Preview of Qb's
2 years 9 months ago - 2 years 9 months ago #294
by wvu4u2
Preview of Qb's was created by wvu4u2
MORGANTOWN — Sonny Dykes is the new head coach at TCU, replacing Gary Patterson, who coached the Horned Frogs back to national prominence in a two-decade run leading the team.Dykes comes into the job with a reputation.He is a quarterback guru.He understands the importance of the position.
“Quarterback is a position that obviously is incredibly important in today’s football world, whether it’s seventh grade football or the NFL,” Dykes said during Big 12 Media Day. “You’re not going to have a great football team without a great quarterback.”That is why he knows that the biggest decision he makes this season will be in selecting a starting quarterback
“The question mark with us offensively is really the quarterback position,” Dykes said. “We’ve got to get settled, got to do a good job building our scheme around the quarterback’s strengths, but I think the good thing is we feel incredibly confident that either one of those quarterbacks that we choose can get the job done at a very high level.
”Chandler Morris, an Oklahoma transfer, or Max Duggan, the returning starting QB?“That’ll be one of the questions we try to get answered as quickly as possible. People ask me all the time about quarterback battles, how do you know,” Dykes said.
“It’s funny, everybody really knows. You know, the coaches are usually the last ones to know. The players start to know. The equipment managers start to know. The trainers start to know.“
Then the coaches start to go, you know what, maybe this guy is a little bit better than the other guy. You make that decision, then everybody goes, well, you could have done this a week ago. That’s normally the way it works.”
It didn’t work that way at Baylor this year.
They are the team favored to win the conference this year and went into spring ball with their own controversy, whether to have returning quarterback Gerry Bohanon or Blake Shapen.Coach Dave Aranda didn’t want to take his battle into summer camp, so at the end of spring he made his decision.To the appreciation of West Virginia, he landed on Shapen, which led Bohanon to transfer to South Florida.
Last year Bohanon destroyed WVU, when he threw for 336 yards and four touchdowns, also running for one in a 45-20 victory.Aranda and his staff were open and honest with both quarterbacks about the situation and what their expectations were.
“I think the competition between Blake and Gerry was really strong, and the communication was, like I say, always wide open and ongoing. Just at the end of it, it just became apparent, especially with the spring game, I think that was a factor in it, but at the end of it, it just became apparent that Blake was our better passer,” Aranda said.
It was a tough decision.“Just very difficult for me because I think — I always look at people before I look at players, and I think in this one we had to look at who could be the better player for us and not really incorporate the person, which is just kind of the opposite of what I usually do. So, it just became a very difficult thing.”
In other words, with all apologies to Dykes, the ball boys didn’t know because Aranda had to struggle with it.
“There is no me without Gerry, there is no last year without Gerry, there’s none of that. You walk in my house, I’ve got pictures of my kids posing next to Gerry,” he said. “It’s just kind of a crazy thing. So, it was very difficult to do.
“I think we talk quite a bit about person over player and just that to create a culture where you’re coming from value and you’re going out in the world and it’s a win or a loss or whatever it is, but you can come back knowing that you’re still loved, man. You’re still — it’s OK.
How different that is than trying to do stuff for value.
So, I just think looking at Gerry and his predicament and wanting the best for him, I think it was — the fair thing to do was to make that move early.”
At Kansas State, Coach Chris Kleiman is breaking in a new quarterback, transfer Adrian Martinez, who was a lightning rod at Nebraska
.“The thing that drew us to him was the number of games he has played at Nebraska. If you get around Adrian or you visit with Adrian, the first thing that jumps out at me is his maturity and what a grounded individual he is,” Kleiman said. “I’ve been so impressed with him as a person, as a man of faith, as somebody that came in and missed all the spring because of an injury he had.”That made it tough on a guy who was supposed to be a leader.“He practiced the last two practices, but just watching him bond with the players, watching him build relationships during the time when he couldn’t be out front leading after a workout or after a practice, and now to see him going through the summer where he is cleared and healthy and watching him just kind of command the room, he’s a tremendously mature individual that brings out the best in everybody.
That’s what excites me about him.
”This brings us back to Dykes, who has Max Duggan and Chandler Morris battling it out.Duggan is a three-year starter at TCU who threw for 5,920 yards and 41 touchdowns while rushing for 1,433 yards and 19 more TDs.Dykes says he knows Morris well.“I had a chance to watch him play at Highland Park High School when I was at SMU. He comes from a football background that’s very similar to mine,” Dykes said.
“His dad was a head coach, is kind of one of those kids that grew up hanging around the Fieldhouse, just one of those guys that loves the game. When I talked to Lincoln Riley about Chandler, Lincoln had nothing but great things to say about him.
Everybody that dealt with him at Oklahoma said the same thing, he’s just a great kid, hardworking, loves the game.“When you have talent and you have that passion and you have that football background, that lends itself to being very successful.
