Now that our season is over, thoughts shall turn to who takes the first snap in each game next season. I'll post my ideas and you guys can chime in with your own below.
Offense
QB Brendan Motley (I'm on board with Ford, but I think he should redshirt)
RB Trey Edmunds (provided his leg is fine)
FB Sam Rogers (because Sam Rogers)
WR1 Willie Byrn (Paperboy FTW)
WR2 Demitri Knowles or Joshua Stanford (Stanford has the hands, but Knowles still stretches the field a bit better)
TE Ryan Malleck (Cline showed us a lot this year, but Malleck is still the guy
LT Jonathan McLaughlin
LG Laurence Gibson
C Caleb Farris
RG Brent Benedict
RT Wyatt Teller (hey, why not?)
Defense
DE Corey Marshall (if his head's on straight), Ken Ekanem (see Corey Marshall)
DT Luther Maddy (if he stays)
DT Nigel Williams
DE Dadi Nicolas
LB Ronny Vandyke
MLB Devin Vandyke
WHIP Josh Trimble (yes, I moved the Vandyke brothers around)
CB Kendall Fuller
CB Brandon Facyson
ROV Kyshoen Jarrett (if he stays)
FS Detrick Bonner (unless they move him to CB)
K (not sure)
P AJ Hughes (never been more sure of anything)
KR Chris Mangus and JC Coleman
PR Willie Byrn or Chris Mangus
OK, discuss.
Comments
Yay! Never too early to start thinking about next year.
I wouldn't be surprised to see much more shakeup on the offensive line and to see a new face or two at WR.
I'm committed to Ford after only seeing a highlight video. Let's Hackenburg the hell outta this thing. The rest I can't really disagree with. I have been too busy to think of Hokie stuff since decadeofdominance.
I guess this assumes Maddy declares for the draft as well.
D'oh. Good catch.
Edited.
No, don't say draft and Maddy together in the same sentence this year. Next year's OK.
Maddy strikes me as someone who sees unfinished business.
let us hope
I hope that Maddy sees that he can be the "Man" next year and comes back. Not to mention a couple of good years always looks better than just 1 good year.
i wouldnt be surprised to see phillips and harrison receive immediate playing time at WR
How about some of these 2014 class running backs coming in? I say give them every chance as I wouldn't count on Edmunds to be fully recovered, and well, Coleman and Mangus are simply not every-down backs.
Leal will not start. Know he has worked his tail off, but that was a given long ago.
I think we will start the season with Leal and debate the QB play all year until we finally turn it over to Ford or Durdin.
I've had about enough of Bonner. If any of the freshman are ready, start them.
Beamer has always said if he has a good QB and Kicker, he would keep coaching. Well, he's got neither next year. This is the crossroads of the program, it will be a struggle to make a bowl next year.
Well, we have a good punter! It could probably be argued that Beamer will have a good QB. I don't expect BOTH Ford and Durkin to bust...I think one of them will pass Leal on the depth chart. Don't forget about Motely
Motley has me all kinds of excited for the spring. He can really spin the football and he's athletic enough to give our OLine a little room for error in pass protection next year.
They won't both bust but that doesn't mean that one of them will be better as a true freshmen than Leal as a senior or any of the other guys
I wasn't overly impressed with Leal, although, he was put into an unfortunate situation. I think he will start the spring at the top of the depth chart but he's going to have to fight to keep that top spot. I honestly think Loeffler is going to design the offense around the skillsets of the younger guys. If Leal can run that offensive scheme effectively he might start, but I think when an offense is designed around a certain type of player, that type of player is going to have a higher chance of running it effectively.
I wouldn't be surprised to see Leal on the bench next year. He's been a stand up guy and a career back up. From an emotional standpoint I think we'd all love to see the guy get a chance. Realistically, however, I think the program will benefit as a whole in the long run if Leal gets skipped over for one of the younger guys. If Leal starts next year it will only reaffirm what people are saying that Beamer doesn't have what it takes to get VT to the next level. You can't play nice and give everyone trophies because they showed up if you want to be the best. Somebody is going to have to step up in a big way (and I think Ford might be that guy) and somebody else is going to be disappointed (probably Leal) but that's life.
