11 Position Battles To Watch

[augolf1716 21,096]

27 minutes ago, Win4AU said:

If there isn't a clear cut leader come end of fall camp then I have to believe Sean will be the starter come kickoff.  He'll have 3 years playing with this team and should have more chemistry.  Its also entirely possible both Sean and Stidham trade series in the first game to see who has the best success before choosing a definite starter for Clemson.  My guess is Gus will have the ultimate say so because he is the head coach. 

jmo but unless JS is hurt he will start. He will have a huge lead in reps under CL system compared to SW who will have zero come fall practice. 

[cole256 17,039]

Tom Brady is coming to qb......sw has heart he'll push him.....

[AU64 10,122]

Since it appears that SW will not play in the spring, there will not be much of a competition.....but more when fall practice starts....just thinking that people are counting SW out too soon......IMO , most of the doubts about his performance have come about because he has been hurt so much and playing at far less than 100%.  Now I accept that "being hurt" might be the standard condition for SW so hard for a coach to commit to a QB who has an injury history and might be gone from a game at any moment. 

Guess the issue is "loyalty" to SW  vs reliability of JS if he proves out that way this spring as golf noted....

Meanwhile...if I were Sean I would get rid of the #13 jersey.....nothing but bad luck in that uniform since he has been at AU.

[milehighfan 1,239]

18 hours ago, Win4AU said:

If there isn't a clear cut leader come end of fall camp then I have to believe Sean will be the starter come kickoff.  He'll have 3 years playing with this team and should have more chemistry.  Its also entirely possible both Sean and Stidham trade series in the first game to see who has the best success before choosing a definite starter for Clemson.  My guess is Gus will have the ultimate say so because he is the head coach. 

Tried that QB cavalcade in last year's season opener and we all saw how that went. Before the season opener pick a guy, teach him the playbook and go with him, whether it be SW, JS, or WB.

[bigbird 60,371]

There will be a clear cut leader. Sean will be a great back up, but JS will be the starter and the team will be better for it. Sean was by far the best an we had last year. He is not this year.

[IronMan70 3,277]

The competition will likely be decided by which QB can execute the spinneroo whirlebird play the best. But all kidding aside, JS will be the starter and SW will be what he always has been. A solid SEC backup QB who happened to be the best QB we had on the roster the last 2 years .

[DAG 33,955]

1 hour ago, IronMan70 said:

The competition will likely be decided by which QB can execute the spinneroo whirlebird play the best. But all kidding aside, JS will be the starter and SW will be what he always has been. A solid SEC backup QB who happened to be the best QB we had on the roster the last 2 years .

lol I want to know who was the first to term the whirlybird? Gus has implemented a lot of fascinating things , but he is never going to live that one down haha 

[johnnyAU 3,630]

6 hours ago, cole256 said:

Tom Brady is coming to qb......sw has heart he'll push him.....

Or JFIII is fast....he'll push him.

[AUld fAUx@ 2,584]

4 hours ago, IronMan70 said:

The competition will likely be decided by which QB can execute the spinneroo whirlebird play the best. But all kidding aside, JS will be the starter and SW will be what he always has been. A solid SEC backup QB who happened to be the best QB we had on the roster the last 2 years .

If so, I'll be as happy as a clam!

[McLoofus 35,182]

On 2/18/2017 at 1:12 PM, milehighfan said:

Tried that QB cavalcade in last year's season opener and we all saw how that went. Before the season opener pick a guy, teach him the playbook and go with him, whether it be SW, JS, or WB.

If they had done that with Sean White this past season we quite possibly could've beaten both Clemson and TAMU. Sorry for yet another dose of sour grapes, but I think it's a permanent condition for me at this point. And it also makes me think that loyalty to him won't be a factor in choosing our starter. 

Sean is far better than just a backup SEC QB when healthy. He is a better-than-average starting SEC QB. If the "when healthy" disclaimer is enough to dock him points in your book, then I won't argue. But in terms of talent, he is better than most starting SEC QBs, and if he somehow ends up as our starter, then his health or CLL's scheme are going to be the only things that keep him from being successful. *EDIT* This part wasn't directed at you, @milehighfan.

But I agree that Stidham is the starter week 1, especially since Sean is out for the spring. I'm not predicting instant success, no matter the likelihood based on Stidham's resume, but he'd pretty much have to hurt himself or somebody else at this point to not win the job. 

I agree with those who have said the most interesting position battles will be on the OL. 

[IronMan70 3,277]

1 hour ago, McLoofus said:

If they had done that with Sean White this past season we quite possibly could've beaten both Clemson and TAMU. Sorry for yet another dose of sour grapes, but I think it's a permanent condition for me at this point. And it also makes me think that loyalty to him won't be a factor in choosing our starter. 

Sean is far better than just a backup SEC QB when healthy. He is a better-than-average starting SEC QB. If the "when healthy" disclaimer is enough to dock him points in your book, then I won't argue. But in terms of talent, he is better than most starting SEC QBs, and if he somehow ends up as our starter, then his health or CLL's scheme are going to be the only things that keep him from being successful. *EDIT* This part wasn't directed at you, @milehighfan.

But I agree that Stidham is the starter week 1, especially since Sean is out for the spring. I'm not predicting instant success, no matter the likelihood based on Stidham's resume, but he'd pretty much have to hurt himself or somebody else at this point to not win the job. 

I agree with those who have said the most interesting position battles will be on the OL. 

I think that is the key when it comes to SW. Talent wise, SW would be more than a solid backup, if he wasn't injury prone. But unfortunately he is. The problem we will run in to is if Stidham trots out there and gets injured like he did before, we will have 2 injury prone QBs. At least Stidham is a little bigger and might be able to take the pounding better. We just have to keep our fingers crossed.   

