Yesterday was the last day of camp, and unlike the last day of camp for most programs, some interesting things happened yesterday.
As we have all focused on the quarterback debate throughout camp, it was reaffirmed by Wannstedt that Bill Stull will be the starter. Before I get to the quotes on the matter, here's how the total completions and attempts for each quarterback went.
Stull - 5/19
Sunseri - 12/18
Bostick - 2/4
That's right, Pat Bostick only had 4 reps. Welcome to the world of redshirting Pat. I'm sorry that this couldn't have happened 2 years ago or even last year.
At the end of practice, Dan Hutchins hit a 47 yard field goal which was our last play of the 2009 camp. I'm betting that since he's older than Harper and made that field goal that we will see Hutchins doing the punting and kicking the field goals.
As that concluded the fall camp, Dave Wannstedt opened up with some quotes that were pretty uncharacteristically matter of fact. While he did state that they had an open competition, I'm not sure how much of a competition it was. Here's a few of the quotes from Wanny on the situation.
"I've never been around a training camp where we rotated two or three guys with the first group like we did"
I'm not going to lie here, I don't know too much about the teams that Wannstedt coached prior to joining the Cowboys as a defensive coordinator and I'm not sure how much Wannstedt would have been around an offense while serving as a defensive coordinator. As a head coach he would be exposed to all dimensions of the team, especially the quarterbacks. With a statement like this, it leads me to believe that every year he has been a head coach, he has already had his starting quarterback picked out well before training camp started.
The second interesting quote of the day was also regarding the quarterbacks.
After praising the development and improvement of Pat Bostick and Tino Sunseri, this is what Coach Wannstedt had to say about Bill Stull. "Has Billy made the big strides? I would say probably no. But has Billy performed at the level that you would say he’s the starter? I would say yes."
Was Wannstedt being honest here? I say yes and no. He is being honest that Bill Stull has not taken the strides that we needed him to take if we are hoping win the Big East. However, I don't believe that he is performing at the level in which you would say he is the starter. That is unless you are looking for mediocre to below average quarterback play. There were a handful of days where Stull did outplay the group. Actually, one day only sticks out in my mind where Stull was actually heads and shoulders above the group. Even yesterday in the last practice, Sunseri out played Stull.
So in the end what does this mean? Everyone has, and is entitled to, their opinions but mine is this. I think Wannstedt did allow all 3 quarterbacks to take 1st team reps to evaluate the quarterbacks. At the same time, I think it would have taken a disastrous camp from Stull and a perfect camp from Sunseri for any type of change to be made. With Sunseri having a couple of off days through camp, that was enough for Wannstedt to go with his guy, Bill Stull.
So, technically there was a competition, however, it was not as open as us fans would have liked it to be.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
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5 comments:
DPJ,
What's the word on Nate and his concussion? I wish him a speedy recovery, but I realize that these kind of injuries should not be taken lightly.
I agree that Stull did not have a disastrous camp, but all observations from all the various sources point to his performance in camp as struggling. Should a guy that has been in the program for 5 years struggle?
Now with these observations, wouldn't this indicate that his upside potential is mediocre at best?
This team will need a better than mediocre QB to win the Big East.
Do you think this is a fair statement?
What a pity, because I really think the defense will be very strong, the o-line will really gel and yes the young running backs will produce. The only large question mark is our qb that will be mediocre (on a good day).
Johnny,
I've talked to a couple of people in the program and neither coaches nor players will give up any info on Nate.
Tight end will be a tricky position for us with Pelusi gone, Nate having the concussion (after the staff tried to say it was simply headaches), and the absense of Mike Cruz from many of the practice. I bet we see Nate transition back into games slowly, so sitting out against YSU could be a real possibility. If we can stick with Dorin, Trebitz, and Cruz that should be fine so that we can allow B. DeCicco to redshirt.
John, you are correct. Mediocre quarterback play will not win the Big East. That is a reason why I think that Cincy and USF should be considered real contenders. Grothe (goatse) and Pike are good quarterbacks, and like Palko proved, one determined quarterback can sure carry a team a very long way.
Every team has lost valuable players this year, but losing as much offense as we did with Shady and LSH means we need the qb to make plays and win us some games through the air, not just on the ground.
Grothe, Pike, Jarrett Brown, and maybe Greg Paulus are right now better than Stull is. This team might not even get to a bowl game (or if it does, it's gonna be in Boise or Toronto).
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