I want to say first that I am very excited about the future of Razorback football. Those that made the decision to hire CCM deserve a lot of credit.
Watching the QB situation though is very curious. Not a single one of the CBB’s recruited QBs has been able to grab the starting position and run with it. I don’t remember if Austin Allen was recruited by CBB, but guys like Peavy, Storey, Kelley, Hyatt, etc all were.
CBB’s best seasons were with the QB he inherited, Brandon Allen. Oh how I have missed him the last two seasons.
Just basic trouble shooting would indicate that CBB and staff could not evaluate QBs or develop them. But I am not sure that is the truth.
Clay do you have any thoughts on why all of CBB’s QBs thus far have been failures and will remain that way until one of them can advance to a point of grabbing the starting job and producing?
Many are pointing to the OL as the biggest question mark going into week one, but I think the whole season rides on one of these reluctant QBs taking the next step and actually play like they are deserving of the scholarship with which they were blessed.
You are putting the cart way ahead of the horse on this one. How do we know any of BB’s quarterbacks remaining this year are “failures?” Not even a down of football has been played. And I don’t think Cole Kelley really played like a failure last year. Let it happen, man. Be patient.
Please don’t forget that the following led to AA and BA having troubles:
-The offense was based on play action but also slow developing pass plays that required protection
-The Oline was a mess period!
-The play calling was predictable. Enos was bad early in his first season at making a run heavy oline try to get out on screen plays (texas tech). Enos and BB had a weaker finesse line but then continued to predictably run the ball into 8+ in the box.
-AA and BA both held on to the ball waiting for someone to get open. They were very accurate and knew it but that led to being too confident in their arm. It also led to a lot of sacks and injuries
OL is BY FAR the biggest ? The Loss of Ragnow is huge b/c it puts FRoholdt playing a position he’s never played and C is by far the toughest position on the OL.We may be starting 2 guys on the Left side who have 0 experince and that is the blindside of the QB!!
Noland is a tremendous QB pickup by CBB could have went to a lot of schools and why he was 4*.We are not going to be very good this yr b/c of no experince on the OL which would make ANY QB look bad.
I definitely wouldn’t say center is the hardest position on the o-line. Tackles are where we have had trouble with edge guys and shown how bad our tackles have been. I still think we should have tried Ragnow at tackle last year. I obviously don’t know how he would have done but, it couldn’t have been worse than what we had.
As an ex-center(back before the earth cooled) I can tell you it’s tough physically-you have to snap it correctly and then execute a block of some kind. Unlike the rest of the line, who are beginning their movement on the snap count, you have to execute the snap as your first priority, while the guy(s) in front of you are moving on the motion of the ball. The snap these days also typically means a shotgun snap, which of course is a no-look, between-your-legs shot which has to be fast enough and accurate enough for the QB to execute the play.
But it’s much tougher mentally-the center makes the line calls most of the time, so he’s got to look at and diagnose what is going on in the box. You may also be responsible, depending on the play, for diagnosing and picking up any inside “games” the DL runs and/or inside blitzes that don’t get tipped pre-snap. So the center needs to be football smart, mentally quick, and athletic enough to play the position.
A bad center is much more difficult to overcome than a bad tackle. You can scheme around poor play at tackle and still have some success. Poor play at center disrupts offensive flow constantly and also often exposes the quickest route to your QBs and RBs.
Nice post, Buzzard. That gives us an idea of what it takes to be a center and what is going on. Interesting.
I pretty much agree. Of course my best friend and my dad both played center, so I’ve heard their tales. But like in baseball, you need to be strong up the middle and that means a good center.
I coached the OL for 30+ yrs so I am not telling you something I think…I KNOW that C is hardest especially at the college level where you are responsible for malking all the calls and assignments.
It is extremely hard to snap and fire out low with someone 6 inches from your face you also have to be able to help out the OT in pass pro and LB stunts and its tough to do…Froholdt will make some mistakes.it’s not a position you learn in 4 weeks but he has the strenghth to make the blocks on these huge NT…just going to a long yr up front no 2 ways about it
after AA’s poor body language/head down/shoulder slumped play, I LOVED seeing Cole charge out there, seemed to have lots of moxie and the team seemed to feed off that. totally fearless. I look forward to watching him play this year.
OL, however, terrifies me. LIke scary clowns in a dark alley at midnight…
GHG
I don’t see them as failures so it’s hard to respond. I will say this is a far different offense. Jim Chaney and Dan Enos picked QBs for what they were going to run. I know head coach is ultimate decision maker.
There are lots of reasons QBs struggle. The main one is what kind of offensive and defensive lines are on campus. Period. End of story. If you are bad in the lines, you will have a weak football team and you will need Superman at quarterback. I’ve only seen one at the movies.
Austin Allen, who I do not know personally, was one tough son of a gun. He got pounded by the defense for 2 years while he started. How he stayed upright and played is a mystery…a credit to his will. His body language may not have been good, but he was to be admired for his toughness. He took some hard hits. I felt sorry for his daddy, Bobby, watching on the sideline worrying if his son would get up time after time. It was brutal. Finally, the shoulder injury did him in. Kelley is feisty and a leader. I do like that about him. Unless one of the freshman blossoms, I expect it to be Cole.
Agreed! AA and Tyler Wilson took so much punishment that I really felt sorry for them. And they just kept getting back up.
I always thought that Auburn “broke” AA his junior year. before that game, even against Bama, he was so good, so accurate on the run, just playing great. And he never seemed to return to that first 1/2 season of his playing time.
Always wondered what AA could have done with some decent protection, he just showed so much promise that first few games.
GHG
AA definitely didn’t have much help up front. But to say BA and AA were not developed by CBB and staff is therefore saying that they are in the NFL, even if it is not starting, on sheer talent. I highly doubt that.
Uh oh, I hope Tuschog is not following this thread, you’ll make his head explode.