QB Tommy Devito is returning

[buffalorange]

I also see our receivers not realizing trouble and coming back to help him as they do in the pros.

I think this is a big issue. Receivers are greedy for targets, but a truly good receiver will help that by making himself a target for the QB when a play doesn't work just as designed. We say the QB has to improvise; the receivers need to improvise with him for the offense to succeed.

 

[baggerbob]

Despite what a lot of posters may think, this is a very important positive for Syracuse University Football in 2021. Thank you for staying loyal young man, now go light it up. Go Orange!!

Need to have Jordan, and Lutz get with Tommy and learn all the routes and catch passes. Tommy needs to have a saftey valve in players who can make teams pay when they pressure the QB.

 

[TheCusian]

Can we send TD and the WR to the chiefs in the off-season? I’d pay a lot to have them learn just a smidge of what they have going re:scrambling

 

[Newhouser]

I hope he is dominant next year and glad to see he is back, but anybody that doesn’t think we should bring in a transfer for competition is out of their minds. I know I know the offensive line has been horrible, but you can’t possibly argue there aren’t QBs who couldn’t take his job.

Don't disagree but who would come in and think the competition is open? With TD back I think the QB room is set.

 

[nzm136]

It’s almost as if his dad told us this news about a month ago...

 

[rrlbees]

That’s great - we need Tommy and he deserves the chance to lead a team that has an opportunity at a great season.

Flipside - two years from now we are back to breaking in a new QB and taking a step back on offense. Again.

Two years from now could be Tommy if he wants to come back. He has two years left.

 

[MikeSU02]

Two things that stick out to me:

1) If you don't want a transfer to add competition, just remember TD has two years left. I hope he comes in and lights the world on fire, wins the heisman, we win the conference and he goes #1 overall in the draft. But in a realistic sense, I don't have full confidence in anyone in the QB room that can be a top 2-3 QB in the conference and I hope I'm proven wrong.

2) If you are starting your statement with something along the lines of "If we get a few OL transfers, shore up the WRs, and utilize the TEs, Tommy will be awesome" you are tying yourself up in a pretzel to account for what is needed for Tommy to be a quality QB instead of being able to actually say "Tommy is a good QB".

The QB position is the most important position in team sports. It's also the hardest. A dynamic QB can elevate a whole offense and make the whole greater than the sum of its parts.

Get as many good players as you can. Through recruiting, the portal and growth for those already on the team and let the best man win each position. We won one game this year and five last year. No one's position should be locked in.

 

[orangenauburn]

I think Morgan is an upgrade from Rex given a yr to prepare.. if the oline is a bit better that helps too.

I think Morgan is clear #2 and will have designed plays for him next year

 

[OmahaCuse]

No one is transferring to be a backup. Why do people act like we can go to Walmart and pick up a transfer backup? It’s not going to happen.

Disagree. Tons of underclassmen willing to transfer and either try to beat out TD, or wait chance and understudy. How do other schools like BC, Duke, Liberty get guys to transfer. Confident kids, and coaches are not afraid of a QB room with talent and options. If I’m a duel threat guy would think SU would give me a chance for some playing time, reps. We have one proven QB who will be in year four, nobody else has lit the field on fire.

 

[money3189]

Can we send TD and the WR to the chiefs in the off-season? I’d pay a lot to have them learn just a smidge of what they have going re:scrambling

Haha. Facts. I’ll send you my cash app when you are ready. Lol.

 

[money3189]

Two things that stick out to me:

1) If you don't want a transfer to add competition, just remember TD has two years left. I hope he comes in and lights the world on fire, wins the heisman, we win the conference and he goes #1 overall in the draft. But in a realistic sense, I don't have full confidence in anyone in the QB room that can be a top 2-3 QB in the conference and I hope I'm proven wrong.

2) If you are starting your statement with something along the lines of "If we get a few OL transfers, shore up the WRs, and utilize the TEs, Tommy will be awesome" you are tying yourself up in a pretzel to account for what is needed for Tommy to be a quality QB instead of being able to actually say "Tommy is a good QB".

