Athlon mag out, Lindys PDF out

[AppSt94]

Here is another angle on the QB situation. Before I go further I state for the record Zac has done a great job for our school and taken us to another level during his years here. He fully deserves to be credited for many great games. That being said let me make my point.

Last year Zac wasn't great. In the Ark St game he looked really good. In most every other game he was not. There are many factors to consider (OC, surrounding personnel or lack there of) and were likely contributors, but we saw what we saw. Zac, in 3 yrs has shown greatness and weaknesses. More of the former rather than the latter. Now if he were returning would you get Zac yr 1/2 or Zac yr 3? Don't know. How would you project our chances? Now we have another guy that "theoretically" should be at least as good coming in. We don't know what he will do, play like Zac Yr 1/2 or Zac in year last year.

For me, we need a QB to play better than last year to achieve our optimal goals. This also ASSUMES we get Ponce clicking and all the surrounding offensive playmakers (RBs, WRs, TE and line) are delivering. If the above don't happen we lose many games.

I saw the look on Zac’s face during games throughout the season and he often looked disengaged. One has to wonder if having a third year with a new voice was just a lot more change than he was comfortable, as a person, could deal with. Some people just don’t deal with change very well. Some can roll with it. Ponce/Drink/and Peterson all have their own approach. It may have pushed him out of his comfort zone a little.

[EastHallApp]

Am I being unreasonably confident/comfortable in thinking that a guy who was appointed “next man up” behind Trevor Lawrence, and then welcomed in as the starter by Dave Cutcliffe is probably a damn good QB? We’ll see how he does on the mountain (with plenty of weapons to draw!), but at first glance I feel pretty good.

I think there are certainly reasons for optimism with Brice. But I wouldn't really say he was "appointed next man up" behind Lawrence. He was 2nd string because Hunter Johnson transferred before the season, then Kelly Bryant transferred midseason after Lawrence beat him out. That's why Clemson fans remember him as such a scrappy underdog story: They never expected him to be forced into meaningful action.

And then they recruited over him to find Lawrence's successor and that was that.

As for his time at Duke, that's been covered here at length.

Let's have reasonable expectations based on his actual track record more so than having been in proximity to famous teammates and coaches. If he matches Zac Thomas' senior season production, for example - nevermind ZT's earlier, better seasons - that would be by far the best year of his career.

If he exceeds those expectations, that's great. Hopefully App will be the environment that allows him to thrive. He should have every opportunity to do so.

[MrCraig]

Do Coaches actually use bulletin boards for this stuff?

Maybe not a bulletin board in the classical sense but coaches absolutely use any kind of motivation they can get their hands on, even if it's made up. Taping copies of articles to each locker, sending links via group text, etc.

Of course, unless its Love Week.

If they are anything like the coaches I work with, they probably have a Google Classroom lol

[AppSt94]

Am I being unreasonably confident/comfortable in thinking that a guy who was appointed “next man up” behind Trevor Lawrence, and then welcomed in as the starter by Dave Cutcliffe is probably a damn good QB? We’ll see how he does on the mountain (with plenty of weapons to draw!), but at first glance I feel pretty good.

I think there are certainly reasons for optimism with Brice. But I wouldn't really say he was "appointed next man up" behind Lawrence. He was 2nd string because Hunter Johnson transferred before the season, then Kelly Bryant transferred midseason after Lawrence beat him out. That's why Clemson fans remember him as such a scrappy underdog story: They never expected him to be forced into meaningful action.

And then they recruited over him to find Lawrence's successor and that was that.

As for his time at Duke, that's been covered here at length.

Let's have reasonable expectations based on his actual track record more so than having been in proximity to famous teammates and coaches. If he matches Zac Thomas' senior season production, for example - nevermind ZT's earlier, better seasons - that would be by far the best year of his career.

If he exceeds those expectations, that's great. Hopefully App will be the environment that allows him to thrive. He should have every opportunity to do so.

All indications from Spring Ball is that he is going to be OK.

