4 Possible QBs from The Portal

#103
#103
Remy said:
I believe Faizon can practice for bowl prep since he’ll be on campus and in school, but he cannot play probably cannot dress in the bowl game. Else theres no advantage to graduating early. I’m not an authority just what my understanding is. If correct GMac will see what the youngster has.
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I believe he can work out as soon as he gets to campus and hopefully he can start working on the system, at least, and learning the basics of the reads. What has plagued our QBs isn't the physical talent but the lack of "getting it" to make good decisions. We've got a good crew receivers now who hopefully get separation so we should be ready for a QB that clicks in the system.

Faizon Brandon WILL NOT WALK RIGHT IN TO START. It's extremely unlikely he's ready by Sept and he'd do well to sit a year and learn.

With the changes Heupel makes, I hope he puts more emphasis on getting guys READY to play QB mentally and ready for how quickly things unfold in game situations. I feel like that preparation is, to some extent, lacking for Heupel.

It can't have ALWAYS been "the QB just didn't get it......" There's a teaching problem too, I think.
 
#104
#104
SubVet676 said:
Weird situation UT faces. Think about it...
- JA could potentially petition for and win another year of eligibility;
- GMac looks to be the heir apparent at this point, at least for '26;
- Merk is suddenly the 4* odd man out;
- Faizon will (likely) be willing to sit a year, at most.

So UT could start the year with 4 QB's onboard, and 2 really good options at QB1. But the pundits for the local fishwrapper and Radio/TV types say Merk is almost certainly gone, so that means 3 QB's. If JA goes, now we're at 2 QB's. But if JA goes, does Merk go, or stick around to compete for the job?

All them balloons up in the air, and no idea which one(s) of them will float away.

Tough spot to be in. You almost have to figure that JA or Merk go, so you need a QB, if only a reliable backup. And you might end up needing 2 of them.

I'll say this: Gmac, Merk, and/or Faizon are going to have to grow up fast, because I can see one or more of them running the offense next year. And I think our '26 starter is already on the roster. The question is, who (or is it whom?)?

But I'm wrong a lot, so...
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I think the 26 starter is not on the roster and it will be a portal, I was right last summer when I said JA would take all the snaps and some on here said otherwise. I think if we had got the Notre Dame backup Angeli that was considered. Angeli did great job at Syracuse until his ACL injury vs Clemson,10 TDS with 1300 yards in 4 games only loss vs UT and they were hapless without him. I believe he would have equaled JA's performance. So I think there are some experienced QBs out there that can run this Offense. They just need to have that quick decision maker twitch to excel in Huepel offense. To open season with Furman may lend a good starting point for GMAC I think he makes quick decisions etc.. don't feel same about Merk and havent seen the true freshman. Just Gmac is close but with his trouble of putting on any significant muscle weight is concerning going into the SEC.
 
#105
#105
KTrain said:
I think the 26 starter is not on the roster and it will be a portal, I was right last summer when I said JA would take all the snaps and some on here said otherwise. I think if we had got the Notre Dame backup Angeli that was considered. Angeli did great job at Syracuse until his ACL injury vs Clemson,10 TDS with 1300 yards in 4 games only loss vs UT and they were hapless without him. I believe he would have equaled JA's performance. So I think there are some experienced QBs out there that can run this Offense. They just need to have that quick decision maker twitch to excel in Huepel offense. To open season with Furman may lend a good starting point for GMAC I think he makes quick decisions etc.. don't feel same about Merk and havent seen the true freshman. Just Gmac is close but with his trouble of putting on any significant muscle weight is concerning going into the SEC.
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Yeah, could be, but...

This will be Merk's 3rd year at UT; GMac's 2nd; and Faizon's 1st. The consensus going into Spring Practice last year was that Nico would have the reins in '25, and then Merk, GMac, and Faizon would battle for QB1 in '26. So with that being the case, having Aguilar come in and win the QB1 job wasn't much of a setback or disappointment for Merk and GMac.

