Interesting Read On Qb's

Dodge2007 · August 15, 2007

Good read on starting True Freshman QB's

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It looks like there are several teams who will be starting True Freshman this year and over the last couple of years.

TCU - will start a red-shirt Freshman

Notre Dame - might start a True Freshman

Georgia did last year

Georgia Tech - started Reggie Ball

Michigan - started Henne - and he had his best year as a True Freshman.

50/50 though on some others- I personally think we should get Nichol game experience this year - weather he starts or not...

Article

The Good Book says a child shall lead them, but the playbook usually requires more experience.

That's why Oklahoma's Jamelle Holieway in 1985 is the only true freshman in Division I-A football history to start at quarterback for a national championship team.

The growing pains are much more severe at a position which demands the performance level, knowledge and acceptance that true freshman usually lack.

Last season six true freshmen – Matthew Stafford of Georgia, Josh Freeman of Kansas State, Thaddeus Lewis of Duke, Juice Williams of Illinois, Nate Davis of Ball State and Mitch Mustain, who transferred from Arkansas to Southern California - started the majority of their team's games and experienced various degrees of success.

They combined for a 22-30 record as starters, but only Stafford started in a bowl game victory and only Lewis and Mustain threw more touchdown passes than interceptions.

However, a year of experience can make a significant difference in aptitude and attitude, and last year's unsure freshmen are growing into confident sophomores.

"Last year during the season I went through the motions," admitted Davis, who was 3-4 as Ball State's starting quarterback but threw for 18 touchdowns compared to eight interceptions. "I didn't really know the offense and I was just out there playing. Over the winter I watched film every day to learn the offense more, and now I have a better grasp of it."

So does Stafford. He went 6-2 as the Bulldogs' starter, but threw 13 interceptions and only seven touchdown passes. He did, however, show considerable improvement in helping Georgia post three consecutive victories over ranked teams to close the season.

Last spring Stafford arrived in Athens rated the nation's top quarterback prospect by Rivals.com. He largely struggled through the spring, although he did throw a long touchdown pass in his first attempt in the G-Day spring game.

With a football season and a full year under his belt, he felt like a crafty veteran this spring.

"It was like night and day for me," Stafford said. "I was just so much calmer and composed this year. You're more comfortable knowing what's going on around you and knowing what to look for. Last spring, being my first semester at school, it was tough. This year was a whole lot more fun.

"I feel like my game is a whole lot better. Hopefully, it will carry into the fall."

Stafford and his contemporaries can look at other former true freshmen starters and be encouraged that future seasons will be more fun, too.

For example, Tennessee's Erik Ainge had a decent freshman year in 2004 in which he passed for 1,452 yards with 17 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

Last season, Ainge broke out with 2,989 yards passing with 19 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

Fresh starts

The freshman quarterbacks who started most the games for their teams in 2006 and how they fared:

Name School W-L Yards TD INT

Nate Davis Ball State 3-4 1,975 18 8

Josh Freeman Kansas St. 4-4 1,780 7 15

Thaddeus Lewis Duke 0-11 2,134 11 16

Mitch Mustain* Arkansas 7-1 894 10 9

Matthew Stafford Georgia 6-2 1,749 7 13

Juice Williams Illinois 1-8 1,489 9 9

* -- transferred to Southern California

Brady Quinn passed for 1,831 yards and nine touchdowns with 15 interceptions in 2003 as a freshman at Notre Dame. The Irish finished 5-7 that season. As a sophomore, Quinn passed for 2,586 yards with 17 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Each year he steadily improved.

Of course, nothing is guaranteed.

Michigan's Chad Henne has had three good seasons, but his freshman year - when he threw for 2,743 yards and 25 touchdowns - remains statistically his most productive season.

Ainge, Henne and the freshmen starters of '06 are among a rather exclusive group to start at quarterback as true freshmen. Given the opportunity, in the vast majority of cases coaches would prefer quarterbacks to redshirt their freshman year to learn the offense and be shielded from the immediate expectations of grandeur that often accompany a quarterback recruit to college.

No quarterback on Georgia's 2006 roster had significant playing experience, so the Bulldogs did not have the luxury of redshirting Stafford. Despite the ups-and-downs of his inaugural year, Stafford is glad he received on-the-job training.

"Personally, I was better served to go out and play," Stafford said. "I learned by trial and error. I wouldn't have had it any other way."

Stafford learned to adapt to the speed of the game, which is always one of the major obstacles freshmen face. He became more comfortable in coach Mark Richt's offense as the season progressed.

Stafford appeared in better condition this spring than he was a year ago, showed a much better command of the offense, didn't make as many mistakes and threw fewer interceptions.

"He is really good," Richt said of Stafford during spring drills. "Even last year he understood things, but he did not understand the speed of the game, the speed of the athletes, when to sling that sucker out of bounds and how to manage the bad plays.