The QB position is the most important position in team sports. It's also the hardest. A dynamic QB can elevate a whole offense and make the whole greater than the sum of its parts.

Get as many good players as you can. Through recruiting, the portal and growth for those already on the team and let the best man win each position. We won one game this year and five last year. No one's position should be locked in.

Great post!!!!

 

[AngryOtto]

Need to have Jordan, and Lutz get with Tommy and learn all the routes and catch passes. Tommy needs to have a saftey valve in players who can make teams pay when they pressure the QB.

Needs to be looking for them when play breaks down and not running right with his head down.

 

[orangecuse]

Disagree. Tons of underclassmen willing to transfer and either try to beat out TD, or wait chance and understudy. How do other schools like BC, Duke, Liberty get guys to transfer. Confident kids, and coaches are not afraid of a QB room with talent and options. If I’m a duel threat guy would think SU would give me a chance for some playing time, reps. We have one proven QB who will be in year four, nobody else has lit the field on fire.

This is year 4 for TD, as he's a senior academically, so next year is his...gulp, 5th year in the program.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Two things that stick out to me:

1) If you don't want a transfer to add competition, just remember TD has two years left. I hope he comes in and lights the world on fire, wins the heisman, we win the conference and he goes #1 overall in the draft. But in a realistic sense, I don't have full confidence in anyone in the QB room that can be a top 2-3 QB in the conference and I hope I'm proven wrong.

2) If you are starting your statement with something along the lines of "If we get a few OL transfers, shore up the WRs, and utilize the TEs, Tommy will be awesome" you are tying yourself up in a pretzel to account for what is needed for Tommy to be a quality QB instead of being able to actually say "Tommy is a good QB".

The QB position is the most important position in team sports. It's also the hardest. A dynamic QB can elevate a whole offense and make the whole greater than the sum of its parts.

Get as many good players as you can. Through recruiting, the portal and growth for those already on the team and let the best man win each position. We won one game this year and five last year. No one's position should be locked in.

I think Tommy is a good QB. People forget this but at the start of 2019 we couldn't run the ball at all, and the offense moved thanks to his passing. Then he took too many beatings from a crappy OL that couldn't get it together and it shook him.

We've seen him do the things we want to see - get passes out quick, complete bombs, scramble for yardage, just not consistently. The big things for him I think are 1) can he consistently make the quick read and get the ball out to move the chains and protect himself and 2) can be get better at improvising a pass when protection breaks down. That second one requires the WRs to be more alert and helpful too.

I don't think he's far from being big time. We do need him to improve. I think he will. But I also think he will have more help. Between Tucker and Lutz, we've got something at running back. Jordan can fit a lot of places, and he's a guy that can make a 5 yard pass go the distance. At some point we'll figure out how to use Benson. Our WRs are ok, but I think we need a little more from them. Assuming the line can shape up and we can get back to putting defenses on their heels, I think we can be dangerous again.

 

[HRE Otto IV]

I think Tommy is a good QB. People forget this but at the start of 2019 we couldn't run the ball at all, and the offense moved thanks to his passing. Then he took too many beatings from a crappy OL that couldn't get it together and it shook him.

We've seen him do the things we want to see - get passes out quick, complete bombs, scramble for yardage, just not consistently. The big things for him I think are 1) can he consistently make the quick read and get the ball out to move the chains and protect himself and 2) can be get better at improvising a pass when protection breaks down. That second one requires the WRs to be more alert and helpful too.

I don't think he's far from being big time. We do need him to improve. I think he will. But I also think he will have more help. Between Tucker and Lutz, we've got something at running back. Jordan can fit a lot of places, and he's a guy that can make a 5 yard pass go the distance. At some point we'll figure out how to use Benson. Our WRs are ok, but I think we need a little more from them. Assuming the line can shape up and we can get back to putting defenses on their heels, I think we can be dangerous again.

Disagree with your start of 2019 comment. Tommy was pretty bad his first 5 1/2 Qs last season. Against Liberty he was under 50% passing with 2 INTs and only 176 yards. He started off the MD game with a fumble and INT. He was good the rest of the MD game in mainly garbage time. Clemson he struggled (another INT) but who doesn't? After the first 3 games last year he was playing well below our expectations.

