re: The Myth that LSU Cannot Develop QBs

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Aaron Murray was so certain that he was going to lose the starting job to Mett that he was looking for places to transfer.

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No, that cant be true. Miles developed Mett. Just like he did with RP, JJ, Shepard, Jefferson, Harris


Oh wait, it is true

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the story line this week could have been the media asking Aaron Murray about returning to play in Athens, against a school where he once competed for a starting quarterback job, and opted to transfer when the job was given to Mettenberger. Let that soak in for a minute…..

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ATHENS, Ga. -- At the end of spring practice at Georgia in 2010, Aaron Murray wasn't convinced he'd beat out fellow freshman Zach Mettenberger to become the Bulldogs' starting quarterback.

"It was back and forth," Murray said. "It was tight. It probably would have gone through the summer and [preseason] camp, and who knows what would have happened?" It was such a tight race that Murray even inquired about transferring to another school if he didn't win the job, according to Bulldogs tight end Arthur Lynch, a close friend of both quarterbacks.

"Aaron told me after that spring that he was calling a lot of other coaches because it was such a close competition," Lynch said. "He didn't know if he was going to win the job."

But Murray, who was one of the country's top-rated quarterback prospects before redshirting at Georgia in 2009, never finished his competition with Mettenberger. Mettenberger, who grew up in nearby Watkinsville, Ga., and spent much of his childhood around the UGA football offices where his mother, Tammy, works as an administrative assistant, was dismissed from the team on April 18, 2010.

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So basically, the job was completely up in the air until Mett got all handsy on a booster's daughter... and at no point was he ever declared the starter.

It is not only entirely credible but obvious to say that QB development and offensive scheme led Patterson to Oxford and Torrance Gibson to OSU. We whiffed on Torrance Gibson because Meyer put more effort and resources into recruiting him than he has ever put into a QB recruit. Like Newton and Tebow, Gibson will be on the field with packages of plays his freshman year. Same story for Patterson. "At his high school he runs the same kind of read-option, decision-based offense that has become the norm at the next level". This was a horrible year for Cam and Miles to sell QBs on "come to LSU and Cam's system will put you in the NFL". Cam inherited a full house last year of NFL-ready players including a 5th yr senior QB and still only managed a passing offense that was 45th (with non-conference games included) in the FBS and 63rd over the end of the year SEC West gaunlet. It was a big improvement over the prior 3 yrs but only good enough for 5th in the SEC. The bottom line: LSU QB offensive development is not about "showing improvement" it is about keeping pace with the evolution of modern explosive SEC offenses built around DTQBs.

It is no Myth: LSU has not developed dominant QBs. It is all over the press. LSU does not have one QB in the top 25 in SEC history. Les Miles Achilles Heel of no Star QB Keeping LSU out of NCAA Title Discussion

The recruits read the press evaluations about the history of the QB position and they watch all the games and modern SEC offenses. They see that with the former #1 DTQB riding the bench and repeatedly being promised playing time with plays built around his skillset, like the 30 3+WR sets vs NMST, that instead it is business as usual in the offensive scheme - a record number of runs and a record down year in offensive scoring efficiency at both passing and rushing.

"Miles got Harris to forsake his one commandment to go to a school running a spread offense" because he and Cam said they were going to install a spread offense this past year. Saban even told Harris he would build the offense around him, like he did Sims, put him in an offense that matched his skill-set. That's the job of OC. Cam even admitted that he had failed to utilize the QB's skills.

The discussion in the press over Miles tenure is very clearly that the QB position is always the missing piece that kept LSU from going to only one BCS or CFP bowl in the last 8 seasons!! Moreover the trend has been down over the past 4 yrs while other perennial powers have maintained high level of play at the most important spot on the field, even with roster turnover, and continued to evolve into modern spread-option and up-tempo offenses.

Ranking LSU QBs, Offenses, and Defenses since 2008

chilge1

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Harris, the ultra-talented sophomore whose drawback - having played organized football for only 3 years. Harris is learning a much more complex position and has only been playing football since 2012. Jennings was the right choice last year.

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Wherever you got that impression about Harris, it is wrong. You keep repeating it in all your threads as a reason to only play Jennings no matter that he was at the bottom of the entire FBS after the ARK game.

Harris came from a football family and was known very early as the kid with the big arm. He played 4 yrs of Class 5A at Parkway. As a freshman "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. His throws were so hard and spinning so fast the 9th grade receivers had to wear gloves. He could throw 74 yds as a 10th grader, better than Winston. George Whitfield said Harris' NFL arm talent was the best in the 2014 class, and as good as Winston.

Based on his HS performance through his junior year he was the #1 DTQB and a 5-star recruit in June 2013 prior to turning down OSU, AUB, Baylor, and ALA, all schools who were eager to put Harris' skills to work. Saban even said he would build his offense around Harris. His junior year stats: Threw for 2,573 yards and 26 touchdowns and ran for 667 yards and 12 TDs in 2012.

His senior stats, 3172 yds passing 34 TDs, 1048 yds rushing 15 TDs which coincidentally compares rather well with Mett's 3263 w/23 TDs and Jeremy Hill's 1401 yds 16 TDS. Junior/senior stats: Over 7470 yds and 87 TDs. Named the Louisiana 2013 Class 5A All-State quarterback and selected to the Under Armour All-America Game where he completed 4-of-5 passes for 115 yards and one touchdown.

He certainly did not earn the #1 ranking in what you say was his first year (2012) or even walk on as a 9th grader (2010) with a big arm, leadership skills at QB, throwing perfect spirals without having played some organized ball for quite a while before the 9th grade.

And while I can understand their concern, it is irresponsible to discredit every QB that came before Jennings in order to carry on as though this is but a symptom of an ongoing epidemic.

People claim that Mett never developed during his time here and that the 2013 offense was still subpar in the overall landscape of CFB. Yet I doubt we'd be hearing many complaints if we saw that offense on a yearly basis.

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Some of you are so fricking retarded it's hard to take anything you say seriously.

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Exactly my thinking when posting replies to you fools. The problems LSU have on offense are obvious and yet you clowns continue to pull excuses out your asses! lol

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Well, for 1 they were the death of him almost, but his skills were too good so it bailed him out

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James Wright is doing the same thing in Cincinnati that he did in Baton Rouge... Special Teams

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A lot of these players LSU get are so talented they still make NFL teams albeit they are used poorly in some cases throughout their career there.

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Yeah, it's too bad the NFL requires players to be 3 years removed from high school to get drafted. Because Landry and Beckham were just so polished as true freshmen.

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Nick Marshall was not a damn QB throughout HS and whatever the hell else you said.

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Nick Marshall

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Kenny "thrill" Hill was very effective early on before he tailed off and was replaced by another effective freshman

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Yep, he was downright deadly against Lamar, Rice, and SMU.

Then he went 117/182 for 990 yards with 10 TDs 7 INTs and an 0-3 record.

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shite, if Dhaquille Williams doesn't go to Auburn do you think he still has the same season he had at LSU??

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Of course not. He wouldn't have been our only receiving threat.

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Can you link me to any power 5 team that started majority freshman and sophomores at skill positions who lit the world on fire considering you say it happens so much?

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Comparing us to Ole Miss QB's, way to lower the bar, Sparky.

Can Cameron is the guy I would think would be in charge of "QB development". Mett made a good improvement in his last year (with Cam) from what we saw in his first year under center at LSU. I don't think any rational person would argue that. The jury is still out on whether or not he can produce similar results with Jennings and Harris, but his previous track record with QBs suggests that we have the right guy coaching these kids up.