Big Ten Coaches Talk Anonymously About Conference Foes

[Landlord]

https://athlonsports.com/college-football/big-ten-coaches-talk-anonymously-about-conference-foes-2019

"Scott Frost is going to get it turned around. He's already set the tone, you can tell right away. That's a different team in terms of behavior and attitude on the sidelines. We noticed it immediately."


 


"Offensively, they're going to have more consistent playmakers this year. They're going to have more speed than you would expect from Nebraska in recent years."


 


"The QB (Adrian Martinez) is a hell of a player. He's going to improve a lot over a true freshman year of being thrown into bad situations. As long as that kid's at Nebraska, they're going to be a problem in the West. They're real thin behind him — they're thin at most positions, which is why they're still a work in progress."

 

[knapplc]

I always liked this feature. It's a great way to learn what your opponents think about you. Usually this stuff is pretty spot-on, too.

I think the two biggest changes our opponents are going to see, that these guys talk about, are attitude and depth. It'll take a while too, as the last quote alludes to.

 

[ColoradoHusk]

These are good comments, but the coaches are still hesitant to be too critical of opponents and other team's in their conference.  It would be great if the coach really told the media what he thinks.

"Their QB situation is terrible.  They have a mobile guy who can't throw a lick, and his backup is a statue."

"We should be able to run right at them without any problem.  Their front 7 just isn't very good."

"The middle of their offensive line is a sieve.  If we don't end up with at least 5 sacks against them, I am gonna be pissed."

 

[teachercd]

These are good comments, but the coaches are still hesitant to be too critical of opponents and other team's in their conference.  It would be great if the coach really told the media what he thinks.

"Their QB situation is terrible.  They have a mobile guy who can't throw a lick, and his backup is a statue."

"We should be able to run right at them without any problem.  Their front 7 just isn't very good."

"The middle of their offensive line is a sieve.  If we don't end up with at least 5 sacks against them, I am gonna be pissed."

Every now and then you get a coach that is super honest like that in these things but usually they still watch what they say.

"Rutgers?  f#&%ing horrible...Ash is just there for a paycheck now...he figured if he did get them to a bowl game he could jump ship and get a real job in a real state but now he is just sticking it out for the cash...dude is loaded and has the expectations are nada at that place"

 

[Toe]

More positive about Illinois than I would've expected, although that bit about their defense is pretty damning.

 

[B.B. Hemingway]

I would disagree with the coach that said we're thin at QB, and I have a feeling we won't appear "thin at most positions" by season's end.

 

[Husker in WI]

I would disagree with the coach that said we're thin at QB, and I have a feeling we won't appear "thin at most positions" by season's end.

I think we may prove to be deep at QB, but I think we're kidding ourselves if we're claiming it's "deep" now. You've got Martinez obviously, but for depth it's:

• Vedral - he's been in the system for a couple years, but he was basically a 2 star and has had very limited game reps. He hasn't been overly impressive with those game reps either - the UCF numbers are good, but it's super limited action. Objectively there is nothing outside of the coaches saying they're comfortable with him playing to indicate he's ready to play on a division champion team.
  
• Bunch - a little more playing time than Vedral, but similar in that he really hasn't played a lot and is a walk on. Technically he was rated higher than Vedral out of HS, but Vedral is a better fit for the offense. But again, nothing from the outside indicating he's good depth.
  
• McCaffrey - obviously the most talented, but he was generally regarded as a very raw QB prospect. It sounds like he maybe wasn't as raw as people though and Verduzco/Frost are QB whisperers, but just because 2AM played at a high level as a true freshamn doesn't mean all QBs will.
  

I get the argument for us having depth, but it's pretty much all based on the coaches saying their comfortable with all of these guys playing. No one outside of Martinez is proven in any sense. If another school claimed to be deep at QB when the players behind the starter were a low 3 star sophomore with 38 career passes, a walk-on junior with one start and 47 attempts, and a highly rated true freshman athlete we would call BS. I don't really believe anyone has QB depth, you don't know until it's tested.

 

[Mierin]

I think we may prove to be deep at QB, but I think we're kidding ourselves if we're claiming it's "deep" now. You've got Martinez obviously, but for depth it's:

• Vedral - he's been in the system for a couple years, but he was basically a 2 star and has had very limited game reps. He hasn't been overly impressive with those game reps either - the UCF numbers are good, but it's super limited action. Objectively there is nothing outside of the coaches saying they're comfortable with him playing to indicate he's ready to play on a division champion team.
  
• Bunch - a little more playing time than Vedral, but similar in that he really hasn't played a lot and is a walk on. Technically he was rated higher than Vedral out of HS, but Vedral is a better fit for the offense. But again, nothing from the outside indicating he's good depth.
  
• McCaffrey - obviously the most talented, but he was generally regarded as a very raw QB prospect. It sounds like he maybe wasn't as raw as people though and Verduzco/Frost are QB whisperers, but just because 2AM played at a high level as a true freshamn doesn't mean all QBs will.
  

I get the argument for us having depth, but it's pretty much all based on the coaches saying their comfortable with all of these guys playing. No one outside of Martinez is proven in any sense. If another school claimed to be deep at QB when the players behind the starter were a low 3 star sophomore with 38 career passes, a walk-on junior with one start and 47 attempts, and a highly rated true freshman athlete we would call BS. I don't really believe anyone has QB depth, you don't know until it's tested.