[AppStFan1]

Yea got the Athlon book a week ago. They do have us 8-4, 5-3...... anything can happen but SO unlikely. The time for us to go 8-4 was last season when we had 3 position groups on offense decimated by injuries..... and it did not happen then. Our defense is going to be as good or better than last season, so for that reason alone, we’ll go no worse than 9-3. It will be hard to score on us. This is why we’ll be ok against Miami. The D will keep us in games till the offense get its legs and timing. Back to Athlon, they rate the position groups (Qb,Rb,Wr/TE, OL,DL,Lb, DB) so every year I add up all the numbers and the team with the lowest overall number has the team.... with me? This is their ranking. It doesn’t mean we can’t lose but a general overall ranking of personnel...... who has the lowest? Apps at 15...ULL 17 and CC at 18. I’d say that matches up with how I think about our talent man-to-man..... we have the most athletic team in the conference with ULL second and CC third. But it is curious that Athlon rates our Wr/TE number 1 but when selecting All Sunbelt wrs we have no one in the top 2. But ultimately, they hinge their analysis on Brice’s production. I know this is long but bear with me. In their final analysis section “Apps has defense capable of making it to the nation’s top Group of 5 team. The offense possess the kind of playmakers led by Peoples and Sutton to score on anybody on its schedule. The question comes at Qb. Will Brice be the type of qb he was at Clemson coming off the bench in relief to lead the Tigers to a win in’18 championship season? Or will he be a turnover machine he was at Duke. If Brice is good, Apps could compete for a New Year's Six bowl.” In my opinion, Brice does not have to play great for us to win lots of games. Because of our talent level if Brice just plays “good” (I know it should be well grammatically) we will win lots of games. This is all assuming we don’t have debilitating injuries in several position groups.

That is interesting. To me, we should go 10-2 with a loss to Miami and then someone in the SBC but like you said with our defense it should at least keep us in games if Brice were to let down at all. Worst case we should see 9-3. If we somehow were awful at QB or got decimated by injuries and go 8-4 then 2022 becomes really important because we have CCU and GSU on the road, and we play both UNC and Texas A&M. We could lose 3 games in 2022 and possibly still have a top 35 caliber team.

[AppStFan1]

Do Coaches actually use bulletin boards for this stuff?

I am pretty sure we don't literally have one as it is just an expression. A smart coach uses what he can to motivate his team. Clark and staff need to make sure our kids hear the criticism and read the love fest by ESPN on CCU. This year needs to be about taking back the Sun Belt and putting CCU back in their rightful place. If I see any of our players I will make sure I mention these magazines. They need to hear this outside noise and it should piss them off because it pisses me off.

[AppStFan1]

Brice doesn’t need to be special. He needs to read the defense and make the correct decisions. Which I don’t see a problem with him doing. It’s unfair to look at what he did at Duke and draw a conclusion on his effectiveness. A great deal of the play from him last year was indicative of factors that were out of his control. He has a firm grasp with of the playbook and has looked the part of a QB1 in spring ball. Recent news from the QB room has me feeling better about the position as a whole. Moose will fill you in.

And with that recent news I won't be surprised to see a real battle that comes down to the wire. If it is that close then we should not only have a better starter but a very good backup. I think this move will definitely help Brice and the entire room, plus he can bring Tabscott further along as well. Surprised we could pull this off but I'm glad we did. I just checked the roster and he is not listed yet but I would imagine he will be any day now.

[Yosef10]

Am I being unreasonably confident/comfortable in thinking that a guy who was appointed “next man up” behind Trevor Lawrence, and then welcomed in as the starter by Dave Cutcliffe is probably a damn good QB? We’ll see how he does on the mountain (with plenty of weapons to draw!), but at first glance I feel pretty good.

He literally transferred from Clemson because he was not “next man up”. He was a nice depth piece at Clemson, never was gonna be the starter unless they really missed on the QB spot in recruiting, which they did not. Yes a lot of y’all have on black and gold shades. I do think he’ll end up being pretty good but nothing he has done at Clemson or Duke guarantees that.

I too have heard the reports out of spring ball, and while nice to hear, I would expect a guy who spent 3 years in the ACC to be able to make it through spring ball adequately. Whether or not that means he’ll lead us to a W on 9/2 and beyond is still a mystery. To everyone.

[AppStFan1]

Am I being unreasonably confident/comfortable in thinking that a guy who was appointed “next man up” behind Trevor Lawrence, and then welcomed in as the starter by Dave Cutcliffe is probably a damn good QB? We’ll see how he does on the mountain (with plenty of weapons to draw!), but at first glance I feel pretty good.

He literally transferred from Clemson because he was not “next man up”. He was a nice depth piece at Clemson, never was gonna be the starter unless they really missed on the QB spot in recruiting, which they did not. Yes a lot of y’all have on black and gold shades. I do think he’ll end up being pretty good but nothing he has done at Clemson or Duke guarantees that.

