stuckinbig10country wrote:
I think Riley finishes the year. Then coaches are going to have a real tough decision. Do you go into next spring with Riley as the presumptive starter? Do you give him the majority of reps, and make Heaps take the job from him with limited reps? Or do you go back to square 1 and go 50/50 in reps and then string out the battle into next fall camp?
I hope Bronco and coaches show real leadership and make a decision coming out of spring. This is what I would do.
1) Name Riley the starter the rest of 2011.
2) Before spring ball, name Riley the starter going into fall camp.
3) Tell Jake he'll be getting about 25-35% of the snaps the first week, with Riley getting the starter's share of snaps. Each week he'll have a chance to earn more reps based on his play that week in both practice and the scrimmage.
4) Name a starter following spring ball. If that starter is Riley, you ask Jake to redshirt.
5) You then ride Riley and have Lark/Munns back him up in 2012.
Jake is the "future" he has the most "potential" he is the "long term solution." But none of those words have to be in 2011 or 2012. Let's invest some time and coaching into Jake. If he's not ready, let's get him ready. Let's give him the time he needs to develop and distance himself from the undoubtedly bad taste the 2011 season is sure to leave in his mouth.
Thank you. I may not agree with you, but I like the way you are describing this. I also think that there is a possibility that Heaps transfers if asked to redshirt. Don't know if I would blame him for that, and it might be a good thing for both him and the school at that point.
I also have to wonder how this will impact recruiting in the future. If, and that's a big if, the split between the upper classmen and lower classman, and RM's and non RM's, is in fact true, the problems of team chemistry will not go away any time soon.
There is always a split between upper classmen that have earned their spots and lower classmen that come in thinking they are going to start as a true freshman. STARS = CANCER. Big time programs deal with this annually. I really doubt that there is a big RM Vs non RM rift or LDS Vs non-LDS.
Highly touted freshmen and even some not so highly touted come in thinking they are going to take off right where they left off in high school. Of course they were dominant players in high school and it takes them a while to realize the filtering process that results in some very good players to compete with. And if the young guy has superior athleticism - they do not understand the value of experience - until they get experience.
Heaps knows he can throw harder and farther than Nelson. He sees it every day in practice. On the sidelines - he can and hopefully will observe what moxy and leadership look like. And he will understand that he has to play a more physical style of football to succeed at this level. Then we will see how badly he wants it.
I laugh every time I hear this transfer non-sense. If he takes his sub 100 PER somewhere else - do you think they are just going to pop him into a starter role? Texas had a Jake Heaps. We saw him. I read that he is transferring. I did not hear where he is transferring. Follow that story - I will predict right now without even knowing where he will go - he is not going to pop up next year as a starter at any school of any notariety. If he does - he is not going to perform any better than he did at Texas. He got benched for the same reason Heaps got benched. He was not cutting it.
Heaps is actually in a great position if he actually has the heart it takes to be a great QB. Worst case, he red-shirts a year behind a senior QB and gets the reins for two years - unless he can't beat out Munns. Meanwhile, he is always one snap away from getting another shot. It will be an absolute miracle if Nelson keeps running this hard and escapes injury until he graduates.
