McEntee to start next year?

[huskysupporter]

For all the stuff about Jack Cochran that can debated till the end of time (I am a Jack Cochran fan) one thing is for sure the man knows football, and has made every effort he could to make sure that Casey will be ready to compete at the next level. The only ceiling Casey Cochran will have is the amount of athletic ability he has and how he maxmizes that ability.

I think Casey will have great fundamentals, but even his father admitted in the Jeff Jacobs article that it is a huge step up, and there will be growing pains.

I want an open competition going into next year. If McEntee wins it, he wins it, but he should not be handed the role.

 

[Waquoit]

I thought Nebrich was suppose to be our savior or was it McCummings?

Trick question. The answer was Michael Box.

 

[huskyrob1]

Seems like HCPP was absolutely sold on him this year. He will have the most experience returning next year so why wouldn't he get the nod to start?

Hey at least he has experience in making a behind the back hand-off in the end zone to a defensive lineman. More YouTube material for his resume.

 

[uconndogs]

Quality kid. Not sure I could have faced the adversity and challenges he did this season and still compete the way he did.

If others looked in the mirror they might come to the same conclusion.

Very proud he wears a UCONN uniform.​

 

[Yonick]

Let's hope we get a power runner to compliment McCombs. Those extra power 5 yards can open up the passing game a bit. It's something we don't have this year.

 

[Chief00]

I thought Coach P should have at least given McCummings or Nebick a full quarter or half of uninterrupted play to see what results they could produce? Not doing so seems very stubborn to me and sending a message to the team that he accepts the type of performance McEntee delivered.

 

[CL82]

I think Casey will have great fundamentals, but even his father admitted in the Jeff Jacobs article that it is a huge step up, and there will be growing pains.

I want an open competition going into next year. If McEntee wins it, he wins it, but he should not be handed the role.

This.

I really doubt that Casey is our QB next year. I do think he's going to be something special for us down the road. No need to blow his red shirt year and have him sit on the sidelines.

 

[UConnRock]

My hopes/thoughts for next year at QB........

Along with Cochran we bring in a JUCO QB. Whitmer would be the perfect scenario as he was a 3/4 star kid with many offers who got caught up in a #'s game at Illinois. He had a RS/scout team year at Illinois along with a full and successful year in JUCO. He has three full years of eligbility, which is nice. If not Whitmer, then hopefully there is someone else out there of interest. Pasq and DeLeone are certainly going that route as Whitmer is the second JUCO guy to get an offer, the first being the Kater kid from Michigan.

That would give UConn 5 scholarship QB with McEntee, Nebrich, McCummins, Cochran, and the mystery JUCO. All except McEntee would have 3/4 years of eligibility. That creates a log jam and would certainly result in some attrition in the QB ranks, especially if the JUCO guy wins the starting spot. However, that attrition is expected, especially when a new staff is put in place. However, even if 2 left there would still be 3 QBs for next year.

 

[Jimdish255]

I think McEntee was woefully ignored for 2 years and was not coached on much more than holding a clipboard. There is great room for improvement there but it's going to take a lot of work on his part because his shortcomings are both mental and physical. He has to improve both his mobility and his command of the offense, a lot.

I'm honestly hoping Mike Nebrich can make strides this offseason and be given another shot at the position next year. Frankly I'm glad they didn't throw him in this year but he's gotten a taste of what to expect. Now he needs preparation not just to run the offense but to know what do do when the pressure comes. That and the fact that he's capable of running more of the offensive sets is where he can separate himself from JMac if he gets the reps he needs.

 

[businesslawyer]

I think Casey will have great fundamentals, but even his father admitted in the Jeff Jacobs article that it is a huge step up, and there will be growing pains.

I want an open competition going into next year. If McEntee wins it, he wins it, but he should not be handed the role.

You would have to think P and Deleone were morons to think they might simply hand JM the job. Whatever you think of the job they did this year, they are not morons.

The earliest they will lock onto a #1 for next year is the end of spring practice.

 

[jbdphi]

tell me again why he hit his ceiling? he improved markedly from game 1 to last week, why wouldn't he continue to improve? his was his first year as a starter, if you really think QBs max out after their first year starting i don't know what to tell you. i'd love it if we had a better QB but to say Mac has maxxed out is pretty ignorant, especially when you consider this is the first year he has probably received more than a couple of seconds of instruction. if anything this is the type of kid we should expect a lot of improvement from. the Jimmy CLausen types that have had a QB tutor since middle school and were held back a grade so he'd be more competitive in football are the one's more likely to max out early in their college careers.

