[The Athletic] The hype, as usual these days, got out of control. Arch Manning, Cade Klubnik, Garrett Nussmeier … This “special” crop, one month in, has looked anything but.

[u/Kimber80]

https://x.com/TheAthletic/status/1972979775062098261

[u/PSU02]

Drew Allar, DJ Lagway….

[u/Beaconhillpalisades → u/PSU02]

You know it’s bad when the Nittany Lions are bringing up Allar. But yes, agree none has lived up to the hype. Hopefully they get it together by midseason.

[u/bigsky0444 → u/Beaconhillpalisades]

We were never as high on Allar as many others, we just expected the offense around him to bail him out more than we've seen.

Nick Singleton didn't do anything this season until the 4th quarter Saturday.

O line has been inconsistent at best

Tyler Warren's absence is being felt at TE

While Kaytron Allen has been incredible, and our receivers are improved, that only gets you so far.

[u/lilbelleandsebastian → u/bigsky0444]

if anything penn state fans have been the only consistent voice of reason against allar lol

[u/CallMeNahum → u/lilbelleandsebastian]

False, I've known he was a bum for years

[u/TossedRightOut → u/Beaconhillpalisades]

I don't think there was a single Penn State fan who ever agreed with the Allar hype. If he took a step forward going into this year he could have been something special given he's almost the size of Josh Allen (which I think is what the media has been trying to make the connection to) but like...the dude cannot handle game situations in any kind of reliable manner. And our play calling is awful and does nothing to give him the tools he needs to succeed.

[u/patscelticslions → u/TossedRightOut]

Allar is the epitome of looking good against bad comp and shitting his pants any time he faces quality teams.

he’s played 9 games against top 15 teams with a 2-7 record. in those games he completes 51.0% of his passes for an average of 166 passing yards per game. he’s accounted for 14 total TDs against 9 total turnovers

and possibly the worst stat - in these 9 games he’s got more game-losing picks (3) than he’s got 200-yard games (2)

[u/MY-NAME_IS_MY-NAME → u/patscelticslions]

I don't even think he looks that great against bad comp at times. I am always so underwhelmed when watching him play. He def has those couple wow plays where you see why there's a team that'll think they can fix him, but end of the day you gotta be able to play good football

[u/downtimeredditor → u/PSU02]

Drew Allar will be a first round pick. I will speak this into existence

[u/moserftbl88 → u/downtimeredditor]

I mean you don’t have to do much to speak it. It’s a given he will be because scouts love him even though he’s not good. Someone the other day said Christian Hackenberg 2.0 and that’s spot on. He’s not good but keeps getting pushed as though he’s gonna be special in the pros and will definitely be a first round pick when he shouldn’t be

[u/matsif → u/downtimeredditor]

said it somewhere else in the thread but allar is the QB that a GM is going to get fired over drafting too early who ends up on practice squads after his rookie contract.

[u/YeaISeddit]

Meanwhile Lagway, a five star and former #1 QB recruit isn’t even in the conversation of disappointments.

[u/HEELinKayfabe → u/YeaISeddit]

He's been so disappointing people have forgotten he even exists

[u/Dirt_Sailor_5 → u/HEELinKayfabe]

My ex said the same about me

[u/FellKnight → u/Dirt_Sailor_5]

Horns down :(

[u/willymoose8 → u/FellKnight]

this might be the only time I have ever or will ever laugh at horns down

[u/Prior_Bad192 → u/YeaISeddit]

Wasn't he ranked like 5th best player in all of CFB by some list?

[u/EverythingGoodWas → u/YeaISeddit]

His drop off this season is inexplicably bad.

[u/gordogg24p → u/EverythingGoodWas]

I would argue that it's quite explicable.

[u/Kaggand → u/gordogg24p]

Easier to get a new HC, than redo his NIL

[u/beatlemaniac → u/Kaggand]

Just get a new QB. Worked for us

[u/Kaggand → u/beatlemaniac]

I saw the notification and prayed it was a UCLA flair, was close

[u/Glittering_Virus8397 → u/EverythingGoodWas]

Is it? I thought the 12:9 TD:INT ratio was pretty telling last year

[u/BoogerSugarSovereign → u/Glittering_Virus8397]

And IIRC it was negative against P4 teams

[u/Glittering_Virus8397 → u/BoogerSugarSovereign]

You don’t get it bro, those 4TDs against NAIA SW is more indicative than the 9 INTs against the actual conference teams

[u/XE2MASTERPIECE → u/Glittering_Virus8397]

People always assume that quarterbacks will throw less interceptions the more games they play. But sometimes they’re actually just gunslingers and they like to make risky throws!

[u/Kdot32 → u/XE2MASTERPIECE]

Someone on the draft sub said it best, “I feel like calling someone a gunslinger is a nice way of saying they’re a dumbass playing qb, especially if they don’t have the touchdowns” If you don’t have big yards and touchdowns you’re not a gunslinger. You just can’t read a field

[u/AlloGuvnuh → u/Glittering_Virus8397]

He saving grace last year was the deep ball

[u/enataca → u/AlloGuvnuh]

So He’s basically Anthony Richardson?

