Poll: Starting QB this Spring?

Discussion in 'On The Field' started by MudHorn, Mar 24, 2015.

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Who is our starting QB coming out of Spring practice?

Poll closed Apr 1, 2015.
  1. Tyrone Swoopes

    48.3%
  2. Jerrod Heard

    51.7%
  1. MudHorn

    MudHorn Admin Moderator

    Who do you think wins the starting job coming out of Spring practice?

    Edit: Removed Locksley as he won't be here in the spring.
     
  2. WorsterMan

    WorsterMan SEC here we come!!

    I voted with guarded optimism for Heard.:popcorn:
     
    Last edited: Mar 24, 2015
  3. Driver 8

    Driver 8 Amor Fati

    Heard I say.
     
  4. militaryhorn

    militaryhorn Prediction Contest Manager

    Swoopes, but only because I haven't seen Heard play. He might get the start eventually but I find it hard to believe that this staff will start a redshirt freshman against a probable top 25 team to start our season.
     
  5. snek

    snek 500+ Posts

    For actual starting I too voted Swoopes. He has experience, may have more support and familiarity. But will he finish or be starting by the OU game? Dunno. A tougher question would be who do we start in our last game be it regular season or bowl.
     
  6. gahornphan

    gahornphan 500+ Posts

    Both Swoopes and Heard will start. Neither will separate in the spring. Kai won't be here until the summer.
     
  7. LousianaHorn

    LousianaHorn Kabong

    If its a "spread" offense they are installing then it would seem that Heard should be the man since he ran that in high school.
     
  8. MudHorn

    MudHorn Admin Moderator

    Yeah I wasn’t sure, should have checked on that. Thanks.
     
  9. moondog_LFZ

    moondog_LFZ 5,000+ Posts

    Swoopes starts but Heard rotates in.
     
  10. Desperado

    Desperado 1,000+ Posts

    I voted Heard. I think we've seen the ceiling with Swoopes. I agree it's not preferred to open the season against a high profile opponent with an untested QB but it can't get much worse than the performances we saw at QB last season.
     
  11. OldHippie

    OldHippie 2,500+ Posts

    Swoopes has the experience and big arm and should do better in controlled practices. If Heard has the moxie advantage, it will most likely show up in real game situations. That won't happen until after the season starts.
     
  12. kobs1776

    kobs1776 100+ Posts

    I voted for Heard because, IMHO Swoopes does not understand the zone read concept. I lost track of how many times I paused and replayed downs in which Swoopes FLAT OUT misread the zone read. It makes you wonder if he has the G2 (military term for inteligence) to think and process situations. I saw Heard play when he was in HS. He understands the zone read and knows how to operate it!
     
    • Like Like x 1
  13. Hipsquare

    Hipsquare 100+ Posts

    I can't stomach another game with Swoopes at QB.
     
    • Like Like x 2
  14. LonghornCatholic

    LonghornCatholic Deo Gratias

    No starter will be named out of spring game. Heard will be starter vs ND
     
    • Like Like x 2
    Last edited: Mar 25, 2015
  15. Horns11

    Horns11 10,000+ Posts

    People seem convinced that Heard is the lesser of two evils, but everything I've heard about the workouts and practices says that Swoopes is not only ahead of Heard, but vastly ahead of him. Like, to the point of Trey Holtz outperforming Heard in the passing game.

    Heard was a situational thrower in high school and "zone reader" the rest of the time. I know that Swoopes doesn't exactly excel at reading the defense, but we can't rely on a QB whose only strength is taking off with the ball. We took a risk that Heard's athleticism would be enough to overcome his QB shortcomings, and it hasn't worked out to this point. If it had, you'd be hearing about how well Heard is coming along. In the 2002 summer workouts and 2003 offseason, all anyone could talk about was how good VY looked. I haven't even heard a teammate say that about Heard, and he's been there for 10 months.

    Swoopes will be named the starter and will get the ire of Longhorn Nation until further notice. We're in a bit of a QB quagmire right now.
     
  16. Detective Shilala

    Detective Shilala 2,500+ Posts

    I honestly have no clue. My heart says Heard, but I just hope we have a solid starter one way or another. If we go into ND with QBs splitting series, it means neither could separate.
    So if we have an undisputed starter I will be at ease. Even if it is Swoopes.
     
