True Freshman QBs are largely unsuccessful

[Yergensen]

Isaac Wilson, like him or not, has been dealing with a steep learning curve that few true freshman college QBs successfully navigate by playing. Josh Furlong article on this below.

This has been made more difficult with the apparent mismanagement and his knee condition.

My take, I don’t believe we can conclude Isaac’s future trajectory based on this year’s performance. It also begs the question should true Freshmen QBs start and play in their freshmen seasons, if goal is to win.

True Freshmen QBs

[Tony (admin)]

Obviously the goal is to win. And logic would dictate that the coaches are playing the QB who gives us the best chance to win. That said, it seems the coaches sometimes don’t understand logic.

[DataUte]

I think playing a FR is partly to win, but also partly to win in the future (keep them here). Coaches always talk about playing the best player, but if there is a tie(ish), I can see why they went with IW perhaps based on promises or expectations or getting something out of NIL offer. They usually try to act impartial, but I’m sure there is some bias in decision making, especially in this new world that is kind of new and difficult to navigate.

In general, I think it takes someone really special to play as a FR and not hurt their confidence and help them develop as they need to. They definitely need a long leash and usually the most successful (and still have plenty of losses, mistakes) are the ones that just play freely without being concerned with being perfect.

[Jim Vanderhoof]

In the past our defenses have made freshman QBs look bad. Daniels at ASU and last year the 5* freshman from UCLA. You never know what will happen until they are put in the game. Some guys practice great but aren’t game ready and others aren’t great practice players but are game ready. Rose is in his third year so even though he hasn’t played much he isn’t a freshman by any means. He is in Cams shoes in 2021.

[2008 National Champ]

You’re focusing on one bad game for Daniels that was played in horrible conditions and ASU was missing multiple starters on the OLine. He threw for just short of 3k that year, had a 17:2 TD/INT ration and his highest passing rate until his Heisman year. Daniels was ready game 1 his freshman year and proved it on the field. He threw for over 400 against the same Oregon team that trucked Utah in the CCG.

[Jim Vanderhoof]

My comment was our defense and he threw for 25 yards. He was horrible.

[2008 National Champ]

Yes, he had a bad game. The thread is about how True Freshman QB’s are largely unsuccessful and Daniel’s True Freshman season was anything but.

Now if you want to discuss how the 2018/2019 versions of the Utah defense made ALL QB’s look like crap, I can get on board with that. But it’s not really relevant since they didn’t limit their damage to just True Freshmen. And yes, the Matt Fink game is the exception that proves the rule.

[silverliningsurfer]

You aren’t wrong. I think most fans who are rational are trying to be patient with Isaac, but he also hasn’t shown much other than a few flashes here and there. A lot of frustration and disappointment comes from the fact that if he had played average, the team would probably be something like 6-2 or 5-3, and if he’s supposed to be the next guy, shouldn’t he be able to show enough to win the TCU/Houston games?

Ultimately, Rising’s injury put the team in a really tough spot having to juggle the present and future of the program at the same time, and I think we’re seeing the results. Who knows if Rose has been outplaying Wilson for most of the season, but it definitely feels like the team gave Wilson the keys regardless of if he “deserved” it or not, probably because they are concerned about him transferring out. Hindsight is 20/20 but it feels like they’ve really mismanaged the QB position the last few years, which is close to unforgivable given that it is the most important individual position in sports.

[fosternano]

I remember Jayden Daniel’s coming in with asu and only throwing for 25 yards in the entire game against Utah as a true freshman, and look at him now.

Players take time to develop, it’s tough to be patient about it though.

[Rick]

I have seen some very good plays by Isaac and some very bad plays. He is young and I believe he will grow into a fine QB. I would like to see an offense installed that is more like what he ran in high school. He is a decent runner and it was key to his success at Corner Canyon. I am hoping he stays, hits the weights and training table hard and puts on about 20+ pounds of weight. He needs to work on his short game quite a bit but he has the tools to build on.

However, if we do not hit the portal HARD for a serious, experienced and proven QB this off season then I will be jumping on the Whitt has to go bandwagon.

[UteFrancais]

I’m hoping he stays as well, but I’m fearful this year has shaken him and he’ll leave for BYU as soon as the portal opens. It’s his brothers school and feels like a safety net for him.

[Distantute]

If he leaves – who cares. I want people wanting to be there. And i agree it is tough to be a true frosh playing the most important position in sports – but lets be real – weve played garbage teams. Were not in the sec. And hes been awful against awful competition. That worries me. Excited to see what rose brings and hopefully the competition will make both better.

[RustyShackleford]

What the hell is the deal with his knee, I’ve heard he was supposed to have surgery right after senior season but as far as I’ve heard he hasn’t.

[2008 National Champ]

I believe he has a “floating kneecap” which needs to be replaced. At one point, people were talking about trouble finding an acceptable cadaver donor. And with a 6 month projected recovery, timing of the surgery would be important so that he doesn’t miss a season.

It doesn’t appear to be something that can be made worse by playing, other than the need to have periodic ‘scopes to remove bone shavings, because he played his senior year and this year on it.

[Author]

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