But now it's '26, and the post-Nico plan is back in play, which says Merk and GMac compete for QB1, and Faizon grabs a clipboard and a protein shake. If we go after a portal QB and he ends up as QB1, you can kiss Merk and GMac goodbye, and it's all-or-nothing with Faizon in '27. I'm not sure what the timing of the Portal is, but if we start shopping for a QB1 when it opens, then that door swings both ways, and Merk / GMac could decide to go ahead and seek their fortunes elsewhere.

Like I said, tough spot to be in. Coach Heupel needs to navigate those waters with extreme caution. Be all too easy to miss out on a good portal QB, and see a couple of decent ones we have in-hand walk away.

Jobu needs a refill... :cool:

EDIT: Just saw where Merk is entering the Portal. So, yes, now we need 2 QB's. Gotta figure one for a depth piece, and one who can push GMac for QB1. Best option at this point may be to hope we can get JA for one more year, then just stick with 3 QB's.
 
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#108
#108
SubVet676 said:
Yeah, could be, but...

This will be Merk's 3rd year at UT; GMac's 2nd; and Faizon's 1st. The consensus going into Spring Practice last year was that Nico would have the reins in '25, and then Merk, GMac, and Faizon would battle for QB1 in '26. So with that being the case, having Aguilar come in and win the QB1 job wasn't much of a setback or disappointment for Merk and GMac.

But now it's '26, and the post-Nico plan is back in play, which says Merk and GMac compete for QB1, and Faizon grabs a clipboard and a protein shake. If we go after a portal QB and he ends up as QB1, you can kiss Merk and GMac goodbye, and it's all-or-nothing with Faizon in '27. I'm not sure what the timing of the Portal is, but if we start shopping for a QB1 when it opens, then that door swings both ways, and Merk / GMac could decide to go ahead and seek their fortunes elsewhere.

Like I said, tough spot to be in. Coach Heupel needs to navigate those waters with extreme caution. Be all too easy to miss out on a good portal QB, and see a couple of decent ones we have in-hand walk away.

Jobu needs a refill... :cool:

EDIT: Just saw where Merk is entering the Portal. So, yes, now we need 2 QB's. Gotta figure one for a depth piece, and one who can push GMac for QB1. Best option at this point may be to hope we can get JA for one more year, then just stick with 3 QB's.
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I think we need 1 which would give us 3.
 
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#113
#113
Rocky Top T said:
What makes you think Fazion will take over? I've seen 5 star QB not play like one. Why are some anointing Fazion? We don't know what he will be.
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This⬆️. Nico was pre-anointed to Heisman status and we know how that worked out. Regardless we need to find an at least serviceable qb and hope G Mac can put on 25 lbs and practice practice practice during the off season. Especially now that Merk is hitting the portal.
 
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#115
#115
ftsandersvol said:
If we continue to go portal shopping for QBs every season, what message is that sending to our QB recruiting targets?
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Every Major P4 goes to portal unless they have a Arch Manning or Sayin or that caliber QB coming back. Look just because you portal don't mean its your job. If a coach goes with a roster of QBs with no starts or even no SEC starts then the QB is awful. The 1st thing the fan base/local media would do is look at some of the portal QBs they could have had and he passed on for his loyal guy. A coach has to have a plan a-b& C because nobody is going to feel bad for you if the one you recruited and tried to develop is another Harrison Bailey. If you didn't get a plan B going you may be seeing the beginning of the end because you were too loyal to who you recruited out of HS.
 
#116
#116
ftsandersvol said:
If we continue to go portal shopping for QBs every season, what message is that sending to our QB recruiting targets?
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The question could be stated: If we continue to go portal shopping for QBs every season, what does that say ABOUT our QB recruiting ability and our QB development ability?

Is every QB just "not able to get it" or "a bust" or "not a good fit" or are we perhaps picking the wrong HS QBs for the system or the system isn't really all that workable or we aren't teaching the system well to younger QBs.

If we continue to have "busts" from our HS QB recruits, one has to look at more than just the recruits.
 
#118
#118
I would ride with 1. GMac who is getting bigger and stronger, 2. Faizon if here this Spring, and 3. either a portal QB who understands he may well be sitting as a Gaston type backup, OR the best 3-star in-state QB I can find who bleeds Orange and White. This is COLLEGE football! It is supposed to be new, different and exciting every year. Let's ride!
 
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