Spring Preview: Quarterbacks

7979

7979

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nod said:
From AJC: https://www.ajc.com/sports/college/georgia-tech-spring-preview-quarterbacks/xcNjS68R5G80Trk7KylU6H/


Who’s gone: Lucas Johnson (grad transfer)

Who’s back: James Graham, Jordan Yates

Who’s new: Tucker Gleason, Jeff Sims

What are your thoughts, Projected starter, improved ???



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I love the Yellow Jackets..every single one of them...I refuse to criticize 20 yr old kids playing their absolute hearts out for GT....
But..since the posted thread asks for comment, I'll offer mine...
1) JG is not the guy...he does not run well and he is not, to say the least, an accurate passer.... James went 3 for 13 in one 2019 game...I told an old teammate, "Well, he threw 0 interceptions." ...to which he responded, "He was so very off-target that even the other team's DBs couldn't catch his throws... "
2) I admit I wanted to see more of Yates.....and I think Geoff butchered Jordan's red-shirt 4 game "freebie"...but maybe Geoff saw enough, in practice, to know that Yates ain't all that, either...
3) so....I'm voting for one of the Freshmen....either one..don't care which....just not JG and (apparently, according to 2019 Geoff) not TY......
 

takethepoints

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I think it'll be Graham, on game experience alone. The others - especially the frosh - are at a disadvantage, but it'll be up to James to show how big that disadvantage is. I expect him to improve in every phase of the game in spring, but I expect the same for Yates. Both are similar talents: Graham is a trifle faster and has a slightly stronger arm, Yates (from his high school film and the state championship game) is accurate and knows how to take a team to a win in adverse circumstances. Could be a pretty even match.

I know a lot of people here are expecting that one of the frosh will win the job. Maybe. If there is one position in high school where I think expectations are likely to be disappointed when the players get to college, it's QB. The reason is simple enough; they are usually the best athletes on their team and, as a consequence, tend to overmatch the players on the other side. Then they get to college. And find out that they usually are most definitely not the best athletes on the team. Indeed, they are suddenly facing - in practice, not to mention the games - players who often way, way overshadow them. Sometimes this doesn't happen - think Lamar Jackson or (Laws above knows) Russell Wilson - but usually it takes a year or so to get used to the speed of the game. I expect both Sims and Gleason to shirt. But, again, that's up to them.
 
Jacketman

Jacketman

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7979 said:
I love the Yellow Jackets..every single one of them...I refuse to criticize 20 yr old kids playing their absolute hearts out for GT....
But..since the posted thread asks for comment, I'll offer mine...
1) JG is not the guy...he does not run well and he is not, to say the least, an accurate passer.... James went 3 for 13 in one 2019 game...I told an old teammate, "Well, he threw 0 interceptions." ...to which he responded, "He was so very off-target that even the other team's DBs couldn't catch his throws... "
2) I admit I wanted to see more of Yates.....and I think Geoff butchered Jordan's red-shirt 4 game "freebie"...but maybe Geoff saw enough, in practice, to know that Yates ain't all that, either...
3) so....I'm voting for one of the Freshmen....either one..don't care which....just not JG and (apparently, according to 2019 Geoff) not TY......
Click to expand...
Yates only played 4 games last year so he did redshirt
 

Deleted member 2897

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Well our best throwing quarterback may not even be one of our 3 quarterbacks rated 4-stars. We will get there.
 
orientalnc

orientalnc

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I think CGC wanted as little turmoil in the backfield as possible last year. Graham was not a bad QB given the situation (OL weakness) that he had to play through. Do any of you think CGC would keep Yates on the sideline if he thought he would be an improvement over Graham?
 
nod

nod

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Only seen Yates play in HS, but the game I saw he had amazing pass, it was lateral on kickoff return after running full sprint then threw ball all the way across field, no major arch on the ball and the throw was amazing. He has nice are but also seem like type that has the desire to win intangibles.

Liked Graham last year, I like his poise in the pocket, some nice deep balls, I think he will be better understanding coverages quicker to march team down the field.

The two fresh I really like, At this point I could see Graham starting because experience but can also see that it going to be open battle to lock down starting spot.


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Jerry the Jacket

Jerry the Jacket

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Total crap shoot going into 2020. So far no one has established themselves as the QB of this team. Graham has a leg up due to experience but we can not win with him playing the way he did in 2019. He has to make a major leap. Yates to me, seems too short to play at this level. The 2 freshmen are total wildcards. Hopefully someone will emerge this spring and take control in fall camp. This is the key position to success at the D1 level and we have been lacking here for the past many years. JT was decent but not much since then. I would still be open to a transfer here if we could find one.

Go Jackets!
 

LawyersGunsandMoney

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Jerry the Jacket said:
Total crap shoot going into 2020. So far no one has established themselves as the QB of this team. Graham has a leg up due to experience but we can not win with him playing the way he did in 2019. He has to make a major leap. Yates to me, seems too short to play at this level. The 2 freshmen are total wildcards. Hopefully someone will emerge this spring and take control in fall camp. This is the key position to success at the D1 level and we have been lacking here for the past many years. JT was decent but not much since then. I would still be open to a transfer here if we could find one.