Preach it. Exactly my feelings on Leal and Loffler.
QB play will be rough next year. This is the biggest unknown we have had at QB since Grant Noel.
The good news is that we have a schedule made for success. Miami, Pitt, BC and Wake will certainly be breaking in new QB's, probably Ohio St. ECU returns Carden, Duke returns both Boone and Connette and UNC returns Williams (damn recruiting miss!). Unfortunately for UVA, they return both of their QB's.
So even though will have QB problems next year, it will only put us at a true disadvantage against ECU, Duke and UNC. We will have a lot of swing games next year, probably (vs ECU, vs GT, vs Mia, vs BC, @UNC, @Duke, @Pitt) and one sure loss in the Ohio State game. A ball-control focus at the QB position is our best bet to continue the bowl streak.
Next year, we are going to OSU and curb stomping them in their house. I think they lose a lot this year to the draft.
Urban hasn't exactly been quiet on the recruiting trail
I am trying to think positively! Can it with the negative waves, Moriarty!
I'd argue it was worse in 2006 when He Who Shall Not Be Named was booted off the team and Glennon took over.
Free Safety makes so many calls on defense that even if one of the freshmen were more talented than Bonner I doubt they would be able to align the defense the way he can. Bonner's deficiencies are only really highlighted when everything else goes to hell. Foster can usually scheme around his weaknesses.
I think it will be ford or durkin that gets the gig. SL wants one of his guys in there I imagine. Also Look for Holland Fisher to start at whip. If he doesn't get the spot right off the bat he will earn it before the yrs out
Is Holland Fisher confirmed? That guy has amazing upside...I think he will be a big player for us if he stays committed.
Holland Fisher is enrolling for spring semester if he qualifies. And he's starting out at FS, not Whip.
That "if" doesn't give me warm and fuzzies...
"WR2 Demitri Knowles or Joshua Stanford (Stanford has the hands, but Knowles still stretches the field a bit better)"
This might be because it's only three hours into 2014, but Stanford easily gets the nod over Knowles. Knowles is fast, but I feel like #5 has proved himself enough and earned his place to be above Knowles on the depth chart after 2013.
I agree with you. Stanford is more dependable. And he got better as the yr went along
Guys, he's not wrong. Even he is, downvoting him is a dick move. I don't know who you are out there, but I don't like you. Downvoting this guy.
Solidarity.
Joshua Stanford is the Truth. He will be incredible for us if he continues to do what he did this season. He looked better than Jarrett Boykin did coming in, and look at what JB developed into.
Oh sweet Lord! That one catch against Uva where he went out of his way to put a helmet into the defensive back was all I need to see. The kid is talented and gritty as hell.
The Miami catch and run? That was awesome.
Cam Phillips will immediately challenge the top of the depth chart. And Harrison too if we can please oh holy god keep him committed through signing day.
don't count on marshall
Redshirt Cline. Stanford is the guy. One of the incoming backs get significant PT. Bonner should be a gunner on punt coverage, that's about it. RVD plays Whip, hands down. Clarke and the other VanDyke man the middle, with the R-FR teammate of Bucky getting significant reps at the Mike spot. Initial thoughts.
I say DON'T redshirt Cline. Malleck will be back and we could go to some 2TE sets
I want TEs on TEs on TEs on TEs. They're like linemen who can catch the ball. You get blocking in the run game, you get bulldozers in the passing game. You have 5 line men, and four guys who are required to be in the backfield. That leaves 2 for either TEs or SEs. I say both should be TEs. The backfield? Wingbacks. They're just Tightends in the backfield. One RB, on QB, and you have one big powerful and scary formation. Maybe make one of the backfield a fullback if you feel like having a blocking back. Maybe put one end out wide as a Flanker. And holy damn, I just described a single wing offense.
You just described Boston College. lol
Wasn't really paying attention during the game and he left early so I'm gonna hang this out here in the hopes of having it answered: how did Cline's blocking look in the bowl? Oh and has anyone heard anything about what his injury was?