"Those little fundamental things are what gets you beat, but I think he understands it pretty well now."

Yet, perhaps most important is that Stafford has the confidence of his teammates. He earned that confidence during a stretch in which the Bulldogs defeated Auburn, Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech. That enabled Stafford to assume the leadership role so important for a quarterback. He seemed to build on that in the spring.

"I think the hardest part is to come in as a freshman and lead the team off the bat," Stafford said. "It's tough to step in and play well enough to gain respect. Once you do, it's a great feeling when the team is behind you. After the Auburn game everybody realized we can play well together."

Like Stafford, Davis also gleaned and gained crucial confidence during a late-season surge. Ball State won three of its last four, and the loss was by eight points to Michigan.

"You have to have a lot of confidence," Davis said. "You can't get down because you'll let the whole team down. I'm trying to be a leader for the offense.

"You have to earn (teammates') respect. You always have to be positive. You never want to say anything negative. I started being a leader when I started knowing the offense. The worst thing in your first season is going into the huddle and being hesitant. I didn't know the offense and I was calling the plays wrong. They were saying, 'What are you talking about?' ''

Now, those teams are talking about winning more games next season with proven quarterbacks, especially Georgia.

"We have to try to improve on those numbers and the wins and losses," Stafford said. "We were 9-4 and happy with the way we finished, but that's not the way we do things around here. We're trying to win them all."

GoMeanGreen1999 · August 15, 2007

Good read on starting True Freshman QB's
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It looks like there are several teams who will be starting True Freshman this year and over the last couple of years.
TCU - will start a red-shirt Freshman
Notre Dame - might start a True Freshman
Georgia did last year
Georgia Tech - started Reggie Ball
Michigan - started Henne - and he had his best year as a True Freshman.
50/50 though on some others- I personally think we should get Nichol game experience this year - weather he starts or not...
Article
The Good Book says a child shall lead them, but the playbook usually requires more experience.
That's why Oklahoma's Jamelle Holieway in 1985 is the only true freshman in Division I-A football history to start at quarterback for a national championship team.
The growing pains are much more severe at a position which demands the performance level, knowledge and acceptance that true freshman usually lack.
Last season six true freshmen – Matthew Stafford of Georgia, Josh Freeman of Kansas State, Thaddeus Lewis of Duke, Juice Williams of Illinois, Nate Davis of Ball State and Mitch Mustain, who transferred from Arkansas to Southern California - started the majority of their team's games and experienced various degrees of success.
They combined for a 22-30 record as starters, but only Stafford started in a bowl game victory and only Lewis and Mustain threw more touchdown passes than interceptions.
However, a year of experience can make a significant difference in aptitude and attitude, and last year's unsure freshmen are growing into confident sophomores.
"Last year during the season I went through the motions," admitted Davis, who was 3-4 as Ball State's starting quarterback but threw for 18 touchdowns compared to eight interceptions. "I didn't really know the offense and I was just out there playing. Over the winter I watched film every day to learn the offense more, and now I have a better grasp of it."
So does Stafford. He went 6-2 as the Bulldogs' starter, but threw 13 interceptions and only seven touchdown passes. He did, however, show considerable improvement in helping Georgia post three consecutive victories over ranked teams to close the season.
Last spring Stafford arrived in Athens rated the nation's top quarterback prospect by Rivals.com. He largely struggled through the spring, although he did throw a long touchdown pass in his first attempt in the G-Day spring game.
With a football season and a full year under his belt, he felt like a crafty veteran this spring.
"It was like night and day for me," Stafford said. "I was just so much calmer and composed this year. You're more comfortable knowing what's going on around you and knowing what to look for. Last spring, being my first semester at school, it was tough. This year was a whole lot more fun.
"I feel like my game is a whole lot better. Hopefully, it will carry into the fall."
Stafford and his contemporaries can look at other former true freshmen starters and be encouraged that future seasons will be more fun, too.
For example, Tennessee's Erik Ainge had a decent freshman year in 2004 in which he passed for 1,452 yards with 17 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
Last season, Ainge broke out with 2,989 yards passing with 19 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
Fresh starts
The freshman quarterbacks who started most the games for their teams in 2006 and how they fared:
Name School W-L Yards TD INT
Nate Davis Ball State 3-4 1,975 18 8
Josh Freeman Kansas St. 4-4 1,780 7 15
Thaddeus Lewis Duke 0-11 2,134 11 16
Mitch Mustain* Arkansas 7-1 894 10 9
Matthew Stafford Georgia 6-2 1,749 7 13
Juice Williams Illinois 1-8 1,489 9 9
* -- transferred to Southern California
Brady Quinn passed for 1,831 yards and nine touchdowns with 15 interceptions in 2003 as a freshman at Notre Dame. The Irish finished 5-7 that season. As a sophomore, Quinn passed for 2,586 yards with 17 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Each year he steadily improved.
Of course, nothing is guaranteed.
Michigan's Chad Henne has had three good seasons, but his freshman year - when he threw for 2,743 yards and 25 touchdowns - remains statistically his most productive season.
Ainge, Henne and the freshmen starters of '06 are among a rather exclusive group to start at quarterback as true freshmen. Given the opportunity, in the vast majority of cases coaches would prefer quarterbacks to redshirt their freshman year to learn the offense and be shielded from the immediate expectations of grandeur that often accompany a quarterback recruit to college.
No quarterback on Georgia's 2006 roster had significant playing experience, so the Bulldogs did not have the luxury of redshirting Stafford. Despite the ups-and-downs of his inaugural year, Stafford is glad he received on-the-job training.
"Personally, I was better served to go out and play," Stafford said. "I learned by trial and error. I wouldn't have had it any other way."
Stafford learned to adapt to the speed of the game, which is always one of the major obstacles freshmen face. He became more comfortable in coach Mark Richt's offense as the season progressed.
Stafford appeared in better condition this spring than he was a year ago, showed a much better command of the offense, didn't make as many mistakes and threw fewer interceptions.
"He is really good," Richt said of Stafford during spring drills. "Even last year he understood things, but he did not understand the speed of the game, the speed of the athletes, when to sling that sucker out of bounds and how to manage the bad plays.
"Those little fundamental things are what gets you beat, but I think he understands it pretty well now."
Yet, perhaps most important is that Stafford has the confidence of his teammates. He earned that confidence during a stretch in which the Bulldogs defeated Auburn, Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech. That enabled Stafford to assume the leadership role so important for a quarterback. He seemed to build on that in the spring.
"I think the hardest part is to come in as a freshman and lead the team off the bat," Stafford said. "It's tough to step in and play well enough to gain respect. Once you do, it's a great feeling when the team is behind you. After the Auburn game everybody realized we can play well together."
Like Stafford, Davis also gleaned and gained crucial confidence during a late-season surge. Ball State won three of its last four, and the loss was by eight points to Michigan.
"You have to have a lot of confidence," Davis said. "You can't get down because you'll let the whole team down. I'm trying to be a leader for the offense.
"You have to earn (teammates') respect. You always have to be positive. You never want to say anything negative. I started being a leader when I started knowing the offense. The worst thing in your first season is going into the huddle and being hesitant. I didn't know the offense and I was calling the plays wrong. They were saying, 'What are you talking about?' ''
Now, those teams are talking about winning more games next season with proven quarterbacks, especially Georgia.
"We have to try to improve on those numbers and the wins and losses," Stafford said. "We were 9-4 and happy with the way we finished, but that's not the way we do things around here. We're trying to win them all."

