BellyOption

You know nothing about this situation.

Pretty good read. Darlington

Wrong. He was running with the 1s and 2s last fall before he had a shoulder injury that took him out of camp for a couple of weeks.

Saw his Twitter post. He said he is joining the Army. If he gets his degree, he'll go in as an officer. Most definitely a team player. Someone mentioned that he didn't play QB because of his injuries. That's definitely not true because he moved to WR. Always felt like he had the potential to be a scrappy QB. Regardless, we need more guys with his attitude and perspective.

Because he's not Fulmer. Fulmer's teams, especially in the '90s, were crazy good. Fulmer was a phenomenal coach and had a great staff around him. Nothing in his past or present makes me say that about Riley.

The concussion specialists on campus are truly leaders in the field. They have tested him multiple times since he stepped on campus two years ago. He has passed every test with flying colors and has been given a clean bill of health by the concussion specialists. He also has the unwavering support of his parents. Finally, he is bigger, faster and stronger than probably any other skill player on the team. He knows the risks. His parents know the risks. The concussion specialists know the risks. And, he has prepared his body in a way that gives him the best opportunity possible. He wants to play. All I'm hoping for is that this young man is simply given a legitimate shot at earning playing time. If he's given a legit shot and it doesn't work out, then it doesn't work out. But, based on the kind of competitor he is, I expect him to be a contributor at some point - IF he's given a legitimate shot. #GBR

I'm with you. He looked the most comfortable and natural in the spring game. From my understanding, he wasn't given much of a shot when fall camp started. It's like the coaches decided he wasn't their guy or something. Didn't play any plays in the first two scrimmages. Would be interested in knowing why he wasn't getting the number of reps the other two were.

I'd guess slim to none before the season. Putting a freshman in to start against a very good BYU defense is rolling the dice a little much. TA is the much safer choice going into the season, regardless of what the fears ar about him. Purely from a non-football view, do you start the guy who has experience and then put in someone else if the starter struggles? Or, do you start a freshman and, if he struggles, replace him with the guy who has shown over 2 years that he completes half of his passes? The effect on the psyche of those players could be big.

It's yet to be seen if we have the personnel on the receiving end of those long balls to even make that a point that matters in our quarterbacks. And, it's yet to be seen whether Darlington can throw the deep ball. He wasn't called on to do it on Saturday. People seem to accept the "deep ball weakness" and "less athletic" stuff as fact. That sounds more like people simply repeating the TV announcers. We haven't seen what he can or can't do in these areas.

Darlington indeed missed one throw when he scrambled and missed Turner. That leaves 3 other incompletions. One where he was hit during his release and two drops. He was 7/11 and 1 TD. If the receivers don't have the drops, then he would've gone 9/11 with 2 TDs. Both of them should've been catches and McKitt would've walked into the end zone. His lone actual miss was one I'm sure he'd like to have back. The thing that stuck out to me was how relaxed he looked. Didn't seem like a freshman.

I hope you're wrong and I think you're wrong about the staff's opinions on Darlington. He's live and going full contact. What we don't know about him and Bush is what those first 14 practices really looked like? Was Bush's performance on Saturday an anomaly? I had heard that he threw quite a few picks during spring ball and Darlington had not. But, there was so much chatter about Bush. Was that just the media or does the staff really believe that? Based on Saturday, Darlington should be the backup, at least.

Agree with you. Am a fan of Darlington. Point of clarification: Riley wasn't the coach at Oregon State in '01. That was Dennis Erickson.

I know he doesn't stutter and has been cleared by some of the best doctors around regarding head traumaHope they are right. I would love for the kid to have a great career here but, it's not worth potentially having major problems the rest of his life. Best of luck to him. Agree. My concern is with his safety.Absolutely. I mean, it's obvious he wants to play. But major head injuries are serious serious business. I'd seek opinions from doctors that aren't in any way affiliated with the school just in case, but if every doctor says he's no more at risk than any other player? I'd start him. I'm confident that it's only the history of head injuries that's holding him back.Dr. Semyon Slobounov, a director of virtual reality/traumatic brain injury research laboratory at Penn State, is overseeing Darlington's recovery, as is central Florida-based Dr. James M. Ray NU has one of the best brain trauma centers in the country and it's right there on campus. In addition to those specialists, I would imagine the NU center is well aware of his progress.

I agree with what most everyone is saying on here. Darlington had the best day, clearly. What I don't understand is this accepted notion that Darlington is simply not the athlete that those other two guys are. Of the QBs, who has the fastest 40? Anyone want to guess where Darlington falls on that list? Who benches the most? Wanna guess? In this system, the QB doesn't need Crouch or Martinez speed. They need to be fleet of foot and get out of pressure. And, a way to avoid pressure is to be a good, quick decision maker. I think TA will be the starter because it will feel much safer to the staff. He's been in the wars and BYU has a good defense. It'll be a lot easier to start the incumbent and replace him than to start a frosh and then put in a guy that has a lot of question marks. Based on performance: Darlington Armstrong Bush Brockmeier Prediction: Armstrong Darlington Bush Brockmeier