Should Boyle be our starting QB?

[Palatine]

We know what we have in Whitmer. A great practice player who has never translated that into great games.

Unfortunately, Casey has had three concussions in one year. His football future is hanging by a thread. He won't play on Saturday, that much is certain. Concussions come easier the more you have, they can be devastating in later life.

That leaves Boyle. It would be nice to save his redshirt. It would be even nicer to win games. If Casey suffers another concussion and Chandler continues, well, to be Chandler, than Boyle is our best option.

It's not what anyone wanted. But that the way it looks from behind my keyboard.

 

[ktuck911]

I say no. If Boyle isn't playing now it's because the coaching staff feel he's not ready just yet... I know I can't judge him on the past, but honestly, can't help it... He wasn't even close to being ready last year... He certainly passed the eyeball test (how tall he was at the position, how he stood and surveyed the field back there) but he really didn't have a clue at this level....

I just hope it doesn't come to that. Unfortunately, when you look back to last year (again), CW got pretty banged up too during the season.. Didn't he have a few concussions on the field as well?

A position we thought would be more of a strength is now looking like a position of uncertainty...I'm not gonna go any further with this because we all know the not so good side of this. potentially..

 

[SubbaBub]

No. He's not the best QB available. This program can't afford tanking another season so early. That should go for everyone on the field.

If BD what's to run guys against a team he thinks is much better than his to see who has game, I'd rather see that figured out in the spring, but OK. You aren't learning anything against Stony Brook. Win the damn game by enough so you can play the bench late. This isn't complicated.

 

[freescooter]

We know what we have in Whitmer. A great practice player who has never translated that into great games.

Unfortunately, Casey has had three concussions in one year. His football future is hanging by a thread. He won't play on Saturday, that much is certain. Concussions come easier the more you have, they can be devastating in later life.

That leaves Boyle. It would be nice to save his redshirt. It would be even nicer to win games. If Casey suffers another concussion and Chandler continues, well, to be Chandler, than Boyle is our best option.

It's not what anyone wanted. But that the way it looks from behind my keyboard.

You mean the guy who had the worst rting in D-1 last year and had 0 td passes in 5 games? Please. What makes you think he is anywhere near ready this year? He'd have to improve a whole lot just to be bad.

 

[Bonehead]

We know what we have in Whitmer. A great practice player who has never translated that into great games.

Unfortunately, Casey has had three concussions in one year. His football future is hanging by a thread. He won't play on Saturday, that much is certain. Concussions come easier the more you have, they can be devastating in later life.

That leaves Boyle. It would be nice to save his redshirt. It would be even nicer to win games. If Casey suffers another concussion and Chandler continues, well, to be Chandler, than Boyle is our best option.

It's not what anyone wanted. But that the way it looks from behind my keyboard.

No - he shouldnt. He must not be ready per our coaching staff. If he was that close he would have been part of the rotational QB process.

Lets do everything we can to save the Redshirt as was the original plan as opposed to just pulling a PP and burning eligibility for sake of trying something.

IF - Casey doesnt come back due to the concussions and CW struggles I reserve the right to change my mind once the conference games come along.

 

[upstater]

Sure, yes. If the coaches feel he's ready. I say yes.

To counter the points up above...

1. The coaches might not have put him in the mix because they felt they had a clear alternative with Casey. And so they were redshirting Boyle. It doesn't have to be an evaluation that one player is ready and the other isn't. It could simply be a selection. Tom Brady was redshirted his Soph. year at Michigan for a similar reason.

2. "You mean the guy who had the worst rting in D-1 last year and had 0 td passes in 5 games? Please. What makes you think he is anywhere near ready this year? He'd have to improve a whole lot just to be bad." People tend to get better after being thrown to the wolves in their first month as freshman.

 

[LRock34]

Yes.

3 concussions in 12 months means Casey's career may be over. If he was my son I would advise him not to play and with what we know about UConn's medical staff I have a feeling that they will also advise him to step away from the game. The kid has coaching in his blood, hopefully someone gives him good advice. If you love the game, become a coach.

If Diaco is going to stick with his "program development" theme than the answer is obvious. Start the kid that is going to be our QB for the next 2 to 3 years.

