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re: The QB position and Brandon Harris

Posted on 1/22/15 at 4:50 pm to
Posted by chilge1
Baton Rouge
Member since Jan 2009
12137 posts
Posted on 1/22/15 at 4:50 pm to
quote:

It all starts with the quarterback in shotgun reading the defense. Is it "one-high" or "two-high?" One safety or two? Or no safeties? Meyer's spread also likes count defenders in terms of "plus" or "minus." If the offense has one more blocker than the defense has players, you are "plus one." If you have six defenders in a certain area, you have to make sure you have an equal number of blockers. Pretty easy?


quote:

If you watch Meyer's teams in action and understand his philosophy, Meyer's offense is a run-first offense. After reading the defense, most of the time you run the ball, whether that is up the middle or on an option. They avoid throwing unless the defense allows it.


LINK
Posted by SabiDojo
Open to any suggestions.
Member since Nov 2010
83927 posts
Posted on 1/22/15 at 4:51 pm to
If Harris doesn't start, then Cameron needs to go.
Posted by NorthTiger
Upper 40
Member since Jan 2004
3839 posts
Posted on 1/22/15 at 4:56 pm to
This article appeared in The Advocate in October, 2014


Who is Brandon Harris?

He’s a 6-foot-3, 188-pound gunslinger who “just wants to sling it,” according to some. He’s an ever-smiling kid who loses his car keys occasionally. He’s a smart, serious 18-year-old who speaks eloquently.

He’s a former hotly recruited prospect who nearly went to Ohio State. He’s a teenager who found it offensive when assistant coaches, while recruiting him, spoke “ghetto” to him.

He’s a guy who, as a sophomore in high school, could throw a football 74 yards and spin it so fast that he injured his receivers’ hands. He’s a student of the game who waited patiently for his turn to start while keeping calm his frustrated and angry support team.

He’s the son of a muscle-bound truck driver named “Detroit” and of a mother who’s not in his life. He’s a grandson to the matriarch of the family, a woman known by his friends simply as “grandma.”

This is Brandon Harris, a guy everyone knew would eventually get to this stage.

“You could tell he was going to be special,” said Austin Averitt, Harris’ teammate at Parkway. “After our junior season, we were talking to him about freshman year.

“He was like, ‘I didn’t know I was going to be this good,’ ” Averitt said. “In our eyes, though, we knew he’d be a Division I quarterback going on to do big things.”

A winning arm

A boy raised in Bossier City, Harris always had the arm talent and a confident way about him.

He grew up in a football family in a modest home. Members of the Harris family politely declined interview requests.

Harris spent much of his time at his grandmother’s house while his dad drove an 18-wheeler across the nation. She’s described by most as being his primary caretaker and a “huge part of his life.”

His older brother, also named “Detroit,” was a versatile athlete for Parkway, playing running back, receiver and defensive back. His father was a former football player who stands at least 6-foot-3 and is described by most as a mountain of a man. He’s a guy who would regularly attend junior high practice “to make sure Brandon is working hard,” said Chris Hill, the Parkway coach before Feaster.

Feaster took over at Parkway for Hill before Harris’ sophomore season.

Hill told him one thing about the quarterback: “He’s special.”

Even in middle school, Harris had that easy-throwing motion and spinning spiral pass.

He led the freshman team at Parkway to an 8-2 record in 2010. That same team — without Harris — lost every game as seventh- and eighth-graders.

“You take a team that hadn’t won a game in two years and they win all but two, that shows you the leadership ability,” Hill said. “He has the ability to get a team to rally behind. He has an infectious personality. People love to be around him. That’s what you look for in a quarterback.”

Averitt remembers that freshman team. He played receiver and caught those stinging spirals. “I was like, ‘Dang Brandon you’ve got to calm it down,’” Averitt told him after one practice.

“That day,” Averitt said, “I had to go get gloves.”

Harris’ spinning of the football is a characteristic coach Les Miles compares to former LSU quarterback and No. 1 draft pick JaMarcus Russell.

“It’s called hand talent,” the coach said.

“I don’t ever remember Brandon throwing a pass that wobbled,” Hill said.

Harris went 24-3 during his junior and senior seasons at Parkway, his only years as the full-time starter for Feaster. Parkway reached the quarterfinals in 2012 and lost in the state title game in 2013.

Quite a leap

Harris’ biggest jump came between the end of his sophomore season and the beginning of his senior year.

In about 18 months, he went from a frail 160 pounds to about 190.

Much more changed than his weight. He got faster. That’s not something he “just had,” Feaster said.

The coach got him to join the track team during the spring after his sophomore season. He became a hurdler.

“By his junior year,” Feaster said, “he was the second-fastest guy on the football team.”

