If we get above-average play from the O-Line, the receivers and system are as good as billed, and the defense is above-average, I don't see why this guy wouldn't be on that list.
I don't think he's winning a Heisman this year, but I spring with optimism.
Heck, it's the off season - so here we go! Buechele was near the top 50 in QB rating, had near 3000 yards, had 21 TDs, and got sacked more than just about everyone else as a true freshman; Colt was a RS freshman his first year, but either way, here are some stats from their respective first starting years:
COMP ATT PCT YDS YDS/A LONG TD INT SACK RAT
Colt McCoy 217 318 68.2 2570 8.1 72 29 7 14 161.8
Shane Buechele 236 391 60.4 2958 7.6 80 21 11 31 136.0
Colt played post-NC with 7 guys drafted after that year (Micheal Griffin, Aaron Ross, Justin Blalock, Tim Crowder, Brian Robison, Terell Brown, and Kasey Studdard). He also played for Mack Brown in his heyday. Buechele played for Strong on his way out and the only draft pick after last year was Foreman.
The other glaring stat to me is that in 2006 Texas was ranked 20th in team defense and they were 93rd last year. Here are the stats:
YDS YDS/G PASS PYDS/G RUSH R YDS/G PTS PTS/G
2006 3503 292 2797 233.1 706 58.8 214 17.8
2016 5379 448 3102 258.5 2277 189.8 378 31.5
I guess an argument could be made that the game has 'changed', but I'm not really buying into that as it seems that Ohio State, Florida State, Michigan, LSU, Clemson, Alabama, and even Louisville (to some extent) have been able to adjust over the last decade and keep a level of consistency on defense.
Buechele was pretty special as a true freshman. If Texas can get some players around him, he'll easily be a top 5 QB here and one of the best in the country, too.
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Last edited: Jul 19, 2017