Who has the best arm?

[OrangeSquare]

Yeah, CROMPTON was/is the better QB "prospect".

I keep saying "prospect" because we haven't actually seen Crompton on a College Football field under game conditions. I think it's pretty obvious that Ainge's freshman year, he played a lot better than he was/is. He set the bar too high in my opinion, and now he will pay for it. I think IF Phil and company stick with him coming out of fall camp, that he will need a magical season to stay on the field. If he is average, Crompton will pass him by.

 

[orangewizard98]

Here are a couple facts:

Crompton was more highly recruited than Erik Ainge.

Erik Ainge does have a "bigger" arm that Jon Crompton. Its not a debate

Those are facts, not opinions. Ainge having a "bigger" arm in no way means he is the better prospect fo the two.

I personally feel Ainge will be the starting QB this year and has the ability(physically and mentally) to be a high caliber SEC quarterback. That is just an opinion. I also feel Crompton has a lot of ability and natural leadership instincts.

I disagree with OrangeSquare completely. I think Ainge's first year was a glimpse of what he could possibly grow to be as a QB.

 

[Vol423]

Exactly where a QB is ranked in relation to his peers (ie, fourth versus 11th) is largely dependent on the depth and overall quality of the recruiting class in any given year. BOTH Crompton and Ainge were rated as 4-star recruits by Rivals. As I stated before, I look forward to seeing Crompton play in the future. In my opinion, if Ainge improves his footwork working with Cutcliffe, his upside is better than Crompton.

 

[VolinArizona]

Exactly where a QB is ranked in relation to his peers (ie, fourth versus 11th) is largely dependent on the depth and overall quality of the recruiting class in any given year. BOTH Crompton and Ainge were rated as 4-star recruits by Rivals. As I stated before, I look forward to seeing Crompton play in the future. In my opinion, if Ainge improves his footwork working with Cutcliffe, his upside is better than Crompton.

That's the thing. You say "IF Ainge improves ___ he has better upside." That's not true. If and when he improves, he's hit his upside. The fact that he has to improve IS the upside. See what I mean?

 

[kptvol]

That's the thing. You say "IF Ainge improves ___ he has better upside." That's not true. If and when he improves, he's hit his upside. The fact that he has to improve IS the upside. See what I mean?

I think Ainge's success as a freshman was largely due to the fact that he played in a scaled back, simplified offense. When the offense was expanded to normal UT standards in 2005, he struggled badly. We'll see if he is capable of truly grasping our offense this year, I guess.

 

[GAVol]

I think Ainge's success as a freshman was largely due to the fact that he played in a scaled back, simplified offense. When the offense was expanded to normal UT standards in 2005, he struggled badly. We'll see if he is capable of truly grasping our offense this year, I guess.

Very true . . . Ainge definitely has the size, arm etc. to be a good SEC QB, but I think a lot of people are a little guilty of embellishing Ainge's accomplishments in 2004. He had a good year and made some big throws when he needed to, but his stats weren't exactly eye popping:

2004 Passing Stats

 

[WA_Vol]

Very true . . . Ainge definitely has the size, arm etc. to be a good SEC QB, but I think a lot of people are a little guilty of embellishing Ainge's accomplishments in 2004. He had a good year and made some big throws when he needed to, but his stats weren't exactly eye popping:

2004 Passing Stats

This is a better link to the cumulative stats for the year in 2004:

http://utsports.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/s...e.html#TEAM.IND


PASSING............GP...Effic....Att-Cmp-Int...Pct...Yds...TD..Lng..Avg/G
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Erik Ainge............9...135.89...198-109-9...55.1..1452..17..60..161.3
Rick Clausen........7...130.23...136-81-5.....59.6...949...8...57..135.6
Brent Schaeffer....8...129.64...37-18-1.......48.6...302...2...55...37.8

His stats were good, but his 135.89 efficiency was slightly better then Clausen's and Schaeffer, nothing special. His 55% complete is about 10 pts higher then in 2005.

 

[GAVol]

I was using the game by game link to illustrate the number of "off" games he had as a Freshman. EVen with a scaled down offense and sharing snaps which limited his attempts, he still had 3 games where he was under 50%.