[McLoofus 35,182]

5 minutes ago, IronMan70 said:

I think that is the key when it comes to SW. Talent wise, SW would be more than a solid backup, if he wasn't injury prone. But unfortunately he is. The problem we will run in to is if Stidham trots out there and gets injured like he did before, we will have 2 injury prone QBs. At least Stidham is a little bigger and might be able to take the pounding better. We just have to keep our fingers crossed.   

I hear ya. Definitely hoping they both enter fall camp and week 1, at least, at 100%. And also that we're able to get QB3, whoever that is, some game reps early in the season. I know that our 1s will need a lot of fine tuning, especially with the new OC, but I'm not sure that they'll gain much by still being on the field in the 4th quarter against Mercer. Would be a great chance to rest the 1s and get some reps for the next guys before that nasty 5-week run after. 

Sorry. Rambling. I hear ya on SW. 

[lionheartkc 6,150]

2 hours ago, McLoofus said:

But I agree that Stidham is the starter week 1, especially since Sean is out for the spring. I'm not predicting instant success, no matter the likelihood based on Stidham's resume, but he'd pretty much have to hurt himself or somebody else at this point to not win the job. 

Or Sean is going to have to bust his a** and improve dramatically in the off-season. I can't help but remind people that these kids are still learning and improving, so you never know how good they will be, next year.

[lionheartkc 6,150]

46 minutes ago, IronMan70 said:

The problem we will run in to is if Stidham trots out there and gets injured like he did before, we will have 2 injury prone QBs.

Ah, but if they are both good QBs, you can usually juggle 2 injury prone QBs well enough to make for 1 solid QB every game

[McLoofus 35,182]

5 minutes ago, lionheartkc said:

Or Sean is going to have to bust his a** and improve dramatically in the off-season. I can't help but remind people that these kids are still learning and improving, so you never know how good they will be, next year.

Hey, you're preaching to the choir. My opinion on the matter is as much about what I've heard people close to the program say and the fact that Sean won't play spring ball as it is about relative ability between the two kids. I mean, I think Stidham is probably the better QB, but I think Sean could have at least pushed him in spring. I thought Sean would push Jeremy in spring 2015...

[ArgoEagle 1,767]

On ‎2‎/‎18‎/‎2017 at 0:16 PM, bigbird said:

There will be a clear cut leader. Sean will be a great back up, but JS will be the starter and the team will be better for it. Sean was by far the best an we had last year. He is not this year.

Hey Bird, will you do me a favor and poison my coffee on Sunday morning after the 1st game if Sean is announced our starting qb and is proclaimed our guy for the season? I can't go through another year of seeing him miss wide open td's b/c he can't throw the deep ball, and then win a few games and get everybody's hopes up, only to get injured before the big games come up. Will you do that for me?

[lionheartkc 6,150]

28 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

Hey, you're preaching to the choir. My opinion on the matter is as much about what I've heard people close to the program say and the fact that Sean won't play spring ball as it is about relative ability between the two kids. I mean, I think Stidham is probably the better QB, but I think Sean could have at least pushed him in spring. I thought Sean would push Jeremy in spring 2015...

So is it a lock that Sean won't play at all in the Spring? Last I heard was that he would hopefully be able to throw for part of it.

[McLoofus 35,182]

1 minute ago, lionheartkc said:

So is it a lock that Sean won't play at all in the Spring? Last I heard was that he would hopefully be able to throw for part of it.

All I've heard is that he won't play. I suppose that could mean that he won't be in any live drills or scrimmages but that he might still be practicing/throwing in some capacity. No matter what, I doubt he'll have a chance to show the coaches something they haven't already seen from him, if that makes any sense. 

[lionheartkc 6,150]

5 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

All I've heard is that he won't play. I suppose that could mean that he won't be in any live drills or scrimmages but that he might still be practicing/throwing in some capacity. No matter what, I doubt he'll have a chance to show the coaches something they haven't already seen from him, if that makes any sense. 

Definitely.  No one gets better while they are in a cast.  It's going to be on him to really make some strides, this summer. 

[McLoofus 35,182]

5 minutes ago, lionheartkc said:

Definitely.  No one gets better while they are in a cast.  It's going to be on him to really make some strides, this summer. 

Fingers crossed he's up to it. His teammates still love him, so hopefully that helps. Not that I'm expecting one, but I think I could actually live with a QB controversy this summer. 

[lionheartkc 6,150]

4 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

Fingers crossed he's up to it. His teammates still love him, so hopefully that helps. Not that I'm expecting one, but I think I could actually live with a QB controversy this summer. 

All I care is that he's good enough to push Stidham and insure that there is little to no drop-off if we have to switch QBs in the season.

[bigbird 60,371]

2 hours ago, lionheartkc said:

So is it a lock that Sean won't play at all in the Spring? Last I heard was that he would hopefully be able to throw for part of it.

Pretty much, yes

[AUld fAUx@ 2,584]

5 hours ago, IronMan70 said:

I think that is the key when it comes to SW. Talent wise, SW would be more than a solid backup, if he wasn't injury prone. But unfortunately he is. The problem we will run in to is if Stidham trots out there and gets injured like he did before, we will have 2 injury prone QBs. At least Stidham is a little bigger and might be able to take the pounding better. We just have to keep our fingers crossed.   

I just hope they get along and politely take turns

[AUld fAUx@ 2,584]

3 hours ago, McLoofus said:

Fingers crossed he's up to it. His teammates still love him, so hopefully that helps. Not that I'm expecting one, but I think I could actually live with a QB controversy this summer. 

Actually can be a "good problem"

[McLoofus 35,182]

2 minutes ago, AUinTLoosa said:

Actually can be a "good problem"

Exactement