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(10-31-2023 08:48 PM)Fubar2 Wrote:  

(10-31-2023 10:40 AM)OKIcat Wrote:  It also begs the question, did Fickell's staff largely fail on QB scouting/recruitment? Ridder was recruited by Tub's staff as I recall. Prater is a great athlete yet neither head coach has suggested he was the heir apparent and he's now a WR. Both QB's named Brady were recruited on Fickell's watch too. I don't expect a freshman to come in and start at that position but was the absence of a versatile QB on the roster at least partly responsible for Fickell's decision that it was time to move on when UC certainly could have matched the WI money and expanded his staff?

I think it’s fair to say Luke had a foot out the door.

There were multiple people who decommitted prior to him leaving who publicly said something seemed weird during their visits...it was clear they weren't actively recruiting for UC by the end of the season, seeing as how Fickell interviewed for the job 3 weeks before the Tulane game.

(10-31-2023 05:45 PM)UCGrad1992 Wrote:  

(10-31-2023 04:54 PM)namrag Wrote:  It’s laughable seeing all these posts criticizing CSS for bringing in EJ.

I can't speak for everyone but most of us are calling for a QB change at this point in the 2-6 season. This staff needs to see what we have in Lichty and Drogosh - can they excel at the B12 level and in the offense that CSS wants to run? I'd rather try and answer that question now than next season when four truly B12-ready programs join the league.

I agree.

(10-31-2023 07:41 PM)rath v2.0 Wrote:  It's not laughable if you watched him last year.

They wanted him. They got him.

And if some of your $$ went to pay him a couple hundred K, good for him.

It may very well be that EJ was the best available QB in the portal at that point who was willing to consider coming to UC, and who they could afford.
How much interest are you going to get from any QB who has options when he asks “what’s your WR depth chart look like?”
And your answer is “failed QB Evan prater and a guy about 7-8 deep on the depth chart”.
Why would a QB with options want to come to a major rebuild?
EJ was available for a reason, and UC was forced to shop in the QB bargain bin for a reason also.
EJ has major flaws, and what UC was able to offer last off season was a program that had major flaws.

Fick did an absolutely horrible job in developing a QB depth chart, maybe as bad as he did in developing an OL depth chart.

I’m not defending CSS.
But I am also not going to disregard the challenges he was met with when he walked in to the program.