That's why I said vaguely

I thought he got a little time in that game.
But I don't understand why you don't think these two can't be compared... Both coaches said they didn't trust a Freshman RBs for the exact same reason, QB and ball protection. I'm also not defending the decision because I was critical of Mack then and Herman now - both should've played their young guys, especially since the offenses were struggling.
I'm just pointing out the tendency of coaches to get really nervous with players whose secondary job is to make sure QBs don't take direct hits from delayed blitzing LBs. When given the choice they tend to lean on experience to make sure the rest of the offense can run.