The Re-Identification of Alabama QBs

When you think of Alabama quarterbacks under Nick Saban's tenure you think of pocket passer's men who are leaders on and off the field, those 6' 4" tall athletes who stand tall in the pocket and are pin-point with their accuracy and poise under pressure.

Yet there has been a gradual change in identity of the man under center in Birmingham. Whilst there has been dual threat QBs surrounding the Tide from Cam Newton to Jameis Winston to Johnny Manziel; Nick Saban has been reluctant to make that leap to the dual threat due to the wealth of talent at running back over the years from Trent Richardson to Eddie Lacy.

Starting with Greg McElroy who eventually played for the New York Jets, he led the Crimson Tide to the National Championship in 2009 whilst not setting the numbers alight. In the Championship year he threw for 2508 yards and 17 touchdowns, that was followed the year later by 2987 yards and 20 TDs prompting his inclusion in the draft.

AJ McCarron the archetype for QB

AJ McCarron inherited the role after McElroy left for the professional ranks, and in his three starting years he saw an increase of total throwing yards over those three years - 2011, 2634 yards; 2012, 2933 yards and 2013, 3063 yards breaking McElroy's passing record. His passing percentage was 66.8% which is par for a solid career and he had 15 total interceptions over his career. McCarron sits behind Andy Dalton as No.2 QB for Cincinnati Bengals awaiting his opportunity with immense patience.

Blake Sims had a veritable explosion in his lone starting season as quarterback, 3487 yards with 28 touchdowns and 10 interceptions coupled with 350 rushing yards and 7 touchdowns.  Sims was probably the marker of change for Saban.

Jalen Hurts is a frontrunner for the Heisman

Via Jake Coker, we land at current QB Jalen Hurts who is the starting quarterback for Alabama this year following his freshman year, the first true freshman to start for Alabama in 32 years, throwing for 2780 yards and 23 touchdowns with a below average 62.8 percent; however, he also rushed for 954 yards and 13 touchdowns giving him 36 total touchdowns. Hurts became the first quarterback coached by Saban to pass for 300 yards and rush 100 yards in the same game.

Come to this season and following a cagey affair versus Florida State (10-18, 96 yards, 55.6% completion and 55 yards rushing) where a win was more important than the performance, Hurts returned for the home opener versus Fresno State and threw for 14-18, 128 yards, 77.8%, 1 TD with 154 rushing yards on 10 carries with two touchdowns in the 41-10 victory.

The surprising factor of the victory was that Alabama out rushed their passing offense, running for 305 yards from six different carriers - Najee Harris (13 carries, 70 yards), Bo Scarbrough (6 carries, 36 yards) and only 192 passing yards with the most for one receiver being Calvin Ridley with 45 yards off only five receptions.

Nick Saban is changing his view on QB play

For sceptics, this is Saban falling in line with the rest of the league and not being original, however, perhaps this is Saban utilising the talent correctly.  In Hurts, he has a passer of accuracy who can execute passes to where it needs to go, this allows Saban the chance to dictate play from the off and by having Hurts keep hold of the ball when rushing you negate the threat of turnovers which are key and can effectively keep a stellar defense (better than Fresno State obviously) out of the game.

From worries over his pocket passing to utilising the speed and composure under pressure, Hurts will have bigger tests but its a step in the right direction for this Alabama QB.

Read more of my work at Forty Yards Scouting.
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College Football Week 4 review

This writer had had a very long day on Saturday involving travelling in a propeller plane across water, being subjected to a Bosnian national telling me about his way of life ('I shit you not') and then being stuck on an island enveloped by fog with little optimism of getting back to the mainland.  Eventually I got home at 9.30pm following a 17 hour day of memorable experiences.

Upon my return home, I switched on ESPN to get a College football update and the first two scorelines I saw left me disheartened and disconsolate for the sport in general.  College football is all about equal competition and a general rise in challenges throughout the season.

The first two scores were the Ohio State and Louisville victories.  Both were blowouts to the nth degree.  Ohio State beat Florida A&M 76-0 at home, Louisville beat Florida International 72-0. 