I would really love to see some 2 TE sets next year with Malleck and Cline. Even better if Stiney can work with Cline some more on blocking. A good off-season in the gym will also help Cline a lot.
Stiney was out of his depth as OC, but I think he has been one of our better position coaches.
Don't redshirt Cline....use both him and Malleck...agreed! Having both of them on the field just gives us more options.
Bonner just doesn't get it done as a starter. He will give us some depth however.
Clarke is still suspended indefinitely as far as I know, so I wouldn't count on him for anything.
I do like the idea of the VanDyke brothers...."The VanDyke Crunch".
I also don't see Trimble getting action.
I think we need to find a way to have Holland Fisher in the lineup.
Look, if we are going to be 8-5, we might as well have our impact freshman playing and learning so we are ready to make a run in 2015 and 2016.
FWIW, Clarke was dressed for the game on Monday. It appears at this point that his suspension is over.
Wait suddenly we have enough depth at Tight End to be redshirting players? Dont think that will be a luxury that we have for a couple more years.
That's what happens when you stop moving them all to the OL.
Or QB.
Sorry I just had to.
Don't forget that Bucky Hodges has been rumored to be making the move to TE and he's already redshirted. If he's up to speed by fall, there's no reason not to redshirt Cline.
OR you run some 3 TE sets. Can you imagine how awesome that could be? Throw Rogers back there with Edmunds and run a hurry up out of it. Could be lethal.
There's a big difference between a 3 TE set where your TE's are blockers (see Stanford's way of running the ball with 8 linemen) and a 3 TE set where they are receivers. We would need bigger players than Cline and Bucky to be effective there. At least one of them would need to be a primarily blocking TE or a very mobile offensive linemen
Malleck can block, Cline got better as the year went on and will have a full off-season to learn. The only unknown would be Bucky. I agree that if they can't block it's completely pointless.
My concern is that if you want to run a 3 TE set, they need to block and of those 3, only one is a decent blocker. I'd rather we just take backup linemen and line them up like a TE on those plays so we can impose our will. If you're going to put 8 on the line, you aren't going to throw it except on a play action to catch the other team off guard so having players that are better receivers as TEs doesn't matter as much.
Yes as we sit here now. I agree with you, but it's very possible that 1) Cline continues to improve as a blocker and 2) that Bucky is actually a good blocker and will be a TE (neither of those are known at this point).
My point is more that if you have 3 TEs that are 1) big, 2) can block, 3) are shifty and fast for their size, and 4) can catch you can do some serious damage out of that set. I could set a trio of Malleck, Cline, and Bucky being a great weapon assuming they can all do the assignments needed.
Is it time for the Spring Game yet?
Isn't that what BC did to most of their opponents this year? 5-7 linemen and the rest TE's. I think the only reason they fielded Rettig in front of Williams is because they thought it was a requirement.
Cline is by far the most athletic receiving threat on the team for 2014. With Coles gone, he should become the #1 Redzone target.
I'd like to see a 2 deep. Most of the great teams have quality backups, especially on the dline. The wr depth is going to be ridiculous if we hold on to Harrison. I can see Harrison and Phillips getting immediate playing time.
I say move Mr Hodges to a possession wide receiver/tight end.move trey Edmunds to linebacker to where he has a opportunity to go the league because I just don't see him as a dominant running back because he does not have the skill set.Start Marshawn Williams If magnus/Coleman fail to impress and Williams proves better.
That's pretty bold and could work, but unless the new LB's are really struggling AND Marshawn Williams lights it up the second he steps on campus I just don't see it happening
Edmunds is a running back. I do think Hodges will be a tight end going into spring.
I was under the impression that Hodges got work on the scout team as a TE and has played great. I think it's likely he swaps to TE this spring, especially with the QB talent we have coming in meaning he likely won't see any/many snaps as a QB.
We have no reason to believe Malleck is the guy. Great in practice, great hype from coaches, but Cline proved it on the field. Malleck is the #2.
Malleck definitely proved it on the field last year. He was a very good blocker and an underused weapon in the passing game. There's a reason Lefty was so high on him and largely designed his offense around Malleck's skillset. Cline is talented, but has a lot of work to do in the blocking aspect of the game. That said, the two of them will present a very formidable TE combo that should be a major strength of the offense next year.