 

[huskyblooz]

If the coaches feel he gives us the best chance to win

 

[WestHartHusk]

Yes. At a minimum, Boyle needs to get snaps this week since there is a chance Cochran is done for the season. If Whitmer needed snaps last week to prep then Boyle needs them this week.

 

[Bonehead]

Wow - alot of YES to the OP question should Boyle be the STARTER.

I am at a loss - Not on what occurred last year, that was fair to no one, but that he didnt show enough to beat out Cochran or Whitmer in practice.

After camp the plan was to redshirt him - which I dont think the coaches would have done if he was the best option - now its time for him to be the starter?

 

[upstater]

Wow - alot of YES to the OP question should Boyle be the STARTER.

I am at a loss - Not on what occurred last year, that was fair to no one, but that he didnt show enough to beat out Cochran or Whitmer in practice.

After camp the plan was to redshirt him - which I dont think the coaches would have done if he was the best option - now its time for him to be the starter?

You are jumping to conclusions, I'm afraid.

It's clear Casey was ahead of Boyle, which should be no surprise. But as for the selection of a backup, it's no surprise they went with the senior instead of the soph. The Soph. has more eligibility and you can preserve that.

Again, there is precedent for these decisions.

 

[businesslawyer]

I'm at a loss that people are even discussing this. So a few points.

1. The staff just found out about the concussion, and are probably angry they didn't learn earlier. I doubt they are even thinking about the medical prognosis when they learn on a Thursday. They're just thinking about the game plan for Stony Brook. So no decision that Casey won't, or might not, play again will even creep into their thoughts until Saturday night.

2. From what we saw on the field last year -- and we saw each QB for four games -- Boyle was no where near either of them. From what we heard out of camp, no one was saying Boyle was #1, or even #2, but we wanted to preserve the redshirt anyway. I have no reason to think Boyle gives us a better chance to get to 6-6 this year than Whitmer does.

3. You don't burn the redshirt today. You see how Whitmer performs, you see what Casey's prognosis is, and then you make a decision week to week as to whether Boyle is now the #2 for the season and, if so, is he just an emergency if Whitmer is out too or can he help the team.

Obviously, if Whitmer gets hurt as well than Boyle plays. And you don't worry about the 2017 season.

 

[Bonehead]

You are jumping to conclusions, I'm afraid.

It's clear Casey was ahead of Boyle, which should be no surprise. But as for the selection of a backup, it's no surprise they went with the senior instead of the soph. The Soph. has more eligibility and you can preserve that.

Again, there is precedent for these decisions.

I think you are as well - but to each their own.

So why isnt Boyle starting tomorrow?
In your theory IF Casey is done for year Boyle will start next week?

I understand the concept of saving Boyle redshirt but that is now out the window, especially if CW sprains an ankle this week. He is obiviously trying to save the redshirt because there is no 51/49 or 90/10 or anything to that effect.

 

[upstater]

I think you are as well - but to each their own.

So why isnt Boyle starting tomorrow?
In your theory IF Casey is done for year Boyle will start next week?

I understand the concept of saving Boyle redshirt but that is now out the window, especially if CW sprains an ankle this week. He is obiviously trying to save the redshirt because there is no 51/49 or 90/10 or anything to that effect.

I haven't made any conclusions, so how could I be jumping?

All I said was that if the coaches think he's ready, he should be out there.

I responded to say that just because they were preserving his redshirt doesn't mean that he is not at least the equal of Whitmer. I also wrote that it is easily imaginable that a kid improved in one year after being thrown to the wolves as a true freshman one month after he started college.

 

[Skiblets]

Did I mention that I love the Boneyard? Ultimate pot stirring thread sure to raise eyebrows and settle nothing

 

[Bonehead]

I haven't made any conclusions, so how could I be jumping?

All I said was that if the coaches think he's ready, he should be out there.

I responded to say that just because they were preserving his redshirt doesn't mean that he is not at least the equal of Whitmer. I also wrote that it is easily imaginable that a kid improved in one year after being thrown to the wolves as a true freshman one month after he started college.

I got that you concluded that Boyle might be better than Whitmer or are equals, but they are redshirting him because he has more eligibility. I understand the concept.

"it's no surprise they went with the senior instead of the soph. The Soph. has more eligibility and you can preserve that".