All of that is relative though since he was a true freshman.

 

[VolinArizona]

I was using the game by game link to illustrate the number of "off" games he had as a Freshman. EVen with a scaled down offense and sharing snaps which limited his attempts, he still had 3 games where he was under 50%.

All of that is relative though since he was a true freshman.

The only time I was truly impressed, like, to the point of "OH MY GOD" was against Florida. He made some amazing throws in a pressure packed game. For a senior, that would be tough, and he was a freshman. Since then, he's declined, obv.

 

[Tnfootballjunkie]

I tend to agree, arm strengh is a great tool to have. After watching some game film and seeing Crompton play in High school, there will be lots of happy fans in the vol nation when he gets his chance. Ainge can be a solid quarterback with his mechanics being worked on by coach cut, I do not feel his leadership skills, or his football acumen are his strong suit. Crompton on the other hand has quick feet, is a great leader, has one of the best qiuick releases, he is also very accurate. The quarterback position is a position of leadership and a wide variety of skills. I think before season's end Crompton will be calling the plays for the vols.

 

[OWB]

Ainge can be a solid quarterback with his mechanics being worked on by coach cut, I do not feel his leadership skills, or his football acumen are his strong suit.

Not that I'm disagreeing with anything you're saying, but it's kind of hard to establish yourself as that leader when you're sharing duties with another QB. That's all Ainge has known during his time at Tennessee.

 

[kptvol]

Not that I'm disagreeing with anything you're saying, but it's kind of hard to establish yourself as that leader when you're sharing duties with another QB. That's all Ainge has known during his time at Tennessee.

I think Rick Clausen did a pretty good job of establishing himself as a leader. All he ever did was share duties at QB. Then again, Rick's leadership probably hurt Ainge's ability to establish himself as a leader. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the players resented Ainge for being the starter when Clausen clearly outperformed him in practices. I think if Ainge wants to be a solid leader this year, he needs to put some distance between himself and Crompton and define himself as the sole starter.

 

[Jasongivm6]

Do you think rolling Ainge to his left, or rolling Clausen to his right, affected many of their passes last year? Footwork, confidence, and being able to rely on his receivers to catch the balls obviously affected Ainge more last year than in 2004.

 

[kptvol]

Do you think rolling Ainge to his left, or rolling Clausen to his right, affected many of their passes last year? Footwork, confidence, and being able to rely on his receivers to catch the balls obviously affected Ainge more last year than in 2004.

I didn't mean to imply that I had any confidence in Ainge. I have very little. I think there are more factors than you listed that caused Ainge's failures last year. What made him through interceptions while trying to throw the ball out of bounds? I think that happened 2 or 3 times last year. I think the best scenario for Ainge would be to take him to the pyschology department and see if they can somehow hypnotize him into thinking he has never played football. Then maybe Cutcliffe can teach him how to play from scratch.

 

[OWB]

I think Rick Clausen did a pretty good job of establishing himself as a leader. All he ever did was share duties at QB.

Rick was a senior though..

 

[WA_Vol]

Do you think rolling Ainge to his left, or rolling Clausen to his right, affected many of their passes last year? Footwork, confidence, and being able to rely on his receivers to catch the balls obviously affected Ainge more last year than in 2004.

IMO they didn't give Ainge enough time for rehab before putting him back on the field. I say that watching how slowly they are bring Crompton back from his surgery, they are taking a different approach now.

It wasn't a full year from Ainge's injury until they played Notre Dame again. The same time frame that Ainge started playing better, although against weaker competition.

If Ainge played another position then bringing him back after 9 months would have been fine. For someone playing QB, an injury affecting your throwing motion can have a big impact. Their must have been signs in the fall that Ainge wasnt throwing the ball as well as he did as a freshmen. Otherwise UT's practices really need to be overhauled.

The tendency was probably to think that a QB could recover as quickly as well as other players from a broken collarbone. He needed more time to work on his throwing motion before steppin on the field. Probably not going to hear the coaching staff admit their mistake here.

 

[tvolsfan]

anyone know how fast crompton is compared to ainge.

i have heard crompton is a good scrambler, so just wondering how he stacks up with ainge.

i tried to check, and saw that ainge's 40 is actually faster.

