Report: Hank Brown to start Saturday

[TitanTiger 21,340]

11 minutes ago, NoALtiger said:

I definitely fall on the Cam Ward side of things but I think there were others that would be better than what we got. 

The problem is that when one guy commands around $2 million in NIL, that means 2-3 other guys are going to be left out because no school has infinite NIL funds.  Having seen Thorne at Mich State when he had NFL and Big Ten caliber WRs perform well, it wasn't a crazy leap of logic to think that if we overhaul the WR room with some stud HS and a couple of good transfers, we could see that Thorne again.  Given those options, I can't fault his thought process on it.  It just didn't work out.  Now he's moving forward as he should.

[Viper 3,536]

2 hours ago, Dual-Threat Rigby said:

I know it’s an abominable defense, but I just feel like it’s a difference when you know they’re going to put points on the other side of the ball 

Absolutely. We will not win this game 73-3. QB Dampier will be the best QB in the stadium tomorrow.

[DAG 34,937]

Give him some patience freeze. Let him get comfortable! Glad we are finally doing something. 

[ScotsAU 1,390]

I have some questions about whether this is really a switch. It feels a lot like 2007 when Brandon Cox was benched a few games in for Kodi Burns. Ironically enough, I think it was against New Mexico. Burns started the game. Cox came off the bench and was back to starting the next week. He was “benched” against an easy opponent to essentially force him to step up and take the job back. I wonder if that’s what is happening here.

[Viper 3,536]

2 hours ago, Dual-Threat Rigby said:

I know people have in the past given the OL a ton of flack, and obv Thorne isn’t the greatest, but the complete disinterest in scheming for a 10-20 passing offense (rather than a 40+ yard one) has been almost as egregious 

We have YAC monsters on this team that should eat in a gimmicky screen/dump off scheme (like what Cal ran) 

Agreed but Thorne missed badly on three 10-20 yard slant routes v Cal…IIRC, all in the 1st half. The play call was there. So was our WR. Thorne didn’t execute.

[Dual-Threat Rigby 9,090]

6 minutes ago, TitanTiger said:

The problem is that when one guy commands around $2 million in NIL, that means 2-3 other guys are going to be left out because no school has infinite NIL funds.  Having seen Thorne at Mich State when he had NFL and Big Ten caliber WRs perform well, it wasn't a crazy leap of logic to think that if we overhaul the WR room with some stud HS and a couple of good transfers, we could see that Thorne again.  Given those options, I can't fault his thought process on it.  It just didn't work out.  Now he's moving forward as he should.

Not disagreeing with you, but that was predicated on Thorne playing with a legit legit NFL RB (probably the best college back during his time at MSU) and two bonafide NFL WRs. And they seemed to know their offensive scheme better than Freeze has shown so far. Thorne was also not a positive factor against tOSU or UM, which should've probably suggested he wasn't a ceiling raiser. 

I didn't like the decision at the time, so I'm not necessarily second guessing it, but there was going to have to be a good bit of magic that had to happen for this guy to not be mediocre-below average. Maybe Freeze thought his ability to scheme would make up the difference. 

[meh130 1,057]

Our offense is supposed to be RPO heavy, so the pass vs run split may in large be dictated by what the NM’s defense does.

Edited September 13 by meh130

[Viper 3,536]

3 minutes ago, ScotsAU said:

I have some questions about whether this is really a switch. It feels a lot like 2007 when Brandon Cox was benched a few games in for Kodi Burns. Ironically enough, I think it was against New Mexico. Burns started the game. Cox came off the bench and was back to starting the next week. He was “benched” against an easy opponent to essentially force him to step up and take the job back. I wonder if that’s what is happening here.

Bingo. To be even more precise, I equate it to bammer benching Milroe v USF last season. Sit him for those egregious INTs. Let the backups come in and everyone gets to see they are no better. 

Obviously a much worse defense Brown gets to face than the bammer backup QBs faced v USF.

Still…my money is on Thorne either starting v ARK or off the bench in relief of Brown.