I am with you on this. We need him to be good and I think it is both accurate to say there is no evidence that he is definitely a favorite to be POY and nothing that shows he is going to be awful. I'm not 100% sure on what to expect but hopeful that Brice has the offense down pat.

[AppStFan1]

I don't know why we'd need to draw motivation from some magazine picking us third in the Sun Belt when that's actually what happened last year. Reality is the best motivator.

I agree that reality is best motivator but seeing the love fest by ESPN and the magazines over CCU and how we are almost forgotten should fuel the players even more. I hope it pisses Clark and all of them off because it should. What CCU did last year was impressive but it is time we put them back where they belong in the pecking order.

[AppStFan1]

To be honest, we seem to thrive in the under-dog position, so I'm not hating this. When people underestimate our guys they tend to get punished where it counts...on the field.

This is definitely true. It is why I'm mad to see CCU gushed over but I'm also glad we aren't picked to win the league. Use this as fuel and I expect us to do better because of the position we are in.

[AppStFan1]

Here is another angle on the QB situation. Before I go further I state for the record Zac has done a great job for our school and taken us to another level during his years here. He fully deserves to be credited for many great games. That being said let me make my point.

Last year Zac wasn't great. In the Ark St game he looked really good. In most every other game he was not. There are many factors to consider (OC, surrounding personnel or lack there of) and were likely contributors, but we saw what we saw. Zac, in 3 yrs has shown greatness and weaknesses. More of the former rather than the latter. Now if he were returning would you get Zac yr 1/2 or Zac yr 3? Don't know. How would you project our chances? Now we have another guy that "theoretically" should be at least as good coming in. We don't know what he will do, play like Zac Yr 1/2 or Zac in year last year.

For me, we need a QB to play better than last year to achieve our optimal goals. This also ASSUMES we get Ponce clicking and all the surrounding offensive playmakers (RBs, WRs, TE and line) are delivering. If the above don't happen we lose many games.

Agree here. If Zac were returning I would say the same and tell Zac we need him to be more like 2018 than 2020. If we had a QB play like McCall did for CCU last year then we win the SBC and finish ranked in the top 10 because we run the table. Zac was very good at times but also very bad. We just need to be consistently good and not have meltdowns like we did the last few minutes against Coastal and we will be fine.

[AppStFan1]

Am I being unreasonably confident/comfortable in thinking that a guy who was appointed “next man up” behind Trevor Lawrence, and then welcomed in as the starter by Dave Cutcliffe is probably a damn good QB? We’ll see how he does on the mountain (with plenty of weapons to draw!), but at first glance I feel pretty good.

I think there are certainly reasons for optimism with Brice. But I wouldn't really say he was "appointed next man up" behind Lawrence. He was 2nd string because Hunter Johnson transferred before the season, then Kelly Bryant transferred midseason after Lawrence beat him out. That's why Clemson fans remember him as such a scrappy underdog story: They never expected him to be forced into meaningful action.

And then they recruited over him to find Lawrence's successor and that was that.

As for his time at Duke, that's been covered here at length.

Let's have reasonable expectations based on his actual track record more so than having been in proximity to famous teammates and coaches. If he matches Zac Thomas' senior season production, for example - nevermind ZT's earlier, better seasons - that would be by far the best year of his career.

If he exceeds those expectations, that's great. Hopefully App will be the environment that allows him to thrive. He should have every opportunity to do so.

All indications from Spring Ball is that he is going to be OK.

Yes from what is being said things sound good. Nobody was sounding the alarms last spring that Zac would be inconsistent so we truly never know. Things can change but I hope he keeps it up. I have seen too many cases where good in the spring does not happen in the fall and some where a player 3rd on depth chart ends up being an all-conf player.

[AppSt94]

Brice doesn’t need to be special. He needs to read the defense and make the correct decisions. Which I don’t see a problem with him doing. It’s unfair to look at what he did at Duke and draw a conclusion on his effectiveness. A great deal of the play from him last year was indicative of factors that were out of his control. He has a firm grasp with of the playbook and has looked the part of a QB1 in spring ball. Recent news from the QB room has me feeling better about the position as a whole. Moose will fill you in.

