J Heard must play! He ran the damn zone read in HS with tremendous success. The biggest ***** about Swoopes is his inability to read the option on the zone read play. Why not play a QB that excels in that area?
We need to see what he can do, at least in a limited role. Folks, what are we saving him for? With Swoopes having two years left and Gentry coming in, I don't get it. He's not ready? We're 3-5, what does it matter?
Agree whole heartedly. I've said before that Swoopes is not the problem, but I don't think he is the answer. He is to slow and defenses show absolutely no respect for him running, which makes it more astounding that he seemingly rarely keeps the ball. Heard has some speed and quickness from what I saw in high school. Let him play every game the rest of the season and let them compete for starter in the spring.
I simply believe that the "best" players should play regardless of age or grade/class. If the coaches do not believe that Heard is "better" than Swoopes, then we have a giant problem that will hurt us for years to come.
Is Heard getting the same reps in practice as Swoopes? Given Swoopes lack of experience at the beginning of the year, I suspect that Swoopes has gotten almost all of the reps. However, the season is officially a dumpster fire, so let's see what Heard can do in live games. If Swoopes takes every snap for the rest of the season, will there really be a QB competition in the spring or next fall. Doubtful, but I could be wrong.
I don't get the refusal to throw in a different quarterback? Seems to me like we're sending the message: we are tanking this season. Which is a disservice to our seniors and to all ticket holders.
I'm baffled as to how anyone can see this 11-man catastrophe and think "if we just put the backup QB in, we'd start winning".
How did things go after Applewhite started playing his freshman year? Did he win any big road games? Did he do okay in general? Just asking.
Maybe they think Swoopes is big enough not to get killed by this non-existent OL. We might get killed if we put him in. Applewhite had Ricky and Makovicks OL. They were good no matter what you think about JM. Mike Deal was the OL coach for Makovik. MB should have kept him. I think Dan Neil was there too.
I am not saying that Heard is the answer. In fact, he might be terrible. But folks, we're 3-5 and the teams we have "beaten" have a combined record of 6-16. Ahh, we are not very good... So what's the downside? You burn a shirt? If Heard is that good he probably won't stay for four years anyway. And, we have a pretty darn talented kid in Gentry coming in next year. Also, if I am not mistaken, does a player not have to play in a predetermined percentage of the team's games to lose the ability to preserve the year? In other words, could we not try Heard in a game or two just the see what he can do? I say all hands on deck. This ship is sinking.
damn...SWOOPES just can't get a break or be consistant...his read of the option is only slightly better than mine....he would keep the ball and be DOWN immediately OR he'd hand off and they would be down immediately... the O-line sux like ou!
Thanks George. I tend to question the argument that if Heard was that good he would be playing. That's because the consensus on Swoopes in the Spring was that he wasn't ready. Not close. Same thing in the fall. Yet now, starting, he is evolving. I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree.
I feel like it could be catastrophic to play a QB too soon. Heard wasn't here for spring practice. That means he's only been practicing at college speed for 3 months and he's trying to absorb the basics of the playbook at the same time. Once he knows the playbook better, he can think less and react quicker. That said, none of us see practice. Heard could be absolutely terrible or an absolute beast and none of us would know.
"Learn the play book?" God help us if Heard hasn't learned the damn playbook by now. It's only 10 or 15 plays thick for crying out loud!
Perhaps there is an important distinction that some may be missing. I don't think that most people are suggesting Swoopes be replaced or that Heard should be starting. I'm certainly not. In my mind, Swoopes has made excellent progress and he might be the best story on the team this year. But again, I see very little downside in experimenting with Heard. The season is lost. I see very little reason not to experiment with virtually every viable option, at every position. That includes D’onta Foreman (who I thought was impressive in a very limited role today, notwithstanding the ill-fated pitch) and Donald Catalon.
What did Coach Royal say? If a dog s gonna bite he will bite as a pup. Of course I think he also said that you lose 1 game for every freshman (or something like that). Anyway, with the exception of OL, I am not a fan of redshirting. OL for bulk and strength. Most of the "Players" will jump to the league as soon as they can anyway. Play'em while you can. And besides the issue to me is why are we in the position to be clamoring for a true freshman anyway? Where are all our upper classmen? Did we not recruit for 3-4 years. Just thinking about the perfect world. We are (sadly) watching the fruits of our labor.
So you hold back Heard just like you did Swoopes last year? Then Swoopes turns a knee in Game 2 next season and what? We are back to having Heard pull a Swoopes routine like now and learning on the fly and making rookie mistakes??? How many of you wish Swoopes would've started some games last year before heading into the Spring? It's not like Heard is our legit 3rd team QB and we are shirting him as we have 2 other options if needed. He is our next best option. He is the guy we would start the rest of the season if Swoopes went down next week. Get the guy some experience now. Worry about future QB's each year in your recruiting class. Look at Swoopes now from start 1. Still not great but the experience strides are noticeable. Why the hell wouldn't we want Heard competing for the job next season having that type experience working rookie mistakes out of his game in live action?
I see your point, but just out of curiosity, how many teams have an expierenced QB that can come in if the starter goes down, and things just carry on as usual? Maybe bailer cause they played a junior high OOC and scored a gazillion points? Who else? What if Vince had gone down? How about Colt? Why do you think Heard is the best option? Have you seen him play? Practice? Who would look good behind this line? I am just curious cause you seem so certain about this.
playing heard right now is putting him the exact same situation that mack put swoopes in last year. it's a waste of a year and will result in him being behind. i might be the only one on this but, but swoopes has talent. he just lacks experience. get him an offseason as the starter, and i think he'll be good for what strong wants him to do.
1.) Heard is not even signalling in plays or near coaches or players huddles during the game. It is Holtz signalling in the plays and involved in the coaches and players sideline huddles. 2.) Applewhite was a Redshirt Freshman when he came on the stage, Road game against UCLA, creamed at KSU, and beat Nebraska in Lincoln in 1998. While the defense and Ricky had great games, Applewhite had a pretty good game, some clutch passes as well.... Applewhite, Major 26-14-1 269yards 2td 76long 3sacks and no int
I always thought that Mack wasted a year of eligibilty for both Case and Swoopes. Let's not make that mistake again. Heard needs to sit as long as Swoopes is healthy. Anyway, according to everything I've heard (no pun) on OB premium boards, Swoopes is a passing savant compared to Heard. Some have even suggested that Heard should be moved to another position to take advantage of his athleticism.
this place has turned in to Texags all of a sudden. Just last week the vibe was how Swoopes has progressed and the ceiling was high. entertaining, guys. keep it up
