My QB thought/question for the DD gang!

[Guest Hejduk23]

Let's just say that for what ever reason the QB race comes down to either Sharpley and Jones or Sharpley and Clausen. Next, given all aspects of their games they are pretty much equal. For example Sharpley knows the system better and wont "lose" games but that is balanced out by Jimmy's passing or DJ's athleticism. If you had to choose one of the two then...wouldn't you automatically choose the underclassman? I mean, if they are that close, wouldn't you choose the one that is going to be here longer. And if that argument holds true...then doesnt it make sense that Sharpley would be bumped to 3rd? I guess I'm just saying either Sharpley blows us all away and wins the job hands down or he has to be #3 right? Am I crazy?

[dangeruss]

i think i would start JC given the reasons you said. ND will be breaking in a new QB and no matter who starts they will struggle at times, so why not give JC the start and just let him get better. JC has all the tools to be NDs best QB ever, all he needs is the game experience. thats the same reason BQ was so good i think. as a freshmen he had his struggles but you could tell he would be a good one. in his soph. season you could really see him stepup his game due in part to playing his freshmen year. even though BQ didn't have mind blowing stats as a soph. you could really see the improvements that he made.

[Guest SirJohn]

Hej. Interesting post. I don't want to get into a war with cliques here at DD favoring one guy or another. For what it's worth. We got blown out a bunch in some games. Weis stayed with brady and if you look at it ...as good as he was that was all we had. Right? Weise never sent in #2 QB. We rose and fell with Brady.

 

Enter 2007, 4 QBS. We have the lusury if one 'F***s up to go to #2 or whoever. Put it this way "The Jones plays are not working... send in Zach for zach plays or JC..etc.

[Scotty88]

John, I think whoever starts will take lumps, we just have a young team. I wouldn't think Weis would have a short leash on whoever starts, all 4 need to be nurtured. Pull a guy early could kill his confidence as well as the team's confidence in whoever starts. What a great problem for ND to have....abundence of talent at QB.

[IrishCalves]

Lets take names out of it so I avoid confusion:

 

The way you (Hejduk) have it set up, there is quarterback A who is older, more experienced, used to college life and has an average skillset physically. Quarterback B is younger, less experienced and acclimated with college football , and has "special" physical traits.

 

In an ideal world, you pick quarterback B, for the reasons you listed. You'd love to repeat what Brady Quinn did: be the starter and the go-to figure at quarterback for 4 seasons.

 

But if it means truly detrimental growing pains, and if the coaches just aren't sure if quarterback B is a mentally strong candidate at this point, then you can't go with him, even if quarterback B has all the tools.

 

Success from year to year DOES affect recruiting. (Hate to use the example, but) Tyrone Willingham was able to bring in a top 10 class his first year, thanks to the success he had on the field. When the wins started to disappear, so did his recruiting success. So if it means going with the guy that will win now over the guy that will win tomorrow, then you do it.

 

and the longer you look at this question, the grayer the area is. Its a lot like the debate in the NFL, whether or not you start a rookie QB or give him a year or two on the bench. Both methods work. Tom Brady sat his first year, and led the Patriots to the Super Bowl. Peyton Manning got in there from day one, and he has done the same. I think it really depends on the mental makeup of the younger, more talented guy.

[MikejND]

I don't think we have the luxury of preparing a quarterback like we did with Brady Quinn. Weis said that he expects a championship, so whoever he starts the season, is the one he believes give him the best chance. Without a doubt in my mind, if the starting quarterback doesn't step up, he'll be replaced. Weis is trying to win, and if the quarterback he has starting can't do that. He will pull him.

[domeanddomer]

I would tend to think that the more experienced QB would get the nod. CW has said time and again that he will tailor his offense in large part to what the QB can absorb or handle. So my logic says that he could have a much more wide open play book with Sharpley or Jones. What we don't know is if JC is picking up the play book as quickly as BQ did. That would change everything, and basically make this a no brainer decision.

[blarney_stank]

Just a couple of other thoughts here.

 

1. Willingham recruited well because of a good performance on the field and despite a lazy approach to recruiting. Good recruiters that work hard and have a plan can still recruit despite a poor record in a given year. Put a good record, hard work, and a plan together and you get recruiting success. Use Ty's plan of poor performance and laziness and you get squat.

