Let’s face it, we have a lot of issues that need to be addressed. Offensive Line is certainly high on the list as are the defensive line and linebacker spots. At OL, I believe we have guys committed who have the needed length and body types to come in and contribute. With Lee and maybe Cooper redshirting, we could actually be in a decent spot there headed into next year as crazy as that sounds. I’ve seen a couple folks take shots at Brent Key, which is simply absurd. We will get better there and he will be a driving force for making it happen. On D, we are a couple dynamic LBs away from being pretty darn nasty on D, as I believe some of our young DL will blossom and really make a difference as the year progresses and certainly will next year. Bottom line, I think we can significantly count on these position groups to make serious strides in the next 2 years.
The area where I am scratching my head and have questions is at QB. Look across college football and one thing is clear: if you aren’t really good at QB you will not be a good football team. So far, we have seen three QBs that have varying sets of skills, all of which are great athletes. However, the question for me is are any of those guys average from a P5 perspective at throwing the football? JG needs more reps and you could make the same argument for LJ. Will those reps lead to the type of improvement we need to see? It’s cloudy and unclear for me based on what I’ve observed in games. Yates....who knows. He isn’t ready right now based on the fact that he hasn’t seen game action. It’s the exception not the rule that true frosh QBs come in and make an impact quickly.
This leads me to the question of QB recruiting and my fear that we are lumping way too much pressure on Gleason coming in next year. I have faith that he can sling it around and the comments regarding the slow start at Plant are silly. He is running for his life and has young skill guys. Please, let’s not add the snarky comments of “he is getting practice for our OL next year”. Seriously though, are we putting too much on this guy? Will we be Uber aggressive on the grad transfer QB market this offseason? My concern is if we dont make huge strides at throwing the football we are going to struggle. Sam Howell, Bo Nix, Ryan Hilinski are all examples of true frosh starting and making an impact. However, if you look at the number of true frosh starters vs how many are signed, its a very low number that really stand out.
For 2019, a lot of folks are saying JG is the guy moving forward and we need to stick with him. I dont disagree, but everything we have seen to this point leads me to think that the QB substitutions will continue, especially when LJ is healthy.
Most are freaking out about us being 1-3. I’m not. It sucks, but my concerns are 2020 and 2021. We must show significant improvements each year in order to recruit at a high level. If the QB position isn’t right, that is very unlikely to happen.
The area where I am scratching my head and have questions is at QB. Look across college football and one thing is clear: if you aren’t really good at QB you will not be a good football team. So far, we have seen three QBs that have varying sets of skills, all of which are great athletes. However, the question for me is are any of those guys average from a P5 perspective at throwing the football? JG needs more reps and you could make the same argument for LJ. Will those reps lead to the type of improvement we need to see? It’s cloudy and unclear for me based on what I’ve observed in games. Yates....who knows. He isn’t ready right now based on the fact that he hasn’t seen game action. It’s the exception not the rule that true frosh QBs come in and make an impact quickly.
This leads me to the question of QB recruiting and my fear that we are lumping way too much pressure on Gleason coming in next year. I have faith that he can sling it around and the comments regarding the slow start at Plant are silly. He is running for his life and has young skill guys. Please, let’s not add the snarky comments of “he is getting practice for our OL next year”. Seriously though, are we putting too much on this guy? Will we be Uber aggressive on the grad transfer QB market this offseason? My concern is if we dont make huge strides at throwing the football we are going to struggle. Sam Howell, Bo Nix, Ryan Hilinski are all examples of true frosh starting and making an impact. However, if you look at the number of true frosh starters vs how many are signed, its a very low number that really stand out.
For 2019, a lot of folks are saying JG is the guy moving forward and we need to stick with him. I dont disagree, but everything we have seen to this point leads me to think that the QB substitutions will continue, especially when LJ is healthy.
Most are freaking out about us being 1-3. I’m not. It sucks, but my concerns are 2020 and 2021. We must show significant improvements each year in order to recruit at a high level. If the QB position isn’t right, that is very unlikely to happen.