It is annoying how these stellar institutions book these silly opponents into there schedule.  In week 1, FCS schools can catch a bigger fish cold due to teams not having the luxury of pre-season.  Now in week 4, schemes and plays are learnt.  Players are up to match speed and full fitness and then the lambs of these two Florida schools are led to the slaughter on the road as these bigger schools run rough shod over all of them.

Ohio State are ranked #4 and will remain #4 because they won by so much no team at 5 or 6 can leapfrog them and they cannot rise unless a 3 team is upset which is unlikely as the majority of most teams in the Top 10 played weak opponents and at home.  In fact #3 Clemson went on the road and beat NC State 26-14 led by Tajh Boyd.  This is a good road win for Clemson, who will be in the championship game if they run the table.

Alabama hosted Colorado State at home.  Colorado State are woeful, and they are forced to travel cross-country.  For the Crimson Tide, it looks good to play a Pac-12 side considering the #2 side in the country are the Oregon Ducks. They won 31-6, far from the slaughter expected but what purpose does it serve.

Florida State #8 hosted Bethune-Cook and won 54-6; now I am sure Jameis Winston has had more stressful games of Madden than what he experienced in this game.  Florida State will remain the 2nd best side in the ACC behind Clemson.

Credit then to Stanford hosting a conference rival Arizona State, they built up an early lead and won 42-28 to gain the first conference victory; although they did concede three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to make the game look closer than it actually was.

Other examples, Miami demolished Savannah State 77-7 and Baylor won 70-7 versus Louisiana-Monroe, Washington beat Idaho State 56-0.

This was a bad weekend for College Football, even the big game Florida versus Tennessee which was 31-17 was overshadowed by the unfortunate sight of Gators QB Jeff Driskel leaving the field and being done for the season with a broken lower left leg in the first quarter. His back-up Tyler Murphy did the job effectively, but the SEC East may well lose a contender.  Will Muschamp was understandably gutted for Driskel and his team.

Texas A&M beat Southern Methodist 42-13. Johnny Manziel threw for 244 yards and ran for 102 yards on 12 carries for 2 touchdowns.

This week suffered from the lack of a marquee match-up inter-conference battle and even the lack of the idle Oregon Ducks made it slightly less fun to watch the highlights.  In Week 5, things are looking up:
#6 LSU who beat Auburn led by Jeremy Hill's career day travel to #9 Georgia who had their wobbles versus North Texas before Aaron Murray threw for 400+ yards
#14 Oklahoma at #22 Notre Dame; can the Irish defence contain the explosive Sooners attackers
#21 Ole Miss at #1 Alabama; another solid test for the Tide but home advantage should be enough for them
#23 Wisconsin at #4 Ohio State; the first real test for the Buckeyes who seek perfection again this season.
#2 Oregon are at home to California; over or under a 40 point victory?

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College Football Week 3 review

Thanks to the wonders of scheduling, we had the marquee match-up of the season in just the third week of the season.  The walking hyperbole or is it hype machine, Johnny Manziel, whose performance on the road at Alabama helped him win the Heisman Trophy this year welcomed the National Champions to College Station, Texas; as the #6 Texas A&M Aggies hosted #1 Alabama on Saturday.

The game that was hyped to the hilt for once did not disappoint as the Crimson Tide remained unbeaten winning 49-42 on the road to stay the No.1 team in the country.  Yet the Aggies still put up a lot of questions of this weaker Bama defence, as wide receiver Mike Evans had 7 catches for 279 yards and 1 touchdown.

The questions of the defence come down to the giving up of 628 total yards (464 passing yards by Manziel), and yet they won by a touchdown owing to A&M having one more turnover.  AJ McCarron marshalled the offence 20-29, 334 yards and 4 TDs with TJ Yeldon having 149 yards off of 25 carries.  Yeldon has filled the hole left by Eddie Lacy. Yet it is the winning mentality of the Crimson Tide who retained enough players from the Championship side to retain a cohesiveness, whilst the offensive line improved allowing McCarron time to throw; the defence needs to step up in later contests down the stretch - Zach Mettenberger must be licking his lips at the prospect of facing this team.