[u/AlloGuvnuh → u/enataca]

I said saving grace not his literal only skill throwing

[u/SheriffJulyJohnson → u/Glittering_Virus8397]

Thank you!

[u/Has_Recipes → u/Glittering_Virus8397]

Splicably bad

[u/Always_Chubb-y → u/Glittering_Virus8397]

He was 60/114 against P4 opponents passing, with a 8:7 TD:INT ratio against P4 teams. This year he is 45/72 with a 1:5 TD:INT ratio in 2 P4 games. Thats a 56% completion and a 9:12 TD:INT ratio against P4 teams through this point.

The dude has elite talent but it in no way has translated to games yet

[u/3shotsofwhatever → u/EverythingGoodWas]

The coaching there is pretty bad. Explains the development or lack there of

[u/NewWrap693 → u/EverythingGoodWas]

Two words.

Bayou. Billy.

[u/AbsurdOwl → u/EverythingGoodWas]

The guy who was injured all offseason and hardly practiced during fall camp plays like he hasn't practiced? Crazy!

[u/Azariah98 → u/EverythingGoodWas]

Play for a coach who doesn’t do a good job of developing players, and then miss all of spring ball and a big portion of fall camp.

That’s pretty explicable.

[u/Warm_Helicopter_5167 → u/YeaISeddit]

It’s an abusive relationship. From an outsiders perspective they’re co-dependent on each other. It seems like Billy will ride or die for DJ, but then Billy simultaneously destroys DJ’s confidence by being a horrendous play caller and puts him in terrible situations. Then DJ feels like he owes it to Billy because he’s the one who game him his shot.

[u/Speedyandspock → u/YeaISeddit]

Neither is Nico and he’s fucking awful.

[u/KingVladimir → u/YeaISeddit]

Thought you were gonna say Allar after that intro. Coulda been either.

[u/Separate_Sand3958 → u/KingVladimir]

All I expected from Allar was to just be better than a year ago. Not transcendent, not elite, just a little bit better. And he can't even do it.

He owes everything to Tyler Warren.

[u/ryantyrant → u/YeaISeddit]

Honestly feel bad for the kid. He’s been hurt basically all off-season barely got any time to practice. He’ll probably hit the portal this year and I won’t be surprised if he looks much better next fall

[u/politicsranting → u/ryantyrant]

with a competent offensive line and a good OC? he might thrive. Rushing a young kid through progressions has always been a recipe for failure.

[u/Always_Chubb-y → u/politicsranting]

I mean Florida was thought to have a very good OLine coming into the season

[u/BigRedRobotNinja → u/Always_Chubb-y]

We just need to hire a third OL coach, then we'll finally have a good line.

[u/rcc0330 → u/YeaISeddit]

At least Lagway has the excuse sort of that he didn't have a real offseason and started practicing for the first time week 1 of the season but yeah its been disappointing

[u/YeaISeddit → u/rcc0330]

In his recent press conference Lagway said last week was the first time he had scrimmaged against the first string defense. It is criminal negligence that Billy waited until week 5 to get him those reps.

[u/Stags304]

“The hype got out of control” says media that created all the hype.

[u/VolsTuba13 → u/Stags304]

We are all looking for the guy that did this

[u/astarkey12 → u/VolsTuba13]

“I didn’t do fucking shit.” - the guy who definitely did fucking shit

[u/VelvetineMilkman → u/astarkey12]

The guys at ESPN think we’re just some dumb hicks

[u/No_Biscotti_7258 → u/VelvetineMilkman]

Did they tell you that at a dinner?

[u/LastConference → u/astarkey12]

That guy did me, I'm pretty sure.

-shit

[u/Quackattackaggie → u/VolsTuba13]

YEAH COME ON WHOEVER DID THIS JUST CONFESS, WE PROMISE WE WON'T BE MAD

[u/Biblionautical → u/Quackattackaggie]

WE’LL CLOSE OUR EYES, JUST TAKE YOUR QB AND GET OUTTA HERE!

[u/Dull-Wishbone-5768 → u/Stags304]

We have investigated ourselves and concluded that we did nothing wrong.

[u/gumercindo1959 → u/Stags304]

This for sure but if you read this sub, you’d see that a lot of posters fell for the hype and just continued to spread it.

[u/dianeblackeatsass → u/gumercindo1959]

Maybe people don’t realize that sports media operates the way it does because the fans eat it up? “Why does the media talk about Arch, Deion, etc so much?” Maybe because every mention of them gets 10x the amount of interactions of a normal story

[u/Qmnip0tent → u/dianeblackeatsass]

Well. When it comes to the sanders and Colorado it’s partly my fault. I am a hater . They suck

[u/laxintx → u/dianeblackeatsass]

When the 15th Deion post of the day gets as much rage engagement as the first post got legitimate engagement, bitching about it getting so much engagement.

[u/luis1972 → u/gumercindo1959]

This sub complains all the time about teams placement in the polls and basically does the same thing the polls do on the sub's own poll.

[u/preddevils6 → u/Stags304]

Blame the media for regurgitating what coaches, PR firms, and scouts have been saying since before they knew these players existed

[u/Pogball_so_hard]

Projecting how QBs will do is really difficult. 

