We should let Svoboda

[PorkerPoke]

College football in general is a wasteland of qb's. Talent at that position is not common. Most good teams have some ability to scheme thier QB's into success though. That is what Wyoming hasn't really been able to do.

That’s the point. I see numerous FCS QB’s that could very effectively run the offenses we have had here but when the litmus test is first 6’5” and over 220 lbs then the pool goes small fast. There are a lot of good QB’s who are in the 6’ to 6’2” range that are extremely athletic but only weigh 180-190. They can run and pass. You won’t see them line up for the tush push play but if the QB sneak is your only weak area there are workable ways around that vulnerability.

 

[ragtimejoe1]

It's a tough position. Arch Manning and Quinn Ewers. O didn't change. Coaching didn't change. Talent is still there in other positions.

You can armchair all you want but all predictors indicated the TX O should at least be upper end of proficient.

Wish Svoboda the best. Hope his degree and time at UW launch him into a successful life. Good dude that I think really cares about the POKES. I wish his playing career were a little more successful for him but no doubt he'll do well in whatever path he takes.

 

[307bball]

That’s the point. I see numerous FCS QB’s that could very effectively run the offenses we have had here but when the litmus test is first 6’5” and over 220 lbs then the pool goes small fast. There are a lot of good QB’s who are in the 6’ to 6’2” range that are extremely athletic but only weigh 180-190. They can run and pass. You won’t see them line up for the tush push play but if the QB sneak is your only weak area there are workable ways around that vulnerability.

I just don’t see it that way. The reality is that more than half the QBs in college football are limited in some significant way. In any given year, maybe 25–30 programs have a true difference-maker at that position...someone who can actually tilt the field. Everyone else is surviving on scheme. The good offensive coaches are the ones who can disguise those limitations and still move the ball. That’s the whole game now.

On the size thing....sure, smaller QBs can play, but let’s be honest: when coaches are evauluating a handful of smimilar prospects, and one of them checks the physical boxes, that’s the one they’ll take every time. It’s not some outdated bias...it’s risk management. The pool Wyoming recruits from isn’t exactly overflowing with obvious talent, so those marginal differences, including size, end up being the deciding factor more often than not.

BTW....I'm not defending Bohl or Sawful for thier choices once they have a recruiting class in place. In general, Bohl was not quick enough to pull a starting QB. That is the criticism that makes the most sense to me...recruiting choices for Wyoming level programs is a crap-shoot.

 

[TheRealUW]

I just don’t see it that way. The reality is that more than half the QBs in college football are limited in some significant way. In any given year, maybe 25–30 programs have a true difference-maker at that position...someone who can actually tilt the field. Everyone else is surviving on scheme. The good offensive coaches are the ones who can disguise those limitations and still move the ball. That’s the whole game now.

On the size thing....sure, smaller QBs can play, but let’s be honest: when coaches are evauluating a handful of smimilar prospects, and one of them checks the physical boxes, that’s the one they’ll take every time. It’s not some outdated bias...it’s risk management. The pool Wyoming recruits from isn’t exactly overflowing with obvious talent, so those marginal differences, including size, end up being the deciding factor more often than not.

BTW....I'm not defending Bohl or Sawful for thier choices once they have a recruiting class in place. In general, Bohl was not quick enough to pull a starting QB. That is the criticism that makes the most sense to me...recruiting choices for Wyoming level programs is a crap-shoot.

In my opinion, it would be really helpful if we could figure out a way to more accurately assess a QB's ability to process on field information and make accurate/quick decisions with the ball in various scenarios. That ability can mask a lot of physical limitations and is what separates a "pretty good" QB from a great one. Obviously a minimum set of physical tools are needed to have a chance at success, but we don't need, and don't have a realistic chance, at landing the top end physical talent anyways.

A lot of my frustrations with Kaden Anderson stem from the fact that he rarely gets past his first read. We have at least one open receiver on a lot of our pass plays, but he rarely finds them if they aren't his first option. I can guarantee that our third down conversion rate and points per game would be a lot higher if he was able to find the most open receiver on most of our pass plays. His completion percentage would also probably look a lot better too.

Does anybody remember Peyton Manning in his last few years with the Broncos. That version of him was severely limited in physical talent - his arm speed/strength was a fraction of its former self and he was basically a statue in the pocket. But he made up for all of those physical limitations by being so damn good mentally. He basically knew what the defense was going to do before he ever even snapped the ball.

Of course, the hard part is figuring how to accurately assess this mental side of the game in a QB recruit. Maybe put on some film and ask them to dissect it so you can get a better insight into their understanding of the game? Could the world of virtual reality be used at all? Would asking a recruit to do this be a "turn off" for them? I have no clue, but I do think it would be a very useful tool to have when evaluating potential QB recruits.

 

[307bball]

In my opinion, it would be really helpful if we could figure out a way to more accurately assess a QB's ability to process on field information and make accurate/quick decisions with the ball in various scenarios. That ability can mask a lot of physical limitations and is what separates a "pretty good" QB from a great one. Obviously a minimum set of physical tools are needed to have a chance at success, but we don't need, and don't have a realistic chance, at landing the top end physical talent anyways.

