Justin Thomas and the offense

[CrackerJacket]

Yep, cheese, that play popped into my mind as I was writing my last post. But the hits I really fear are the short yardage plays when JT tries to go a la Nesbitt. Those, and the hits he'll take on the pitch play. He's got the guts of a burglar, and he'll hold that ball until the last split second. Ya gotta love it, but ya also gotta hold your breath.

 

[AlabamaBuzz]

He got creamed by a Miami DE from the blindside and popped right up.

By the way, they didn't call Joe Hamilton "Lil Joe" for nothing. He was 5'10" 189 as a sr.

I hear you, DCS, but you could see that Joe had some "stockiness" to his build, some weight in his thighs and mid-section......JT looks so thin in those areas, but like I keep saying, I hope I am wrong, and he misses ZERO time as our All-ACC QB!!!!!

 

[dressedcheeseside]

I hear you, DCS, but you could see that Joe had some "stockiness" to his build, some weight in his thighs and mid-section......JT looks so thin in those areas, but like I keep saying, I hope I am wrong, and he misses ZERO time as our All-ACC QB!!!!!

He's so similar to Joe Hamilton physically, it's eery. Also, some guys have an innate ability to avoid hits, some guys don't. Lil' Joe was a master at this. It seemed nobody ever got a direct shot on him, almost ever. Tevin was pretty darn good at this, too. Jaybo was the worst. Vad was pretty bad at it, too. From what I've seen so far, Justin has it.

 

[Eric]

It's hard to get a good hit on JT with his pad level...if he improves ball security he will be just fine.

 

[Oldgoldandwhite]

I hope JT puts on about 10 - 15 lbs before next season.

Why? I have had my fill of slow QB's! The only thing that worries me about JT is 3rd and 8.

 

[collegeballfan]

JT height - weight on the last roster released was 5'11 - 179 lbs. Believe it was released last August.
This is not an issue. The issue is his tendency to carry the football like a loaf of bread.

 

[awbuzz]

It's hard to get a good hit on JT with his pad level...if he improves ball security he will be just fine.

^^^ This... has to make smart ball security decisions.

 

[GT Man]

Why? I have had my fill of slow QB's! The only thing that worries me about JT is 3rd and 8.

But it's only 3rd down... run Custis, then convert the 4th and 1 with the QB keeper

 

[Longestday]

It has been said that JT does not know when to "surrender" instead of taking a hard hit. This is good for those times we need the extra inches, but could be bad for JT's health.

I believe JT will mature significantly next year. He is "Matrix" quick, his footwork is good, he believes in the system, and he "reads" well. This is a great place to start your sophomore year.

Byerly has some of the best footwork, meshes, and timing. This is a good place to start coming into your sophomore year.

Vad went to a hired coach who told him he needs to pass. Vad worked his tail off trying to get the team ready for passing and might have neglected the fundamentals of the option. This is not a good place to be coming into his sophomore year on a heavy option built team. I wonder if going out to the passing school hindered his option progression through both practice and mind set.

 

[GT Tennessee]

Justin Thomas will be fine. This system is tailor made for his skill set. Fingers crossed we could be looking at a big turn around next season.

 

[GT Man]

It has been said that JT does not know when to "surrender" instead of taking a hard hit. This is good for those times we need the extra inches, but could be bad for JT's health.

I believe JT will mature significantly next year. He is "Matrix" quick, his footwork is good, he believes in the system, and he "reads" well. This is a great place to start your sophomore year.

Byerly has some of the best footwork, meshes, and timing. This is a good place to start coming into your sophomore year.

Vad went to a hired coach who told him he needs to pass. Vad worked his tail off trying to get the team ready for passing and might have neglected the fundamentals of the option. This is not a good place to be coming into his sophomore year on a heavy option built team. I wonder if going out to the passing school hindered his option progression through both practice and mind set.

Vad apparently never learned not to throw off his back foot.

 

[techman78]

He's so similar to Joe Hamilton physically, it's eery. Also, some guys have an innate ability to avoid hits, some guys don't. Lil' Joe was a master at this. It seemed nobody ever got a direct shot on him, almost ever. Tevin was pretty darn good at this, too. Jaybo was the worst. Vad was pretty bad at it, too. From what I've seen so far, Justin has it.

Unless they were wearing Garnett and gold and had a spear on their helmet! The noles knocked Lil Joe out every season except his senior season when he quarterbacked one of the best games I've ever seen. I truly hope JT blossoms like Lil Joe did.

 

[forensicbuzz]

And FSU's strategy every game was to hit him every play, even if it was late. There were so many roughing calls against FSU that weren't called, they used the footage to train refs on when to and when not to call pass interference. If it were today, several FSU defenders would have been thrown out of the game.

 

[techman78]

And FSU's strategy every game was to hit him every play, even if it was late. There were so many roughing calls against FSU that weren't called, they used the footage to train refs on when to and when not to call pass interference. If it were today, several FSU defenders would have been thrown out of the game.

That's a fact. They knew if he was in the game for 4 quarters that we had a chance to win. Had we had ANYTHING resembling a D we would have had a shot at back to back championships in 98,99.

 

[RamblinCharger]

Johnny manziel is pretty darn small and he never had a serious injury. I think you have to know how to take hit and get down, Tevin was great at not taking a big blow, josh just decided he would run everyone over, which he did, but it banged him up over the long haul.

 

[Jerry the Jacket]

Basically we are back to square one at the QB position. We really don't know what we have with JT but we are hopeful he will be really good. This is almost the same position we were in last season with Vad with the exception we felt we had a backup that would push him for playing time. I expect we will see a year of development with JT, a learning on the job type of situation if you will. We do have Byerly in reserve who looks serviceable and we have the unknown of Matthew Jordan. I think the jury is out on JT. Let's see what he can accomplish before we anoint him the next Joe Hamilton or declare he will not last past the first game. He will probably have some success but I'm sure he will make a lot of mistakes as he takes over the job in 2014.

Go Jackets!

 

[Boomergump]

The biggest baddest QB we have had yet was the same one who couldn't stay on the field.

 

[biggtfan]

"Justin Thomas and the Offense" would be a great name for a band. I hope they play in tune and very LOUD all season.

 

[forensicbuzz]

I meant Roughing the Passer not Pass Interference in my previous post. Brain fart.

 

[Rodney Kent]

Justin Thomas should be an improvement in the running game, but to what extent, we don't know. As to the passing game, we do not know this either. Common sense should tell us that some of his passes will be batted down at the line of scrimmage. If he passes on the run, then we might complete more shorter passes as the DBs will have to be aware of his ability to run.