Why Nelson Won't Start

After one week of practice and the defense already doesn't respect his throwing ability.



http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700018286/BYU-football-5-questions-with-cornerback-Brandon-Bradley.html



Brandon Bradley:

Question: About the quarterbacks — there's a battle going on between Riley Nelson, Jake Heaps and James Lark. How conscious are you of the different quarterbacks when they come in during 11-on-11 drills?



Answer: "All of our quarterbacks have different strengths. For me personally, and a lot of the cornerbacks, we know when Jake's in, it's more likely for the ball to go deep. So we know we have to take a couple of steps back and look for the deep route. With Riley, we know he can move and he's more agile. The ball most likely won't go deep, so we can play a little more aggressive and look for the shorter routes and help with the run support. So with each quarterback that comes in, you have to be alert and pay attention to what's going on so you can adjust accordingly."







Based on the number of reps the quarterbacks are getting (as reported...) it seems that Nelson is getting less opportunities to throw than Heaps or Lark. The longer it takes to name a starter the more likely I think it is that Heaps will end up the starter.

A starter will NOT be named before the end of spring ball. Bronco wants them to compete and the naming would destroy that. I hope they have some kind of spring game to put them into a game like situation, to help in making the decision. It is quite possible that Fall camp will have doubt on who the starter is. Mumms will be back and Lark will have had more time to get back into Football shape.

Ultimately I'd love to see either Lark or Heaps start but give Nelson significant reps running the wildcat. He's too talented not to utilize to keep defenses honest. I'd love for Heaps to serve a mission too to spread out the talent but that obviously is up to him. But Munns wasn't planning on serving either before he showed up on campus so it's still possible. Then it would still be crowded for a couple more years but at least everyone would get a chance to play. Riley runs the wildcat for the next couple of years and Lark and Munns battle it out for the "starting" nod while Heaps takes a two year hiatus. Alex Kuresa comes in and provides the same kind of option that Riley does while Jake runs the show.



Regardless of who wins the job, I think Munns should be given the scout team QB job. It's virtually impossible for him to come in and seriously compete after getting home this summer. But get him some "near" live work running the scout team as its clear that he and Heaps are the two QBs with the most potential of the four in the program.



One thing is certain. It will be a heated battle right up until September and by not naming a starter before then, the coaches can promote competition amongst the guys. It also hopefully prevents guys from transferring out, at least right away anyway. And whoever wins the job is going to be dang good. Good enough to lead us to another double-digit win season.

Ummm......Nelson is a quarterback. That means to run the wildcat we'd have to put him in at receiver. I keep hearing people suggest Nelson run the wildcat, but absent a position change to RB, that's an impossibility.

snoscythe wrote:
Ummm......Nelson is a quarterback. That means to run the wildcat we'd have to put him in at receiver. I keep hearing people suggest Nelson run the wildcat, but absent a position change to RB, that's an impossibility.

I don't think you completely understand the wildcat. You a player- a quarterback or a running back or some other position- take the snap and either run or do the option handoff.

Qman wrote:

Ummm......Nelson is a quarterback. That means to run the wildcat we'd have to put him in at receiver. I keep hearing people suggest Nelson run the wildcat, but absent a position change to RB, that's an impossibility.

I don't think you completely understand the wildcat. You a player- a quarterback or a running back or some other position- take the snap and either run or do the option handoff.

There are four versions of the wildcat.



Base Wildcat runs out of an unbalanced set, with a guard, eligible TE, and a slot receiver on one side of center and the other guard, the two tackles, another receiver, and the quarterback on the other side, with a running back taking the snap.



Speed Sweep has a true quarterback taking a handoff, but he hands it to a slot receiver while sweeping.



QB Counter sounds like it might use a quarterback, but the one taking the snap is a running back, and he has the option to make a pre-snap read and either hand off or hold the ball and take it the other way (hence "counter").



Split Zone again has a running back taking the snap with a basic inside zone run running directly upfield or cutting.



What you are talking about (a quarterback taking the snap but running) is not wildcat. It is either option formation or single-wing. The single-wing was dead for about 15 years until its recent revival (what Utah ran with Louks etc.) and many fans mistakenly refer to that formation as a wildcat. None of the four wildcat set ups involve a quarterback taking a snap. As soon as you put a quarterback behind center, it generally becomes a single wing formation just by virtue of the quarterback taking the snap.

snoscythe wrote:

What you are talking about (a quarterback taking the snap but running) is not wildcat. It is either option formation or single-wing. The single-wing was dead for about 15 years until its recent revival (what Utah ran with Louks etc.) and many fans mistakenly refer to that formation as a wildcat. None of the four wildcat set ups involve a quarterback taking a snap. As soon as you put a quarterback behind center, it generally becomes a single wing formation just by virtue of the quarterback taking the snap.

What do call it when someone claiming to be a quarterback takes the snap, but the defense know that his arm sucks so they assume it is a run 99% of the time...The Louks formation. :lol:



Hopefully Nelson taking a snap doesn't have the same effect where the defense is actually hoping that he throws it versus running it.

snoscythe wrote:
Ummm......Nelson is a quarterback. That means to run the wildcat we'd have to put him in at receiver. I keep hearing people suggest Nelson run the wildcat, but absent a position change to RB, that's an impossibility.