And with that recent news I won't be surprised to see a real battle that comes down to the wire. If it is that close then we should not only have a better starter but a very good backup. I think this move will definitely help Brice and the entire room, plus he can bring Tabscott further along as well. Surprised we could pull this off but I'm glad we did. I just checked the roster and he is not listed yet but I would imagine he will be any day now.

Brice is the #1. The new guy is #2.

[EastHallApp]

Am I being unreasonably confident/comfortable in thinking that a guy who was appointed “next man up” behind Trevor Lawrence, and then welcomed in as the starter by Dave Cutcliffe is probably a damn good QB? We’ll see how he does on the mountain (with plenty of weapons to draw!), but at first glance I feel pretty good.

He literally transferred from Clemson because he was not “next man up”. He was a nice depth piece at Clemson, never was gonna be the starter unless they really missed on the QB spot in recruiting, which they did not. Yes a lot of y’all have on black and gold shades. I do think he’ll end up being pretty good but nothing he has done at Clemson or Duke guarantees that.

I too have heard the reports out of spring ball, and while nice to hear, I would expect a guy who spent 3 years in the ACC to be able to make it through spring ball adequately. Whether or not that means he’ll lead us to a W on 9/2 and beyond is still a mystery. To everyone.

Yeah sometimes I feel like I'm the old Eeyore everyone hates for always pumping the brakes on Brice.

The reports from spring ball are encouraging. I'd be lying if I said I don't let myself daydream of him coming in and torching the Sun Belt for 3500 and 35 TDs, with Sutton and Hennigan overpowering helpless corners and Virgil getting loose for a few home runs while Peoples repeatedly gashes the front seven. It's fun to imagine.

Until he gets his first taste of more than a few plays of success, though, I'm going to stay grounded.

[AppStFan1]

Am I being unreasonably confident/comfortable in thinking that a guy who was appointed “next man up” behind Trevor Lawrence, and then welcomed in as the starter by Dave Cutcliffe is probably a damn good QB? We’ll see how he does on the mountain (with plenty of weapons to draw!), but at first glance I feel pretty good.

He literally transferred from Clemson because he was not “next man up”. He was a nice depth piece at Clemson, never was gonna be the starter unless they really missed on the QB spot in recruiting, which they did not. Yes a lot of y’all have on black and gold shades. I do think he’ll end up being pretty good but nothing he has done at Clemson or Duke guarantees that.

I too have heard the reports out of spring ball, and while nice to hear, I would expect a guy who spent 3 years in the ACC to be able to make it through spring ball adequately. Whether or not that means he’ll lead us to a W on 9/2 and beyond is still a mystery. To everyone.

Yeah sometimes I feel like I'm the old Eeyore everyone hates for always pumping the brakes on Brice.

The reports from spring ball are encouraging. I'd be lying if I said I don't let myself daydream of him coming in and torching the Sun Belt for 3500 and 35 TDs, with Sutton and Hennigan overpowering helpless corners and Virgil getting loose for a few home runs while Peoples repeatedly gashes the front seven. It's fun to imagine.

Until he gets his first taste of more than a few plays of success, though, I'm going to stay grounded.

I'm with you here. We need to be grounded because we have a lot we don't know. The addition to the QB room should help it and I still think we could see more competition there than people around the team expect right now. I expect Brice to start but I won't be shocked if at some point there is at least debate on who it should be during the fall.

[Yosef10]

Am I being unreasonably confident/comfortable in thinking that a guy who was appointed “next man up” behind Trevor Lawrence, and then welcomed in as the starter by Dave Cutcliffe is probably a damn good QB? We’ll see how he does on the mountain (with plenty of weapons to draw!), but at first glance I feel pretty good.

He literally transferred from Clemson because he was not “next man up”. He was a nice depth piece at Clemson, never was gonna be the starter unless they really missed on the QB spot in recruiting, which they did not. Yes a lot of y’all have on black and gold shades. I do think he’ll end up being pretty good but nothing he has done at Clemson or Duke guarantees that.

I too have heard the reports out of spring ball, and while nice to hear, I would expect a guy who spent 3 years in the ACC to be able to make it through spring ball adequately. Whether or not that means he’ll lead us to a W on 9/2 and beyond is still a mystery. To everyone.

Yeah sometimes I feel like I'm the old Eeyore everyone hates for always pumping the brakes on Brice.

The reports from spring ball are encouraging. I'd be lying if I said I don't let myself daydream of him coming in and torching the Sun Belt for 3500 and 35 TDs, with Sutton and Hennigan overpowering helpless corners and Virgil getting loose for a few home runs while Peoples repeatedly gashes the front seven. It's fun to imagine.

