(11-25-2013 04:11 PM)MarketingOwl Wrote:  Nothing public. Inside information.

Gotcha. I was thinking that they had changed the rules here and I missed it. Unfortunately I'm not observant to notice how he was dressed, but that would have been the sort of indication I was looking for. Yes, it speaks well that they dressed a freshman QB with at least 3 or 4 (or 6 depending on whom you count) who CAN'T red-shirt... though I suppose it's possible we TRY and get DJ a medical.

(11-25-2013 04:41 PM)mrbig Wrote:  Interesting. How does Germans's throwing compare to McHargue and DJ from what you have heard? How does his throwing compare to Stehling? Be a bummer for Stehling if he is the best thrower, but just not a fit for the offensive scheme the coaches want to run.

Great questions. Even if DJ and Nate are the future, I would still try to get a weapon like Stehling on the field. Look at how effective KState has been this year.

This is not at all what I've been hearing at the QB position. But I guess time will tell come spring football. Kind of funny people are already writing off a 6'5 QB with a rifle for an arm......
Sometimes you dress guys early to get them pumped. Just sayin'.

There is a lot of enthusiasm for Stehling. I'm surprised, perhaps because I am poorly informed.

I followed their box scores in HS and IIRC the team was strongly run first, but the QB's didn't run much. It seemed he handed it off A LOT and threw it not so much and ran it not so much. they had a great team, I never saw them play, but it seemed like a Katy type approach (but Stehling not as Andy Dalton). I was surprised when we signed him.



Stehling was also a power hitting first baseman on a loaded baseball team--had a half dozen or so D1 signees.

What makes zero sense to me is that if all of this is true about Stehling, why he has zero snaps taken this year?

We have had many blow-out situations and he still does not play. He is not even playing when the 2nd string guy is hurt. The staff is going w/ the Wild Owl instead to protect McH. So either a) he is not that good/has some deficiency b) he has the upside but staff does not see it and he is not getting a fair shake or c) he has some injury that noone here knows about and staff does not want to put him in. He has already redshirted so had a Spring to show his stuff. Does no good for Rice to keep him on sidelines this year if he already has redshirted. I don't know which of the above is true but does seem safe to conclude he is more of clipboard guy.

Most all D-1 schools have the QB guy on scholarship who does not play and backs-up the main guys. We are clearly seeing what happens at places like Florida w/ how poor their back-up QB scholarship guys are. Heck, we saw it at Alabama w/ Fanuzzi and Miami w/ Cook. They ended-up leaving to get a shot to play vs. carry a clipboard. Maybe Stehling sees German plus the new guys coming in and makes a decision similar to them unless he values Rice education too much. Personally, would like to see him emerge in Spring but for whatever the reason, does not look like there is any confidence by staff to get him game reps..even in blow-out situations.

Just to be clear, I am excited by the other offers Stehling received, which are certainly a step above what DJ and Getman were offered. I also get frustrated watching QB's with limited accuracy and arm strength. I also haven't seen anything from DJ to think he is a measurably better thrower than McHargue. I hope DJ or German is a great thrower because having an athletic, dual-threat QB is certainly valuable, especially with college o-lines.

Sometimes it just feels like the coaching staff values athleticism at QB and WR more than the ability to throw with accuracy and zip, or get open and catch. I am not any kind of evaluator and have no inside info on this, just occasional frustrations when guys can't make throws or catches where it seems like there should be someone on the team who can make the throw, or make the catch.

(11-25-2013 05:06 PM)Pan95 Wrote:  

(11-25-2013 04:41 PM)mrbig Wrote:  Interesting. How does Germans's throwing compare to McHargue and DJ from what you have heard? How does his throwing compare to Stehling? Be a bummer for Stehling if he is the best thrower, but just not a fit for the offensive scheme the coaches want to run.

Great questions. Even if DJ and Nate are the future, I would still try to get a weapon like Stehling on the field. Look at how effective KState has been this year.

(11-26-2013 09:30 AM)mrbig Wrote:  Just to be clear, I am excited by the other offers Stehling received, which are certainly a step above what DJ and Getman were offered. I also get frustrated watching QB's with limited accuracy and arm strength. I also haven't seen anything from DJ to think he is a measurably better thrower than McHargue. I hope DJ or German is a great thrower because having an athletic, dual-threat QB is certainly valuable, especially with college o-lines.

Sometimes it just feels like the coaching staff values athleticism at QB and WR more than the ability to throw with accuracy and zip, or get open and catch. I am not any kind of evaluator and have no inside info on this, just occasional frustrations when guys can't make throws or catches where it seems like there should be someone on the team who can make the throw, or make the catch.

Not completing disagreeing with you, but Nick Fanuzzi finished with one of the highest accuracy % as a Rice QB. Nick has a strong and accurate arm. Yet, for all that, we did not meet our expectations with Nick as QB. Maybe there is more to the Stehling issue than just a strong and accurate arm.

I think Fanuzzi might have been more successful in the 2013 offense that involves more deep throws. Fanuzzi was asked to run an offense with mainly short lateral throws and relatively few downfield chances (along with a heavy dose of zone reads and options), as shown by his high completion % but general feelings of overall disappointment from fans. Now that Rice is throwing downfield more, McHargue's downfield inaccuracy is accentuated and the skills of a good deep thrower would be accentuated more (though obviously he zone read and option are still significant parts of the offense).

Stehling didn't have great HS stats/production, for sure. He's also not the type of runner to operate our option packages. However, I can say from first hand practice observation, he spins the football better than any of the lot of McHargue, DJ and Billups. Haven't seen German throw except for on highschool film, where he shows a pretty live arm and easy motion. But he also didn't have great highschool stats/production. DJ or Billups would win in the HS stats/production department. And incoming ATH Destri White would win in that department in this coming class but Jones is thought to have the better tools to develop. I don't expect either of the true freshmen to factor in the QB race for next season.

I like Taylor and Parks at WR, but we don't have blazing speedsters nor great pass protection for someone like Stehling to be more successful than our more mobile QB's. That's my opinion right now, as I've yet to see Stehling play. I'd like to think that our running success would open up the passing game, but that really hasn't been the case the past couple of seasons; our QB's have little time in the pocket even vs C-USA defenses. Chase Clement obviously had a lot of success passing, but I don't think it happens without his mobility and run threat.