Stewart Mandel , from The Athletic on “Good” coaches making poor decisions on QBs. Kinda long, but apropos:
“Why do so many “good” coaches have such a hard time figuring who their best QBs are? It took Dan Mullen too long to finally use Anthony Richardson. Kirby Smart arguably cost his team a championship letting Justin Fields walk. Brian Kelly seems to just be making it up as he goes this season. Even Lincoln Riley, the gold standard of QB development, took too long to start Caleb Williams. Could fear of the transfer portal be causing teams to play worse QBs just to stop them from leaving? — Chris M, Phoenix
It’s a great question, and frankly one of the great mysteries of college football. How is it that the Oklahoma student section knew Williams should be playing sooner than Lincoln Riley? How is that every fan watching on TV could tell during Florida’s first two games that Richardson was something special, but Mullen barely used him again until last weekend?
Part of it is that we’re only seeing a tiny fraction of what the coaches are seeing. They’ve been watching these guys every day in practice for months. They sit in meetings and film sessions with them and have a better sense of how much each guy understands the offense. They see how they interact with their teammates on a day-in, day-out basis.
But quarterback may be the one position where you can’t accurately replicate game circumstances on the practice field. The QBs don’t get hit. A guy like Williams, who can really run, barely gets to show that because the plays get blown dead so early. And of course, making the right read during a half-speed practice with very little pressure is an entirely different deal than executing on Saturday in front of 90,000 screaming fans, with the other team’s defenders coming at you full speed.
I also think coaches tend to be overcautious when it comes to playing younger QBs. I’m sure it was obvious to Kirby Smart and everyone else at Georgia during Justin Fields’ freshman year that he had far more upside than Jake Fromm. And I’m also sure that he lived in great fear that Fields might go out there and throw interceptions that cost him a game, whereas Fromm — who people don’t remember was the fifth-rated passer in the country as a sophomore — had shown he was dependable and largely mistake-free.
And yes, the transfer portal now looms over everything these guys do. It may be that Riley knew all along he’d switch to Williams at some point, but if he did it too early in the season, Rattler might leave. And he needs both of them in case of injury.
In Riley’s case, he was very fortunate that Oklahoma never lost before finally switching to Williams, so Rattler’s poor play didn’t cost the Sooners anything. But you have to wonder whether Florida might have fared better, particularly in its loss at Kentucky, if Richardson had taken over sooner. And perhaps Notre Dame’s offense would have figured out its identity sooner if Kelly could have just picked one guy and stuck with him.”
“Why do so many “good” coaches have such a hard time figuring who their best QBs are? It took Dan Mullen too long to finally use Anthony Richardson. Kirby Smart arguably cost his team a championship letting Justin Fields walk. Brian Kelly seems to just be making it up as he goes this season. Even Lincoln Riley, the gold standard of QB development, took too long to start Caleb Williams. Could fear of the transfer portal be causing teams to play worse QBs just to stop them from leaving? — Chris M, Phoenix
It’s a great question, and frankly one of the great mysteries of college football. How is it that the Oklahoma student section knew Williams should be playing sooner than Lincoln Riley? How is that every fan watching on TV could tell during Florida’s first two games that Richardson was something special, but Mullen barely used him again until last weekend?
Part of it is that we’re only seeing a tiny fraction of what the coaches are seeing. They’ve been watching these guys every day in practice for months. They sit in meetings and film sessions with them and have a better sense of how much each guy understands the offense. They see how they interact with their teammates on a day-in, day-out basis.
But quarterback may be the one position where you can’t accurately replicate game circumstances on the practice field. The QBs don’t get hit. A guy like Williams, who can really run, barely gets to show that because the plays get blown dead so early. And of course, making the right read during a half-speed practice with very little pressure is an entirely different deal than executing on Saturday in front of 90,000 screaming fans, with the other team’s defenders coming at you full speed.
I also think coaches tend to be overcautious when it comes to playing younger QBs. I’m sure it was obvious to Kirby Smart and everyone else at Georgia during Justin Fields’ freshman year that he had far more upside than Jake Fromm. And I’m also sure that he lived in great fear that Fields might go out there and throw interceptions that cost him a game, whereas Fromm — who people don’t remember was the fifth-rated passer in the country as a sophomore — had shown he was dependable and largely mistake-free.
And yes, the transfer portal now looms over everything these guys do. It may be that Riley knew all along he’d switch to Williams at some point, but if he did it too early in the season, Rattler might leave. And he needs both of them in case of injury.
In Riley’s case, he was very fortunate that Oklahoma never lost before finally switching to Williams, so Rattler’s poor play didn’t cost the Sooners anything. But you have to wonder whether Florida might have fared better, particularly in its loss at Kentucky, if Richardson had taken over sooner. And perhaps Notre Dame’s offense would have figured out its identity sooner if Kelly could have just picked one guy and stuck with him.”