Until he gets his first taste of more than a few plays of success, though, I'm going to stay grounded.

Haha yeah I’m with you, i should have scrolled through the thread before replying, i see you said pretty much exactly the same.

I’m as big an App fan as there is, but I just don’t get the guys on our message boards who think just because a guy puts on an App jersey he’s gonna be a stud. Coaches miss on guys all the time, all you need is one look at recruiting classes to tell that. Similarly they just can’t give credit to programs like CCU and ULL. McCall put up a helluva freshman season and we’ve got dudes saying I bet he cant replicate it. Were y’all saying the same thing after Zac and Taylor’s first years? Guys, it’s ok to have competition in the conference, we need those programs and more to step up in perpetuity. Sorry for going off on a tangent rant East lol.

[mike87]

Am I being unreasonably confident/comfortable in thinking that a guy who was appointed “next man up” behind Trevor Lawrence, and then welcomed in as the starter by Dave Cutcliffe is probably a damn good QB? We’ll see how he does on the mountain (with plenty of weapons to draw!), but at first glance I feel pretty good.

He literally transferred from Clemson because he was not “next man up”. He was a nice depth piece at Clemson, never was gonna be the starter unless they really missed on the QB spot in recruiting, which they did not. Yes a lot of y’all have on black and gold shades. I do think he’ll end up being pretty good but nothing he has done at Clemson or Duke guarantees that.

I too have heard the reports out of spring ball, and while nice to hear, I would expect a guy who spent 3 years in the ACC to be able to make it through spring ball adequately. Whether or not that means he’ll lead us to a W on 9/2 and beyond is still a mystery. To everyone.

Yeah sometimes I feel like I'm the old Eeyore everyone hates for always pumping the brakes on Brice.

The reports from spring ball are encouraging. I'd be lying if I said I don't let myself daydream of him coming in and torching the Sun Belt for 3500 and 35 TDs, with Sutton and Hennigan overpowering helpless corners and Virgil getting loose for a few home runs while Peoples repeatedly gashes the front seven. It's fun to imagine.

Until he gets his first taste of more than a few plays of success, though, I'm going to stay grounded.

I'm with you here. We need to be grounded because we have a lot we don't know. The addition to the QB room should help it and I still think we could see more competition there than people around the team expect right now. I expect Brice to start but I won't be shocked if at some point there is at least debate on who it should be during the fall.

Wait, are you saying that the #2 QB might actually be the best player on the team?

[JMappfan5]

Surprised to hear about QB #2!!! We are in much better shape.

[AppSt94]

Am I being unreasonably confident/comfortable in thinking that a guy who was appointed “next man up” behind Trevor Lawrence, and then welcomed in as the starter by Dave Cutcliffe is probably a damn good QB? We’ll see how he does on the mountain (with plenty of weapons to draw!), but at first glance I feel pretty good.

He literally transferred from Clemson because he was not “next man up”. He was a nice depth piece at Clemson, never was gonna be the starter unless they really missed on the QB spot in recruiting, which they did not. Yes a lot of y’all have on black and gold shades. I do think he’ll end up being pretty good but nothing he has done at Clemson or Duke guarantees that.

I too have heard the reports out of spring ball, and while nice to hear, I would expect a guy who spent 3 years in the ACC to be able to make it through spring ball adequately. Whether or not that means he’ll lead us to a W on 9/2 and beyond is still a mystery. To everyone.

Yeah sometimes I feel like I'm the old Eeyore everyone hates for always pumping the brakes on Brice.

The reports from spring ball are encouraging. I'd be lying if I said I don't let myself daydream of him coming in and torching the Sun Belt for 3500 and 35 TDs, with Sutton and Hennigan overpowering helpless corners and Virgil getting loose for a few home runs while Peoples repeatedly gashes the front seven. It's fun to imagine.

Until he gets his first taste of more than a few plays of success, though, I'm going to stay grounded.

I'm with you here. We need to be grounded because we have a lot we don't know. The addition to the QB room should help it and I still think we could see more competition there than people around the team expect right now. I expect Brice to start but I won't be shocked if at some point there is at least debate on who it should be during the fall.

Wait, are you saying that the #2 QB might actually be the best player on the team?

I will say that he significantly minimizes the drop off from Brice to the next person currently listed as #2.