Yes, JM improved from Game 1 to Game 12 but can you say that he really improved at all from around Game 5 (W Michigan) to Game 12 (Cincinnati)? In my opinion, from that point onwards, he was pretty consistent in what he could and could not do. When he had time and an open primary receiver, he did admirably. When he had any sort of pressure or his primary receiver was covered, he struggled mightily. During that entire 10 week period he probably got the majority of the first team reps and was the focus of QB instruction from the coaches and I did not see any noticeable improvement. Did you? How can you say that extrapolating next year's projected improvement based on his lack of improvement in the second half of this year is ignorant?

He certainly won't be getting any faster next year. I'd be as thrilled as anyone if his pocket presence and footwork improves as well as his ability to read a blitz and get off a hot read throw. If he did, we would be much better as a team. But based on his lack of improvement from Game 5 to 12, I don't think this will happen. I hope I am proved wrong.

 

[jdb50]

I expect us to go with the 2 QB system again next year. I'll bet the pro set starter isn't announced till fall practice. JMac has not maxed out and can still improve. I don't think anyone can complain about the way he handled the situation he was put into this year. He was a great representative of the program. We improve on catching the ball and this offense can really get going. This will help anyone who is QB.

 

[jbdphi]

By the way, I'm not knocking Johnny's performance either on the field or off it. I think he did as well as he could have under the circumstances and he showed a lot of resiliency throughout the season as well as during games.

Also, can we elevate the conversation a bit and think twice before calling someone ignorant just because you disagree with their opinion? I know this is an anonymous bulletin board so I shouldn't expect much but we're all here because we are fans of UConn football. It's OK to disagree but there is no need to try and demean the intellect or passion of someone who holds an opinion that is different from yours.

 

[ctchamps]

I think Casey will have great fundamentals, but even his father admitted in the Jeff Jacobs article that it is a huge step up, and there will be growing pains.

I want an open competition going into next year. If McEntee wins it, he wins it, but he should not be handed the role.

I agree. Most people criticized PP for not redshirting Nebrich recognizing freshmen do not start at qb and now they want Casey to start.

JM will have to win the spot, and if he does it won't be the fault of JMac, MN, CC or PP. CC is Paul's QB and it might take two to three years before we should expect results from him. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think that is reasonable. Unfortunately, from the response on this board, the coach won't be given that time.

 

[fortebleedsblue]

Quality kid. Not sure I could have faced the adversity and challenges he did this season and still compete the way he did.​

If others looked in the mirror they might come to the same conclusion.​

Very proud he wears a UCONN uniform.​

10th place ribbons?

 

[businesslawyer]

10th place ribbons?

Is there some particular reason you feel the need to actually be insulting players? I don't mean analyzing them negatively, but actually insulting them.

 

[EdgewoodNHV]

They went to a BCS Bowl last year, NO SALE.

Todman and Sherman were worth more than you give them credit for.

 

[fortebleedsblue]

I agree. Most people criticized PP for not redshirting Nebrich recognizing freshmen do not start at qb and now they want Casey to start.

JM will have to win the spot, and if he does it won't be the fault of JMac, MN, CC or PP. CC is Paul's QB and it might take two to three years before we should expect results from him. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think that is reasonable. Unfortunately, from the response on this board, the coach won't be given that time.

Did Brady Hoke need 3 years to turn (GROB's) Michigans Defense from a rock bottom 115 total defense last year to a top 20 defense this year? Just wondering .... Did it take Brady Hoke 3 years to bring Michigan from laughable back to a big time BCS program with players he didn't recruit?

 

[fortebleedsblue]

Is there some particular reason you feel the need to actually be insulting players? I don't mean analyzing them negatively, but actually insulting them.

I'm not insulting any players. I actually like Jmac a lot, maybe not as our starter though. I'm insulting the notion that everyone's a winner no matter what ... even if you don't win...

 

[businesslawyer]

Todman and Sherman were worth more than you give them credit for.

No where did he say they weren't great players. This is college, not the NFL. Every year, you lose starters, and some of your best players. Paltine's point, which I agree with, is we did not lose an inordinate number coming into this year, nor were we left without players who had really established themselves. Our problem was that too many of them didn't make as many big playes in the new systems.

 

[mattp]

the good news is that we'll bring back everyone we had this year, and they'll all have another year under their belt. next summers QB race will be a lot better than last summers. P has no incentive to start anyone other than the best option and that option should be a fair amount better than last summer's best option even if we're looking at the same 3 guys