What he did have — besides that arm — was an “explosive first step” and the deceptive ability to elude tacklers. Weiner’s Zachary team lost to a Harris-led Parkway team in the quarterfinals last year.

“The thing that stood out for us is we didn’t realize how strong of a runner he was,” Weiner said. “He’s not the thickest kid, but he’s very hard to tackle.”

Feaster compares Harris to former LSU quarterback Rohan Davey in that regard. Davey was more than 50 pounds heavier than Harris, but his tackle-breaking ability is similar.

Feaster expects LSU to pack weight on Harris during the offseason, but he said the QB is at a perfect playing weight.

“I look at him now … SEC quarterbacks like to be 230, but I like to have someone like Brandon,” he said. “He has great acceleration. His first step is amazing. The issue is can he hold up? That’s probably why you want guys to be bigger and stronger.”

A hot commodity

Following Harris’ junior season of high school, coaches began calling. They had seen video of the quick kid who could throw a 60-yard spiral.

They wanted to watch him during spring practice — and they did. At one point, Feaster had so many coaches interested that he told some — like, say, Indiana — not to bother coming down.

Offensive coordinators swooped in from Alabama, Baylor, Texas A&M, Ohio State, LSU, Ole Miss, Arkansas, Tennessee, Auburn and Mississippi State.

They all had similar reaction after speaking with Harris: “This kid’s 17?”

“Gosh coach feels like I just got off the phone with an adult,” Ohio State coach Urban Meyer told Feaster once.

Coaches research kids during recruiting. Harris researched the coaches.

“Urban Meyer starts in there, ‘I coached Tim Tebow and all of these guys,’ and Brandon names quarterbacks Meyer coached at Utah,” Feaster said. “That’s how he is with all of these guys. He does the research.”

A black athlete in the South, Harris told Feaster at times that he didn’t “appreciate” some assistants talking “ghetto” toward him.

“Some of these guys think they can appeal to you like another player,” Feaster told him.

Harris used Skype to chat with Nick Saban. Feaster called him a “boring” person.

Miles and offensive coordinator Cam Cameron used Skype with Harris as well. Feaster projected Miles and Cameron on a big screen in the Parkway weight room. The entire team sat in on it.

The quarterback narrowed his list to LSU, Auburn and Ohio State the summer before his senior season. If Ohio State hadn’t been in Ohio, Harris might be a Buckeye, Feaster said. Auburn had the draw of a snazzy spread offense and a former quarterback that Harris idolized: Cam Newton.

He was even referred by coach Gus Malzahn as “Mini Cam” during one Auburn visit.

Harris kept his decision a secret until an ESPN-televised commitment ceremony on July 18, 2013.

Most knew what school he’d choose, though.

“It came down to … he was overwhelmed with how much people up here love LSU,” Feaster said. “Everywhere he went, everyone asked him about LSU.”

Less than 15 months later, Harris will try to make history Saturday night. Since freshman became eligible in 1972, no true freshman has thrown for more than 210 yards in his first start for LSU.

The consensus: this hard-throwing, gunslinging, spiral-tossing kid will do it.

“I expect him to play outstanding,” Hill said. “That’s what he expects out of himself, what he’s expected out of himself since a ninth grade.”




Posted by UpToPar
Baton Rouge
Member since Sep 2008
22151 posts
Posted on 1/22/15 at 4:57 pm to
quote:

It all starts with the quarterback in shotgun reading the defense. Is it "one-high" or "two-high?" One safety or two? Or no safeties? Meyer's spread also likes count defenders in terms of "plus" or "minus." If the offense has one more blocker than the defense has players, you are "plus one." If you have six defenders in a certain area, you have to make sure you have an equal number of blockers. Pretty easy?


And you think our offense is more complex than this? How many reads do we require our QBs to make before every snap? How about post snap?

quote:

If you watch Meyer's teams in action and understand his philosophy, Meyer's offense is a run-first offense. After reading the defense, most of the time you run the ball, whether that is up the middle or on an option. They avoid throwing unless the defense allows it.


And LSU isn't? shite, there were games this year where we didn't throw the ball 15 times.

I'm not sure how any of this shows that our offense is more complex than that.
Posted by NorthTiger
Upper 40
Member since Jan 2004
3839 posts
Posted on 1/22/15 at 4:58 pm to
This scouting report appeared in SB Nation in May, 2013

Scouting Report:

A relatively unknown prospect several months ago, Harris has seen his stock rise as college coaches around the country have evaluated his film and extended offers.

It's not surprising, because Harris has the raw tools that make him deserving of the No. 5 ranking nationally among 2014 dual-threat quarterbacks by 247Sports. In fact, Elite 11 coach and ESPN analyst Trent Dilfer commented on the natural arm talent and raw ability of Harris after the Dallas camp.

