(04-24-2014 10:19 PM)TroyFootball05 Wrote:  

(04-24-2014 10:01 PM)AtlantaJag Wrote:  I really think you are overrating the achievements of your guys at the JC level in comparison to what Bridge did as a freshmen in FCS, but I doubt we'll ever find common ground there.

Be that as it may, here are some cherry-picked numbers for you: 11 of 20 for 235 yards, one TD, 0 interceptions and an additional 54 yards rushing. That's what Bridge did against Troy last year (his last game before injuries began affecting him).

I know your defense was far from impressive, but that's still an FBS game I can judge Bridge on while you still need to project what your guys may do.

We may not ever agree, you're right. Those FCS numbers, regardless of the award he won, aren't good no matter what league you play in. 13 picks and 27 sacks is aweful. Basically you're saying Bridge is better than the all-time record setting NJCAA QB just because Bridge has FCS experience. You won't find a lot of people who will agree with that stance.

Bridge's performance against Troy was extremely impressive. He'll have a leg up in terms of confidence for this game. I'll give you that. But if you recall, we were discussing the QB situations of our teams. There are 12 games on a schedule and he'll have to prove he can do what he did at Troy in all 12. I like our guys chances in 12 better than Bridge's chances. As far as your game goes, its Game 8. It won't take 8 games for Troy's QB to gel in our offense. That's an exorbitant amount of time to get ready. It won't be a question mark when Troy rolls into Mobile, our system has been too good for too long to not be firing on all cylinders by Game 8.

Our defense is awful and we all know it. No secret. We have a few JUCO guys and transfers from big colleges that may help, but the defense hasn't been good since 2008, so I can't say whether they'll turn it around or not. I know South lost their DC and some important players. That is a bigger question mark than QB in my opinion. Though, Troy has rarely had problems with SBC defenses in the last 8 years so it may not even matter when you play us. You had the best defense in the SBC (21ppg vs conference) by a good margin, and we still dropped 34 points on you. You can say it was all Corey Robinson, but again, in Game 8 we'll be rolling with another talented QB. We've steamrolled the belt with less talented QBs than we have now.

One difference in our QB situations is that it seems you have one decent QB to look at. I keep hearing about how Troy's unknown at QB might be a problem. The difference is we have four extremely talented QBs. There is little chance that all four are going to suck. If anything, they will make each other better. And with 90% of our offense and our OC back, the same system we've ran for 8 years will make the transition much easier than most other places in the country. QB is not as much of a question mark as many on here think. Three QBs on our roster have better accolades than Corey Robinson, Levi Brown, and Omar Haugabook had coming in and they dominated the belt under our system.

I'm a "glass half full" kind of guy, but you make me look like the world's biggest pessimist by comparison.
I'm hopeful Bridge can do well. His FCS numbers as a true freshman (and FCS is greater than JUCO, IMO) surrounded by lesser talent make me think that as a redshirt senior who has taken meaningful snaps in FBS games and shown great physical talent he will have a good year. Did I mention that Charles Johnson of the NFL Network said he was the most impressive QB at the Manning Passing Academy last year? I'm optimistic but I know that things sometimes don't work out like we expect. Luckily USA has a solid backup returning in Trey Fetner, an impressive redshirt sophomore in Grant Powell, and Matt Foyd will be transferring in from USF this summer with two years of eligibility. USA will have a solid running game, a really good offensive line and probably the best receiving corp in the conference. They are in their third year in their spread offense that really started getting results last year and that should make life better for whoever takes the snaps.

I'm not slamming Troy's QB candidates, but I have a hard time seeing why Troy's coaches, if they had two "extremely talented" QB's on campus felt the need to sign not one, but two JC QBs. And those QBs were apparently not threatened by each other or the guys they saw on the roster either.
Pruitt put up great numbers at East Mississippi, but EMCC might have had the best defense in the history of JC last year (Jag DE signee Jimmie Gipson III was part of that defense) and Pruitt was allowed to rack up stats against demoralized teams in 60 and 70 point wins, so his numbers don't wow me too much. I think the EMCC coaching staff ran up a lot of scores and they are really unpopular with their counterparts in the Mississippi JC ranks right now.
Bravard put up solid numbers but there has to be a reason why his only other offer was from Southern Illinois, and Pruitt's flashy stats only resulted in offers from Troy, ULM and UAB. I know they are both not very tall, but that can't be the only reason.

Again, I am not saying Troy won't find a solid QB from it's pool of candidates, only that assuming their untested prospects are better than USA's more experienced options just doesn't compute with me.
It's a wash at best, in my opinion.