Knowshon Moreno vs. Justin Hoskins: An interesting comparison

It's been about four days since CMU's 56-17 loss at Georgia. What most of the nation remembers from that game is this - Knowshon Moreno's hurdle over defensive back Vince Agnew to complete a 29-yard gain on 3rd and 14.

Obviously, the play made Moreno a hit on YouTube, with more than 133,000 hits in less than a week. And that's not even the only version of the play up right now! The last time I saw that kind of jumping ability was watching a mix tape of current Michigan freshman tailback Sam McGuffie.

In person, though, it was CMU's very own Justin Hoskins last season, when CMU beat Ball State 58-38. I can't be the only person that thought of his jump at Ball State when Moreno made his:

Tailback Justin Hoskins going airborne in CMU's 58-38 win over Ball State last year. Credit to John Ehlke, CM Life Assistant Photo Editor.

I saw Director of University Recreation Stan Shingles recently, and we talked about the similarities between Moreno's jump and Hoskins'. Now, obviously, Moreno is going to get more hits on YouTube and more publicity (#3 on SportsCenter's Top 10 plays, anyone?) because it's No. 2 Georgia and he's a legitimate Heisman candidate. Nobody really gives credit to a CMU-Ball State contest, although they should, especially this year. But that's another topic we'll get to later this year.

In my seriously unbiased opinion, Hoskins' jump was more impressive than Moreno's. Notice the legs. Hoskins barely lifted his legs while going airborne - he straight-up jumped over defender Eddie Burk, who made a legitimate, albeit late, dive at him. I'll admit that my memory isn't the clearest on the play, because it was last year and some things are starting to run together nowadays, but it was a quick, fluid knee-jerk reaction by Hoskins. As for Moreno, he had to lift his legs nearly to his waist and hurdle over Agnew, who basically stood there, somewhat crouched over, just enough for a leap. NOT to take credit from Moreno's feat! It takes great athleticism for any ballcarrier to jump over a defender like that.

Feel free to leave your own comment on the jump comparison!

Despite what I or anyone else thinks, though, Moreno gets publicity for his stunt and not Hoskins. I would link you guys to video of Hoskins' jump if only somebody posted it. A real shame.

Expect another update tomorrow. We're going to get into CMU's game at Ohio very shortly, which is a tougher game than many think. See the Bobcats' 26-14 loss at No. 3 Ohio State, a game which it led as late as the fourth quarter. See you then!