”But it would be a tough call to just drop Duggan.“We’re excited about Max Duggan. Had a chance to watch Max play up close and personal at TCU when I was at SMU, saw what he could do. A very tough, tough guy, very athletic, very physical. I think the players really respond and respect the way he plays the game,” Dykes said.It will be a hot summer in Fort Worth, Texas
.Follow @bhertzel on Twitter
“Quarterback is a position that obviously is incredibly important in today’s football world, whether it’s seventh grade football or the NFL,” Dykes said during Big 12 Media Day. “You’re not going to have a great football team without a great quarterback.”That is why he knows that the biggest decision he makes this season will be in selecting a starting quarterback
“The question mark with us offensively is really the quarterback position,” Dykes said. “We’ve got to get settled, got to do a good job building our scheme around the quarterback’s strengths, but I think the good thing is we feel incredibly confident that either one of those quarterbacks that we choose can get the job done at a very high level.
”Chandler Morris, an Oklahoma transfer, or Max Duggan, the returning starting QB?“That’ll be one of the questions we try to get answered as quickly as possible. People ask me all the time about quarterback battles, how do you know,” Dykes said.
“It’s funny, everybody really knows. You know, the coaches are usually the last ones to know. The players start to know. The equipment managers start to know. The trainers start to know.“
Then the coaches start to go, you know what, maybe this guy is a little bit better than the other guy. You make that decision, then everybody goes, well, you could have done this a week ago. That’s normally the way it works.”
It didn’t work that way at Baylor this year.
They are the team favored to win the conference this year and went into spring ball with their own controversy, whether to have returning quarterback Gerry Bohanon or Blake Shapen.Coach Dave Aranda didn’t want to take his battle into summer camp, so at the end of spring he made his decision.To the appreciation of West Virginia, he landed on Shapen, which led Bohanon to transfer to South Florida.
Last year Bohanon destroyed WVU, when he threw for 336 yards and four touchdowns, also running for one in a 45-20 victory.Aranda and his staff were open and honest with both quarterbacks about the situation and what their expectations were.
“I think the competition between Blake and Gerry was really strong, and the communication was, like I say, always wide open and ongoing. Just at the end of it, it just became apparent, especially with the spring game, I think that was a factor in it, but at the end of it, it just became apparent that Blake was our better passer,” Aranda said.
It was a tough decision.“Just very difficult for me because I think — I always look at people before I look at players, and I think in this one we had to look at who could be the better player for us and not really incorporate the person, which is just kind of the opposite of what I usually do. So, it just became a very difficult thing.”
In other words, with all apologies to Dykes, the ball boys didn’t know because Aranda had to struggle with it.
“There is no me without Gerry, there is no last year without Gerry, there’s none of that. You walk in my house, I’ve got pictures of my kids posing next to Gerry,” he said. “It’s just kind of a crazy thing. So, it was very difficult to do.
“I think we talk quite a bit about person over player and just that to create a culture where you’re coming from value and you’re going out in the world and it’s a win or a loss or whatever it is, but you can come back knowing that you’re still loved, man. You’re still — it’s OK.
How different that is than trying to do stuff for value.
So, I just think looking at Gerry and his predicament and wanting the best for him, I think it was — the fair thing to do was to make that move early.”
At Kansas State, Coach Chris Kleiman is breaking in a new quarterback, transfer Adrian Martinez, who was a lightning rod at Nebraska
.“The thing that drew us to him was the number of games he has played at Nebraska. If you get around Adrian or you visit with Adrian, the first thing that jumps out at me is his maturity and what a grounded individual he is,” Kleiman said. “I’ve been so impressed with him as a person, as a man of faith, as somebody that came in and missed all the spring because of an injury he had.”That made it tough on a guy who was supposed to be a leader.“He practiced the last two practices, but just watching him bond with the players, watching him build relationships during the time when he couldn’t be out front leading after a workout or after a practice, and now to see him going through the summer where he is cleared and healthy and watching him just kind of command the room, he’s a tremendously mature individual that brings out the best in everybody.
That’s what excites me about him.
”This brings us back to Dykes, who has Max Duggan and Chandler Morris battling it out.Duggan is a three-year starter at TCU who threw for 5,920 yards and 41 touchdowns while rushing for 1,433 yards and 19 more TDs.Dykes says he knows Morris well.“I had a chance to watch him play at Highland Park High School when I was at SMU. He comes from a football background that’s very similar to mine,” Dykes said.
“His dad was a head coach, is kind of one of those kids that grew up hanging around the Fieldhouse, just one of those guys that loves the game. When I talked to Lincoln Riley about Chandler, Lincoln had nothing but great things to say about him.
Everybody that dealt with him at Oklahoma said the same thing, he’s just a great kid, hardworking, loves the game.“When you have talent and you have that passion and you have that football background, that lends itself to being very successful.
”But it would be a tough call to just drop Duggan.“We’re excited about Max Duggan. Had a chance to watch Max play up close and personal at TCU when I was at SMU, saw what he could do. A very tough, tough guy, very athletic, very physical. I think the players really respond and respect the way he plays the game,” Dykes said.It will be a hot summer in Fort Worth, Texas
.Follow @bhertzel on Twitter
Last edit: 2 years 9 months ago by wvu4u2.
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