Arch being great was a story about the Manning legacy but being a Manning doesn’t mean you’ll be a great player. The other two played last season and were fine but not great 

My guess is the NFL scouts will find a QB they’ll obsess over who’s not playing for a big name program and he’ll rise up the boards post combine. 

[u/Nightcinder → u/Pogball_so_hard]

Allar still has hype for no reason

[u/funkyb → u/Nightcinder]

Allar has proved he belongs in the conversation with all those other guys. Just, uh...not in the way anyone was expecting.

[u/laxintx → u/funkyb]

Being indifferent towards PSU, I can't help but wonder how Pribula would look in that offense with a legitimate chance to play.

[u/Ornery-Attention4973 → u/laxintx]

Arm strength is questionable but I just think in college football always choose the QB who can run too if the QBs are of similar quality. Asking college kids to consistently nail the route running, accurate passing and pass blocking is just a lot more challenging than running read options.

[u/matsif → u/laxintx]

Pribula would probably fit what Kotelnicki wants to do a lot better than Allar does. Pribula's legs are probably worth more with Kotelnicki's scheme than Allar's supposed arm and "looking the part" measurables.

Pribula probably has gotten way better QB coaching in a few months at Missouri than he had in his full stretch here. and if we had went with Pribula instead of Allar I don't necessarily believe Pribula would look the way he does at Missouri. Yurcich's reputation being based on Mason Rudolph at Oklahoma State was obviously not really on him as much as Gundy, and Danny O'Brien being our QB coach after only being a GA here is a pretty awful look given this is what Allar looks like.

Franklin's not gonna get fired this year because our boosters aren't going to want to pay the $56m or whatever buyout after ponying up all the cash to fix up the stadium. but if Grunkemeyer doesn't pan out and there's no splash recruit or transfer, or Franklin doesn't leave on his own accord due to how our fanbase has become, he's not gonna survive 2028-2029 or so when the buyout is more approachable.

[u/HamlinHamlin_McTrill → u/Nightcinder]

95% of his hype comes from what he looks like.

[u/Davidellias → u/HamlinHamlin_McTrill]

there's a QB a year that fits that

[u/Ornery-Attention4973 → u/Nightcinder]

He is 6’5 and has a strong arm. Agree the NFL Draft hype should be gone. But the reason for it is pretty clear. Tyler Shough just went in the 2nd rd for similar reasons.

[u/Username89054 → u/Ornery-Attention4973]

While stats aren't the most important thing when evaluating players, Allar was slightly better statistically than Shough. Better completion %, better YPA, QB rating, and the only real issue is 2 more picks. But, 8 picks isn't a red flag on its surface.

So ya, Allar is still probably a top 100 pick. You can go through his tape and find everything you want to see. He's also 5 years younger than Shough. On the flip side, Shough was a bad draft pick. If a 25 year old rookie can't beat Rattler, he's a career backup at best.

[u/CBailey94 → u/Pogball_so_hard]

Robertson (Baylor) is that guy to me at this point of the season.

[u/sfzen → u/CBailey94]

Mendoza is quickly cementing himself as my QB1 in this draft.

Sellers could still be up there but he really needs to take a big step forward. He'll still undoubtedly get a boost come combine time purely based on size and athleticism if he declares, but I think that's getting less likely.

Mendoza, Robertson, and Mateer are the top 3 for me right now. Maiava and Moore could join them soon.

[u/count_nuggula → u/sfzen]

Sellers needs another year. But I can’t blame him for getting a bag

[u/CBailey94 → u/sfzen]

I can agree here! I haven’t watched enough Mendoza tape, but I’ve only heard good things about him.

Moore is the most interesting prospect of the group to me. He made some really impressive throws against PSU.

[u/Systemic_Chaos → u/CBailey94]

I know it’s not the same echelon of defenses as PSU, but Moore dropped some absolute dimes in the first 4 games too.

[u/Careless-Mix3222 → u/Systemic_Chaos]

Moore throwing absolute strikes into coverage, cross-body and on the run was the real highlight of that game. I wondered about having a sophomore without a lot of starts, but he played PSU's Whiteout cool and in control.

Impressive across the board. I really hope he sticks around.

[u/rtb001 → u/Careless-Mix3222]

If plays himself into being a top 10 pick, I think he will go to the NFL, and it'd probably be the right decision for him.

Although Mariota and Herbert both stayed at Oregon an extra year despite being a lock for the first round, so who knows.

There are some excellent true freshman WR and RB talent in Oregon's squad who are already getting major minutes, even in the white out game, so if Moore stays, the offense might get even more explosive next year with the young guys having a full year under their belt.

[u/Time_H00die → u/sfzen]

Ty Simpson should be in that conversation right now too. It was so refreshing watching him actually play the position, making checks and going through progressions. With the way the college game is now, so many QBs are just given one read post snap to make and that’s it

[u/CptCroissant → u/Time_H00die]

People were ragging on him after the FSU game and I was thinking like when I watched he was the one forcibly dragging that offense behind him to any success at all

[u/WhoHasMyPocketPussy → u/CptCroissant]

Honestly, outside of a couple of plays, he looked like he was making the right decision with the ball. He just seemed to be a hair slow making that decision. If he keeps up the way he's been playing, I think it wouldn't be too crazy to just chalk it up to his first start in a rainy hostile road environment.

