runners like Jonas Gray and Theo Riddick.

This is the one thing I have to respectfully disagree with Murtaugh on. I recognize that Hughes isn't the most talented running back ever to go through South Bend. I also recognize that the younger guys have more potential and are faster. After graduating Notre Dame, Hughes probably won't play on Sundays, at least not for very long.

At the same time, does the fact that he may not have NFL talent mean we can't use him in South Bend? Who has been the one who has made all of the toughness plays this year? Hughes is the man when the Irish need a tough yard. It was Hughes who carried multiple defenders with him against Washington for the all important two-point conversion.

Hughes has become a fan favorite because fans always love the guy who does the grunge work. Hughes is the epitome of toughness for this team.

Hughes reminds me of a player I used to love when my beloved Detroit Pistons were on top. That is Ben Wallace. Wallace may not be a scoring champion or a league MVP. What he did do was all the little things that enabled the Pistons to win an NBA title.

Fans, coaches, and teammates love players like that.

Not only is Hughes tough, but he is also versatile. He filled in some for James Aldridge at fullback when he was out with injury. There is also a very good chance that Hughes will be the starting fullback next year when Aldridge graduates. There he will be good because we know he can do the tough work.

Therefore, lead blocking shouldn't be much of a problem for him. Hughes will also be helpful in catching screens.

This season Hughes has done all that has been asked of him. Early in the year, he wasn't getting many carries. Jonas Gray was getting action. However, when Allen wasn't able to go against Purdue it was Hughes who outperformed Gray. Since then Hughes has been too solid to take out of the game plan.

 This article is also posted on http://fightingirishgameday.com/