To the OP… I think the answer is “it depends who you ask.”
Glass half empty folks saw:
-Thorne didn’t really make any exceptional throws. His deep balls came out rather wobbly. He threw a few balls up for grabs.
- Brown was inconsistent. He threw one deep pass successfully, but it was slightly over thrown, negating what could’ve been a TD.
-Holden only three to check down receivers, and generated no explosive plays at all.
-White was very inconsistent and seemed to be lost in the offense.
Glass half full folks saw:
- Thorne did what the coaches have been wanting him to do since he arrived on campus. He operated the RPO system, made the right reads, and generally protected the football well. The few balls he did throw up for grabs went to Coleman, who showed out. It could be argued that Thorne just trusted Coleman enough to come down with those 50-50 balls. One time he did and scored. Another time, he drew a PI.
-Brown may have some room to grow. But he showed flashes of potential for the future.
-Holden took care of the football and managed the game.
-White played reasonably well for his first college game in front of fans. Like Brown, he has room to grow, but did well considering.
I lean glass half full for everyone except Holden. I have no issue with the guy. I applaud his decision to stay and fight. But I also think Holden is a good example of why we should have the transfer portal. This RPO scheme is not his natural skill set. If he overcomes that disadvantage, he could be a very good QB. But it’s an uphill battle because our scheme relies on the things he’s struggling to do well. I think he should transfer somewhere that runs a pro scheme.