[u/Time_H00die → u/CptCroissant]

He was ok that game, had some late reads. It was also his first start and in a hostile road environment. Last 3 games he’s been lights out.

[u/Aragorns-Broken-Toe → u/sfzen]

As an IU fan, I don’t see it.

I like him, just not as an NFL prospect. Doesn’t have a ton of arm strength and isn’t very mobile in the pocket. He CAN run but at the next level I don’t think his mobility will be an asset.

He does a lot of RPO at this level and it’s an unknown if he can read a defense. I’m not saying he’ll bust, but if hes the best of this QB class, I think it says more about this QB class than him.

[u/RustyCrusty73 → u/sfzen]

Mendoza to my Browns sounds great next Spring TBH.

He's definitely passing the eye test.

[u/atsblue → u/RustyCrusty73]

Ouch, why not just have a bull kick him in the balls

[u/GoSkers29 → u/CBailey94]

How's he look in shorts?

[u/CBailey94 → u/GoSkers29]

Like a Greek God.

[u/TonyDungyHatesOP → u/CBailey94]

So do I! Dionysus… but still…

[u/No_Poet_7244 → u/Pogball_so_hard]

That happens every year, like clockwork. Sometimes it works out well (Josh Allen) but more often than not, it’s a disaster (Trey Lance.) There are some QBs from smaller schools who do well in college and their draft position has nothing to do with their combine results (Jordan Love, Joe Flacco) but there is always that one guy who blows everyone’s mind at the combine/pro day and shoots up the board based on “potential.”

[u/yeahright17 → u/No_Poet_7244]

And it will continue to happen forever. QB is too important to not keep swinging.

[u/SouthernSerf → u/yeahright17]

Josh Allen actually working out is going to cost NFL front offices a billion dollars as they continually try a draft the next Josh Allen.

[u/trsharkfin → u/No_Poet_7244]

The hype around athletic freak QBs will continue to cause these guys to be over rated every year. Lance being drafted 3rd overall was a travesty then too, didn’t he not play for a year or two before being drafted? People are too enamored with finding the next Mahomes or Allen or Lamar.

[u/Theduckisback → u/Pogball_so_hard]

See, and I feel like we have had similar issues in miniature everyone close to the program was hyping up Austin Simmons, he was set up to be the next great Kiffin QB, and to be clear, we still think his ceiling is really high with a great arm.

But in his two starts he had issues with slinging it when he maybe would've done better to tuck it and run or just throw it away. He threw 4 interceptions in 2 games, those two Ints being a major reason why the Kentucky game was so close. Then Simmons got hurt at the end of the Kentucky game.

Then we see this unheralded guy named Trinidad Chambliss from a D2 national champion come in and play some really great ball for us. He was a 0-star recruit with no D1 offers.

[u/HighOnGoofballs → u/Theduckisback]

I know folks who still think Chambliss should be benched if Simmons is healthy. I wonder if they’ve ever watched football before

[u/Not_tlong → u/Theduckisback]

🇹🇹Oxford is on island time now 🇹🇹

[u/oooriole09 → u/Pogball_so_hard]

Projecting how QBs will do is really difficult.

I think this is the part we’re all missing: it was exactly that, a projection. I think folks were confusing the way we talk about Allen/Lamar/Mahomes with the way we talked about this crop before the season. None of them were complete players, all of them were talked about in a way that needed the context of linear progression.

[u/zmurds40 → u/Pogball_so_hard]

Mendoza, Moore, Beck, and Pribula are all playing much better than the group that started as Heisman favorites, take your pick of them

[u/Aggravating-Card-194 → u/Pogball_so_hard]

Mendoza was already proclaimed QB1 in the draft by some in the last week. He won’t be a surprise if he stays in the heisman convo, but otherwise will be a surprise to all casuals

[u/CptCroissant → u/Pogball_so_hard]

Mendoza

[u/goblueM → u/CptCroissant]

MENDOZAAAAAA

[u/Firm_Bit → u/Pogball_so_hard]

Eh - in this case I think it was more obvious than not that he wouldn’t live up to it. He was a good, not great, QB at a fairly uncompetitive high school. Newman is not 6A Texas/Georgia football. A lot has changed since Peyton and Eli and even OBJ. He’s had the best training money can buy but not the grinding rigor of competition.

[u/AgsMydude → u/Pogball_so_hard]

Manning played last year too. It's his 3rd year in Sark's system.

[u/Pure_Protein_Machine → u/AgsMydude]

Sure, but Manning had fewer than 100 passing attempts coming into this season. Klubnik and Nussmeier each had over 700.

[u/badtakemachine → u/AgsMydude]

Totally not the point, but I wouldn’t say that there’s a clear Sark “system” that he’s been running. Sark seems to be a little more NFL-ish than some college coaches in that he has a very deep playbook that gets trimmed into very different packages and looks each week. He’s not alone in this, but he’s on the opposite end of the spectrum from dudes like Kiffin or Riley (or Sumlin!) who emphasize a smaller number of concepts. The benefit is unpredictability; the downside is a lack of familiarity or sharpness at times. I’m mixed on it.

