Faizon Brandon Has to be coming in as true freshman starter no doubt.

#26
#26
Lot of opinions on what's best for QB next season and all have good points. Will be shocked if Merk stays.

Not sure what portal QB you all are wanting. Another one and done Joey or a 2 yr guy? IMO either on creates a problem in the QB room. Gmack may not want to stay if a portal guy comes in and a more than one yr QB may make Brandon leave. A 5* guy like him can easily get picked up.

I would not risk a portal guy. Not sure what our receiving corp is going to look like next yr either.

I would genuinely like to see Merk and Gmac get heavy reps to close the season. It will basically shut the door on the question of do we need to hit the portal or not this offseason.

As it stands now we are basically gonna force Merk to leave to open the QB room for a portal guy with experience.

I’d prefer to see Merk with live action to know if he needs to leave or not. Especially since the season is lost.
 
#27
#27
I would genuinely like to see Merk and Gmac get heavy reps to close the season. It will basically shut the door on the question of do we need to hit the portal or not this offseason.

As it stands now we are basically gonna force Merk to leave to open the QB room for a portal guy with experience.

I’d prefer to see Merk with live action to know if he needs to leave or not. Especially since the season is lost.
I completely agree.

The remainder of this year should be to assess in real game time who we have at what positions for 2026. All the analysts should be given positions of portal need and should get to work finding gems we can contact.
As a fan, I want to win games. Especially against rival like Florida and Vandy. But this game has morphed into a business. It is no longer about school pride and amateur athletics. So, we have to treat it as a business.
 
#29
#29
I completely agree.

The remainder of this year should be to assess in real game time who we have at what positions for 2026. All the analysts should be given positions of portal need and should get to work finding gems we can contact.
As a fan, I want to win games. Especially against rival like Florida and Vandy. But this game has morphed into a business. It is no longer about school pride and amateur athletics. So, we have to treat it as a business.

Also since this is now a professional business, we are spending about 1.2m on Aguilar. If we wind up not needing to go to the portal, that frees up cash to try to keep Matthews and others or if they are deadset on staying, we can go out and add pieces.

Not sure Faizon's deal, but I seriously doubt we are going to spend $1-1.2m on a portal QB to come here and compete for the starting job. That is starter money.
 
#30
#30
Also since this is now a professional business, we are spending about 1.2m on Aguilar. If we wind up not needing to go to the portal, that frees up cash to try to keep Matthews and others or if they are deadset on staying, we can go out and add pieces.

Not sure Faizon's deal, but I seriously doubt we are going to spend $1-1.2m on a portal QB to come here and compete for the starting job. That is starter money.
Admittedly, I do not know how compensation influences playing time both in pros and in college. I imagine if I were in charge I wouldn't care what you are paid because I am playing the person who gives the best chance to win.
 
#31
#31
No to the portal qb. Didn't help this year, won't help next yr except to force one of our qb to enter portal.

Redshirt Faison and go with our 2 young stud qb's
Hard to take anyone seriously when they say things this dumb. We may have three wins if Merklinger was the starter all year
 
#32
#32
Fans should temper their expectations next year. Freshman QBs take time to develop. Rarely do they come in and just take over college football. I tried to tell Michigan fans that coming into this season and none of them were having it. But just look at Bryce Underwood stats now 7 Passing TDs and 3 INTs.

With that said, I've been extremely impressed with how George Macintyre has looked in every opportunity he has been given. What impresses me the most is how he manuevers in the pocket and evades pressure. He looks really calm and unfazed. Considering Faizon will be a true freshman, I think you have to start G-Mac, bring in a one year rental in an experienced QB, and redshirt Faizon.
red shirt him at the peril of him going into the portal.......
 
#34
#34
Right now Heupel is 2-2 with Qb's. He done good with Hooker and Joey. Milton and Nico not so much but recruiting is never 100% accurate. They may have had the book knowledge of the playbook but couldn't execute on the field in game time. Hazel though is the QB coach and he hasn't impressed with the development. I'd say he's 1-2 with the development on the 3 QBs he's had. We will see next year though if we don't get one through the portal.
He inherited Hooker from Pruitt. Joey was the only option he had given the timing of Nico leaving. It was akin to the last gal in the bar at 2am. She's the only choice or you go home alone. To my mind, Heupel has yet to land a QB that fits his system and has excelled in it .
 
#35
#35
He inherited Hooker from Pruitt. Joey was the only option he had given the timing of Nico leaving. It was akin to the last gal in the bar at 2am. She's the only choice or you go home alone. To my mind, Heupel has yet to land a QB that fits his system and has excelled in it
If he hasn't landed a QB that fits his system then that says a lot. Hooker fit it well and Joey fits it decent. If we had to take a QB in the portal when we have Merk that's been here a couple of yrs and if he hasn't learned the system then that does speak volumes and not in a good way.
 