 

2. Lets be careful when comparing Brady Quinn as a freshman and the TBD starter for next season. As good as Brady is, lets remember who was preparing him to start. I have to believe that whomever gets the nod will be much better prepared for their first start then Brady was for his. They also will be placed into a system that is designed to help them be successful, not into a system that they had to adapt to.

[Guest bfabes05]

i think i would start JC given the reasons you said. ND will be breaking in a new QB and no matter who starts they will struggle at times, so why not give JC the start and just let him get better. JC has all the tools to be NDs best QB ever, all he needs is the game experience. thats the same reason BQ was so good i think. as a freshmen he had his struggles but you could tell he would be a good one. in his soph. season you could really see him stepup his game due in part to playing his freshmen year. even though BQ didn't have mind blowing stats as a soph. you could really see the improvements that he made.

 

good post, I personally IMO, like JC's chances of starting since he enrolled early, he will struggle at times, but all QB's do and we will defintely lean on the running game a lot this year since we are stacked back there and that will only help an unexpierenced QB to have that to lean on

[Guest domerdude]

I would tend to think that the more experienced QB would get the nod. CW has said time and again that he will tailor his offense in large part to what the QB can absorb or handle. So my logic says that he could have a much more wide open play book with Sharpley or Jones. What we don't know is if JC is picking up the play book as quickly as BQ did. That would change everything, and basically make this a no brainer decision.

 

 

I agree that CW has said that the offense is limited to what the QB can absorb. So this year the masses would agree that we will base ourselves on the run....Which leads me to believe the QB can be eased into the scheme if given the amount of one on one couching CW is gonna give them.. Wouldnt it make alot of sense to also get a young QB that can give CW 4 straight years of that absorbtion.... Just a thought, but I will never count out JC when it comes to that. He has the most potential of all the QBs and while the learning curve could be steep my money still stays he makes the 2 deep at a minimum.

[rdrdreamer]

John, I think whoever starts will take lumps, we just have a young team. I wouldn't think Weis would have a short leash on whoever starts, all 4 need to be nurtured. Pull a guy early could kill his confidence as well as the team's confidence in whoever starts. What a great problem for ND to have....abundence of talent at QB.

 

Simply put, but to the point. Sorry for just 'piggy backing' on your post Scotty, but your post conveyed my thoughts. If we were just re-building, then I would go with Jimmy without a second thought. But I feel that we are going to contend for a BCS position, therefore we need the right guy for this contention. I do not see us as that big of a project overall. Our offensive dynamics have changed, we are going with virtualy new players at running back & wide recievers. We are basically turning over the reigns to someone who will need to be nutured as well.

 

Whom ever it is...I am 100% behind them.

[ND FANATIC]

John, I think whoever starts will take lumps, we just have a young team. I wouldn't think Weis would have a short leash on whoever starts, all 4 need to be nurtured. Pull a guy early could kill his confidence as well as the team's confidence in whoever starts. What a great problem for ND to have....abundence of talent at QB.

 

Simply put, but to the point. Sorry for just 'piggy backing' on your post Scotty, but your post conveyed my thoughts. If we were just re-building, then I would go with Jimmy without a second thought. But I feel that we are going to contend for a BCS position, therefore we need the right guy for this contention. I do not see us as that big of a project overall. Our offensive dynamics have changed, we are going with virtualy new players at running back & wide recievers. We are basically turning over the reigns to someone who will need to be nutured as well.

 

Whom ever it is...I am 100% behind them.

 

OK, I'll play devils advocate just to keep the discussion going. I for one don't see a BCS bowl next year, 9-3 with a bowl win. If that is the case, I don't see an advantage of one QB over another. I don't know how CW ran practice last year but I don't think that ZF or DD got many snaps since they were 3rd and 4th string behind Sharpley. If true, JC may not be as far behind them as we think, he was playing games while ZF and DD were watching film. The only "advantage" they have over JC is that they saw the playbook 3-4 mos before he did since he enrolled in Jan. From the little that we know, no matter who we turn over the reigns to, they will be inexperienced, make mistakes and will do alot of maturing during the season.