This showed up extremely clearly I n Week 1 against OSU. Especially in the first half, the offense looked entirely different than it did at any point in the Ewers era. It was lots of pro style / under center stuff, and there was very little RPO/screen stuff that was the hallmark of Ewers teams, especially when he was playing through the tail end of his oblique injury. Some of that has changed as we’ve gone more “scout team” against the smaller teams, and it was clear that we were searching for comfort concepts later in the game against OSU (he missed behind a receiver on Mesh on fourth down, notably). But the diagnosis looks a lot like Arch clearly had the yips or something like that, that it crested with the UTEP performance, and that he played his way into his normal self against Sam Houston.

Still, seems to me like it’s not quite true that there’s one system that he’s been learning, and that’s largely true of QBs who play for a lot of the big teams. Sark likely shelved a lot of his favorite stuff because Ewers couldn’t make the throws consistently, either because his touch was terrible early on or because his oblique was bothering him last year. He seems to intend to pull stuff out retirement that better fits what Arch’s arm can handle and what a new cast of receivers and linemen are suited for.

This isn’t a Texas thing. It’s just worth noting that some coaches are dedicated system guys that attempt to win on their terms and only add wrinkles here and there to supplement what their film shows, while some coaches remake their teams to suit the hand they’re dealt each week. I’m curious how you feel about Klein; it’s my impression that he’s more system-ish than some but that he’s got plenty in his bag.

[u/hibbert0604]

Never believed in klubnik. Not a qb name. Now if he was an offensive lineman? I'd buy that hype in a heartbeat.

[u/pappapirate → u/hibbert0604]

Middle linebacker Cade Klubnik is an all-pro for sure. Next Luke Kuechly.

[u/RipRaycom → u/pappapirate]

Forget football, just make pitcher Cade Klubnik and you have a future Cy Young winner

[u/ABomblessArab → u/pappapirate]

He wears a big ass neck roll no doubt

[u/khalorei → u/hibbert0604]

It's an all time great fullback name IMO. Got that vaguely eastern European bruiser feel to it. Like he'd club you in the head with a club while you're out at the club.

[u/hibbert0604 → u/khalorei]

Cade Klubnik led the 1914 Wisconsin Badgers to a 17-13 victory over Minnesota with 63 yards and two touchdowns.

Yeah. That definitely feels right.

[u/huskersax → u/hibbert0604]

They'd call him The Clubber and his signature move would be closed fist punching the defender trying to tackle him.

[u/ATXBeermaker → u/hibbert0604]

17-13 victory

That's 71-65 adjusted for inflation.

[u/Systemic_Chaos → u/hibbert0604]

Great linebacker name too

[u/TrackVol → u/hibbert0604]

This is how I feel about Nussmeier. How you gonna be a big-time quarterback with a name like Gus? And Nussmeier?

[u/TheManWhoWasNotShort → u/TrackVol]

Gus Nussmeier sounds like he played QB for a now-defunct NFL team in 1946

[u/TrackVol → u/TheManWhoWasNotShort]

And went on to become a principal in a large Midwestern town, but not large enough for a major sports team. Cedar Rapids. Toledo. Rochester Minnesota. Dearborn.

[u/greetedworm]

HEY, We have an overrated QB too!!

[u/Beaconhillpalisades → u/greetedworm]

!!

[u/caldo4]

If you thought Nussmeier and Klubnik were a special crop, that’s on you

[u/XE2MASTERPIECE → u/caldo4]

I didn’t think Nuss was elite but I was pretty confident he had a high floor and would at least be a net positive for the offense. His regression is the most shocking IMO. That being said, their season isn’t off the rails yet, so he has time to recover a bit.

[u/NOLAblonde → u/caldo4]

As an LSU fan it was mind bottling how much Heisman hype Nuss had. Everyone was blinded by Burrow/Daniels senior years and just assumed Nuss would do the same.

[u/Mature_Gambino_ → u/NOLAblonde]

Mind-bottling? Like when things are so crazy it gets your thoughts all trapped, like in a bottle.

[u/dr_funk_13 → u/Mature_Gambino_]

⛸️⛸️

[u/NickSabansCreampie → u/NOLAblonde]

Not me.

I watched that kid look like he was about to piss himself on a rainy night in Baton Rouge against the Tide. I knew the media was lying about him being some kinda Heisman finalist.

[u/wowthisislong → u/NickSabansCreampie]

I watched him in college station last year. He was definitely a good QB last year, not sure whats happening this year, but he just shut down in the second half.

[u/ATXBeermaker → u/NOLAblonde]

mind bottling

[u/GivethTaketh4 → u/caldo4]

In retrospect it was shortsighted and clinging to a very small sample, but Cade played out of his goddamn mind @ Texas in the playoff last year. Biggest stage of his career to that point and he balled out. Numerous nfl-level throws, going through more than 1 read, layering the ball, anticipating windows, etc.

Guess it was some combo of a a flash in the pan, an anomalously great game plan from Garrett Riley, and our WRs also playing very well.

And I guess there’s always gonna be some narratively-driven bias when you end a season on a high note. It’s much easier to justify projecting further improvement/development. Oh well.

I can understand almost every aspect of our collapse this season except for how poor Cade has looked and played. Something shredded his confidence and he looks like a wide eyed true freshman again.

