A few thoughts on M. Willis....

[Timeslider 6 269]

The way Gus has handled his management of the younger, offensive players tend to confirm in a lot of people's minds that he really is in over his head. This would explain the way he has kept M. Willis out of any playing time so far. I agree with the consensus of the board, he should him now in any mop up duty.

[LKEEL75 2,566]

9 minutes ago, Timeslider 6 said:

The way Gus has handled his management of the younger, offensive players tend to confirm in a lot of people's minds that he really is in over his head. This would explain the way he has kept M. Willis out of any playing time so far. I agree with the consensus of the board, he should him now in any mop up duty.

Correct me if I am wrong, but MW is probably not your best example.  Every thing the coaches have said up till now was that they wanted to RS MW.  Therefore he would not have been playing in any games up until now.  As of our last game we still had an experienced player as a backup and had plenty of QBs to not burn a RS.  Now IF we are up big on Mizzo come Saturday night and MW doesn't get some playing time, then he might fit for your example.  

Outside of MW, the others that I have heard about getting playing time earlier in the year have been on the field.  Iggy & DB come to mind.

[dave$AU 5]

Willis looks like he's got a good head on his shoulders. 

[AuburnNTexas 7,142]

I hate to be the one to say something nice about Gus here. But prior to the final SW meltdown after the Mercer game. The plan was for SW to be the backup so there was no way they were looking to not red shirt MW. You had an experienced SEC starter as a backup. Because of SW suspension Adams got some PT.  During the Mercer game despite a fairly strong performance from JS because of WR fumbles we never got enough cushion to take JS out. 

So the reality is up to now giving MW PT would not have been a good idea. The SW meltdown changes everything. Assuming we handle Missouri there is no reason not to give MW PT if it is a blowout. I believe if it is a blowout Gus will put MW in.  If he does not in that situation then he deserves the abuse he will get. If however the O-Line remains as bad as we have seen in 1st three games and it is not a blowout then MW won't see PT as a coaches first responsibility is to win the game that you are playing that day.

I have a lot of issues with our O and I hold Gus responsible for it. But I can't blame him for not playing MW in the 1st three games as I believe that was the correct decision at the time.  Now I am praying for a blowout against Missouri so MW can get some real PT.

[McLoofus 35,182]

1 hour ago, AuburnNTexas said:

I hate to be the one to say something nice about Gus here. But prior to the final SW meltdown after the Mercer game. The plan was for SW to be the backup so there was no way they were looking to not red shirt MW. You had an experienced SEC starter as a backup.

White has been injury prone and has had off-the-field problems going on 3 years now, and it has been widely assumed that he was going to transfer after this year. People really need to quit acting like his departure is a huge surprise. I was on the Sean White wagon loud and early, but after the last injury and the suspension... I mean... if you're hanging you're hat on that guy, then I don't know what to tell you. Especially since Gus was loathe to start him even when he was healthy.

The only reason White wouldn't have left after this year would have been because Stidham did leave. Think about what that means. Any way you cut it, redshirting Willis would mean that we'd go into 2018 and that Washington game without a single snap of experience behind our starter. You good with that? Just so we can bank on having Willis around in 2021? 

[C'viewTiger 242]

23 hours ago, abw0004 said:

Just rip the bandaid off and burn his redshirt (I say that in a positive manor).  He will most likely play this season anyways, so if we are up comfortably, go ahead and pull Stidham to preserve his health and give Willis some experience.  He honestly looked ready when he played in the A-Day game.

I understand this and agree to a point. A comfortable lead with the O hitting on all 8 cylinders yes, put him in. If JS and the receivers are out of synch, I say leave him in and work the pass.  I know the prob with that is we would just run the dive play until the clock expired. 

I agree MW needs work but from what I've seen, JS could use some tuning up also.

[McLoofus 35,182]

10 minutes ago, AU04ever said:

I understand this and agree to a point. A comfortable lead with the O hitting on all 8 cylinders yes, put him in. If JS and the receivers are out of synch, I say leave him in and work the pass.  I know the prob with that is we would just run the dive play until the clock expired. 

I agree MW needs work but from what I've seen, JS could use some tuning up also.

And that's why I'm still mad about the GSU game. You're absolutely right. JS is still out of sync because we waited until the 3rd game for the new OC to sit in the box where he's always sat to call the plays that a bunch of young wide receivers, a re-tooled OL including a guy who's never played OL before at all starting at LT, and a new quarterback practiced all offseason. So we were doing our tune-up work in the third game, after we'd already lost to Clemson.

Just mind numbing stuff.