SWC75
Bored Historian
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I decided that now that we have completed the football season, I’d look back at what I said in my season preview and talk about how things worked out. I’ll focus on the players and my discussion of various departments of the team.
Offense
QUARTERBACK
Here’s what I wrote then:
In the off-season the big subject was who will replace Ryan Nassib at quarterback. I actually haven’t worried about it too much because I was confident someone good would emerge there. Nassib’s back-up was big, tall, (6-4, 220), Charley Loeb who in three years attempted 6 passes, completing 4 for 41 yards. That’s not much but it’s more than his rivals John Kinder and Terrell Hunt have done: neither has ever thrown a pass in a college game. Loeb’s template was Todd Philcox, who hardly played for three years behind Donnie McPherson but took over for him in 1988 and put up almost the same numbers and almost the same number of wins, using that one year as a stepping stone to a surprising 8 year career as a back-up in the NFL. He’s mostly a passer. Kinder, (6-2, 187) is more of a runner, fast and elusive. Hunt, (6-2, 215), is more of a combination of the two. High school films show an accurate passer, (of course the completion percentage in a high school highlight film is always 100%) with a lumbering but effective running style. No less than three new quarterbacks were recruited. The most highly rated was Zach Allen out of Texas, who drew raves at Tony Romo’s camp. Austin Wilson of Pennsylvania was also highly rated. Allen backed out of his verbal commitment when Marrone left and signed with TCU. But the new staff brought in Mitch Kimble from Illinois, whom a lot of people think could be our starting quarterback someday. But the spring battle was between Loeb, Kinder and Hunt and Hunt won that competition.
But we wound up getting a quarterback named Allen who played his high school ball in Texas anyway. His name is Drew Allen and he’s even bigger than Loeb at 6-5 230. One local reporter compared him to Ben Rothlesberger, (except this guy is polite to a fault). His films, (there are high school films and some college action on You-Tube) reveal an accurate passer with a strong arm who can also run the ball when the occasion presents itself. He was Oklahoma’s Charley Loeb for three years behind Landry Jones. But Oklahoma’s Charley Loeb figures to be better than Syracuse’s Charley Loeb. One ‘Cuse fan who lives down there said he was actually recruited to be the successor to Sam Bradford but Jones got an opening when Bradford was injured while Allen was redshirting and came back the next year as an incumbent, rather than a contender. He played well and kept the job. Meanwhile the Sooners recruited another top guy, Blake Bell, who they expected to be Jones’ successor. He was given the inside track at the job and Allen decided to transfer. It speaks well for him that the Oklahoma coach, Bob Stoops, campaigned to find him a spot where he could shine and it speaks well for Syracuse they chose here. Allen will be able to play immediately under an NCAA rule, (frankly, a loophole), that allows him to play immediately if he wishes to pursue a course of study that was not available at his old school. (A local reporter asked him what course he was taking and he had to look it up.)
It was immediately assumed that Allen would be our starting quarterback in the fall. But Hunt started out practicing with the first team. However their positions seem to have reversed themselves in recent practices, (the coaches aren’t confirming that). Ironically, Blake Bell seems to have been beaten out by an even younger quarterback at Oklahoma. My feeling is that we would be in good shape with either Allen or Hunt at quarterback. Hunt is only a sophomore so he may be our starting quarterback the next two years after this anyway- if he doesn’t get beaten out by someone else like Kimble or Wilson or AJ Long, another good prospect who will be in the 2014 recruiting class. After years of wandering in the woods to find a good quarterback, we seem to be all set at this position for years to come. Maybe we’ll even get as good as Oklahoma so our Charley Loeb will be as good as Drew Allen.
Now:
Oklahoma’s Charley Loeb looked a lot like Syracuse’s Charley Loeb. Drew Allen won the starting job but was rather mechanical in everything he did. He could throw the ball but everybody knew where he was throwing it. He managed to throw for 468 yards in the first two games but had only one touchdown pass vs. six interceptions. Terrel Hunt took over late in the northwestern game and looked good. More than that his teammates seemed excited to have him in there and seemed to be playing harder for him than they did for Allen. Hunt was named the starter for the third game against Wagner and never lost his starting position. Allen was able to get into some of the blow-out games, (wins and losses) after that but never did anything to suggest that a mistake had been made in benching him. He wound up with 2 TD passes, (in 122 attempts) and 9 interceptions.
Hunt looked like an All-American against Wagner, (who had been an FCS playoff team the year before but fell to 3-8 this year), and Tulane, (thought to be a bad team but they won seven games and made a bowl), completing 31 of 39 for 446 yards and 7TDs with no interceptions. He also proved to be much more of a running threat than Allen, running for 61 yards and a touchdown in those two games while Allen had -9 yards and no scores in the first two games. But when the conference schedule began, Hunt looked not ready for prime time throwing ZERO touchdown passes in the next six games, (vs. 7 interceptions). We scored 64 points in those 6 games. But toward the end of the year, things started coming together for Hunt. He threw his first ACC TD pass vs. Pittsburgh and then exploded on Boston College for 360 yards total offense, throwing for two scores and running for another. Then, in the bowl game vs. Minnesota he had 262 yards total offense and ran for two scores, including the winning touchdown. He was named MVP.
He now looks like a strong incumbent at the position and will probably be our quarterback the next two years. I think his productivity will go up as his receiving corps, which was almost pathetic this year, improves. There is talent building up behind him. Besides Wilson, Kimble and Long, we now have another, Alin Edouard from Florida, all well-regarded. But they will have work on their games behind Hunt and get ready to compete against each other for the job after he leaves. That will be a good thing for the program.
