The Wave of the Youth is Upon Us: Incoming freshman with a chance at starting right away
So trying to determine what freshman will get the chance to start right away is a tad bit tough due to the current landscape with the corona virus, and no one currently being on campus around the nation. I think we will see more players with experience within the respective systems get starts, instead of newcomers right out of the gate, but here are some candidates that i think can potentially get a starting job early into their first year.
The reign of maybe the best quarterback Alabama has ever seen is now coming to an end, with Tua Tagovailoa taking his talents to the NFL, leaving a massive void for Nick Saban to fill. The changing of offensive systems made over the last couple years, has made Saban dive into the flashy five star recruits at quarterback, that offer mobility, along with prototypical quarterback traits, and that is where you insert Mater Dei standout Bryce Young. During his high school career Young compiled 13,520 yards, and 152 touchdowns, while also winning the California high school player of the year award his senior year.
This seems like a two horse race for the starting job in Tuscaloosa, between Young, and last years starter while Tua was out, Mac Jones. Jones was able to lead Alabama to a 3-1 record in the last four games, throwing for 1503 yards, 14 touchdowns, and completing 66.2 percent of his passes. His ability to move the team down the field very well, and it would have me think that Jones has the leg up at the moment, especially with what is going on in the world. But Young an early enrollee, has had the time to learn the playbook, and talk with his coaches, and teammates, pair that with his natural talents, which are off the charts, like being able to improvise when things break down, makes that gap between him, and Jones seem quite small. A dark horse in this race would be Tua's younger brother, Taulia, who was a four start recruit last year.
Okay the Vols showed some life under Jarrett Guarantano compiling an 8-5 record winning the Gator Bowl against Indiana 23-22, but the two other seasons while he was the main guy under center, was not the greatest. He went 8-13 his first two years in Knoxville, and only producing 17 total touchdowns in those games. It seems like it is time to inject some new life in the team at the quarterback position, and that is where Harrison Bailey comes in. The number 3 pro style QB in 2020, offers Jeremy Pruitt another level of play, that Guarantano can't.
The Marrietta, Georgia native, and high school standout, who posted some amazing numbers against some of the best competition in the nation, is special. He is a very polished pocket passer, which will pair well with one of the stronger units for the Vols, the offensive line. Tennessee should not want to waste the number ten ranked recruiting class according to 247, and give the reigns to the maybe unproven, but certainly more talented QB in Bailey, to orchestrate in the new age of Vols football, instead of going with the proven, but underwhelming Guarantano. Brian Maurer took some snaps last season, and in term of coach speak is "still in the running", but I don't see much materializing from that.
With former transfer quarterback Jacob Eason on his way to the NFL, it is time for Jimmy Lake to find the replacement to run the Huskies offense. There is not much current experience on the roster, as Jacob Sirmon is the most experienced one, but that is not saying much, as he has only attempted 3 passes during his time in Seattle. Another candidate for the starting job would be Dylan Morris, a red shirt freshman, who is a very smart, and recently was voted the offensive scout squad MVP, by his peers this past season.
Now enter the best passer of the whole group, the Newport kid Ethan Garbers, interesting fact, the previous Huskies regime in 2017 offered his older brother, who would later commit to California. Garbers would have an outstanding senior season, going undefeated, 16-0, while leading his team to the state championship, with a stat line that you would only see in Madden, throwing for 5000 yards, completing 70 percent of his passes, and being responsible for 71 touchdowns. With Oregon in the same type of situation, looking down the barrel of a QB decision, it would be the perfect time to make the switch to the young kid, and maybe take home the PAC12 North title.
Oregon: Jay Butterfield #10 QB in the nation, #5 Pro Style/ Robby Ashford #25 QB in the nation, #13 Dual Threat
The Ducks haven't had to worry about the quarterback position for quite a while, given Herbert has been under center for them since he walked on to campus in 2016. Tyler Shough is the QB as of now, coming out of a spring camp that was cut short due to the corona virus. He does not have much experience playing, but he did get in some game time last year, going 12 for 15, for 144, and 3 touchdown. He has also garnered some praise from his former teammate Herbert, saying, "he's an extremely smart player".
The best shot to top Shough for that starters job in the fall would be Butterfield. Another California quarterback on the list, originating from Brentwood, Butterfield is the true essence of a pocket passer, who has the ability to make all the throws on the field, and plays with great anticipation, showing off a high football IQ. He has strong family ties to the game, as his father played NFL football. Than you have Ashford, who may be a little bit of a long shot to the job, as he has not officially enrolled in school, and may be pursuing baseball at the end off the day, if drafted in the MLB draft. But if he does decides to fully commit to football he could offer Oregons offense a completely different dimension, something that Herbert could not, and Butterfieeld would not, a dynamic RPO style game, or the ability to just create when flushed, and the play has broken down. Also anyone that comes from Hoover high school in Alabama, hits me with massive nostalgia, of the old MTV show "Two A Days", which was just an epic show for it's short tenure.
The 2019 season couldn't have gone much worse then it did, with Derek Mason's team finishing an abysmal 3-9, while never getting any consistent play by their quarterbacks. But there aren't many teams in the nation that have a cleaner slate at QB, than Vanderbilt has going into the 2020 season, with all four QB's who took snaps have either entered the draft, transferred out, or just left the program all together. When looking at the situation there aren't many in the country which you can say that the QB competition is between two true freshman's, but the one in Nashville is one of them.
The competition will be between the two freshman Seals, and Wright for the starting gig. The Texas native, Seals comes in with what appears to be the leg up on the battle, after enrolling early, and taking part in the abbreviated spring portion of camp. Seals best attribute is his accuracy, and is able to fit throws into tight windows, which is a necessity when playing against SEC level corners. Since he operated primary out of the spread offense at Weatherford High School, he has a great ability to read defenses, and get to his 2nd, and 3rd reads. Wright who arrives in the summer, will be starting a tad behind in the race, but would offer coach Mason more athleticism at the position, with the attributes to run the read option, but still posses an arm that can make some throws with pop. A dark horse to the QB competition is Jeremy Moussa, a junior college transfer.
Rankings from 247 Sports
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