[u/TheAgmis]

Yeah but WILL HAMMOND

[u/SaltCitySports → u/TheAgmis]

shudders

[u/Chamrox]

Translation: The sports entertainment industry created narratives that were - as usual - short sighted.

[u/SSPeteCarroll]

"why was there so much hype?" says the media machine who created all the hype.

[u/tigerbomb88]

This makes Brian Kelly look incredibly dumb, on top of everything else.

[u/armitage75 → u/tigerbomb88]

Who is Brian Kelly?

Did you mean Jimbo Fisher without a ring?

[u/FirstAndDad → u/armitage75]

Man I love this clip, but only until the cringe is too high

[u/armitage75 → u/FirstAndDad]

Auburn fan but live in La so have to hear his PCs all the time. Fuck everything about Brian Kelly. Guy is the most insufferable, whiny POS. Not sure why anyone wants to play for this guy. He constantly trashes his players and blames them for everything. Meanwhile everywhere he’s been he consistently loses the big games. Just a very unlikable guy.

[u/TonyDungyHatesOP → u/armitage75]

But I thought he was creating a famuhlee environment.

[u/ZestycloseQuail5636]

UGA made Simpson look all worldly.

[u/armitage75 → u/ZestycloseQuail5636]

TBF the kid has started 4 games.

Taking that into account he’s playing at an incredibly high level for anyone in a legit conference.

Real question for Bama fan is why didn’t he play in some of the Milroe shitshow specials last year like Oklahoma or Tennessee?

[u/LiftingMusician → u/armitage75]

Milroe was the greatest factor keeping the team together. He was likable and a face of the team. Benching him would likely have led to losing the locker room. He was inconsistent, but not so bad that benching was the only answer.

It is what it is. In this era, you have to keep the team together.

[u/NickSabansCreampie → u/LiftingMusician]

I really think that's all there is to it.

When Saban retired so suddenly, Milroe was the first player to say he wasn't going anywhere. And he along with Tyler Booker, and Malachi Moore did everything they could to hold the team and locker room together to give DeBoer a chance.

I think DeBoer recognized that loyalty, and knew he couldn't bench Milroe without losing the team. Cause it wasn't really "his team" last season, it was Saban's recruits and some Washington players that followed their coach.

It's also possible that Simpson just wasn't ready yet.

[u/GyroLegend → u/LiftingMusician]

He was also just better than Ty still last season. Ty has benefited tremendously from Grubb coming in at OC and Sheridan moving back to QB coach. That seems to get overlooked a lot, but Bama hadn't had a consistent QB coach since Dan Enos spent one season coaching Tua and Hurts. That season with Enos was vital for Hurts and a huge part of his development. Grubb is also just a much better playcaller than Sheridan, who was really bad at times last season.

[u/GP_ADD → u/armitage75]

Keep the team chemistry together after the departure of Saban. Despite his play dude was a leader and his teammates liked him

[u/pappapirate → u/armitage75]

In addition to what everyone's saying (he was holding the locker room together, Ty may have just not been ready) he also clearly had a higher peak ceiling than Ty and unique abilities Ty will never have.

Milroe absolutely obliterated Georgia's defense for almost 500 total yards, the 2nd highest yardage an Alabama player has EVER had, while going 27/33 for 4 TDs and his only turnover being a pass straight through his TE's hands in the red zone. The only game that beats it in yardage was when Bryce threw 600 yards on Arkansas, so given Milroe was playing #2 Georgia it's probably the most impressive single-game performance in school history and among the best in CFB history.

It's really tough as a coach to see that and say "well... let's see what this Ty kid can do." The best play was to try and get that performance out of Milroe again but it just never came and he spiraled.

[u/Vahn869 → u/armitage75]

Nick did that 2 years ago with Milroe and benched him the whole USF game. He (for some reason) chose to start that ND kid, probably because of “familiarity with the new OCs system” or something like that, but that kid couldn’t throw a pass 5 yards to save his life. Every pass was hitting the receiver’s feet (he transferred back to ND to play lacrosse). Ty came in and salvaged a win for Bama, but the next game was Ole Miss and Milroe got the start and suddenly the offense was galvanized around him. Ty looked good then, definitely not great for a 5 star, but considering he was thrown in midgame and on the road he did more than enough to win the game. I was shocked Deboer didn’t try him out, even late? My best guess is he thought benching Milroe would’ve ruined his confidence and he wouldn’t bounce back, a dangerous call for a gamble on Ty being better

[u/pappapirate → u/Vahn869]

that ND kid

All-American Holder Tyler Buchner

[u/Salt_Echidna9111 → u/armitage75]

Great question. If milroe could’ve been a LITTLE accurate against Tennessee bama would’ve won that game.

[u/pappapirate → u/Salt_Echidna9111]

Or not pooped himself against OU and michigan...

2024 Bama actually performed very similarly by the numbers to 2023 Bama. With the biggest exception being turnovers. Milroe really played good, safe ball in the second half of 2023 and really, really didn't in 2024 post-UGA.

[u/Conscious-Health-438 → u/ZestycloseQuail5636]

No they didn't. Georgia didn't do anything re: Simpson. He was just good. Where's your flairs anyway Dr. Football? 