60-101 226 ypg 3 TDs 4 INTs 1 Fumble

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Disagree with your start of 2019 comment. Tommy was pretty bad his first 5 1/2 Qs last season. Against Liberty he was under 50% passing with 2 INTs and only 176 yards. He started off the MD game with a fumble and INT. He was good the rest of the MD game in mainly garbage time. Clemson he struggled (another INT) but who doesn't? After the first 3 games last year he was playing well below our expectations.

60-101 226 ypg 3 TDs 4 INTs 1 Fumble

Right, and as crappy as that was, what did the running game accomplish?

 

[PAcuse]

Right, and as crappy as that was, what did the running game accomplish?

Liberty was good 44-192 3TD
Maryland 22-89
Clemson 25-57
Then stunk again vs NC State 22-56

 

[HRE Otto IV]

Right, and as crappy as that was, what did the running game accomplish?

It wasn't consistent but it wasn't bad the first two games. We ran for 192 yards (which is more than we passed for) and 3 TDs vs Liberty. Then against MD Tommy was sacked 4x and we were way behind so it hurt our overall numbers. Even then we ran for 70 yards which would be a great game for this year's team (RBs were 22-89). Clemson was a disaster.

Our O did not look good those first three games (outside the garbage time against MD). Neither passing nor rushing.

 

[Cusefan69]

So knock on wood, if the football team is able to get into a normal off season with spring practices and such, I would like to believe our OC and reps should help TD out a bunch. While pocket awareness and improvising are not TDs strengths, he can refine his progressions, timing, footwork and other aspects that can up his game. Tommy also has pretty good speed. I would love to see the playbook include some bootlegs and rollouts that let him throw the pigskin or tuck it and run. Running falls within the scope of those plays and I think that would help him. Sort of a defined scramble rather than an backyard scramble like ED used to do.

 

[TheCusian]

It wasn't consistent but it wasn't bad the first two games. We ran for 192 yards (which is more than we passed for) and 3 TDs vs Liberty. Then against MD Tommy was sacked 4x and we were way behind so it hurt our overall numbers. Even then we ran for 70 yards which would be a great game for this year's team (RBs were 22-89). Clemson was a disaster.

Our O did not look good those first three games (outside the garbage time against MD). Neither passing nor rushing.

The OL where Servais was our C? Or this year when our FB was a G?

We need healthy, mostly experienced OL and Tucker alongside an improving TD. If this year did one thing it gave guys some run.

I worry way way less about WR. Harris and Queeley made some plays with a Rex led O.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

It wasn't consistent but it wasn't bad the first two games. We ran for 192 yards (which is more than we passed for) and 3 TDs vs Liberty. Then against MD Tommy was sacked 4x and we were way behind so it hurt our overall numbers. Even then we ran for 70 yards which would be a great game for this year's team (RBs were 22-89). Clemson was a disaster.

Our O did not look good those first three games (outside the garbage time against MD). Neither passing nor rushing.

I don't think this is effectively arguing against the point I made, tbh.

 

[HRE Otto IV]

I don't think this is effectively arguing against the point I made, tbh.

The point is you said the O moved (it didn't) and it moved because of TD's passing (it did not either). After the TD we saw in 2018, his performance the 1st three games of 2019 was a major disappointment.

The OL, lack of a running game, and TD were all issues those first 3 games. They appeared to be fixed the next two games heading into the bye week. Then we saw a disaster the next 4 games.

When your O is as bad as it has been these last 23 games, everyone plays a part in the failure one way or the other. Who cares if the OL is 58% to blame while Tommy is 23% to blame? It is not like he played well and the team failed despite his play.

If Tommy needs perfect conditions to be a star, he will never be a star. Perfect conditions do not exist anywhere. Look at ND. If Tommy was ND's QB, IMO we come a hell of a lot closer to winning the game last Saturday. We put Book under a lot of pressure and their WRs dropped passes all day. Tommy would not have overcome either of those. You can't get a better situation that ND QB, and he would still have issues.

