Lack of spring practice could benefit Vols vs Oklahoma

[HuntlandVolinColo]

I agree with your assesment of jg play. But I think Pruitt starts jg, imo he shouldn't but I think that is what he will do. I don't think jg would have stayed unless he pretty well knew he was gonna play.[/QUOTE]

That brings up a good point. A lot of players use Spring Practices as a measuring stick of whether or not to transfer.

I wonder how that will play out?

 

[Only_1_OK]

That freshman you have coming in...Mims? Will be a beast also. Sooner rather than later.

Agreed. Young QBs and young receivers always tend to make waves on the field. Whether it's Rattler or Mordecai I think we see a significant rise in the deep field passing offense from what we saw with Hurts.

I also think the UCLA transfer, Theo Howard, could have a serious impact this year.

 

[1vol8]

And us being able to score, we didn't score very well the last two games of the season against much inferior teams than okl

You raise a good point. And we haven’t started well at all the last couple of years, so there’s that too.

 

[PulaskiVolFan]

He won't be the "unquestioned" starter with or without spring. He didn't play well enough to justify that. His last two games definitely weren't good enough to justify that.

Who's going to be the starter then since you don't think JG is the likely guy?

 

[sjt18]

Who's going to be the starter then since you don't think JG is the likely guy?

Re-read. I didn't address the question of "likely starter". I said he won't be the "unquestioned" starter... The job isn't going to be handed to him the way it was last year. I believe that was a calculated effort to build his confidence that didn't work as hoped.

He may be the starter but he would have to take a big and unexpected jump to be the QB UT needs. There is no question of his heart, effort, or desire. There is no question he possesses talent in a lot of aspects. But his weaknesses expose UT. They make UT easier to defend than they should be.

He does not process fast enough and does not anticipate throws well. A great illustration is in the USCe game. Early in the 2nd half, he had MC wide open on a post route. MC had 5-10 yards of separation. JG hesitated and threw a count late AND did not lead MC. What could have been a walk in TD turned into a contested catch and tackle. The drive resulted in a missed FG attempt. Later in the game, Shrout threw the same pattern. He threw on time and led MC into a catch and score.

That's not isolated. The announcer talked about his need to "see" rather than anticipate in the IU game. It cost UT TD's on a couple of red zone drives. In the past it has caused JG to take unnecessary sacks and hits or to have to throw check downs.

He works hard. He's improved in a lot of ways. But these are recurring issues that manifest themselves in different ways. It appears to be an innate weakness of JG that he's very unlikely to overcome.

The question isn't about where JG is. He is what he is. He now manages the O and run game well. He throws well to boundaries when he doesn't have to worry about reading coverage as much (less to process = faster decision). He improved greatly and showed a good ability to use the middle of the field on slow developing routes... something I criticized going into last season.

The question is about who if anyone can catch up in the things JG does well and then NOT have the weaknesses he has. Pruitt isn't going to hand the team over to someone who cannot manage the O and particularly the run game well. Some here think he's acting on some sort of bias... but I don't think so. He valued JG's game management.

If Maurer can reduce mistakes and learn to manage the O then he will challenge JG. He has better instincts throwing the ball (anticipation) than JG. He makes quick reads and decisions... he just has to improve quality. Will he? Who knows?

Shrout has great arm talent but it was disappointing that Maurer seemed to have already passed him in O management.

Hill? I have my doubts and still am not sure why they took him.

Bailey is a wild card in that we don't know how long it will take him to adjust to the college game or what kind of intangibles he brings.

 

[PulaskiVolFan]

Re-read. I didn't address the question of "likely starter". I said he won't be the "unquestioned" starter... The job isn't going to be handed to him the way it was last year. I believe that was a calculated effort to build his confidence that didn't work as hoped.

He may be the starter but he would have to take a big and unexpected jump to be the QB UT needs. There is no question of his heart, effort, or desire. There is no question he possesses talent in a lot of aspects. But his weaknesses expose UT. They make UT easier to defend than they should be.

He does not process fast enough and does not anticipate throws well. A great illustration is in the USCe game. Early in the 2nd half, he had MC wide open on a post route. MC had 5-10 yards of separation. JG hesitated and threw a count late AND did not lead MC. What could have been a walk in TD turned into a contested catch and tackle. The drive resulted in a missed FG attempt. Later in the game, Shrout threw the same pattern. He threw on time and led MC into a catch and score.

That's not isolated. The announcer talked about his need to "see" rather than anticipate in the IU game. It cost UT TD's on a couple of red zone drives. In the past it has caused JG to take unnecessary sacks and hits or to have to throw check downs.

He works hard. He's improved in a lot of ways. But these are recurring issues that manifest themselves in different ways. It appears to be an innate weakness of JG that he's very unlikely to overcome.

The question isn't about where JG is. He is what he is. He now manages the O and run game well. He throws well to boundaries when he doesn't have to worry about reading coverage as much (less to process = faster decision). He improved greatly and showed a good ability to use the middle of the field on slow developing routes... something I criticized going into last season.

The question is about who if anyone can catch up in the things JG does well and then NOT have the weaknesses he has. Pruitt isn't going to hand the team over to someone who cannot manage the O and particularly the run game well. Some here think he's acting on some sort of bias... but I don't think so. He valued JG's game management.

If Maurer can reduce mistakes and learn to manage the O then he will challenge JG. He has better instincts throwing the ball (anticipation) than JG. He makes quick reads and decisions... he just has to improve quality. Will he? Who knows?

Shrout has great arm talent but it was disappointing that Maurer seemed to have already passed him in O management.

Hill? I have my doubts and still am not sure why they took him.

Bailey is a wild card in that we don't know how long it will take him to adjust to the college game or what kind of intangibles he brings.

Just a bunch of useless same old stuff. I think that lack of spring practice does indeed guarantee that JG starts barring injury.

 

[sjt18]

Just a bunch of useless same old stuff. I think that lack of spring practice does indeed guarantee that JG starts barring injury.

And... that's just a bunch of the same old wishful thinking that you've engaged in every time JG is discussed. He has weaknesses and those weaknesses hold the team back. You can hand wave all you like... and those weaknesses still exist. His failure to anticipate throws and make timely reads is something DC's have taken advantage of repeatedly since he became the starter.

If that does "indeed guarantee that JG starts" then UT will be the worse for it.