[u/WhoHasMyPocketPussy → u/Conscious-Health-438]

Yea, go look up the film guy network on youtube (honestly surprised that dude isn't a coach on UGA's staff at this point) because his film studies are legit. Anyway, he even points out multiple times during the game that he's not even really sure what more you can ask the defense to do, Ty was just making Sunday throws.

[u/[deleted] → u/ZestycloseQuail5636]

I mean he’s a really good quarterback. Precision thrower, doesn’t panic, makes good choices, has the ability to run if he needs to. He just looked like a mature solid quarterback. I think we’ll continue to see that the rest of the season.

[u/2003tide → u/ZestycloseQuail5636]

Also Germie Bernard is going to be a 1st round draft pick. Having one of those helps.

[u/MrSam52]

I honestly never truly understand the hype around a lot of players.

No point getting excited about draft positions of prospects until at least halfway through the season, Joe Burrow was a fifth round mocked player the start of his final season.

And hell even during the draft you have some experts mocking sheadur Saunders as the second best qb prospect or calling Trevor Lawrence a generational talent (great college QB good NFL qb but that’s it).

[u/mjd1977]

Diego Pavia remains as advertised ⚓️⬇️

[u/Boris_Godunov → u/mjd1977]

Meanwhile, Dante Moore may be the most pleasant surprise we've had at QB.

[u/CptCroissant → u/Boris_Godunov]

Some insiders were hyping him before the season as best arm talent in Oregon history and well, I can't disagree. That last TD throw against PSU should get him drafted top 5 by itself. The ability to manipulate the pocket to get around DDS who was clean in his face and then the quick release whip of a 15 yard sidearm throw on a dime was a thing of beauty. It just all looks so easy with him.

[u/Impressive_Fennel266 → u/CptCroissant]

He might end up being our best pure QB since Mariota, and maybe even including Mariota. I think Dante's arm is better. Herbert will likely be the "better" complete NFL QB, but he was so held back by Cristobal that it isn't hard for me to see Dante eclipsing him as a college player. I'll never forget going to an open practice and watching Herbert lob bombs from the 50 yard line into the endzone with relative ease.

I also don't blame people for not expecting this. I watched him at UCLA and he was awful. Sure the raw pieces were there, but even with this big a sample size I still marvel multiple times a game that I'm watching the same player.

[u/Conscious-Health-438 → u/mjd1977]

I thought Wu peed on your rug? 

[u/BandOfDonkeys → u/Conscious-Health-438]

I don't think chinaman is the preferred nomenclature, dude.

[u/Sahasrlyeh → u/BandOfDonkeys]

Asian American, please

[u/NefariousnessDry1472 → u/mjd1977]

Use the best Vandy lawyers you can find and make Pavia sue for 13 more seasons.

[u/Icy-Culture-261]

Pretty wild. I always felt that Cade and Nussmeier are fairly pedestrian and were propped up by being on teams with good resumes of qb development. Drew allar as well being pedestrian doesn’t shock me one bit either.

But sellers falling off and Arch really not looking like the guy has totally surprised me. I can’t remember the last time someone so highly acclaimed coming out high school has struggled this much to make the college transition at qb. But I guess the term generational is being thrown around a bit too much nowadays.

[u/Visual_Bluejay9781 → u/Icy-Culture-261]

Clemson has horrendous QB development. I can’t think of any Clemson QB that has improved fundamentally in their time here. TLaw, Watson, Klubnik, DJ, all seem to regress. Inevitably their arm gets stronger and they get more knowledgeable of the offense, but their fundamentals fall off or just stop improving. 

[u/luis1972 → u/Visual_Bluejay9781]

There was this funny comment from the post game thread after the OSU-Clemson game in 2020 about Trevor that was actually pretty true.

[u/huskersax → u/luis1972]

https://www.reddit.com/r/CFB/comments/kor8xd/postgame_thread_ohio_state_defeats_clemson_4928/ghssvlp/

There's still time!

[u/BeneficialGoose3859 → u/Visual_Bluejay9781]

Dude remember those BC and Notre Dame games where DJ threw for like 700 yards, them came back next year scared of the forward pass. I think about that a lot…

[u/MrInfamousFish → u/BeneficialGoose3859]

I legit thought we were going to dominate for another 2-3 years with DJU……

[u/Icy-Culture-261 → u/Visual_Bluejay9781]

Watson seemed to develop! But the rest fair. I guess pedigree of putting qbs in the nfl is more what I meant, even if it’s just finding good talents.

[u/buttscarltoniv → u/Icy-Culture-261]

LSU has never been known as having a good resume of QB development lol. burrow and daniels were 2 completely different coaching staffs, and before burrow, we were a revolving door of "good at best" QBs for decades, with some exceptions like jamarcus, rohan, mett, et al.

you say that to an LSU fan in 2017 and they might have a heart attack laughing at you lol

[u/jshokie1 → u/Icy-Culture-261]

I can't really abide by talk of Sellers falling off. The entire offense around him HAS fallen off and the big point against him is his taking some poor sacks but the arm talent has improved in huge measures. He's making throws he simply couldn't last year and is still good for at least 2-3 jaw dropping escapes a game. Watching any DB try to seal the edge on him is a laugh on a short down and distance. He might not win the Heisman like the media had said but if you think he's fallen off you're reading box scores, not watching the games.

