Gordon Sammis is Good

[Chin Diesel]

He really simplified the playbook for Ga State. No WR screens and no slants. The roll out and dump to the TE who slips a block worked on the first touchdown and a few more times.
No Hoeh, so it's an offensive line with a back up G and back up C, yet the run game was on point literally from the start.
Casady did a great job filling in at C. And, amazingly enough, Sammis coaches the line too. No bad snaps, no obvious missed assignments. Looks like he's a contributor next year somewhere. 6'7" and 300lbs as a RFresh is great size already.
I mentioned a few times this year, Sammis was drawing up plays which had players open but between the QB and WR's they weren't working. So, you take them out of the playbook.
Evers had one strong run to the left and one to the right which scored the TD. And it looked like he is learning why you dive and don't slide. I completely agreed with the no targeting call when Evers tried to slide.
That TD run for Robinson where UConn went heavy right and it was a quick toss, was a neat play and a wrinkle I don't think UConn had previously shown.

 

[Hoophound]

He’s improving. Scoring 34 points in a rock fight is great. Most games, we are scoring and we don’t even have an average QB. With a good QB and a healthy line, we would be pretty special.

I’m hoping that we don’t lose a lot of talent to the portal because it really helps an OC to have some continuity and know his players. However, we have a lot of weapons and I’m sure some will go looking for more touches. We’ve gotta have the war chest ready to pay some of these guys. We’ve also gotta have a QB that receivers know will get them the ball to retain that talent.

 

[coachcap]

You could tell that the center was a backup from the outset with all of the high snaps in the beginning of the game. Was happy for the adjustments later...

 

[AllHusky]

Wondering how difficult it must be to be OL and OC, I’m guessing it’s a lot. Was Huge fan of Sammis hire. Wonder how Coach Sammis feels about starting Evers?

Love the in game contrast between Brock and Sammis. Brock hair on fire, Sammis never changes expression. After a game, I think Brock falls into bed exhausted while Sammis runs through game video in his head before passing out 5 minutes before the alarm goes off.

 

[jdb50]

When we lost Joly, Cam Ross last offseason I believe one reason was they had no confidence we would have someone able to get them the ball. Watching the scoreboard stat of us with 75 yards passing the whole 4th Q and it finished that way. Bell had a bad drop in the 3rd Q but it is not good that we are so bad in the passing game. Nice to see the TE used effectively but no downfield passing game. It has to be better to win road games.

 

[huskyblooz]

Exactly. Though, they were saying Bell is NFL ready last night.

Bell dropped 2 easy passes last night that wouldve been 1st downs.

 

[ZooCougar]

He really simplified the playbook for Ga State. No WR screens and no slants. The roll out and dump to the TE who slips a block worked on the first touchdown and a few more times.
No Hoeh, so it's an offensive line with a back up G and back up C, yet the run game was on point literally from the start.
Casady did a great job filling in at C. And, amazingly enough, Sammis coaches the line too. No bad snaps, no obvious missed assignments. Looks like he's a contributor next year somewhere. 6'7" and 300lbs as a RFresh is great size already.
I mentioned a few times this year, Sammis was drawing up plays which had players open but between the QB and WR's they weren't working. So, you take them out of the playbook.
Evers had one strong run to the left and one to the right which scored the TD. And it looked like he is learning why you dive and don't slide. I completely agreed with the no targeting call when Evers tried to slide.
That TD run for Robinson where UConn went heavy right and it was a quick toss, was a neat play and a wrinkle I don't think UConn had previously shown.

I don’t think so. He might be someday though.

Where is the passing game? We are run dimensional. We look ok against bad teams now.

This is not an offense that shoukd exist in 2024.

I think Syracuse will be a reality check for many here.

 

[Stinger92860]

Wasted talent. He doesn’t need to be open by 5 yards. He needs a QB that can actually pull the trigger and throw a reasonably accurate ball. If I’m him, I’d be very unhappy. From a team perspective, it’s a total waste caused by Mora stubbornly insisting on Evers. Guy can’t run well, doesn’t pass well, and is generally terrible with A LOT of game reps at this point.

Yet we are 6-3 with a stubborn head coach. Do I think we could use an upgrade at QB, yes. However, I don‘t see Fagnano as that upgrade.