 

[milohimself]

Yeah, I remember Ainge running a pretty quick 40 back in the day. Couldn't tell you the exact time, but made ya say "dang" for somebody as tall as he is.

 

[therickbol]

Many of you on here adhere to the "grass is always greener on the other side" philosophy. I am not saying Crompton is not going to be a great QB. Let me go ahead and say that before the Cromp-ites chime in. But, people just keep coming up with anything and everything they think might give Crompton the edge over Ainge in terms of who is a "better" QB. Well, so far arm strength and athleticism have been brought up. Sorry Cromp-ites but Ainge has a stronger arm and is actually a better athlete than Crompton. He is faster and has quicker feet. Ainge was also a D1 caliber basketball player. Now, does that mean when all is said and done he will be a better QB? No, thats not what it means. There is way more than arm strength and athleticism that goes into being a great QB. Crompton's arm strength and athleticism might be slightly behind Ainge, but he certainly seems to be strong enough in those areas to overcome that with toughness, intelligence, and leadership qualities.

 

[kptvol]

Many of you on here adhere to the "grass is always greener on the other side" philosophy. I am not saying Crompton is not going to be a great QB. Let me go ahead and say that before the Cromp-ites chime in. But, people just keep coming up with anything and everything they think might give Crompton the edge over Ainge in terms of who is a "better" QB. Well, so far arm strength and athleticism have been brought up. Sorry Cromp-ites but Ainge has a stronger arm and is actually a better athlete than Crompton. He is faster and has quicker feet. Ainge was also a D1 caliber basketball player. Now, does that mean when all is said and done he will be a better QB? No, thats not what it means. There is way more than arm strength and athleticism that goes into being a great QB. Crompton's arm strength and athleticism might be slightly behind Ainge, but he certainly seems to be strong enough in those areas to overcome that with toughness, intelligence, and leadership qualities.

No way is Ainge a better scrambler than Crompton. If you've seen Crompton's highlight reel, he almost looks like a running back playing QB. He can run over people or juke them out of their shoes. Ainge tries to scramble and he breaks his collar bone, or throws an underhanded INT, etc. I'm not saying one is a better QB than the other, but if you are looking for a scrambler, Crompton definitely has the edge.

 

[Jasongivm6]

Many of you on here adhere to the "grass is always greener on the other side" philosophy. I am not saying Crompton is not going to be a great QB. Let me go ahead and say that before the Cromp-ites chime in. But, people just keep coming up with anything and everything they think might give Crompton the edge over Ainge in terms of who is a "better" QB. Well, so far arm strength and athleticism have been brought up. Sorry Cromp-ites but Ainge has a stronger arm and is actually a better athlete than Crompton. He is faster and has quicker feet. Ainge was also a D1 caliber basketball player. Now, does that mean when all is said and done he will be a better QB? No, thats not what it means. There is way more than arm strength and athleticism that goes into being a great QB. Crompton's arm strength and athleticism might be slightly behind Ainge, but he certainly seems to be strong enough in those areas to overcome that with toughness, intelligence, and leadership qualities.

If Ainge has quicker feet than Crompton, then we should have recruited a better QB than Crompton.

 

[therickbol]

Didnt say anything about being a better scrambler. That involves all kinds of things like instincts and vision. Ainge is faster and quicker. Bottom line. If they ran the 40, Ainge wins. If they did the shuttle drill at the combine, Ainge wins. Thats what I said. And, that is just what it is.

 

[therickbol]

If Ainge has quicker feet than Crompton, then we should have recruited a better QB than Crompton.

Thats the determining factor as to whether or not someone is a good QB? Thats a little ridiculous.

 

[Jasongivm6]

Thats the determining factor as to whether or not someone is a good QB? Thats a little ridiculous.

No, post #47 is ridiculous.

You're basing the better QB on 40 speeds, etc.

You're the one saying Ainge has better speeds in those, not me.

Who cares if Ainge has a faster 40 time?

Did you see him play last year?

Do we now need a kid who runs a 4.3 40?

No.

 

[therickbol]

CAN YOU NOT READ?

Go back and read my posts again, then gather yourself before you make statements that have nothing to do with what I said.