He has the tools to succeed, but he needs to evolve quite a bit. Which is disappointing given that he has been given more teaching than any QB to ever play here. It isn't like he played the Wing T and had no QB tutors his whole life.

I hope he has a ton of growth this off season. But like I said in another post IMO 2022 is his best chance of a breakout season (if it ever happens). He has too far to go to get there next year.

 

[gmoney44]

Disagree. Tons of underclassmen willing to transfer and either try to beat out TD, or wait chance and understudy. How do other schools like BC, Duke, Liberty get guys to transfer. Confident kids, and coaches are not afraid of a QB room with talent and options. If I’m a duel threat guy would think SU would give me a chance for some playing time, reps. We have one proven QB who will be in year four, nobody else has lit the field on fire.

BC and Liberty both had open starting QB spots. You think anyone worth a darn is going to sit behind TD for possibly 2 more seasons. Not happening.

 

[SuFTW]

Disagree. Tons of underclassmen willing to transfer and either try to beat out TD, or wait chance and understudy. How do other schools like BC, Duke, Liberty get guys to transfer. Confident kids, and coaches are not afraid of a QB room with talent and options. If I’m a duel threat guy would think SU would give me a chance for some playing time, reps. We have one proven QB who will be in year four, nobody else has lit the field on fire.

Tons?
The QBs in the portal have already made a confident, but conceivably “wrong decision” once already in their mind. There is a limited pool that are willing to risk a bench or backup role again the second time around unless there is some other factor involved.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

The point is you said the O moved (it didn't) and it moved because of TD's passing (it did not either). After the TD we saw in 2018, his performance the 1st three games of 2019 was a major disappointment.

The OL, lack of a running game, and TD were all issues those first 3 games. They appeared to be fixed the next two games heading into the bye week. Then we saw a disaster the next 4 games.

When your O is as bad as it has been these last 23 games, everyone plays a part in the failure one way or the other. Who cares if the OL is 58% to blame while Tommy is 23% to blame? It is not like he played well and the team failed despite his play.

If Tommy needs perfect conditions to be a star, he will never be a star. Perfect conditions do not exist anywhere. Look at ND. If Tommy was ND's QB, IMO we come a hell of a lot closer to winning the game last Saturday. We put Book under a lot of pressure and their WRs dropped passes all day. Tommy would not have overcome either of those. You can't get a better situation that ND QB, and he would still have issues.

He has the tools to succeed, but he needs to evolve quite a bit. Which is disappointing given that he has been given more teaching than any QB to ever play here. It isn't like he played the Wing T and had no QB tutors his whole life.

I hope he has a ton of growth this off season. But like I said in another post IMO 2022 is his best chance of a breakout season (if it ever happens). He has too far to go to get there next year.

OK, there's a lot to respond to here.

1, it's weird to me that you made the argument that I was wrong that early in 2019 our air game was how we moved the ball because the ground game got 16 more yards than the passing game against Liberty, Maryland he went for 330 yards vs less than 90 but you say he doesn't get credit for that since we were down the entire game, Clemson he tripled the rushing yardage 57 to 172 but that doesn't count because that whole game was a disaster. So...

2, I'm not making the argument that DeVito needs perfect conditions to be a star. I am suggesting that he had none of the conditions to be a star. I agree he's had issues of his own, but I also have seen improvements others don't seem as willing to give him credit for. He made some really bad interceptions. That seems resolved. He used to be awful scrambling for rushing yardage. That has improved. So yeah I think he needs to get better, but I think he will, because he already has shown improvement. I'm not as confident that we've seen similar improvement in our line play and running game. Tucker helps a lot, but the big question looming remains what the line can be.

3, I don't understand the purpose to the ND hypothetical. It's an inherently unfair argument to say that DeVito needs perfect conditions, ND has perfect conditions, but if you put DeVito on ND he would have problems. That whole thing is made up. It does not compel me, man.

Our disagreement seems to come down to how far he has to go. I don't think it's as far as you do. It's fine.