 

[History Geek]

He really simplified the playbook for Ga State. No WR screens and no slants. The roll out and dump to the TE who slips a block worked on the first touchdown and a few more times.
No Hoeh, so it's an offensive line with a back up G and back up C, yet the run game was on point literally from the start.
Casady did a great job filling in at C. And, amazingly enough, Sammis coaches the line too. No bad snaps, no obvious missed assignments. Looks like he's a contributor next year somewhere. 6'7" and 300lbs as a RFresh is great size already.
I mentioned a few times this year, Sammis was drawing up plays which had players open but between the QB and WR's they weren't working. So, you take them out of the playbook.
Evers had one strong run to the left and one to the right which scored the TD. And it looked like he is learning why you dive and don't slide. I completely agreed with the no targeting call when Evers tried to slide.
That TD run for Robinson where UConn went heavy right and it was a quick toss, was a neat play and a wrinkle I don't think UConn had previously shown.

I heart Gordie. It's his first year doing this and he is definitely growing in the OC job. Already a great OL coach.

I agree Casady looked good. Wayburn definitely had his best game as well.

 

[Jetskies]

I don’t think so. He might be someday though.

Where is the passing game? We are run dimensional. We look ok against bad teams now.

This is not an offense that shoukd exist in 2024.

I think Syracuse will be a reality check for many here.

unfortunately i agree here. We beat the bad run defenses, and we get beat by anyone who figures out our run. Exception maybe is temple.

i never thought about it that way but yeah i guess that type of one-dimensionality should not exist in 2024 if you want to make noise nationally.

I so so hope we pull off a miracle in Syracuse but i am heavily leaning toward a blowout in their favor (reality check)

I hope my take ages like milk.

 

[hardcorehusky]

When we lost Joly, Cam Ross last offseason I believe one reason was they had no confidence we would have someone able to get them the ball. Watching the scoreboard stat of us with 75 yards passing the whole 4th Q and it finished that way. Bell had a bad drop in the 3rd Q but it is not good that we are so bad in the passing game. Nice to see the TE used effectively but no downfield passing game. It has to be better to win road games.

We threw the ball 16x. While 75 yards is low per attempt, most were safe throws at the line of scrimmage. We also had over 250 yards rushing. What do you expect that is realistic?

 

[CL82]

We are run dimensional.

Nice turn of phrase.

We look ok against bad teams now.

This, faint praise as it is, is a major improvement. We were, arguably, the worst team in FBS football. Now, we aren't. That may not be everything, but it's definitely something.

 

[UConnDan97]

They started using the TE finally, which is something I've been groaning about for weeks. Hansen is almost always open and has good size and good hands.

Now that they're folding him into the mix, i think it's gong to really open things up in the pass game...

 

[gioff2323]

OC is improving and that’s all you can ask. GSt known for porous rush D so just keep pounding them. No need to mix it up at 1/2, which is part of his evolution.

 

[AllHusky]

Yet we are 6-3 with a stubborn head coach. Do I think we could use an upgrade at QB, yes. However, I don‘t see Fagnano as that upgrade.

The guy isn't here now unless it is Welliver. Fagnano vs Evers is name your poison. I liked Joe when he was in. Can see Evers slowly developing, but I don't see a game changing QB there at any point.

 

[AllHusky]

When we lost Joly, Cam Ross last offseason I believe one reason was they had no confidence we would have someone able to get them the ball. Watching the scoreboard stat of us with 75 yards passing the whole 4th Q and it finished that way. Bell had a bad drop in the 3rd Q but it is not good that we are so bad in the passing game. Nice to see the TE used effectively but no downfield passing game. It has to be better to win road games.

Major concern again this year for sure.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

When we lost Joly, Cam Ross last offseason I believe one reason was they had no confidence we would have someone able to get them the ball. Watching the scoreboard stat of us with 75 yards passing the whole 4th Q and it finished that way. Bell had a bad drop in the 3rd Q but it is not good that we are so bad in the passing game. Nice to see the TE used effectively but no downfield passing game. It has to be better to win road games.

I could well be wrong here but I believe Joly, especially after the Tennessee game wanted a bigger stage to showcase his abilities. His size/athleticism combination is rare and performing in a P level offense could increase his draft position immensely.

I'm guessing Ross was looking for a change in scenery as he spent quite a bit of time here without a whole of luck in terms of his physical health and team's success.