Indeed, the natural arm strength and ability of Harris showed through at the camp, where he displayed one of the strongest arms in attendance, a result of his wrist load and wrist snap upon release. Because of that arm strength, he can fit the football into small windows.

Dilfer believes that the major limiting factor for quarterbacks is poor mechanics, and though Harris generally gets the ball to go where he wants it, he does have several areas he needs to clean up to maximize his college potential. His arm slot is rather low and he can drag his hips through his throwing motion instead of snapping them to produce even better velocity. His footwork also needs improvement, both in his drop and in consistently transferring his weight so he doesn't throw off his back foot.

As a projected spread quarterback who will use the threat of the run game to help in the passing game, Harris shows evidence of strong ball-handling ability that helps spring his high school wide receivers down the field.

In the running game, Harris is a plus athlete, though he could benefit from time in a college strength training program to help him finish runs with more power from this lower body.

All told, Harris has tremendous natural ability, including arm talent, big hands to allow him to execute pump fakes that would result in other quarterbacks losing the football, ball-handling ability, and athleticism to make off-schedule plays in the run game, as well as execute the traditional plays in the quarterback run game.

He needs some quarterback coaching, but the lack of it hasn't kept him from elevating himself to one of the top dual-threat quarterback prospects in the country and making big plays on the field in the fall.


Posted by SabiDojo
Open to any suggestions.
Member since Nov 2010
83927 posts
Posted on 1/22/15 at 4:58 pm to
quote:

He’s a smart, serious 18-year-old who speaks eloquently.


Ugh.....
Posted by jmswp4
Baton Rouge
Member since Aug 2012
422 posts
Posted on 1/22/15 at 5:01 pm to
So, we know why you aren't coaching the Tigers.
Posted by sabanisarustedspoke
Member since Jan 2007
4947 posts
Posted on 1/22/15 at 5:11 pm to
quote:

You make no sense. Ohio State HAS a simple offense, that's why it can be run by a less-than-polished QB. Ours is complex, which is why young QBs have difficulty with it.



You can't be serious. So you're saying that Miles has such a complex offensive scheme that No one has been able to learn it in their first year(Mett included, who was sharp enough to pick up the starting job on an NFL team) and OSU, who just won it all with a qb who got at most 1/4 the reps in practice this year has a simple system to pick up. If that is true, that would make whoever has final authority of our offense the absolute dumbest coach in the history of college football.
Posted by JaxTiger10
Murfreesboro,TN
Member since Aug 2014
3893 posts
Posted on 1/22/15 at 5:41 pm to
quote:

Because LSUs offensive scheme is so complex, right?


Yes. Lsu's offense is far more complex than oregon or Auburn's. Hell oregon runs the same exact play 50% of the time. The prostyle offense is , by far, the most complex offense in all of football.
quote:

shite, Ohio St. found 3 qbs that had success this yea


Their 3rd string qb is a 250 lbs mobile qb with a rocket arm. That situation is the exception, not the rule.
This post was edited on 1/22/15 at 5:51 pm
Posted by JaxTiger10
Murfreesboro,TN
Member since Aug 2014
3893 posts
Posted on 1/22/15 at 5:45 pm to
quote:

And you think our offense is more complex than this? How many reads do we require our QBs to make before every snap? How about post snap? 



Yes. Without question. There is a reason spread qbs have trouble when they go into the nfl have to take snaps under center and read a defense while taking 3,5,7 step drops.
Posted by JaxTiger10
Murfreesboro,TN
Member since Aug 2014
3893 posts
Posted on 1/22/15 at 5:50 pm to
quote:

You can't be serious. So you're saying that Miles has such a complex offensive scheme that No one has been able to learn it in their first year(Mett included, who was sharp enough to pick up the starting job on an NFL team)


Its common knowledge that a prostyle offense is more complex than a spread offense . Thats why you see most high schools running the spread. Mett got the starting job because of injury.
quote:

OSU, who just won it all with a qb who got at most 1/4 the reps in practice this year has a simple system to pick up

Yes. Meyer's system is qb friendly. He has never had a qb that didnt produce at the college level. Also, Cordale was actually supposed to be the starter when Miller went down. He lost his job because of off the field attitude and not taking school work seriously.

quote:

If that is true, that would make whoever has final authority of our offense the absolute dumbest coach in the history of college football.



Right because a prostyle offense is just horrible. I swear posters on here act like our offense has always sucked under Miles.
Posted by UpToPar
Baton Rouge
Member since Sep 2008
22151 posts
Posted on 1/22/15 at 5:54 pm to
quote:

Yes. Lsu's offense is far more complex than oregon or Auburn's. Hell oregon runs the same exact play 50% of the time. The prostyle offense is , by far, the most complex offense in all of football.