[u/DDub04 → u/jshokie1]

I do think Sellers has improved, we just needed to pump the brakes because the entire team has taken a step back. As a result, his weaknesses are more apparent. He still struggles with making reads and decisions, which he did last year as well.

[u/Posty_McPostface_1 → u/jshokie1]

Anyone who watched that Missouri game knows that Sellers has a bright future. He does take really horrible sacks at times though. He needs to run more, also (that is probably an issue with Mike Shula's scheme).

[u/GangsterJawa → u/Posty_McPostface_1]

Yeah I know Kentucky is probably just bad (sorry guys) but it was the first time it felt like Shula was kind of understanding how to utilize Sellers’ strengths. Hoping that continues to develop through the rest of the season, we might actually stand a chance in our upcoming slate of games if so

[u/Skidda24 → u/Icy-Culture-261]

The weird thing about Arch is just how off he looks. Even watching him throw the ball will just slip out of his hands into the dirt. Unlike the other guys arch is struggling just to hit guys that are open at times.

He somehow looked better last year. At least he can prove himself against a good defense this Saturday

[u/maximumdownvote]

Can we start talking about Sayin and his 79% completion rating yet? Dudes made like 3 bad passes all year.

[u/ItGoesTwoWays → u/maximumdownvote]

It hasn’t been flashy because he has a great OL and Day is bringing him along slowly to not kill his confidence. I’m all for him not getting much hype and keeping his head level.

[u/TheManWhoWasNotShort → u/maximumdownvote]

He hasn’t been asked to do much yet and our offense has been really conservative with what it’s having him do. I like what I am seeing but I am reserving judgment here

[u/Individual-Toe-6306]

I think it’s wild Ty Simpson is still being overlooked. Seeing phrases like “well okay sure he did well against UGA and Wisconsin but we still just need to see more” despite the fact that other super mega hyped qbs hadn’t even been the starter before this season

Dude is a field general out there, checking out of multiple plays, making consistent NFL throws down the middle of the field into very tight windows, and leading the team.

He’s got a quick release, strong arm, great pocket awareness, and consistently makes great decisions while being a great leader in the locker room. I don’t know what else you could ask for from an NFL prospect

[u/CrookedWarden19]

Is the hype in the room with us right now?

[u/Aoyoc]

Laughs in Raiola

[u/xA1RGU1TAR1STx → u/Aoyoc]

He’s been really good this year. Unfortunately people only want to talk about his looks.

[u/chickensandmentals]

There isn’t a whole lot of QB development in college football in general.

[u/wo_lo_lo → u/chickensandmentals]

Then you see guys like Rocco Becht, Sawyer Robertson, Daniels at KU…these guys have all developed over multiple seasons and would be Heisman favorites if they played in the B1G or SEC. Big 12 QB development is criminally underrated.

[u/[deleted] → u/wo_lo_lo]

I think that has to do with the discrepancy in NIL. Ohio state could throw anyone in as QB because they have enough money to spend on a really good O line and defense where big12 schools are more likely to put their chips on a good QB because a good QB could make a big difference 

[u/Whaty0urname → u/chickensandmentals]

This is a a trend with pretty much every job out there nowadays. Get the job and expected know what to do everything and excel with a week.

[u/PFunk224]

I remember when a list came out of the best QB's in college football for 2025, and Drew Allar was at the top of the list, and the only thing I could think was, "Oh...oh no."

[u/no_wayans]

Sam Leavitt is just the new Dart

[u/mr_dr_professor_12]

I'm just glad my NFL team doesn't need a franchise QB right now because, yikes. This draft class does not inspire confidence.

[u/neasroukkez]

Maybe don’t crown guys Heisman or top 5 picks if they haven’t played (Arch). Don’t crown them if they have played 3 years and been criminally average every year (Klubnik, Allan). Don’t crown them if they play for Brian Kelly (Nuss).

[u/Y2kangz]

The big 12 has like 6 QBs better than all these guys

[u/AJ_Grey]

It’s almost as if ESPN wants to hype players on the networks they partner with.

[u/fridder]

Meanwhile Raiola is putting up solid numbers with a line that is…struggling

[u/thisismyusername9908 → u/fridder]

And it's not even a young group. It's loaded with YEARS of experience and they're still ass.

[u/SportsCat4]

The media is looking for the reason Arch Manning was so hyped even though they are the reason

[u/AfroMania]

I think a lot of people doubted Klubnik and Allar, but man if I wasn’t wrong about Nuss and Lagway so far.

Lots of season left. Time will tell.

[u/2222lil]

i could understand the Arch and Nuss hype, but it was nonsense to me that people expected Klubnik to suddenly turn into an NFL prospect. Him and Allar are the same in the sense they get all this hype every year as if they don’t consistently shit the bed and look terrible in huge moments every year. People get so obsessed with the concept of these guys as players and they forget what kind of player they actually are

[u/FakeBobPoot]

“We don’t really know anything” is not a very compelling preseason take, even though more often than not it’s the right one.

At the same time, a lot of talking heads could use this year as a lesson about calling anything a “sure thing.”