Good blocker, yes absolutely. But 17 career catches doesn't exactly prove your worth in the passing game over a guy like Kline.
Well, Cline had zero career catches coming into this season, soo...
Like I said, he was an under-utilized weapon in the passing game. Loeffler was impressed enough with him to basically design his offense around him and Thomas. Lefty went so far as to say that not having Malleck and being forced to rely on Cline & co. severely limited the playbook and the development of the offense. Cline is and will be a very solid player, especially as a pass-catching TE, but Malleck was and is the more well-rounded player and would have been a very big part of the offense this year.
Cline was sort of forced into action due to injuries/everyone else not being good. Malleck will be good, no doubt, but not good enough to warrant a redshirt on a guy who should be one of our top 4 pass-catchers next year.
I understand your good intention, but I think you're drinking too much coachspeak kool aid on this one. Would we have preferred to have Malleck this year? Absolutely. But if Loeffler really "designed the offense" around Malleck, then that's a little crazy and would greatly worry me about our offensive future. You can't depend on any single player, outside of the QB, that much in football (especially one who, let's face it, was not that proven with 17 career catches and 0 TDs). The Patriots are obviously worse off without Rob Gronkowski, but they still found ways to adjust and win without him- not that losing Malleck is anywhere close to comparable to losing Gronkowski.
I have nothing against Malleck, but if the coaches needed Malleck so badly to design the offense around him we were doomed to struggle anyway. I believe the much bigger issue is that our roster lacked some of the elite skill position players we've had in recent years. Pinning those expectations on Malleck and claiming his injury is to chiefly responsible for that loss in production seems incredibly silly though.
I think that tight end is an unusual case here because of what Malleck could have brought both blocking and receiving. While Cline absolutely picked up the slack as a receiver he was not ready to be thrust into being a proficient blocker in the run game. I think thats where the quotes about how much damage the Malleck injury had on Loefflers offense. Without a single tight end that could hold their own blocking and also be a receiving threat it handicapped what Lefty wanted to do a great deal.
Malleck won an award at spring practice last year and Loeffler was very high on him coming in to the season. He was underutilized before Loeffler came here, and all the coaches kept saying was that Malleck was going to be a huge part of the offense this year. After his injury, they said it really hurt the flow and development of the offense. When given a chance to be apart of the offense we do not know if he will be good or not. I think he comes out and has a huge 2014. Loeffler is really high on him for a reason and Cline still has a lot of developing to do as a football player, but I think for the first time in many many years we will be able to have 2 solid receiving tight ends in together.
Both of these guys battled injuries. Might as well keep them both. Its not a marriage.
Yeah, Malleck has become a bit of a Babe the Blue Ox around here. He was a very solid player last year, but he also struggled blocking. I remember specifically the Clemson game where he struggled on some key blocks.
And he's nothing special as a receiver. Cline, on the other hand, will become a key threat as a receiver. I think they complement each other well and I hope Bucky and Burke add to the TE corps.
frankly, we need another TE. I would like to see a late offer to a TE or try to poach one from someone else's commit list.
Look for Bucky Hodges to round out the TE group as a receiving TE. He has been getting TE/WR reps on the scout team since October IIRC, and has looked very good. A swap to TE for an athlete with his size from a suddenly large group of QB's with the new class coming in makes a lot of sense.
I think seeing how many touches Carlis Parker got out of the blue in the bowl game is a sign the coaches want him getting more involved so I would not be surprised to see him returning kicks or punts in the near future.
Parker was a surprise on that first carry. Only that skinny frame alerted me to who was carrying. He's got some moves and the coaches must be excited to see what he could do with 20 - 30 more pounds of muscle.
Yeah Carlis Parker be like
That scrawny little bastard make some defenders look like fools. It was wonderful. He was quick, and he somehow managed to be powerful. Put more muscle on him?
I'd be ok with Leal as the starter. I just wish the rest of Hokie Nationdom and TKP would do the same if he wins the job. Based off of reactions during and postgame I'm not getting that vibe here.