If you think LSU ran a full prostyle playbook this year, you are kidding yourself.

You lump "prostyle offense" into one whole category, when actuality, there are many different offenses ran in the pros.
Posted by sabanisarustedspoke
Member since Jan 2007
4947 posts
Posted on 1/22/15 at 6:08 pm to
quote:

quote:
You can't be serious. So you're saying that Miles has such a complex offensive scheme that No one has been able to learn it in their first year(Mett included, who was sharp enough to pick up the starting job on an NFL team)


Its common knowledge that a prostyle offense is more complex than a spread offense . Thats why you see most high schools running the spread. Mett got the starting job because of injury.
quote:
OSU, who just won it all with a qb who got at most 1/4 the reps in practice this year has a simple system to pick up

Yes. Meyer's system is qb friendly. He has never had a qb that didnt produce at the college level. Also, Cordale was actually supposed to be the starter when Miller went down. He lost his job because of off the field attitude and not taking school work seriously.

quote:
If that is true, that would make whoever has final authority of our offense the absolute dumbest coach in the history of college football.


Right because a prostyle offense is just horrible. I swear posters on here act like our offense has always sucked under Miles.



The prostyle offense isn't horrible, but you must see that running an offense that is so complex and superior that you've never had a quarterback pick it up within 2 yrs is an absolutely insane approach to offense? You're telling me that our coach has chosen to have a shitty offense bc you've just listed "simple" systems that have brought teams to title games and NC's.
Posted by LC-LSU-FAN
Lake Charles
Member since Jul 2012
954 posts
Posted on 1/22/15 at 6:18 pm to
this kid has the potential to be the real deal. lets give him the keys to the car and see what happens
Posted by chilge1
Baton Rouge
Member since Jan 2009
12137 posts
Posted on 1/22/15 at 6:27 pm to
quote:

running an offense that is so complex and superior that you've never had a quarterback pick it up within 2 yrs is an absolutely insane approach to offense


It's only insane when you start your quarterback inside those 2 years. The offensive system is not the issue... when executed correctly, it's virtually unstoppable and imposes itself on the defense whereas he spread is read-and-react by nature.

Quarterback development isn't the issue, either. Every QB has, during Miles's tenure, improved noticeably. Like at every other school, this reaches its peak during a prospect's third year.

The issue that people have is in QB recruiting... Which is a legitimate criticism. Missing on our No.1 targets in 2010 and 2012 hurt us BAD. However, it's not as if LA puts out the same level of talent at QB as every other position.

quote:

The following is a list of 5* QBs to come out of either Texas or Louisiana since Vince Young (2002) and the school they signed with:

tx-Rhett Bomar, ok
la-Ryan Perriloux, lsu
tx-Matthew Stafford, uga
tx-Ryan Mallett, mich
tx-Russell Shepard, lsu
tx-Garrett Gilbert, tx

There hasn't been one since 2009.

There just haven't been a lot of good QBs coming out of our traditional QB recruiting grounds in the past 5 years or so.
Posted by sabanisarustedspoke
Member since Jan 2007
4947 posts
Posted on 1/22/15 at 6:32 pm to
I never even considered that. It's not Miles' fault for not signing enough talent a QB, it's LA's for not producing enough. Gotcha. Lucky for Oregon, they're sitting in a hotbed of athletes...
Posted by Datbayoubengal
Port City
Member since Sep 2009
26625 posts
Posted on 1/22/15 at 6:35 pm to
Played as a junior and senior in high school, that's it.
Posted by Datbayoubengal
Port City
Member since Sep 2009
26625 posts
Posted on 1/22/15 at 6:39 pm to
quote:

3. Coincidently that was more than enough to know that their offensive scheme was more complex than the one we were running. Now do you want to keep deflecting and talking out of your arse, or do you want to explain to me how OSUs offensive scheme is less complex than ours?


After watching Mett in 2013 run the offenze, you can't tell the difference between how simple OSU's is compared to ours?
Posted by chilge1
Baton Rouge
Member since Jan 2009
12137 posts
Posted on 1/22/15 at 6:41 pm to
quote:

Lucky for Oregon, they're sitting in a hotbed of athletes


Did you watch more or less than 3 Oregon games this year?
Posted by Datbayoubengal
Port City
Member since Sep 2009
26625 posts
Posted on 1/22/15 at 6:46 pm to
quote:

If you think LSU ran a full prostyle playbook this year, you are kidding yourself.


That's what we are saying genius. They had to dumb down the offense for one, a terrible passer in Jennings, and two, a guy who has only played QB for two years in Harris. Cam said in open practices that he would run 1950s offense if they couldn't get it together.

What Jennings and Harris ran in 2014 looks nothing like what we did in 2013.

Watch the 2013 UGA game again and see the difference.
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