“Not thin” doesn’t mean deep. I don’t think anyone is claiming we’re deep at QB. 

 

[BigRedBuster]

Every now and then you get a coach that is super honest like that in these things but usually they still watch what they say.

That's just being professional.

If someone walked in and asked me questions about my competition, I'll say a few things, but nothing extremely negative.  Really no need for it.

 

[deedsker]

• McCaffrey - obviously the most talented, but he was generally regarded as a very raw QB prospect. It sounds like he maybe wasn't as raw as people though and Verduzco/Frost are QB whisperers, but just because 2AM played at a high level as a true freshamn doesn't mean all QBs will.
  

If another school claimed to be deep at QB when the players behind the starter were a low 3 star sophomore with 38 career passes, a walk-on junior with one start and 47 attempts, and a highly rated true freshman athlete we would call BS. I don't really believe anyone has QB depth, you don't know until it's tested.

The problem is that he has a family history of great athletes. One brother was a heisman trophy runner-up and the other looks the part as an athletic QB. If Luke was the freshman QB for Wisconsin this year instead of Mertz, I wouldn't exactly be excited to play against him.

 

[Husker in WI]

“Not thin” doesn’t mean deep. I don’t think anyone is claiming we’re deep at QB. 

Fair point, I feel like I've heard claims of deep but can't actually find them so I was probably jumping to conclusions from claiming to be not thin. Which I would buy, that's just having guys in the system instead of all transferring out.

The problem is that he has a family history of great athletes. One brother was a heisman trophy runner-up and the other looks the part as an athletic QB. If Luke was the freshman QB for Wisconsin this year instead of Mertz, I wouldn't exactly be excited to play against him.

True, but neither of them did a lot as true freshman either. I think Martinez set unrealistic expectations for what true freshmen can do - maybe McCaffrey could step in and be really good right away, but our ceiling for the season drops dramatically if it's anyone other than Martinez. Which is true for most teams and their starting QB as well.

 

[B.B. Hemingway]

I think we may prove to be deep at QB, but I think we're kidding ourselves if we're claiming it's "deep" now. You've got Martinez obviously, but for depth it's:

• Vedral - he's been in the system for a couple years, but he was basically a 2 star and has had very limited game reps. He hasn't been overly impressive with those game reps either - the UCF numbers are good, but it's super limited action. Objectively there is nothing outside of the coaches saying they're comfortable with him playing to indicate he's ready to play on a division champion team.
  
• Bunch - a little more playing time than Vedral, but similar in that he really hasn't played a lot and is a walk on. Technically he was rated higher than Vedral out of HS, but Vedral is a better fit for the offense. But again, nothing from the outside indicating he's good depth.
  
• McCaffrey - obviously the most talented, but he was generally regarded as a very raw QB prospect. It sounds like he maybe wasn't as raw as people though and Verduzco/Frost are QB whisperers, but just because 2AM played at a high level as a true freshamn doesn't mean all QBs will.
  

I get the argument for us having depth, but it's pretty much all based on the coaches saying their comfortable with all of these guys playing. No one outside of Martinez is proven in any sense. If another school claimed to be deep at QB when the players behind the starter were a low 3 star sophomore with 38 career passes, a walk-on junior with one start and 47 attempts, and a highly rated true freshman athlete we would call BS. I don't really believe anyone has QB depth, you don't know until it's tested.

I said we're not thin, I didn't say we were deep.... And how many schools have multiple QBs with a ton of playing experience? Not many.

Also, with Frost and Mario's reputation at QB, it's hard for me to imagine any of the three wouldn't be very capable if needed.

 

[Husker in WI]

I said we're not thin, I didn't say we were deep.... And how many schools have multiple QBs with a ton of playing experience? Not many.

Also, with Frost and Mario's reputation at QB, it's hard for me to imagine any of the three wouldn't be very capable if needed.

Yeah that's my bad, I stretched what you said a bit. I feel a lot better about our QBs than last year, but I think from an outside perspective thin is still fair. But it's probably just an out of the box response - what's something slightly negative that I could say about almost any team? Ah, they're thin at QB! Outside of Ohio State when they had Miller/Barrett/Jones, most teams are as you pointed out. Almost ruined Clemson's year.

 

[BigRedBuster]

Yeah that's my bad, I stretched what you said a bit. I feel a lot better about our QBs than last year, but I think from an outside perspective thin is still fair. But it's probably just an out of the box response - what's something slightly negative that I could say about almost any team? Ah, they're thin at QB! Outside of Ohio State when they had Miller/Barrett/Jones, most teams are as you pointed out. Almost ruined Clemson's year.

Yep, we have a second year star that wills start.  We have a kid who isn't as athletic but has been in the system for years now and knows it well.  We have a Freshman who is extremely athletic and knows the playbook much better than a normal true freshman.  And...one with significant playing time, but probably at the bottom of the depth chart.

About the only way this is a much better situation is if one of the #2s had a lot of game experience.  But.....not too many teams have that unless their starter has been hurt for a significant amount of time.  

Almost every team lives at QB with the starter...then a few guys with no experience.

 

[Enhance]

I always like this piece every year, but I too wish there was a bit more juice to it. Like, 'Yeah, Harbaugh, he's a good coach, but he's like... the worst effing dude imaginable. Can't effing stand him.'

We need a B1G school to hire Lane Kiffin and then this article would be WILD.