#36
#36
red shirt him at the peril of him going into the portal.......
If G-Mac's play justifies it, yes you definitely plan to redshirt him. In fact, there is a possibility G-Mac runs away with the starting job and Faizon doesn't get to play as starter until he is a redshirt sophmore or junior.

Heupel has proven he can get an experienced QB out of the portal to run his system. He doesn't need to cater to 5* players. Either the player values the opportunity in front of them and waits their turn or they can go somewhere that will rush them on the field and throw them in the fire.
 
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#40
#40
He inherited Hooker from Pruitt. Joey was the only option he had given the timing of Nico leaving. It was akin to the last gal in the bar at 2am. She's the only choice or you go home alone. To my mind, Heupel has yet to land a QB that fits his system and has excelled in it .
I think we're going to see more money spent on portal QB's with experience and 1-2yrs left than spending it on 5*'s unless something with the portal changes and settle for 3/4*s for less money and willing to wait.
 
#44
#44
I would genuinely like to see Merk and Gmac get heavy reps to close the season. It will basically shut the door on the question of do we need to hit the portal or not this offseason.

As it stands now we are basically gonna force Merk to leave to open the QB room for a portal guy with experience.

I’d prefer to see Merk with live action to know if he needs to leave or not. Especially since the season is lost.
outside of the buy game not a lot of reps for them to be had. This season is not over and we still have a lot to play for. We win out and things can happen. If you look at the top of the SEC there are soem rough ends to their seasons.

A&M still has Missou and Texas to face
Bama had Oklahoma and Auburn (cant sleep on the iron bowl)
UGA has Texas and GT
Ole miss is basically on cruise control but could stumble on FL or Miss State depending on how they survive the coaching poaching distractions
Texas has to play UGA and A&M
Oklahoma plays Bama and Missou

So a lot of eating our own will go down the next few weeks.
 
#45
#45
I hope Brandon comes in ready to start. I'm tired of the string of one year QBs. A three year starter would actually bring some leadership to the team.
 
#46
#46
If G-Mac's play justifies it, yes you definitely plan to redshirt him. In fact, there is a possibility G-Mac runs away with the starting job and Faizon doesn't get to play as starter until he is a redshirt sophmore or junior.

Heupel has proven he can get an experienced QB out of the portal to run his system. He doesn't need to cater to 5* players. Either the player values the opportunity in front of them and waits their turn or they can go somewhere that will rush them on the field and throw them in the fire.
Faizon is not sticking around until he is a Junior lol. This is 2025.
 
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#47
#47
outside of the buy game not a lot of reps for them to be had. This season is not over and we still have a lot to play for. We win out and things can happen. If you look at the top of the SEC there are soem rough ends to their seasons.

A&M still has Missou and Texas to face
Bama had Oklahoma and Auburn (cant sleep on the iron bowl)
UGA has Texas and GT
Ole miss is basically on cruise control but could stumble on FL or Miss State depending on how they survive the coaching poaching distractions
Texas has to play UGA and A&M
Oklahoma plays Bama and Missou

So a lot of eating our own will go down the next few weeks.

Sir the only thing we are fighting for that is at stake this season is if we are going to to play an ACC team or mid Big Ten team in Florida for the bowl game.
 
#48
#48
outside of the buy game not a lot of reps for them to be had. This season is not over and we still have a lot to play for. We win out and things can happen. If you look at the top of the SEC there are soem rough ends to their seasons.

A&M still has Missou and Texas to face
Bama had Oklahoma and Auburn (cant sleep on the iron bowl)
UGA has Texas and GT
Ole miss is basically on cruise control but could stumble on FL or Miss State depending on how they survive the coaching poaching distractions
Texas has to play UGA and A&M
Oklahoma plays Bama and Missou

So a lot of eating our own will go down the next few weeks.
Yep. Still a lot to play for. Imagine the message being sent by benching a lot of seniors and putting in youngsters. The seniors are basically discarded and their final year of college football is essentially meaningless. It also tells the rest of the roster that when things don't go your way, just quit. Push the reset button and start a new game. Yeah, great message. Would do wonders for the locker room and supposed culture.
 
#49
#49
I hope Brandon comes in ready to start. I'm tired of the string of one year QBs. A three year starter would actually bring some leadership to the team.
Suspect the staff has seen enough of both Gmac and Merk to know if either should look for a new home. Regardless, I'd bring in an experienced portal QB and let the room fight for the job. If someone doesn't want to compete, he's not what we need at the position anyway.
 
#50
#50
Hand the keys to GMac, and get a portal back up in case GMac goes down. One year rentals aren’t the long term answer. JMO
 
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