[Guest irishrick]

think that your going to get a TWO QB SYSTEM , SOMETHING LIKE FLORIDA US ED LAST YEAR FOR THAT REASON THIS IS HOW CW WILL OPERATE UNTIL ONE WORKS OUT BETTER THAN THE OTHER.J C AND ZACH BECAUSE OF HIS SIZE , ZACH WILL BE USED AS A TEBOW TYPE QB . WHA T SAY YOU ?

[IrishCalves]

ZACH WILL BE USED AS A TEBOW TYPE QB . WHA T SAY YOU ?

 

I say you picked the least mobile quarterback on our roster to compare Tebow, which is kind of funny.

 

Also, Weis is a firm believer in going with one guy and one guy only at quarterback. Considering that he wants to tailor the offense around his starting QB, it would really be a bad idea for him to use two QB's from game to game.

[GoIrish24]

ZACH WILL BE USED AS A TEBOW TYPE QB . WHA T SAY YOU ?

 

I say you picked the least mobile quarterback on our roster to compare Tebow, which is kind of funny.

 

Also, Weis is a firm believer in going with one guy and one guy only at quarterback. Considering that he wants to tailor the offense around his starting QB, it would really be a bad idea for him to use two QB's from game to game.

I don't think he'll use a two-QB system as well, but Zach is not the least mobile quarterback on the roster. At his high school he played running back as well and scored 12 touchdowns if I'm not mistaken, so he's definitely not the least mobile quarterback on the team.

[rdrdreamer]

I honestly do not see a two quarterback system for us for one reason...how would we sell future recruits on a possible two qb offense? I mean, its one thing to compete traditionally, but for Coach Weis and his pro style offense, this would be out of character.

 

Now I am not saying it could not be done, just that his known style of offense never called for it before. I imagine that if any coach could pull it off successfully...Coach Weis could.

[Guest iRiShMaN]

I honestly do not see a two quarterback system for us for one reason...how would we sell future recruits on a possible two qb offense? I mean, its one thing to compete traditionally, but for Coach Weis and his pro style offense, this would be out of character.

 

Now I am not saying it could not be done, just that his known style of offense never called for it before. I imagine that if any coach could pull it off successfully...Coach Weis could.

 

I agree dreamer. no way a two QB system is going to work with Weis. He may use a couple, but not the traditional two guy system.

 

I think Crist comes to ND next season and he will follow Clausen. just my thoughts...

[Guest GushBlue&Gold]

I dont think Weis should use a full-fledged 2 QB system, but I do think its OK to have a 2nd QB w/ dif skill sets to come in during the game to both get experience and to provide a fresh injection of athleticism (OK, fine, I'm thinking about DJ - but it could be accuracy and therefore JC) behind the starter.

[ND FANATIC]

I've been wondering what will happen if the following secerio happens:

 

Lets say that Jones/Frazer/Sharpley wins the QB derby and Clasuen is 2nd or 3rd. Jones starts the season, goes 10-2, wins the bowl game. Going into next year is there going to be another QB derby or is CW going to name Jones the starter for 08.

If Clausen finishes 2nd loses his redshirt because if mop-up duty, does he really stick around until his senior year to try and get the starting job.

Because of the young talent we have at QB, are we going have a QB derby every year or is the previous year's starter going to be the starter if he returns ?

 

Let me know what you think...

[IrishCalves]

To answer simply, its a crap shoot.

 

Weis's continual motto is that the best player will play no matter what. That means if Player A has a successful season at the helm of QB one year, yet the next year Player B improves to the point where the coaches think he is the better option, then Player B will play.

 

EX: Carlyle Holiday guided Notre Dame to an 8-0 start in Tyrone's first year. The next year, he was riding the pine behind Brady Quinn 3-4 games into the season. Past performance is in the past.

 

That said, we can't accurately forecast whether or not there will be an annual derby in South Bend. Until we see how many of these guys stay, and whether they pan out, we won't know if the starters role will be as blatantly up for grabs as it is now, or if it would simply take a considerable effort by the backup to dethrone whoever takes the job this fall.

 

I think I should have left it at "crap shoot."