 

[AllHusky]

Ross 28 receptions to date, 44 last year, ironically plays Ga St next week. Was healthy last year for us.

 

[ZooCougar]

Nice turn of phrase.

This, faint praise as it is, is a major improvement. We were, arguably, the worst team in FBS football. Now, we aren't. That may not be everything, but it's definitely something.

We haven't been the worst team since Mora took over the program as HC in 2022.

The offense is very limited by this QB. There is simply no way you can say that Fagnano or Roberson couldn't operate the offense better than Nick. Roberson was a four star recruit too and was considered disappointing and "needed reps".

Nick is supposed to be a dual threat. But his running is really limited. He can't take much of hit at the moment either. I don't get it. You want to see what an actually fast QB looks like? Watch a little bit of a Kansas game.

Nobody is saying that Fagnano is great but as Bizlaw and others have pointed out, or WRs stopped being a factor in games when Evers became available. That simply cannot be. You know we spent money getting those guys too right?

They tried to bring in a QB with talent that would elevate us. I appreciate it. Thank you. But this time it didn't work out. It's better off for the entirety of the program to try something different.

If this extends into the next season then we are not being serious.

 

[DoctorWho85]

You know what? Sammis is turning out to be a great OC. If Evers was able to hit wide open receivers, the offense would have huge numbers. Sammis has everyone in positions to make plays and it's really showing he can adapt to situations and players.

 

[ZooCougar]

You know what? Sammis is turning out to be a great OC. If Evers was able to hit wide open receivers, the offense would have huge numbers. Sammis has everyone in positions to make plays and it's really showing he can adapt to situations and players.

I like that he ditched the ridiculous Charlton trick plays that seemed to happen every series.

 

[UCFBfan]

Nice turn of phrase.

This, faint praise as it is, is a major improvement. We were, arguably, the worst team in FBS football. Now, we aren't. That may not be everything, but it's definitely something.

Was about to point out the same thing. This team made the first step we want to see. They beat the teams so far they should be beating and at times they were winning easily. They were also, minus the MD game, within a possession of tying/winning a game vs a P4 team, one of which is a solid team (Duke). The next step is to beat those low tier P4 programs and possibly knock off a P4 mid. I think Mora has to feel like this season has been a giant step forward and sees what I saw. Level 1, almost complete. Level 2, with the help of a new infusion of NIL, on deck.

My hope is we're able to keep Brock. He is one heck of a DC. I'm still not in love with Sammis but he's beating teams we should beat with his play call

 

[RSTuthill]

He’s improving. Scoring 34 points in a rock fight is great. Most games, we are scoring and we don’t even have an average QB. With a good QB and a healthy line, we would be pretty special.

I’m hoping that we don’t lose a lot of talent to the portal because it really helps an OC to have some continuity and know his players. However, we have a lot of weapons and I’m sure some will go looking for more touches. We’ve gotta have the war chest ready to pay some of these guys. We’ve also gotta have a QB that receivers know will get them the ball to retain that talent.

We have to worry about the receiving corps. They are a cut above where UConn has been in the last decade. Yet UConn apparently has no one who can get them the ball, And last night, only 16 attempts? I'd be worried. (Yes, I do understand that taking what the other team gives you is important, but still ....) Against Rice, the receivers' frustration was showing.

Stretching the field vertically (as well as horizontally -- which they currently do) against Syracuse will be important. It will be interesting to see how UConn decides to play in that game. Good that they have a bye week before.

 

[AllHusky]

Brock has guys playing his game
Sammis has to adjust his game to his guy(s)

Not flogging a dead one, but the difference is there is no position on the D side that has such a disproportionate impact as QB has on offense

 

[uconnbill]

unfortunately i agree here. We beat the bad run defenses, and we get beat by anyone who figures out our run. Exception maybe is temple.

i never thought about it that way but yeah i guess that type of one-dimensionality should not exist in 2024 if you want to make noise nationally.

I so so hope we pull off a miracle in Syracuse but i am heavily leaning toward a blowout in their favor (reality check)

I hope my take ages like milk.

You can only beat the teams on your schedule and not worry about running for over 270 yards as UConn was trying to run the clock after they were up by three touchdowns.
I wanted to go for it on 4th down and 1 and ended up punting it in the end zone. Then the quarterback roughing call was disgusting call on Gourdine which would have made them punt the ball.