The SEC is fast becoming the highest scoring conference helped by teams like the Aggies; the Tide and LSU Tigers so often renowned for being professional and getting the job done, are now scoring 40 plus points regularly and this is good for the product of College Football.

One reason for the high scoring must be a reaction to the Oregon Ducks and the Chip Kelly offense; the Ducks continued their march with a 59-14 home victory over the SEC's Tennessee Volunteers led by Marcus Mariota throwing for a career-high 456 yards and four touchdowns.  Amazingly, the Volunteers scored on their first possession, but where you worried?  Mariota is my favourite for the Heisman Trophy, if they remain undefeated then the sheer volume of points and dynamic ability will seal it for him.

The Big 10's big noise are the Ohio State Buckeyes who went undefeated last year but were ineligible for bowl selection.  Eligibility is available this year and they intend to make it count with so many players returning. On Saturday, they travelled to California and won 52-34 with fifth year quarterback Kenny Guiton getting his first start and leading them to victory with 21-32, 276 yards and 4 TDs.  In comparison to Braxton Miller who gives you options on the run, Guiton is a better pocket passer and gives time for receivers to get separation and hits his targets.

Florida State Seminoles decimated the Nevada Wolf Pack 62-7 at home, redshirt freshman Jameis Winston went 15-18 for 214 yards and 2 touchdowns.  The Seminoles along with the Louisville Cardinals (who won 27-13 at Kentucky) are attempting to make the ACC get noticed and the play of Winston and Cardinals' Teddy Bridgewater, who is projected as the top quarterback in the upcoming draft, are turning heads.

Another QB who could be drafted high will be UCLA's Brett Hundley who led his Bruins to a supreme road victory at the #23 Nebraska Cornhuskers.  Hundley led his team from an 18 point deficit to win comfortably 41-21 thanks to a 28 point third quarter.  Hundley went 16-24, 294 yards for 2 TDs with help from RB Jordan James who had 105 yards off 22 carries, Hundley had 61 yards off 16 carries.  Hundley's leadership is vital to the Bruins going forward and they need to keep winning for the eventual meeting with the Oregon Ducks in the Pac-12.

And poor old Texas Longhorns, lost for a second consecutive week, to go 1-2 for the first time since Mack Brown's debut season.  They lost 44-23 at home to Ole Miss Rebels (who next play Alabama in two weeks time) thanks to Jeff Scott 164 yards off 19 carries who ran at will against the struggling Longhorns, who have a problem but seem to have no idea of stopping it.

What to watch in Week 4:
Tajh Boyd and #3 Clemson return to national stage on Thursday night at North Carolina State; On Saturday, upset alert as Purdue (who nearly beat Notre Dame) travel to #24 Wisconsin; Alabama are at home to Colorado State (snooze); #23 Arizona State at #5 Stanford should be a great match-up and close contest and Auburn travel to #8 LSU for a typical SEC slugfest.

This article also appears on www.1amsports.com
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Follow me @JamieGarwood

2013 FCB Week 1 review

And we are off.  The race for the final BCS National Championship before the inaugural four team play-off next year has began in earnest.

Week One in College Football is a rare monster, not as traditional as Opening Day in Baseball, not as glamorous as week 1 of the NFL season yet due to the ESPN monster it is just as hyped an event.  These are the stars of the NFL future, although amateur by definition they are as feted as former college now NFL stars Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III.

Last year was Year One of Johnny Football and the huge rotation of Jadeveon Clowney's monster hit in January led to him being earmarked as the next Lawrence Taylor or Ray Lewis.  Fittingly, it was Clowney and his side, South Carolina Gamecocks who opened up the College Football season at home to North Carolina Tar Heels.  The Gamecocks scored on their opening drive, a huge 65 yard TD pass from Conor Shaw to Shaq Roland gave the #7 ranked Gamecocks a lead they never relinquished, winning 27-10.  The Tar Heels offered little on offence, a blessing considering Clowney's sub-par performance where he had no sacks and only three first half tackles.  An upset stomach was apparently too blame, although the humidity at the 6pmEST kick-off could be as much at fault.