[TitanTiger 21,340]

2 minutes ago, Viper said:

Bingo. To be even more precise, I equate it to bammer benching Milroe v USF last season. Sit him for those egregious INTs. Let the backups come in and everyone gets to see they are no better. 

Obviously a much worse defense Brown gets to face than the bammer backup QBs faced v USF.

Still…my money is on Thorne either starting v ARK or off the bench in relief of Brown.

If Brown looks good this week, Thorne isn't starting against Arkansas.  And unless Brown struggles in the start vs Arkansas, Thorne isn't coming off the bench to relieve Brown.  This is more than just a wake up call.  It's a full blown opportunity for Brown to take the job over.  If he seizes it and performs well, he's the man until/unless the job becomes too much for him.

[Viper 3,536]

6 minutes ago, meh130 said:

Our offense is supposed to be RPO heavy, so the pass vs run split may in large be dictated by what the NM’s defense does.

NM defense won’t dictate anything but resemble a sieve. 

[Viper 3,536]

Just now, TitanTiger said:

If Brown looks good this week, Thorne isn't starting against Arkansas.  And unless Brown struggles in the start vs Arkansas, Thorne isn't coming off the bench to relieve Brown.  This is more than just a wake up call.  It's a full blown opportunity for Brown to take the job over.  If he seizes it and performs well, he's the man until/unless the job becomes too much for him.

Agreed on Brown starting v ARK. We should score at min, 8 TDs on NM.

I’m predicting ARK is going to get up on us by 14+ points, Brown won’t be able to keep up, and Freeze will pull the Thorne trigger.

[TigerOne 1,264]

3 minutes ago, TitanTiger said:

If Brown looks good this week, Thorne isn't starting against Arkansas.  And unless Brown struggles in the start vs Arkansas, Thorne isn't coming off the bench to relieve Brown.  This is more than just a wake up call.  It's a full blown opportunity for Brown to take the job over.  If he seizes it and performs well, he's the man until/unless the job becomes too much for him.

It’s a wake up call for freeze to get off his ass and coach. That call most likely wasn’t made by freeze. In any case hopefully the seriousness of the situation is not lost on hugh and his misquided 4-5 year build plan.

[Swamp Eagle 5,314]

1 hour ago, GAAubie said:

It's always easier to spend someone else's money. 

I think the issue here is more "it's irresponsible to not spend money on what the need calls for."

[abw0004 10,330]

Everyone will need to be patient with Hank.  It will be pouring rain tomorrow and most likely have thunderstorm delays.  Everything that could go wrong weather-wise may very well happen.  So just be patient with the guy.  

[Gowebb11 9,943]

I hope like heck HB thrives tomorrow. Not just for this season, but it would be nice to have a positive QB situation for 2-3 years. We had that with Bo but blew the opportunity to take advantage of it. Hugh needs to make this work for now and the future. 

[HAPvsOA 439]

5 hours ago, Hank2020 said:

I believe it will be whatever the defense gives us. Will try for that 60/40 split, but with short routes too.

I won't believe we have a short passing game till I see it, lol

[JuscAUse! 1,687]

3 hours ago, Dual-Threat Rigby said:

I know people have in the past given the OL a ton of flack, and obv Thorne isn’t the greatest, but the complete disinterest in scheming for a 10-20 passing offense (rather than a 40+ yard one) has been almost as egregious 

We have YAC monsters on this team that should eat in a gimmicky screen/dump off scheme (like what Cal ran) 

Man, I love your takes most of the time, but we run an RPO offense. That puts the decision making in the hands of the QB. I have no idea if HF or whoever is telling the QB to throw long, but if it's a true RPO, Thorne made those decisions. On any given play , QB can hand off to the RB, keep it and run, or make multiple reads in the passing game. You can argue that the coach didn't coach him up enough,or the Offense sucks, but chances are no one from the bench called a hail Mary on 4th and 2. Or 3rd and 2. It IS complicated,and I would understand any argument that says the coach should know better. It's just my opinion, and we aren't enemies. Just frustrated fans. 