A lot of my frustrations with Kaden Anderson stem from the fact that he rarely gets past his first read. We have at least one open receiver on a lot of our pass plays, but he rarely finds them if they aren't his first option. I can guarantee that our third down conversion rate and points per game would be a lot higher if he was able to find the most open receiver on most of our pass plays. His completion percentage would also probably look a lot better too.

Does anybody remember Peyton Manning in his last few years with the Broncos. That version of him was severely limited in physical talent - his arm speed/strength was a fraction of its former self and he was basically a statue in the pocket. But he made up for all of those physical limitations by being so damn good mentally. He basically knew what the defense was going to do before he ever even snapped the ball.

Of course, the hard part is figuring how to accurately assess this mental side of the game in a QB recruit. Maybe put on some film and ask them to dissect it so you can get a better insight into their understanding of the game? Could the world of virtual reality be used at all? Would asking a recruit to do this be a "turn off" for them? I have no clue, but I do think it would be a very useful tool to have when evaluating potential QB recruits.

Whatever is going on when HS QB's get evaluated...I think it's very hard to say how they will eventually develop. That processing part you are talking about seems extremely unlikely to manifest in a HS guy. Even if they have it, are any HS offenses built to take advantage of it? Seems soooo hard to identify.

If somebody comes up with a way to reiably identify who has it in a 16 or 17 year old dude.....that person can pretty much write thier own ticket.

 

[TheRealUW]

Whatever is going on when HS QB's get evaluated...I think it's very hard to say how they will eventually develop. That processing part you are talking about seems extremely unlikely to manifest in a HS guy. Even if they have it, are any HS offenses built to take advantage of it? Seems soooo hard to identify.

If somebody comes up with a way to reiably identify who has it in a 16 or 17 year old dude.....that person can pretty much write thier own ticket.

Do you know if recruits are allowed to get on the field and do any physical work when in for visits?

I ask because I think the most accurate predictor would be to put them on the field and see how they perform in a set of various scenarios on the field. Ask them to verbally identify the coverage they expect based on the pre-snap defensive line-up. Ask them to verbally identify potential blitzers. Then see what decision they make with the ball post-snap. If you did this consistently with all QB recruits, you could probably get a pretty good idea of which ones have a good understanding of the game and which ones do not.

Unfortunately, my guess would be this isn't an option either because the NCAA forbids it, or teams are scared to do it out of fear of injury liability. The next best option would likely be to do a similar exercise but via film. Obviously, post-snap performance would be harder to evaluate that way.

As you've stated, finding a good QB at the college level is both really important to team performance and very difficult to do. I would think schools, especially those who are not getting the top 25 talent, would want to at least make an attempt at finding a way to more accurately identify QB talent. It would be the fastest way to success and the best way to set yourself up for long-term success.

 

[OrediggerPoke]

I believe Svoboda has another year of eligibility remaining (due to the Diego Pavia JUCO rule).

With Gyllenborg running out of eligibility, we are fooling ourselves to think he isn’t worth a scholarship at the TE position. He is athletic, is picking up and getting better at blocking schemes and give us a bit of a threat catching and moving the ball at that position.

Despite the folks that want to bury the kid, I hope he returns next year. And I hope he makes some big plays to wipe out the Air Force memory.

 

[307bball]

Do you know if recruits are allowed to get on the field and do any physical work when in for visits?

I have no idea...I think the recruits get scouted out of camps a lot....there would be something like that there I would imagine.

 

[LanderPoke]

I believe Svoboda has another year of eligibility remaining (due to the Diego Pavia JUCO rule).

With Gyllenborg running out of eligibility, we are fooling ourselves to think he isn’t worth a scholarship at the TE position. He is athletic, is picking up and getting better at blocking schemes and give us a bit of a threat catching and moving the ball at that position.

Despite the folks that want to bury the kid, I hope he returns next year. And I hope he makes some big plays to wipe out the Air Force memory.

Agree. I think he’s a pretty good TE

 

[Brew_Poke]

Don’t forget Caden Becker and the walk on baseball player from Oklahoma awarded a scholarship about the same time. The Utah walk on transfer wasn’t very spectacular either.

A lot of wasted development time instead of getting someone more ready to play. If DC could find ACS and Smith, Bohl could have pursued a player who could run and throw but instead kept trying for the 6’5” 230 lb run first worry about 8 in the box defenses later.

It’s great he was able to snag Peasley because otherwise he didn’t have diddly doo as an alternative.

Allen and Peasley - 2 QB’s that were over 50% passing. I liked Chambers but despite his running abilities before being injured, he was still a 49% passer.

There was a reason why Bohl’s success was 75% against losing teams and only 25% against winning teams. The stronger teams slowed down the rushing attack and our ineptness at passing assisted their defense.

Not trying to be argumentative. Just expressing the frustration of the struggles to be a .500 or better program and am so hungry to expect to win games with an offensive attack that seems like it is routinely difficult to stop. Heck, I was irritated that for a rushing team we often struggled to get to 200 yards in a game at times. If we were going to be a rushing and no pass offense then do it AFA style and get 350+ yards rushing per game.

ineptitude

 

[doreno5]

Agree. I think he’s a pretty good TE

And he seems to be someone willing to put his ego aside for the team.