Go Jackets!
Click to expand...

Joe Hamilton was about 5'8 and did just fine. It's more about vision than anything. I've seen plenty of tall guys with no field vision.
 
SteamWhistle

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Graham’s job to lose. Graham made some really damn good throws last season but most were in blowout efforts and aren’t remembered. The UNC game is one where Graham was making some beautiful throws and running the ball as well. The biggest issue with Graham last season was his struggles with learning the offense, last season was one of the first times in Graham’s life he probably wasn’t the best player on the field. If Graham’s reads improve he will remain the starter, and with an improved OL, and more firepower at RB and WR it’s just going to get easier for him. If it isn’t Graham, I’d be very excited and have high expectations for who ever wins it over him.
 
jacket_fan

jacket_fan

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I am with those who want the QB to be the one that can run the offense. Or at least one that can complete better than 50% of his passes.

Since CGC is saying that there is going to be more RPO this season, having a QB that can lead the offense and complete passes is going to important. If no one can step up, it is going to be another long season.

Would love to see Yates be the man, but the starter will be whoever can run the offense.
 
gtstinger776

gtstinger776

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I watched the film for the Pitt game - one of his worst statistical games (3-13, 1 TD, 1 INT, 84 yards).

Passing observations:
-Terrible footwork in the pocket - most of his incompletions were routes less than 10 yards and relatively simple routes (outs, flags, and comebacks): he didn't bother to set his feet for any of those passes. 2-3 of these incompletions came with minimal pressure. We ran 4 routes the whole game: comebacks, outs, flags, and seem / go. The receivers ran sloppy, poor routes. Some of these incompletions were on them. But most were overthrown.
-Great arm - can hit passes down field, had a nice 50 yard TD pass to Brown. Even with bad footwork, he can hit open receivers downfield

Running observations:
-Poor vision - didn't follow his blocks, could've turned 5 yard runs into 1st downs had he followed the block and found the open space.
-Solid option decision making - when he was asked to read the defense on a read-option, he did it fairly well. There were times when we would be in 3-4 WR sets and 8 defenders in the box - we're not going to win that

Thoughts on CDP: Pitt blitzed a lot, challenged our OLine, and played a lot of press coverage. Pitt used a minimum of 7 defenders in the box. Assuming you have a competent offense - you would take more shots downfield and run faster-developing underneath routes with RBs / TEs. Part of me believes that CDP had no confidence in our OLine (a valid concern) or the timing between our WRs / QBs to run a more nuanced route tree.
 

Jacoooooob

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My money is on Tucker Gleason, played around plant under Robert Weiner( Aaron Murray’s former coach), and won a 8 way about battle. Guys a competitor and his arm will develop but he has already got the accuracy down. Has some wheels too, only ran 4.8 but ran for 1,000 yards in one of the Florida high school football divisions.
 

Novajacket

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CGC and CDP have been together now 3 years. All three seasons they have rotated QB’s, especially early in the season. They have been consistent in that a QB earns the start not only in practice but on the field. All three seasons the presumed starting QB started slow/inconsistent and one of the others took the reins. I expect the same this year, with potentially all 4 QB’s getting a chance to show what they can do. Unless one of them just comes in and knocks it out of the park.
 
Boomergump

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Well, for starters, whoever played QB for us last year had far less time, on average, to execute a play than our opponents QB did. So, in that context, it is hard to judge the future performance on last year's results. Pass protection will cure a lot of ills. With that said, there was a lot of low hanging fruit left on the tree for Graham that easily could have been picked. I was equally as encouraged by his arm strength and touch on the deep ball as I was disappointed and confused by his lack of feel for the intermediate throws that tend to keep drives alive. There is really no solid excuse for this in my estimation. It is just a matter of efficient decision making and getting your body ready to make a good delivery. I'm not so sure he saw the field as well as we needed a QB to do last year either. From my view in the north EZ he seemed quite often to run towards the defense rather than away from it when taking off with the ball and would often miss opportunities in the passing game while failing to check down. Needless to say. There is a lot of growth possible.

As far as Yates is concerned, I don't have any strong opinions due to the small sample size. He gave the impression of seeing the field better and having enough tools to be dangerous, but that is about all I can remember.

It should be wide open this year. Hopefully some of these transfers and young guys can block pass rushers.
 
gtstinger776

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Novajacket said:
CGC and CDP have been together now 3 years. All three seasons they have rotated QB’s, especially early in the season. They have been consistent in that a QB earns the start not only in practice but on the field. All three seasons the presumed starting QB started slow/inconsistent and one of the others took the reins. I expect the same this year, with potentially all 4 QB’s getting a chance to show what they can do. Unless one of them just comes in and knocks it out of the park.
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The problem with this strategy is what it does to your WRs. A lot of routes are about timing the exact break / movement to create separation. Cycling through QBs disrupts that chemistry and confidence. Not saying you play ineffective QBs for the sake of continuity, but its hard to nuance / evolve without a grasp of the foundations.
 
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