How did you determine him and Whitmer are equals I guess?

 

[upstater]

I got that you concluded that Boyle might be better than Whitmer or are equals, but they are redshirting him because he has more eligibility. I understand the concept.

"it's no surprise they went with the senior instead of the soph. The Soph. has more eligibility and you can preserve that".

How did you determine him and Whitmer are equals I guess?

I didn't

 

[CodyJ.]

Improving dramatically in 1 year is entirely possible. No doubt about it.

Speaking from personal experience, I had my best improvement in baseball over the course of 1 year. Better weight training program, more focus on my position, improved players around me, more game experience vs high level competition, etc.

I am positive that Boyle is dramatically better now than he was last year. A redshirt is a luxury. If you can use it and it makes sense then you use it.

 

[coachcap]

No need to throw Boyle into the mix for Stony Brook. He hasn't had the reps in practice.
Starting on Monday, he needs reps as he's one injury away from game action.
Just a thought: Don O.'s redshirt was burned due to injury. He learned on the fly. I'm not worried about how T.B looked last year. He was
thrown in 5 games into the season. I AM absolutely worried about C.B.'s penchant to stall drives with untimely interceptions. Horses don't change their colors. For this team to have any long term success. T.B. is a better option. If UConn resorts to the power running game T.B. even has light years better excapeability than C.W.

 

[Husky25]

In a word: No.

No one knows what Cochran is going through, when he'll be cleared, and when he'll return. I understand preparing for what might come up, but I would try to maintain Boyle's redshirt until more is known. In the meantime you don't want to borrow trouble from tomorrow when there are enough issues to deal with today. I'm not saying I would aim for a Boyle Redshirt come h3ll or high water. If Cochran is out for an extended period and Whitmer isn't cutting it (or gets hurt), you play him. Coach Diaco has a transfer QB and a recruited QB coming in next year and UConn isn't crossing the 2017 bridge for literally another 3 years.

But for the time being, I wait for more information. No reason to act now.

That said, I predict a heavy does of Delorenzo, Mariner, Newsome et al to get a lot of run.

 

[Bonehead]

In a word: No.

No one knows what Cochran is going through, when he'll be cleared, and when he'll return. I understand preparing for what might come up, but I would try to maintain Boyle's redshirt until more is known. In the meantime you don't want to borrow trouble from tomorrow when there are enough issues to deal with today. I'm not saying I would aim for a Boyle Redshirt come h3ll or high water. If Cochran is out for an extended period and Whitmer isn't cutting it (or gets hurt), you play him. Coach Diaco has a transfer QB and a recruited QB coming in next year and UConn isn't crossing the 2017 bridge for literally another 3 years.

But for the time being, I wait for more information. No reason to act now.

That said, I predict a heavy does of Delorenzo, Mariner, Newsome et al to get a lot of run.

good post - rather see a heavy does of Mariner, Newsome and Johnson myself.
Get the running game cranking and open up play action.

 

[HomeKing93]

Not this week.

But it is a fair question to ask - is it too late for CW to improve as a QB? I really hope the poor coaching from the offensive coordinator/OL coach in 2012 did not wreck his development beyond repair. I guess we're going to find out real quick.

 

[UConnJim]

If Cochran is out for the season, Boyle will play this year and could be starting by the end of the season. Currently, UConn has 3 scholarship QBs on the roster and one is injured, so now Boyle is the #2 QB. It would seem logical if the coaches think Cochran is out for the year, then Boyle will play against SB to give him some experience. Without understanding the nature of Cochran's injury, we are just guessing.

BTW, UConn better be converting a position player to learn how to play QB just in case.

 

[Bonehead]

If Cochran is out for the season, Boyle will play this year and could be starting by the end of the season. Currently, UConn has 3 scholarship QBs on the roster and one is injured, so now Boyle is the #2 QB. It would seem logical if the coaches think Cochran is out for the year, then Boyle will play against SB to give him some experience. Without understanding the nature of Cochran's injury, we are just guessing.

BTW, UConn better be converting a position player to learn how to play QB just in case.

Blake Feagles - he has the pocket pressence and the feet - you see him on that fake FG?!

 

[ZooCougar]

Only if Cochran is done for the year then should we burn Boyle's redshirt.