Let's Do This: 2020 QB Discussion

[rgw]

Height at QB just isn’t as crucial as it was before the prevalence of the shotgun. If the player can throw a good ball and move around a bit then they can probably play in nearly any offense other than those that insist on being mostly under center drop back.

 

[4Q Basket Case]

I think Saban has learned from 2017 and as soon as BY is ready, he takes over. Probably by mid-season. Just a hunch - MJ is really good, but BY has the potential to be GREAT.

Agree on Saban evolving from 2017. Part of that is Tua's performance (2nd and 26 sure didn't hurt), and part of that is what a tremendous person Tua is. I don't know that I've ever heard Saban say that any other player affected him personally the way Tua did.

Also agree on the next QB taking over when he (the next QB) is ready. When that might be, I don't know. I'm not as sure as you are that Young will be demonstrably better than Mac in 2020.

Jalen's issue was passing. He just wasn't accurate enough. Still isn't, really. Mac is no Tua. But then, in 127 years of football, we've never had anybody as accurate as Tua. Is Young so much better a passer than Mac that a true freshman can wrest the starting QB job from a 4th year Junior? We'll have to see on that.

 

[mlh]

I like Mac. He has maturity, years in "the system," and he's not exactly without talent. I think he'll be our QB next year unless he has turnover problems or gets injured. Lia, Tyson, and Bryce will fight it out for the backup spot. But I wouldn't count Lia out too quickly.

 

[Power Eye]

I think Saban has learned from 2017 and as soon as BY is ready, he takes over. Probably by mid-season. Just a hunch - MJ is really good, but BY has the potential to be GREAT.

I hope Young is as good as everyone is expecting. I really have no idea when it comes to HS players.

Perhaps I’m putting too much stock into Mac’s performance this year, but he just looked like a QB that would start on about every college team outside of maybe 10 teams. I realize he’s got help that only Burrow, Lawrence and Fields has, but the kid has real skill, and I can only imagine that he will improve between now and the USC game.

I just don’t see a situation like we dealt with two years ago or that Clemson dealt with last year where you had an incumbent QB with significant experience but struggled to get the ball into playmakers’ hands. As a matter of fact, I don’t think DeVonta would have returned if he felt that Mac wouldn’t be the starter next year or wasn’t capable of leading us to a title.

 

[BamaMoon]

Keep in mind that several people I trust have stated that BY is further along than Tua was when he stepped on campus. BY might be the best we've seen yet. Might.

Agreed. I've heard the staff believes BY is "day one starter." Obviously that doesn't mean he will, but that he has that kind of potential. Remember Sark has had his eye on this guy since he was in 8th grade.

 

[BamaMoon]

Also, I don't think it's wise to compare what happened with Jalen and Tua to what might happen with Mac Jones and Bryce Young.

Nothing similar about the situation except I do think CNS probably learned a valuable lesson in 2017 about not letting the better player sit on the bench.

 

[CrimsonProf]

No real intel here, but I'd wager that Lia isn't on the roster when fall camp starts. I suppose Townsend will learn the QB playbook, too.

 

[BamaMoon]

OK, been dying to tell y'all, but the truth is Tua declared today because he was afraid Bryce Young would beat him out of the job next fall.

 

[edwd58]

I see many posters mention Mac's time in "the system" as a big advantage, and it might be. It certainly isn't a negative. However, from the times I've seen Young's team play on tv, it seems they run a system that mirrors what we (namely Sark) are doing very closely. I'm not going to say that Young will be the starter in game one, but I don't believe it may be as farfetched as some might think. The competition will be fun and interesting to watch unfold.

 

[CoolBreeze]

No real intel here, but I'd wager that Lia isn't on the roster when fall camp starts. I suppose Townsend will learn the QB playbook, too.

If I were a gambling man I'd wager against that prediction.

 

[Tenntiderman]

I agree that MJ starts next year. I think if Lia had the "Tua magic" he might have unseated MJ this year but he didn't.

That doesn't mean Lia is not a very good QB. According to 247, Lia was a 4 star and #180 ranked player nationally.

But Bryce Young is just another level. 247 had him as a 5 star and #6 ranked player nationally. Huge difference....according to them.

I think if BY doesn't have a clear path to starting by 2021 (if he doesn't do that before then) he'll be looking to transfer. The only thing that might possibly keep him from doing so is MJ having a "Joe Burrow" year next year and MJ entering the draft this time next year.

IMO, Tyson is likely out of the picture.

So here's my prediction: MJ starts and he either "balls out" and keeps BY at bay OR, if MJ struggles BY enters the picture by midseason. We might even know by week 4 (after Georgia) what might happen.

Lia likely transfers in 2021.