  17. LonghornCatholic

    LonghornCatholic Deo Gratias

    Haven't they only practiced one day?
     
    • Like Like x 1
  18. WorsterMan

    WorsterMan SEC here we come!!

    If we have Swoopes & Heard as QB's and they both play / rotate due to short comings, deficiencies, poor decision making, execution, etc. into starting positions in the fall, then we have no QB:brickwall:

    The spring season / game will give us a good report card on what we have or don't have at QB. If Swoopes emerges as "the guy" after spring season, we are in trouble IMO.... unless he has undergone a complete transformation from what we saw last fall. It is possible I suppose, but not likely.

    We will see....
     
    Last edited: Mar 25, 2015
  19. shaggy refuge

    shaggy refuge 500+ Posts

    In the poll, I voted Swoopes. However, by fall, I hope to hell someone beats him out!
     
  20. BevoBeef

    BevoBeef 250+ Posts

    I watched TS at the last spring game and every fall game. The problem is not a lack of skill or polishing his passing. It is more a mental problem when pressure is applied to him. His lack of consistency comes from his state of mind. High pressure situations and lack of up front line blocking has affected his performance so far. What I have heard about Heard from his HS days is that he has ice in his veins and has quite a bit of self confidence. That will have to work for him until his experience level is built upon. The key to who starts will be who is the best at reading the open receiver in the short to mid passing game. My hunch is that the zone read game was reduced last year because the coaches did not want to take chances with TS being hurt last year. NO BACKUP after TS forced the decision making away from using a running QB. Having two QBs will allow the QB running game to be for real this next season. If JH is able to have effective pass reads to allow a more complex passing game as the season progresses, he will win the starting job. I will be trying to sense that in the first two games when he is tested at QB. I am assuming that JH will leverage off his HS experience in the QB running game and will be just as effective or better than TS at this phase of the game. You can expect that Watson will continue to pass at least in 50% of the offensive plays.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  21. Clean

    Clean 5,000+ Posts

    All the reports I read say that Swoopes is far ahead of Heard.

    Supposedly Swoopes has really transformed his body in the off season. He is noticeably bigger and stronger than last season. The kid is motivated. We can only hope that his ability to read defenses and his decision making has improved too.

    I thought that TCU's Boykin sucked his first couple of years and look what he did last year. I'm ready for the QB nightmare to finally be over.
     
    Last edited: Mar 26, 2015
  22. majorwhiteapples

    majorwhiteapples 5,000+ Posts

    You guys are so clueless, MAJOR MAJOR MAJOR!!!!!!
     
  23. snek

    snek 500+ Posts

    I wonder if some are not interpreting the question more as who you hope or want to start as opposed to who you think. My answer, qualified as it was, would have been different if it was asked differently.
     
  24. Horns11

    Horns11 10,000+ Posts

    Plus 10 months. I'm saying that Heard has not looked the part of a Division I starting QB since last summer. And if that's a comparison to how Swoopes has looked in practice, then it's truly damning info.

    And then to piggyback off of what snek just said, I think 100 percent of people "want" someone else to be starter. You'd have to be mentally challenged to believe otherwise. I just don't think it's Heard right now. If I was a betting man, I might even say that Strong/Watson want Locksley ahead of Heard on the depth chart come September.
     
  25. LonghornCatholic

    LonghornCatholic Deo Gratias

    I don't think anybody knows who the starter will be, including Strong. People are rooting for Heard just like some are rooting for TS, or Lock even. As the starter I hope TS practiced more, better, or whatever else is being thrown out there. Not saying it's not true, but i'm not buying that TS all of the sudden is Peyton Manning compared to Heard, but we will see. I actually think Heard will excel in the new offense, but thats just a guess too.

    If TS wins the starting job again then I will know he earned it and Charlie has who he feels gives us the best chance to win. I'm good with that. :hookem:
     
    • Like Like x 1
  26. zork

    zork 2,500+ Posts

    The way Swoopes played the majority of the last half of the season he should not be playing QB for the team. It may be wrong to think that way but I have eyes and they didn't deceive. One or two 4th quarter successful plays do not relieve from the first 3 quarters of pure ****.