Great info there. It would be interesting to see how many of those teams that had Freshman starters had changed their offense either with the head coach or coordinator like in our case with Dodge and Vizza. The only other major difference I could see is that with the exception of Ball State, all of the other schools have significantly tougher competition for the whole season.

Dodge2007 · August 15, 2007

The biggest thing is that everyone wants and expects Dodge to win NOW. With a freshman QB, the benefits begin in year 2. Will the Mean Green have the patience or will they be screaming.

Look at what Texas Tech has done against OU. Absolutely Nothing. Whoever comes in the OU game after the starter is replaced will excel more against a 2nd or 3rd team defense. Tech is so explosive yet can't do jack against OU.

It will be a long game regardless. We will have to have big time patience with whoever starts.

emmitt01 · August 15, 2007

The biggest thing is that everyone wants and expects Dodge to win NOW. With a freshman QB, the benefits begin in year 2. Will the Mean Green have the patience or will they be screaming.
Look at what Texas Tech has done against OU. Absolutely Nothing. Whoever comes in the OU game after the starter is replaced will excel more against a 2nd or 3rd team defense. Tech is so explosive yet can't do jack against OU.
It will be a long game regardless. We will have to have big time patience with whoever starts.

Says who? Does anyone honestly believe that with Meager under center against OU our season will be drastically (or even marginally) better than if we let Vizza have the whole season? I sure don't.

August 15, 2007

Let me mention one thing that I did not see in the article. Three of the six quarterbacks in the article actually had a better record than the senior that preceded him. The three totalled nine more wins than their teams had garnered the previous season. Those three that had fewer wins only totalled one win less than the preceding year.

The plusses:

Ball State 1

Kansas State 2

Arkansas 6

The minuses:

Georgia, Illinois, and Duke - all had one less win than the prior year

If we were even coming off of a winning season and started a true freshman quarterback then I'd feel differently. The new offense, for most of the players, is a learning experience and why not learn together?

I will give that Meager may have taken a step backward under Flanagan and possesses much greater skills than we had previously seen. The competition may improved his game wonderfully but there are two major places where I think that Vizza has an edge....experiencce at running a no-huddle offense and leadership. I think that those factors plus his work ethic will result in lhis starting against Oklahoma.