National Champions, Alabama Crimson Tide opened on neutral territory at the Georgia Dome versus the Virginia Tech Hokies.  Although the scoreline looks lopsided 35-10, the Tide were helped by Christian Jones scoring a kickoff return TD, a punt return TD and a reception TD for 256 total yards.  The Hokies exposed a new offensive line for Alabama who lost three four-year starters to the draft this year; they packed the box with eight defenders prompting confusion and panic for QB AJ McCarron who finished with 10-23, 110 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT.  The same packed box allowed RB TJ Yeldon 75 yards of the 96 total rushing yards.

They may be National Champions but even champions have some weaknesses that were exposed and need rectifying before next week's huge match-up versus Texas A&M Aggies and Johnny Manziel.

Following on from his NCAA squabble about signing for paid autographs, Manziel was punished with having to sit out the first half of their home opener versus Rice.  At half time the Aggies needed him as they held a slender 28-21 lead over the unfancied Rice Owls.  Manziel answered the call with three TD passes to help them come out 52-31 victors.  Manziel seems to have this aura about him off the field which cannot be put into question in spite of his off-the-field behaviour.

Oregon may have lost Chip Kelly to the Philadelphia Eagles, but for new Head Coach Mark Helfrich it is the same old story as they decimated Nicholls State College 66-3 with three players having 100+ yard games rushing including QB Marcus Mariota had 113 yards in addition to his 234 passing yards.  The Ducks had 772 total offensive yards and remain favourites for the Pac 12 title this season with Mariota an under the radar Heisman selection.

Fresh for bowl eligibility this season, Urban Meyer hopes to lead the Ohio State Buckeyes to the National Championship after going undefeated last season.  They opened on Saturday with a 40-20 home victory over Buffalo Bulls.  Braxton Miller went 15-22, 178 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT but the impressive performance was RB Jordan Hall who had 2 TDs for 159 yards off 21 carries. However, there were moments of worry for the Buckeyes that many better teams would have taken advantage of.

However, that is why many ranked sides open up against easy opposition to give them the opportunity to iron out any creases on both sides of the ball in a real game time situation.  Some choose to open with a tougher opponent such as LSU Tigers who played Big 12 TCU at Cowboys Stadium and proved victorious 37-27 for a big non-conference win before the conference slate begins.  QB Zach Mettenberger went 16-32 for 251 yards, 1 TD and crucially no turnovers for the senior man, as his side had 448 total yards.  TCU led by Gary Patterson have been touted as a side who can step up and mix with the big boys of the SEC, whilst they did themselves justice they only had 259 total yards so to lose by only 10 points was some marker of their intentions and the grit in the side.  This close encounter was the game of the weekend.

And just behind was Georgia 35 Clemson 38 with two good QBs Aaron Murray and Taj Boyd trading blows but with Boyd coming out on top.  Clemson reside in the ACC but are now in the Championship talk after defeating an SEC side.  Boyd - who along with Teddy Bridgewater (see below) is NFL bound - had 270 yards passing and 3 TDs and also ran for two close to goal TDs for five in total.  Murray had 323 yards passing but one crucial INT with no TDs; and again he came up short in the big game versus a ranked opponent being sacked four times in the process. The Tigers of Clemson made sure their roar was heard on Saturday, expect them to replace Georgia as the #5 ranked side in country come Monday with the new rankings.

Sunday night, another Heisman favourite Teddy Bridgewater the No.1 ranked QB prospect for the NFL draft in 2014 started his campaign with his Louisville Cardinals as they attempt to seek perfection to get to the National Championship.  They made short work of the Ohio Bobcats winning 49-7 at home with Bridgewater going 355 passing yards and 5 TDs.  Louisville play in the ACC, a weak conference in comparison to the SEC, Big 10, Big 12 and Pac 12, they also have a weak schedule so need to run the table and hope teams lose games to their advantage.