I'd be ok with it but it looks/feels like its the exact opposite way that we are trying to go. Look at Loeffler and the way he wants to play, he wants to be stanford, have a good Pro style, with a little zone read option. Stanford's QB Hogan is exactly what Lefty wants.
The last 5 games Hogan went:
14-25 for 127 2 Int's in a loss to USC
17-26 for 329 5 TD's 0 Int's win vs Cal
12-18 for 158 1TD 2 Int's win vs ND
12-18 for 277 1TD 0 Int's win vs ASU
10-18 for 143 0 Td's 1 Int vs MSU
Not to mention they rushed for over 1000 yards in 5 games. Yes its Stanford and they have a huge OL and Fb, but the consistency is what we need and Leal to me doesn't fit that mold at all.
I see 2 bad games, 1 mediocre game, 1 good game and 1 game against a high school team. I hope Loeffler shoots higher.
Where are the 2 bad games??? I see 1 but not 2.
I get your point, but I was mainly going for the amount of times he threw the ball, and still he was pretty productive when doing so. He didn't have to be the super star that Logan had to be because the lack of recruiting.
And the biggest point was they had an identity that wasn't revolved around 2 players or a Zone Read team. Lefty had basically a MAC team caliber offense to work with in an ACC school
USC and Michigan State. Against Sparty Hogan's first pass went for 43 yards, then he went 9-17 for 100 yards for the rest of the game. That also includes a 51 yard pass. Beyond the two big bombs he went 7/15 for 49 yards with a pick. Those two big passes happened so you can't discount them but it was pretty clear Sparty decided to stop the run and dare Stanford to either run into stacked fronts or try to pass. Stanford showed all the creativity of a petulant toddler and just kept running up the middle for little success.
I disagree that Stanford's offense was built around more than two players. Tyler Gaffney had 330 carries this year for 1700 yards. The next closest RB had 84 carries. Ty Montgomery had 61 receptions. Their next closest receiver had 28. The VT offense was built around Logan Thomas because Thomas was the most talented player on the roster.
MSU is a top 2 Defense, I think he did a fine job in the game. Yes the interceptions were not good and Stanford couldn't run but honestly who did play well against MSU? I take that game with a grain of salt.
28 catches but 5 Td's, the next guy had 14 with 3 Td's.. that's pretty good right there if you ask me.
Our guys 25 catches 6 td's thats DJ Coles, next closest 45 catches 3 TD's then 26 with 2 and then 51 with 2.
Call me crazy but the top stats look much better than the bottom stats, and with more added value to the team. Teams knew if they stopped Logan then we would lose, it was that simple
I think this is an important point. I think that in the old system with the old coaches Leal would be the unquestioned starter given his athleticism and play making abilities. But that is not what Loeffler wants. Loeffler wants a coach on the field that can go through audibles and read everything that is happening. From what we know right now that guy is Ford. He will still have to win the job but there is no question in my mind that Loeffler hopes Ford wins the job.
This is a great way of putting it. I'm sure that it will be a completely open competition to win the starting job, but I agree 100% that Loeffler is hoping Andrew Ford can beat out Leal in practice
Agreed, if he wins the job, I hope we base the offense on his skill set and commit to him. I really hope he's good enough to earn that position and let us redshirt the two freshmen.
I see Motley as a better version of JuJu Clayton, he will function as a backup but if there is a systemic failure from Leal or an early season-ending injury, one of the freshman will start.
I think he starts the year as the QB and isn't the QB by the end of the year.
Where will McMillian fit in among the new recruits? He is rated higher as a dual-threat QB. #8 according to 247 sports.
WR or Safety
Mcmillian will probably redshirt, but I fully expect to see him on the offensive side of the ball. He only played qb in high school, so I'm not interested in the growing pains we will see with him on defense. He has the size (6'1 200), the speed (4.41) and the strength (300 bench 500 squat) to be a game changer. Below is the first senior highlight I found on him. Dude has balance.