I've seen this several times too and thought the same. :gross:

Wickchad84087 wrote:
The Louks formation.

That could be shorthand for "single-wing," but I'd have to talk to his urologist to verify.

Riley needs to be given more chances than he had last year in garbage time. But, Nobody was fooled for very long nor would they be in the future, regarding his scrambling abilities and one-and-a-half dimensionality. Tebow could get away with it because of his size, smarts and the talent/speed around him. But RIley is no Tebow (at least as Tebow was worshipped/perceived to be)

Anae said "no changes to offensive scheme. Which means, if You Cant Pass, You cant Play at QBYU.

There will be more to this decision than stats and talent. See today's article in the Dnews. Coaches are already concerned about team factions over the QB battle and "developing unity" as a leader is a must.

snoscythe wrote:

snoscythe wrote:
Ummm......Nelson is a quarterback. That means to run the wildcat we'd have to put him in at receiver. I keep hearing people suggest Nelson run the wildcat, but absent a position change to RB, that's an impossibility.

I don't think you completely understand the wildcat. You a player- a quarterback or a running back or some other position- take the snap and either run or do the option handoff.

There are four versions of the wildcat.



Base Wildcat runs out of an unbalanced set, with a guard, eligible TE, and a slot receiver on one side of center and the other guard, the two tackles, another receiver, and the quarterback on the other side, with a running back taking the snap.



Speed Sweep has a true quarterback taking a handoff, but he hands it to a slot receiver while sweeping.



QB Counter sounds like it might use a quarterback, but the one taking the snap is a running back, and he has the option to make a pre-snap read and either hand off or hold the ball and take it the other way (hence "counter").



Split Zone again has a running back taking the snap with a basic inside zone run running directly upfield or cutting.



What you are talking about (a quarterback taking the snap but running) is not wildcat. It is either option formation or single-wing. The single-wing was dead for about 15 years until its recent revival (what Utah ran with Louks etc.) and many fans mistakenly refer to that formation as a wildcat. None of the four wildcat set ups involve a quarterback taking a snap. As soon as you put a quarterback behind center, it generally becomes a single wing formation just by virtue of the quarterback taking the snap.

Guess we now know who understands the wildcat and who does not! :)

Well whatever you want to call it I like the idea of Nelson coming in a few times a game to run the" wildcat/single wing/whatever/does it matter?" I think Nelson has too much talent with his legs to just keep him on the bench. Plus I think it would add a little wrinkle into a BYU offense that, I think, can be a little predictable at times.

I'm for Heaps starting and Nelson coming in for 5,6,7+ snaps per game

Nelson is basically a RB. I think calling it the "wildcat" is fine. That's what Coach Doman calls it: http://www.ksl.com/?sid=10123776&nid=272

byutx wrote:
Nelson is basically a RB. I think calling it the "wildcat" is fine. That's what Coach Doman calls it: http://www.ksl.com/?sid=10123776&nid=272

Coach Doman never called it a wildcat. It was a secondary player (Brian Logan) who called it a wildcat, which makes sense as the secondary scheme for a wildcat is the same as a single-wing, so there is no point in drawing the distinction.

byutx wrote:
Nelson is basically a RB. I think calling it the "wildcat" is fine. That's what Coach Doman calls it: http://www.ksl.com/?sid=10123776&nid=272

Bingo.



What's the difference between a QB who can run but not pass very well and a RB who can pass but doesn't do it often or well? None really.



Riley isn't even throwing the ball very much in Spring practices any more. Coaches have figured out his role already it appears, and it's not as the starter.

CannonCougar85 wrote:
Well whatever you want to call it I like the idea of Nelson coming in a few times a game to run the" wildcat/single wing/whatever/does it matter?" I think Nelson has too much talent with his legs to just keep him on the bench. Plus I think it would add a little wrinkle into a BYU offense that, I think, can be a little predictable at times.

I'm for Heaps starting and Nelson coming in for 5,6,7+ snaps per game

Exactly. Jargon aside, it would be a waste not to incorporate a package featuring Riley's strengths, especially if one of the other guys is tabbed the starter. Just throw him in there 3-5 times a game at least just to keep the defenses guessing and back on their heels. You could do any number of things with him in there... He could line up under center or in the shotgun as the lone QB, he could be part of a double QB set, each slightly off center so the defense wouldn't know who was going to be snapped to, or he could line up at RB or receiver and catch it in the backfield before taking the option to run or throw from there. It would throw plenty of wrenches in opposing coaches' defensive game plans.



And Anae was never the one that said that the "offense wouldn't change." He actually said that the offense would be tailored to the strengths of the QB who is named the starter; not whole sale changes to the offense mind you, but just "tailored" a little more to what the starter brings to the table. Bronco was the one who said "no changes". But given the fact that Anae and Doman are the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, I'll figure they'll have the most influence on what "changes" do or do not get made. Bronco may have the final word but he trusts his Anae and Doman and if they make the the call to incorporate more of the wildcat, so be it. Besides, Bronco said "no changes" but we've already seen the wildcat, albeit on rare circumstance, with Austin, Riley and Harvey just in the last two years so it wouldn't really be a "change" would it?