Not sure.. I do think this. I saw Taulia AND Tyson play in High School. I think BOTH of these kids are very good. Tyson is a very gifted passer. As is Taulia. I understand about Bryce, but he will be behind for a while. There is a pecking order in Tuscaloosa. Mac is rock solid no doubt....but who among us thought that he would do what he has done prior to his performance versus Arkansas??? Not many. I recall more than a few 'No way Mac Jones is still around in '20 posts. All either one of these young men need is an opportunity. Something that neither Tyson or Taulia has really had. Just saying.

 

[Tenntiderman]

MJ starts, throws for 3800 yards and 35 TDs, and is in NYC for the Heisman ceremony.

BY wins the 2nd string job, plays well in mop up all year.

Lia transfers after the CFP championship game.

Tyson doesn't play much, but also does not transfer.

Mac declares for the NFL draft after throwing for 420 yards and 5 TDs in the NC game.

Mac said that you are his favorite poster.

 

[Tenntiderman]

If I were a gambling man I'd wager against that prediction.

Family decision but that would make it seem that Tua's career outweighs Taulia's future. I don't think they will do that either, but just guessing on that. The kid has wheels as much as he does a powerful arm.

 

[Redwood Forrest]

I don't know how I feel about next season. I guess right now I am in a confused mode. We have underachieved the past two years and for the past two springs I have heard "how hungry this team is" and "how this team has something to prove" from both the Media and many fans. To add to my confusion our coaching is suspect IMO …… I am just in limbo. I guess I mean this season these players who are so highly rated and this coach who is so highly rated both have something to prove to me. Are they really as good as their rating?

 

[B1GTide]

I don't know how I feel about next season. I guess right now I am in a confused mode. We have underachieved the past two years and for the past two springs I have heard "how hungry this team is" and "how this team has something to prove" from both the Media and many fans. To add to my confusion our coaching is suspect IMO …… I am just in limbo. I guess I mean this season these players who are so highly rated and this coach who is so highly rated both have something to prove to me. Are they really as good as their rating?

Which coach?

 

[Ole Man Dan]

Ahh, a QB controversy in T-Town. This will preoccupy us all through the Spring, offseason and into Fall camp. I like Mac. He has two years head start on playbook. If he stays healthy, will be a strong contender. Watch out for Lia. Kid is extremely talented and routinely overlooked in the shadow of his brother. Strong candidate in his second year. Tyson and Young, just do not know what they can do in live action. Raw talent is there but Spring ball will give a look at exactly how they can compete as the starter.

Folks in the know say Lia has a higher potential than Mac. He throws flatter passes and knows the plays and has had help from our coaches, and Tua. I wouldn't be too fast to write Talia off as gone.
We have had lots of can't miss players... Some made it and some didn't.
SPRING PRACTICE WILL TELL THE TALE.
Right now the job is Mac's to lose.

 

[CrimsonProf]

FWIW, and I realize a lot of y'all don't trust the media, but Aaron Suttles commented today that of the four guys in the QB room - Young included - he would expect Lia to be the first to leave.

 

[BamaMoon]

Not sure.. I do think this. I saw Taulia AND Tyson play in High School. I think BOTH of these kids are very good. Tyson is a very gifted passer. As is Taulia. I understand about Bryce, but he will be behind for a while. There is a pecking order in Tuscaloosa. Mac is rock solid no doubt....but who among us thought that he would do what he has done prior to his performance versus Arkansas??? Not many. I recall more than a few 'No way Mac Jones is still around in '20 posts. All either one of these young men need is an opportunity. Something that neither Tyson or Taulia has really had. Just saying.

The three youngsters are all good QBs...but there is a clear separation according to the recruiting experts between the 3 of them. Or course, the only "pecking order" and analysis that truly matters is CNS/Sark's.

Jones has the inside track with his experience and good talent. If he loses the job to Bryce Young, as some think, it probably won't be because he fails but because he gets caught from behind by a better racehorse.

 

[BamaMoon]

Folks in the know say Lia has a higher potential than Mac. He throws flatter passes and knows the plays and has had help from our coaches, and Tua. I wouldn't be too fast to write Talia off as gone.
We have had lots of can't miss players... Some made it and some didn't.
SPRING PRACTICE WILL TELL THE TALE.
Right now the job is Mac's to lose.

Lia had all year to become #2 but couldn't surpass Jones.

This time last year I would have said he would've but he didn't.

 

[Tenntiderman]

FWIW, and I realize a lot of y'all don't trust the media, but Aaron Suttles commented today that of the four guys in the QB room - Young included - he would expect Lia to be the first to leave.

And that opinion MAY well have to do with more than football. Just saying. Taulia is his own person for sure. But who knows what can or will take place? You know....not many knew that Tua was becoming unhappy until after the NCG of 2017. That was because of lack of playing time as I recall...but anything can happen. What if Mac gets injured early? Seriously doubt Young goes in early on. I realize he is a player, but so was Tua. If not for Georgia 13 Bama 0 Jalen would have been the starter in 2018.