[AUwent 3,841]

1 hour ago, TitanTiger said:

The problem is that when one guy commands around $2 million in NIL, that means 2-3 other guys are going to be left out because no school has infinite NIL funds.  Having seen Thorne at Mich State when he had NFL and Big Ten caliber WRs perform well, it wasn't a crazy leap of logic to think that if we overhaul the WR room with some stud HS and a couple of good transfers, we could see that Thorne again.  Given those options, I can't fault his thought process on it.  It just didn't work out.  Now he's moving forward as he should.

And this is why I’m questioning if Deuce is worth it. We need to put all hands on deck for an elite ready to go QB this December…

1 hour ago, Viper said:

Agreed on Brown starting v ARK. We should score at min, 8 TDs on NM.

I’m predicting ARK is going to get up on us by 14+ points, Brown won’t be able to keep up, and Freeze will pull the Thorne trigger.

…especially if we lose to a team we blasted a year ago. Freeze would never be able to live down his decision to not go portal hunting until it was too late.

***
@aujohnson: Realistically, I’d say we should’ve done what Vandy did before they could. I heard someone suggest that DP wouldn’t look as good because of our OL…yeah, because Vandy has such a great OL. We would’ve beaten Cal with DP, guaranteed. And to top it off, every remaining home game plus Kentucky would be looking winnable.

Edited September 14 by AUwent

[HAPvsOA 439]

1 hour ago, Viper said:

NM defense won’t dictate anything but resemble a sieve. 

Unless we throw the ball right to them. 

 

[AUGoo 2,703]

Whooop!

There it is!

[TitanTiger 21,340]

1 hour ago, TigerOne said:

It’s a wake up call for freeze to get off his ass and coach. That call most likely wasn’t made by freeze. In any case hopefully the seriousness of the situation is not lost on hugh and his misquided 4-5 year build plan.

No one is telling him who to play. 

[HAPvsOA 439]

9 minutes ago, AUwent said:

And this is why I’m questioning if Deuce is worth it. We need to put all hands on deck for an elite ready to go QB this December…

…especially if we lose to a team we blasted a year ago. Freeze would never be able to live down his decision to not go portal hunting until it was too late.

 

Deuce has huge upside, but will take time to develop. He's probably worth the risk regardless of who we get in the portal. We can use additional talent in the QB room even if Hank and Walker develop well. 

Edited September 13 by HAPvsOA

[TitanTiger 21,340]

9 minutes ago, AUwent said:

And this is why I’m questioning if Deuce is worth it. We need to put all hands on deck for an elite ready to go QB this December…

…especially if we lose to a team we blasted a year ago. Freeze would never be able to live down his decision to not go portal hunting until it was too late.

 

You need to build a QB room to sustain success. So you go after Deuce. You also get a really good one year guy in the portal. 

[cbo 8,832]

10 minutes ago, JuscAUse! said:

Man, I love your takes most of the time, but we run an RPO offense. That puts the decision making in the hands of the QB. I have no idea if HF or whoever is telling the QB to throw long, but if it's a true RPO, Thorne made those decisions. On any given play , QB can hand off to the RB, keep it and run, or make multiple reads in the passing game. You can argue that the coach didn't coach him up enough,or the Offense sucks, but chances are no one from the bench called a hail Mary on 4th and 2. Or 3rd and 2. It IS complicated,and I would understand any argument that says the coach should know better. It's just my opinion, and we aren't enemies. Just frustrated fans. 

The problem is there are too many plays with nothing but deep routes. Where are the quick passes to get your QB comfortable and give your talented WRs a chance to make a play. 

[HAPvsOA 439]

2 minutes ago, cbo said:

The problem is there are too many plays with nothing but deep routes. Where are the quick passes to get your QB comfortable and give your talented WRs a chance to make a play. 

You mean the kind of routes that Cal killed us with. And the ones that open up big plays after your QB is comfortable like when you fake short and go long. Now that's revolutionary. Or at least if feels that way for AU after the Cal game. 

Edited September 13 by HAPvsOA