High Energy Coaches/Players

[PaulCrewe]

Agree with Rahmir, but what other true freshmen should be playing more?

I brought up the mismanaged redshirt rule a couple of weeks ago so I agree with you on it.  However, how are you going to know if any should be playing more when they aren’t presented an opportunity to show what they can do???  A staff should be able to get a really good idea in the first couple of games on a player who potentially can help year long in GAME(capitalized for the fact that every athlete is a practice All American)experience vs redshirting.  Hannah, Ty Robinson, NPG,  Benhart, And D Chase (And Rahmir, been touting that one all year)all probably could have played significantly considering injuries and current performance.  But we’d probably never know because as you mentioned there have been severe head scratching uses of these guys 4 games(Hickman also getting one play, vs Purdue is another fine example)

Let them get the learning curve out of the way now.  A coach continuing to tout culture can put his stamp on it immediately by playing these guys.  Would it have helped this year, maybe.  But the biggest thing it could have done is strengthened what you have next year by increasing team experience(ie look at Minny and Illinois)

 

[ColoradoHusk]

I'd like to have seen Benhart/Fritzshe get some meaningful snaps.  Maybe Johnson/Reimer at ILB.  Seeing as how our other TE's have gone MIA actually try to get the ball to Hickman and finish burning his RS.

I think the four game rule would really let the staff see where they are with the freshman.  I wouldn't expect them to "play as well" as a more senior guy, but be great to see their footwork/reads/fits/route running etc against real competition that for whatever reasons seem to be getting the better of us this year.  If a guy gets beat, but the fundamentals are there, that's fixable with S&C, if the guy looks a as F upped as a football bat, I'd rather see it now as a coach than next year in a game....Seems like we have a lot of great practices that don't translate.  I'd feel more comfortable as a coach seeing how recruits go against someone other than ourselves.  

If you mean Jackson at ILB, then I think he was injured in fall camp which hurt his development.

Hickman and Benhart both came in as great frames but needed lot of development and S&C. While they probably have great futures, I don’t see how they were going to regularly play more than what they have this year.

NU has been involved in 6 close games so far this year. This means that nearly every snap in those games has been important. I understand that you may want younger guys to get more snaps, especially when the older players are making mistakes and playing poorly, but the coaches can’t waste snaps on young guys just to play them.

Maybe the younger guys will play more in the final 3 games, but if they are close, winnable games, I expect the regular players to get most, if not all of the snaps. 

 

[ColoradoHusk]

I brought up the mismanaged redshirt rule a couple of weeks ago so I agree with you on it.  However, how are you going to know if any should be playing more when they aren’t presented an opportunity to show what they can do???  A staff should be able to get a really good idea in the first couple of games on a player who potentially can help year long in GAME(capitalized for the fact that every athlete is a practice All American)experience vs redshirting.  Hannah, Ty Robinson, NPG,  Benhart, And D Chase (And Rahmir, been touting that one all year)all probably could have played significantly considering injuries and current performance.  But we’d probably never know because as you mentioned there have been severe head scratching uses of these guys 4 games(Hickman also getting one play, vs Purdue is another fine example)

Let them get the learning curve out of the way now.  A coach continuing to tout culture can put his stamp on it immediately by playing these guys.  Would it have helped this year, maybe.  But the biggest thing it could have done is strengthened what you have next year by increasing team experience(ie look at Minny and Illinois)

You and I differ on the readiness of those guys you mention. I don’t think most of the true freshmen were physically ready to play this year. 
 

Hickman is a good example. He needed to put on a lot of weight and strength to be a regular player. Frost tried to get him involved early against Purdue and he was looking ok. But when there was the swing pass called to him Hickman had a bad mistake of not making sure he was ahead of Martinez so the play was a forward pass. Yes, Martinez made a terrible throw, but because of Hickman’s mental mistake it was a lateral and could have turned into a turnover. That is the type of potential turnover which is risked when younger guys who aren’t ready physically and mentally are getting snaps. 

 

[TheSker]

NU has been involved in 6 close games so far this year. This means that nearly every snap in those games has been important. I understand that you may want younger guys to get more snaps, especially when the older players are making mistakes and playing poorly, but the coaches can’t waste snaps on young guys just to play them.

Maybe the younger guys will play more in the final 3 games, but if they are close, winnable games, I expect the regular players to get most, if not all of the snaps. 

Agreed.

This freshman class has a bright future, but there are some strong, mature teams in the B1G.

 

[lo country]

I brought up the mismanaged redshirt rule a couple of weeks ago so I agree with you on it.  However, how are you going to know if any should be playing more when they aren’t presented an opportunity to show what they can do???  A staff should be able to get a really good idea in the first couple of games on a player who potentially can help year long in GAME(capitalized for the fact that every athlete is a practice All American)experience vs redshirting.  Hannah, Ty Robinson, NPG,  Benhart, And D Chase (And Rahmir, been touting that one all year)all probably could have played significantly considering injuries and current performance.  But we’d probably never know because as you mentioned there have been severe head scratching uses of these guys 4 games(Hickman also getting one play, vs Purdue is another fine example)

Let them get the learning curve out of the way now.  A coach continuing to tout culture can put his stamp on it immediately by playing these guys.  Would it have helped this year, maybe.  But the biggest thing it could have done is strengthened what you have next year by increasing team experience(ie look at Minny and Illinois)

Can't disagree with a thing.

 

[PaulCrewe]

You and I differ on the readiness of those guys you mention. I don’t think most of the true freshmen were physically ready to play this year. 
 

Hickman is a good example. He needed to put on a lot of weight and strength to be a regular player. Frost tried to get him involved early against Purdue and he was looking ok. But when there was the swing pass called to him Hickman had a bad mistake of not making sure he was ahead of Martinez so the play was a forward pass. Yes, Martinez made a terrible throw, but because of Hickman’s mental mistake it was a lateral and could have turned into a turnover. That is the type of potential turnover which is risked when younger guys who aren’t ready physically and mentally are getting snaps. 

Hickman will see far more time as a stretch TE vs traditional TE here.  He’s FAR more athletic vs any of the other TEs, and with limited options in a vertically challenged receiving Corp, you think he couldn’t be an asset???   And you’ve seen for years upperclassmen make the same mistakes on swing passes so that example doesn’t fly.  

And again none none of us know more than what our eyes see when it comes to anyone being physically ready.  Let them get a real taste.  Heck there are guys starting right now that still don’t appear to be physically ready

 

[Stumpy1]

Im tired of seeing the excuse that the Fr. need to add weight and strength before they should play.