Even though everyone on here is gushing over Ford, Loeffler included, I am in favor of the Tyrod reincarnation. LT3 was a dual threat who ran like a fb, Mcmillion runs like a tb. Considering how we were shredded by dual threats all season, I would love to the the Hokies doing the shredding. In practice, this will help the defense better prepare for dual threats. At the very least, he will be great for the scout team. That is all.
http://www.hudl.com/athlete/913243/highlights/107094380?autoplay=1
a lot of HS QBs end up at safety. A lot of times the safety is the "QB of the defense" and I think it's an advantage to have a safety with some QB exp and knowledge of offensive schemes. They know what to look for. I'm saying all of this to support the argument that he could move to the defensive side of the ball w/out having played defense in HS without that much trouble. The QB position is pretty loaded and we're bringing in some talent at WR. We'll be getting thin on D so it wouldn't be a bad idea to move him to safety in my mind.
This guy agrees.
I thought it when Kam was here, and I think it now that Kam's in the league.
It's cool how they let that one really fast linebacker play safety.
I want to see Joel Caleb at Free Safety.
His bio on hokiesports.com says he played six positions in HS and was all-conference at DB. I think he could do it.
I want to see Joel Caleb get some serious playing time. Period.
Why not David Wang at center? he has played well this season...I thought he was horrible last year but he has come on well. Is it due to fear of injury?
For some reason I've liked Farris better at C.
I'd love to see:
QB: Leal or Motley (Ford should redshirt, not an knock on him but he's better long-term)
HB: Trey/JC
FB: Sam Rogers
SE: Stanford/Parker
FL: Knowles/Byrn
TE: Malleck/Cline
McLaughlin-Smith-Farris-Benedict-Gibson on OL. I want Benedict playing guard; he has no business playing tackle IMO.
Stud: WHO'S YOUR DADI?/Ken Ekanem
Tackle: WHO'S YOUR MADDY? (Please be Derrick Nnadi)
Nose: Nigel Williams/oh god
End: Corey Marshall/Dewayne Alford
Mike: Devin Vandyke or Chase Williams
Backer: McKinnon? No idea...
Whip: Ronny Vandyke
FC: Kendall
BC: Facyson
Free: Bonner
Rover: Kyshoen
Nickel: Chuck Clark
K: Michael Santamaria
P: AJ Hughes - the Great American Hero
KR: Chris Mangus/Knowles
PR: Mangus
I think Tyrell Wilson is a senior so I would insert Corey Marshall there. Holland Fischer could be in the mix somewhere on that D in a whip/rover role and possibly Andrew montepuka (sp on name) in the mix at mike with DVD and RVD as a backer.
Whoops I didn't see that. According to hokiesports it's Motuapuaka
There is a 0.0% chance that one of the TRUE freshman start at QB next year. Anyone who has watched the footage of either without orange and maroon glasses would know that the notion of either starting is a pipedream. They are NOT 5* talents, folks. They are borderline 3*/4* talents and VT will lucky if one of the 2 is ready to start as a r-FR in Sept 2015, let alone 9 months from now against Ohio State.
The old adage that the further away from the ball you are, the more ready you are to play as a freshman. QB is about as close as it gets to the ball. If VT is starting a true frosh at QB, be scared...very scared.
Barring injury, I'd be shocked if anyone other than Leal starts at QB next year. There was a big reason why Beamer stuck with Logan Thomas throughout this season and there is almost certainly a big reason he has already stated that Leal is his guy for 2014.
Anything else, it just wishful thinking.
you're forgetting Motley
Johnny Football was a 3 star QB, if I'm not mistaken.
The truth is, you don't know what a player is capable of until you get them on the field. It's perfectly reasonable to expect one of the freshmen to play next year.
McMillian has a bit of johnny football to him
One, Manziel didn't play as a true Freshman. Neither did Andrew Luck, Jameis Winston, Marcus Mariotta, and so on.
Two, it's actually not reasonable to expect one of the frosh to play any significant amount next year. Very few do -- and almost all of them end up stagnating at best or even regressing in their careers. Very, very few do it with even a modest degree of success in their first year that translates down the road. In the last 5 or 6 years, you can count them on one hand or so and they are big time names and were big time recruits coming out of High School. Teddy Bridgewater, Terrelle Pryor, Braxton Miller, RG3, Matt Barkley, Hackenberg @PSU (still an open book). Maybe a couple more. That's about it. Look it up.
