Skeeball

DeWitt spent a good chunk of last year fighting for his life, which didn't leave much time for coaching. But I get it, football is a cutthroat business and OLBs/ST definitely didn't produce in 2019.

Thanks for the reminder. Just renewed our 2020 season tickets tonight, but I think I'll hold off on those BIG10 Championship tickets for a bit.

These McCaffery kids are gamers, just like their Dad. We've got to figure out a way to get Luke on the field more. If not starting QB, how about slot receiver. Ed wasn't half bad in that capacity.

Both schemes work if you have the Jimmies and Joes built for the scheme who execute consistently with a passion. Same can be said for different schemes on the offensive side of the ball.

...because he learned from ALL of his mistakes as our DC??? Bad doesn't begin to describe our defense under Diaco.

Give the victimization politics a rest. Martinez's performance speaks for itself. Martinez had a great 2018 year. I, like most, were singing his praises and expecting at the very least an incremental improvement. The 2019 Martinez was inconsistent, indecisive and when running with the ball appeared to be looking for a good spot to lay on the ground or run out of bounds. He certainly didn't use his 225lbs frame to his advantage.

I also like what you're saying and fully agree we need to figure out ways to get him on the field more. He's a gamer and seems to elevate the play of those around him. As you mentioned, Luke doesn't have the Taysom's size has but may be more elusive. I'm not sure beefing up our QBs buys us that much. Particularly, if they are unwilling to use the additional weight to lower the boom on defenders.

Be happy for Joe. Had we offered him a scholarship AND had he beat out Martinez for the starting spot (Our coaches do have their favorites), he'd likely be playing in a mid-tier bowl game at best. We didn't have enough piece around him to even come close to a Heisman run. Even though he rightly felt slighted, this worked out best for him in the end.

Can we all agree that we need to find a way to get this kid on the field more than a handful of plays over the course of the next season. He has all the indications of being a gamer who makes positive things happen and elevates the plays of those around him. The same could be said of the 2018 Martinez.

You are right. I looked it up. Verduzco said his performance on the 722 question test was as good as he's ever seen for a young guy. Do you think if we limit Martinez to two options, we'll see a return of the 2018 "fast" blinker? I'd still like to see him run hard and decisively. He's got 20lbs on Vedral and 40lbs on McCaffery. Use them to get those extra yards. Vedral & McCaffery weren't afraid to put their shoulder down.

Agree on the one option or run, but the coaching staff bragged about how quickly he picked up the play book. Another year in the program will only help. Agree to disagree on the Martinez/McCaffery passing accuracy. McCaffery was 9/12 with 2 TDs passing, 0 ints & 1 TD rushing. I remember one incompletion to Martinez who appeared to ease up on the route down the sideline. Sample size is awfully small to draw too many conclusions, but one other intangible is he seemed to elevate the play of those around him. Can't speak to the psychological rational behind that. Maybe the rest of the team realized they had to step up their play to help the "new" kid out.

I remember seeing an article last spring where Verduzco was bragging that Luke tested out as the fastest "blinker" in the QB room. Experience is important, but the ability read and react quickly and decisively is also important. Some have it, some don't. We don't have a large enough sample size to anoint McCaffery as next year's starter, but his passing efficiency definitely warrants some deep consideration this next year.

You sure about the "live" QBs in practice? Every practice clip I've seen has the QBs in green jerseys (including the spring game) and/or the defense easing up as they make the "tag your it" tackle.

McCaffery was clearly the better passer this year. The 2019 Martinez wouldn't have been able to complete that throw across his body rolling left to a wide open Spielman. Teams played a lot of zone against us knowing that Martinez was not accurate enough to exploit it. Yes, other teams watch film too. Performance in a green jersey in practice is not always indicative of performance on Saturday. I'm all for an open QB competition, but our QB room is too deep to struggle along for a whole season with a QB that is anointed the last week of fall camp. Give the starter a chance to prove himself, but given the strength of our schedule we can't afford to keep a very long leash on our starter.

Good post. I believe the team is capped at 85 full ride scholarships at any given time, with no more than 25 awarded in any single year. Of course there are numerous loopholes, some of which you need a lawyer to interpret.

Make it an open QB competition, but practice reps in a green jersey are not always a very good indication of performance on Saturday's. We have a deep QB room and need to make use of it if needed. Keep the QBs on a short leash until we figure out who is the fastest blinker on Saturday's.

Don't waste your time arguing with Madrat. He enjoys being the board troll. He frequented Huskermax until they ran him off.

Said it before and I'll say it again. The kid has an attitude problem that is going to take a come to Jesus on the road to Damascus moment to change. I'm also hopeful, but seriously doubt it'll happen. What a waste.

Great recruiting class!!! Best yet on paper. Some will be contributors next year, but as usual it'll be 2 or 3 years before we find out whether this Christmas present is a fabrochet egg or a lump of coal. 2018 had a few gems, but was predominately a washout. 2019 had a few more gems, with most of the balance yet to be determined. GBR!!!

The Greene and Mauga pickups were huge. If we can pickup Kaden Johnson, LB becomes the strength of this class. Fully expect Reimer and Nelson to develop into quality starters going forward. I'm hoping Henrich, Hannah and some of our walk-ons step up and provide some depth.

Agreed. I'm hoping Martinez's 2019 falloff was just due to playing hurt, but I suspect the indecisiveness and inaccuracy were not injury related. I'm good if Martnez legitimately wins the 2020 QB battle, but he should be kept on a short leash. You can't always assess Saturday game performance based on practice green jersey performance.

Agree with the Davison/Moos sales job, but Scott did check in with Tom to see if the administration could be trusted to support a rebuild.

I was starting to question whether we'd be able to fill out the 2020 recruiting class with our underwhelming 5-7 performance, but things are starting to shape up nicely, including a strong LB class. Kudos to Frost and the staff. Recruiting takes a backseat to player development and desire, but it's tough to win the Kentucky derby with a Cyldesdale.

All we hear from Frost is that a player is "Nicked up a bit.". Based on Adrian performance this year, he was more than just nicked up a bit. Frost always understates injuries. TM had a great freshman year, but was constantly hampered with injuries the rest of his career. Let Adrian return to football at 100%. We've got the benefit of a deep QB room.

He had surgery didn't he? Why risk playing him if he's not 100%? Let him heal up. Vedral/McCaffery are both more than capable QBs.