Offense
QUARTERBACK
Here’s what I wrote then:
In the off-season the big subject was who will replace Ryan Nassib at quarterback. I actually haven’t worried about it too much because I was confident someone good would emerge there. Nassib’s back-up was big, tall, (6-4, 220), Charley Loeb who in three years attempted 6 passes, completing 4 for 41 yards. That’s not much but it’s more than his rivals John Kinder and Terrell Hunt have done: neither has ever thrown a pass in a college game. Loeb’s template was Todd Philcox, who hardly played for three years behind Donnie McPherson but took over for him in 1988 and put up almost the same numbers and almost the same number of wins, using that one year as a stepping stone to a surprising 8 year career as a back-up in the NFL. He’s mostly a passer. Kinder, (6-2, 187) is more of a runner, fast and elusive. Hunt, (6-2, 215), is more of a combination of the two. High school films show an accurate passer, (of course the completion percentage in a high school highlight film is always 100%) with a lumbering but effective running style. No less than three new quarterbacks were recruited. The most highly rated was Zach Allen out of Texas, who drew raves at Tony Romo’s camp. Austin Wilson of Pennsylvania was also highly rated. Allen backed out of his verbal commitment when Marrone left and signed with TCU. But the new staff brought in Mitch Kimble from Illinois, whom a lot of people think could be our starting quarterback someday. But the spring battle was between Loeb, Kinder and Hunt and Hunt won that competition.
But we wound up getting a quarterback named Allen who played his high school ball in Texas anyway. His name is Drew Allen and he’s even bigger than Loeb at 6-5 230. One local reporter compared him to Ben Rothlesberger, (except this guy is polite to a fault). His films, (there are high school films and some college action on You-Tube) reveal an accurate passer with a strong arm who can also run the ball when the occasion presents itself. He was Oklahoma’s Charley Loeb for three years behind Landry Jones. But Oklahoma’s Charley Loeb figures to be better than Syracuse’s Charley Loeb. One ‘Cuse fan who lives down there said he was actually recruited to be the successor to Sam Bradford but Jones got an opening when Bradford was injured while Allen was redshirting and came back the next year as an incumbent, rather than a contender. He played well and kept the job. Meanwhile the Sooners recruited another top guy, Blake Bell, who they expected to be Jones’ successor. He was given the inside track at the job and Allen decided to transfer. It speaks well for him that the Oklahoma coach, Bob Stoops, campaigned to find him a spot where he could shine and it speaks well for Syracuse they chose here. Allen will be able to play immediately under an NCAA rule, (frankly, a loophole), that allows him to play immediately if he wishes to pursue a course of study that was not available at his old school. (A local reporter asked him what course he was taking and he had to look it up.)
It was immediately assumed that Allen would be our starting quarterback in the fall. But Hunt started out practicing with the first team. However their positions seem to have reversed themselves in recent practices, (the coaches aren’t confirming that). Ironically, Blake Bell seems to have been beaten out by an even younger quarterback at Oklahoma. My feeling is that we would be in good shape with either Allen or Hunt at quarterback. Hunt is only a sophomore so he may be our starting quarterback the next two years after this anyway- if he doesn’t get beaten out by someone else like Kimble or Wilson or AJ Long, another good prospect who will be in the 2014 recruiting class. After years of wandering in the woods to find a good quarterback, we seem to be all set at this position for years to come. Maybe we’ll even get as good as Oklahoma so our Charley Loeb will be as good as Drew Allen.
Now:
Oklahoma’s Charley Loeb looked a lot like Syracuse’s Charley Loeb. Drew Allen won the starting job but was rather mechanical in everything he did. He could throw the ball but everybody knew where he was throwing it. He managed to throw for 468 yards in the first two games but had only one touchdown pass vs. six interceptions. Terrel Hunt took over late in the northwestern game and looked good. More than that his teammates seemed excited to have him in there and seemed to be playing harder for him than they did for Allen. Hunt was named the starter for the third game against Wagner and never lost his starting position. Allen was able to get into some of the blow-out games, (wins and losses) after that but never did anything to suggest that a mistake had been made in benching him. He wound up with 2 TD passes, (in 122 attempts) and 9 interceptions.
Hunt looked like an All-American against Wagner, (who had been an FCS playoff team the year before but fell to 3-8 this year), and Tulane, (thought to be a bad team but they won seven games and made a bowl), completing 31 of 39 for 446 yards and 7TDs with no interceptions. He also proved to be much more of a running threat than Allen, running for 61 yards and a touchdown in those two games while Allen had -9 yards and no scores in the first two games. But when the conference schedule began, Hunt looked not ready for prime time throwing ZERO touchdown passes in the next six games, (vs. 7 interceptions). We scored 64 points in those 6 games. But toward the end of the year, things started coming together for Hunt. He threw his first ACC TD pass vs. Pittsburgh and then exploded on Boston College for 360 yards total offense, throwing for two scores and running for another. Then, in the bowl game vs. Minnesota he had 262 yards total offense and ran for two scores, including the winning touchdown. He was named MVP.
He now looks like a strong incumbent at the position and will probably be our quarterback the next two years. I think his productivity will go up as his receiving corps, which was almost pathetic this year, improves. There is talent building up behind him. Besides Wilson, Kimble and Long, we now have another, Alin Edouard from Florida, all well-regarded. But they will have work on their games behind Hunt and get ready to compete against each other for the job after he leaves. That will be a good thing for the program.