Three, I don't care what the stars said, Andrew Ford is not Johnny Manzeil. Manzeil was a 3*, but IMO the recruiters really missed on him (duh). He looks just as ridiculous in his HS footage as he does now. Knowing what we know now, I suspect they missed on him because the highlight films I've seen are mostly Johnny being Johnny and he was/is kinda small -- and recruiters just didn't really know what kind of passer he could be.
Nevertheless he was the #14 rated dual threat QB by Rivals (vs Ford as #27 rated pro-style QB). Ford does nothing on film anywhere near as well as Manzeil's scrambling or passing on the run. One the few long passes I saw by Manzeil in High School, IMO he had a noticeably stronger arm than Ford.
do you have 7 fingers on one hand!?!?!?! Are you related to the guy who killed Inigo Montoya's dad?
you said the QBs could be counted on one hand and listed 7...in case you didn't get the joke
I said McMillian.
But I agree with you it is extremely rare for a reason and I fully expect Leal or Motley next year.
Well not many freshmen start for teams that contend for national championships, I'll give you that. But it's happening more and more nowadays because of the complexity of high school offenses. Look at Texas Tech. They had two freshmen start this year.
And although Ford/Durkin may not look as impressive as Manzeil, it's not like Leal has a highlight tape chock full of jaw-dropping moments. His measureables won't be much better than the other two freshmen, and he'll only have one year more of experience under Loeffler than the others. Considering that year of experience came with Loeffler designing his entire game plan around a player with a different tool set than Leal, even that year of experience will have limited advantages.
Leal could very well be the starter next year. I just wouldn't put money on it.
double post oops
Mhm lets look at the QB's ahead of when these players were freshmen
Manziel- Ryan Tannehil completed 152 of 234 passes (65.0 percent) for 1,638 yards and 13 touchdowns
Andrew Luck- Josh Nunes, Rs Junior Played 10 games 1,643 passing yards, 10 TDs and 124 completions in 235 attempts
Jameis Winston- EJ Manuel threw for 2,666 yards and 18 touchdowns with just eight interceptions...
Marcus Mariotta- Darron Thomas 211-339-7Int's 62.2 % completion2761 yards 33 TD's
You see each of those incoming Fr had good Qb's ahead of them and didn't need to play right away. Leal is not a starter and its an open battle
For the record, Nunes came after Luck, not before. Before Luck was Tavita Pritchard, who was decidedly average.
there we go... but still he got the point
Playing Leal will do nothing but stagnate this program for a year. He's not the type of QB that Lefty is working to build his system around nor does he have the talent to warrant getting the job regardless.
Marcb2,
You my friend might be one of the trolls on AB's blog. Are you kidding me about the Beamer comment, Leal is GARBAGE, and will always be a backup QB. Your comment alone says it, if Leal was good then Beamer would have played him, but he is not. Leal is just as good as Ford or Durkin at this point for all its worth.
I wouldn't be surprised if Motley isn't the starter, CFB and Lefty had high praise for him after the spring game and seems to be a better fit for what we want to do.
Enjoy the day troll
That's not a troll comment. Calling a kid who has dedicated 4 years to our program with limited field time "GARBAGE" is more of a troll comment, sorry to say.
The main point is the following. None of us know jack squat about what is going to happen next year. We're not in the meeting rooms and we're not on the practice field. We can waste a lot of keystrokes trying to prognosticate and defend our favorite players, but until spring practice and the spring game roll around and we see for ourselves, it's all pretty much hand-waving. The guy that the coaches believe will succeed will be on the field. Until that choice is made, let's avoid hyperbole and fights against each other.
well maybe not garbage but he def is not a starting QB by any means. And for him to take a swipe after Logan is moronic after what happened a few days ago.
Edmunds 30-35 times(Brandon Ore)and a QB who makes just enough plays! 06 all over again! If Glennon can go 10-3 this team can do it
That's the ticket!
With the line coaching we have, it will be so.