    If Heard is half the player he was supposed to be he should be given full latitude to f**k up less than the guy who sucked **** through a straw the last half of the season.
     
  27. WorsterMan

    WorsterMan SEC here we come!!

    Zork, I like your candor about Swoopes and I largely feel the same way.

    Re: Swoopes. I read a practice report yesterday that said he is ahead / still playing better than Heard so far this spring. This concerns me.

    I realize Swoopes has an experience edge and others say he has the better arm (most of us have not personally seen Heard throw). However, Heard has been in the program long enough, it seems we should be hearing a little more positive feedback than we are getting about him.

    I am going to the spring game with my critical binoculars (like I have for 30 years) and I will make my own observations & judgements on the Swoopes & Heard competition... and imagine who will be the likely starter vs. ND.

    During breaks or halftime I will be forced to use my binoculars to seek out co-ed eye candy to keep the boredom away.:popcorn:
     
  28. Brad Austin

    Brad Austin 2,500+ Posts

    I don't understand the leniency Swoopes is given by some fans. If Heard were to start every game this year and perform like Swoopes did last year, would you be okay with naming Heard the front-runner to start again in 2016? It would be the same thing. Both TS and Heard would have had a redshirt year to learn the offense. If Heard started all year in 2015, he'd have a full season starting experience like Swoopes already has.

    My point is I think nearly the entire fansbase would write Heard off for 2016, if in 2015 he performed like Swoopes did last year. But with TS, there's just some strange shield allowing many to think after 2 years in a major college program, the light's gonna come on and he's gonna make a big jump in his 3rd year. He didn't look hardly any improved in the bowl game from his first game. That should never be the case with a talented QB. The kid just doesn't have "IT".

    We're looking for a QB who can elevate us to win big games, not a limited player who can hopefully NOT LOSE big games. Wait until he gets in trouble against a solid defense again, he'll revert back to his subpar intangibles and cost us the game.

    If TS starts more than a few games (to get Heard accustomed to the role), I'll know the coaches are simply making a QB decision protecting their own backsides. Meaning they are okay with playing it safe and simply finishing with a winning record. Instead of rolling the dice on another alternative (a proven winner in HS) and risking a 5-7 meltdown with no bowl game.

    I for one, am not okay with 7 wins and playing it safe until the 3rd year when more options are available at QB. It's like a comment I read on another site..."if you're okay with winning even 8 games next year, then why in the hell did we fire Mack Brown to begin with?" The poster made a valid point.

    I enjoyed hearing Mack speak and the way he represented the program very well with the media. I just didn't enjoy his excuses for losing and the poor record. But Mack still gave us 8 wins in his last year. To still be at that level or lower after 2 years of a new coach is garbage. That's where starting TS will keep us, and I sure hope Strong rolls the dice on Heard or Locksley and exceeds that.

    So pardon me if I'm not okay with only winning 8 games two years after Mack. Several good coaches have proven it doesn't take that long to get to 9 wins at a new program with a solid foundation. Will Michigan get 9 wins within Harbaugh's first 2 seasons? You better believe it. And they were 5-7 last year, much worse than we were in 2013 under Mack.

    What I'm getting at is I'd rather roll the dice and risk massive failure with the chance Heard shocks us all. There's still a chance he's a gamer who can elevate the offense beyond just being a bus driver like they ask of TS. I seem to recall a young James Brown being a horribly inconsistent practice QB, but on gameday he went ballistic.

    I know Swoopes doesn't have the QB intangibles to lead us to lofty heights beyond a few more wins next year. If he does win a few more, it's because the supporting offensive cast improved. But there is still a chance Heard has those intangibles to really excel this year. Just like he did on Fridays in HS, while TS never has on either level.
     
    • Like Like x 2
    Last edited: Mar 31, 2015
  29. Detective Shilala

    Detective Shilala 2,500+ Posts

    I don't think anyone is being lenient. TS may actually be the better option, believe it or not, there could be worse.
    Its kind of like being stuck on a lifeboat in the middle of the Pacific ocean and being forced to eat your own belt or take your chances that its the Coast Guard on the horizon and not another mirage.
     
    • Like Like x 2
  30. BevoJoe

    BevoJoe 10,000+ Posts

    Well said.
     

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