Please to hit me with some TL/DR memes.
Where have all the QB's gone?
The better question is, why are so many backup QB's staying put in this April portal window? As the Bunk has well bemoaned, this Spring port hole has been surprisingly void of QB's with quality experience and proven ability at a P5 program. That has almost certainly been a surprise to HUGH, and most coaches and OC's who are looking (like bammer of all programs in crisis mode having miserably failed succession management for their No. 1 overall NFL draft pick).
From what I see, big name programs seem to be ramping up how they woo and drop NIL for the BACKUP QB's, deterring some of the very best "runner up" QB's from transferring. It is my understanding that precisely that happened with elite Texas QB, Maalik Murphy, regrettably. He's the clear backup to Quinn Ewers, and the Mannings apparently want Arche to RS this season. So Sarkisian could ill afford a razor thin depth chart, and may not have wanted to be uncooperative with the Mannings having to burn Arche's redshirt. So Hugh may have been ("was") "that close" to landing Murphy, until this development and a nice Texas oil NIL boost for the backup QB. So far, Kirby is also hanging onto his backups, which doesn't matter with Auburn, because of the SEC transfer rules. No way Vandagriff would get a waiver to transfer to AU under the #woke waiver rules about player 'well-being', instances of sexual assault, etc.
A Prison Search Light Case Study: Tyler Buchner
Riding high off a No. 1 signing class, and for all their chops to "see QB, go get QB" wherever, whenever (Aloha!), Saban and Rees couldn't get to a confidence level from ANY of their Spring ballers. So Saban gives new, young OC Tommy Rees enough rope to hang himself, bringing in his former pupil, 6'1 215 Tyler Buchner from Notre Dame. From Notre Dame sports info, Buchner was the first Chinese-American to play at a Power 5 program, starting against Ohio State last season (10 of 18 for 177 yards in a respectable 21-10 Irish road loss in their season opener). Buchner would suffer a season ending injury the following week, September 10th against Marshall, and miss the next 10 games, the whole regular season. Buchner returned from injury for the bowl game against South Carolina, 16 weeks following his injury, finishing with a career-best 274 yards passing on 18 completions and three touchdowns. Added two scores on the ground, rushing for 61 yards on 12 carries and two more touchdowns, and connected with Logan Diggs for a 75-yard touchdown, marking the second-longest touchdown pass in Notre Dame bowl history and was the second-longest play from scrimmage by the Irish this season. Delivered a game-winning touchdown drive in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, finding Mitchell Evans for the game-winning touchdown with 1:38 remaining in the game, and was named the Taxslayer Gator Bowl game MVP.
So Buchner simply hasn't played that much, at all, due heavily to injury. He's got talent, so it doesn't mean he won't excel and quickly win the starting role with such a supporting cast, but South Carolina as an opponent is hardly a failsafe test of ability, particularly when you adjust for the meaninglessness of Bowl games and how they rarely sport full rosters or fully motivated starters. Meanwhile, Buchner's arrival as a Tommy Rees "pet" in the QB room gives Saban some unrest to manage, perhaps. Such is the port hole. Buchner will get a fair test of his SEC caliber "ceiling" the 2nd game, at home vs. Texas. Good chance Buchner will need to be successful through the air, as Sark brings a talented QB room and some scoring artillery. Following Texas, bammer goes TO USF in Raymond James stadium (why the hell I don't know?) September 16th but should be a laugher as the Bulls were 1-11 last season, followed by Ole Miss at home Sept. 23rd, followed by back to back road games at State, and at College Station. So Rees and Saban will know about Buchner, pretty early season, before legit teams Tenn and LSU come to town, much less a hostile road trip for Buchner in Jordan-Hayer.
So Buchner wants to test his mettle in the blinding glare of a prison search light (what I did there), he'll be getting exactly that in T-Town, against defensive savages he rarely saw in San Diego growing up nor at ND. It is hard to imagine that being a linear, smooth, undisrupted path for Buchner, as even Bryce Young had his struggles last season in 3-4 key games, two with an "L".
Is Casey Thompson Hugh's last / best QB option?
Maybe, as today is the last day of portal entry except for grad transfers. I guess we'll either hear of a Casey Thompson scheduled visit to Awwbern, or we'll hear that he cleaves unto another (e.g. Napier is desperado in Gainesville, and really needs to show he can field a competent QB after Richardson going 4th in the draft). Dang, Matt Rhule had SIX QB's in the room at Nebraska, and knew from the jump some would bolt after Spring.
Most of the analysts I've read or heard consider Casey the most experienced, productive QB in the portal as we stand, as that "bar" is currently pretty low. "Auburn seems to make the most sense", one analyst said, "if Hugh Freeze is not completely confident in Robby Ashford. It also makes sense that Thompson would have limited eligibility, since you have Walker White coming in. This is going to be Walker White's offense in the future, most Auburn people would say right now."
Thompson had one year of grooming by Steve Sarkisian at Texas in 2021, which is a big deal. Casey spent four years at Texas (2018-21), playing in 19 games with 10 starts. He completed nearly 64 percent of his passes (185-of-290) for 2,422 yards and 30 touchdowns while rushing 73 times for 210 yards and five scores. Thompson had three career games with five or more touchdowns - all in 2021 - the most in Texas history. Casey's father, Charles, played QB at Oklahoma '87 and '88, as did his brother (2011-2013).
Thompson battled through injuries to start 10 of 12 games at quarterback in his first season at Nebraska in 2022, missing the Minnesota and Michigan games due to injury. He completed 63 percent of his passes (173-of-274) for 2,407 yards and 17 touchdowns, while adding five rushing touchdowns. Thompson had three 300-yard passing games this season, becoming only the fifth quarterback in Husker history with three 300-yard passing games in a season. He has also threw at least one touchdown pass in each of his 10 games. Thompson's insane scramble escape and long downfield strike against Northwestern was an ESPN highlight.
So if Hugh passes on Thompson, it may well mean that he knows a grad transfer is a lock to come to Auburn, with the holdup perhaps being completing graduation requirements before it being public about a transfer. Grayson McCall? I don't know. Who else y'all got?
Because of his grooming, veteran experience at a high level with some good QB coaching, Thompson seems the ideal "plug and play" solution for Hugh Freeze. And while it may freak Robby, who knows, the summer camp and early Fall competition is worth the risk. To his credit, Hugh is not 'settling' I don't think for the 8-win ceiling, and who knows, maybe a Casey Thompson pushes that ceiling potential to 9 wins, which would be flirting with coach of the year honors.
E5
Where have all the QB's gone?
The better question is, why are so many backup QB's staying put in this April portal window? As the Bunk has well bemoaned, this Spring port hole has been surprisingly void of QB's with quality experience and proven ability at a P5 program. That has almost certainly been a surprise to HUGH, and most coaches and OC's who are looking (like bammer of all programs in crisis mode having miserably failed succession management for their No. 1 overall NFL draft pick).
From what I see, big name programs seem to be ramping up how they woo and drop NIL for the BACKUP QB's, deterring some of the very best "runner up" QB's from transferring. It is my understanding that precisely that happened with elite Texas QB, Maalik Murphy, regrettably. He's the clear backup to Quinn Ewers, and the Mannings apparently want Arche to RS this season. So Sarkisian could ill afford a razor thin depth chart, and may not have wanted to be uncooperative with the Mannings having to burn Arche's redshirt. So Hugh may have been ("was") "that close" to landing Murphy, until this development and a nice Texas oil NIL boost for the backup QB. So far, Kirby is also hanging onto his backups, which doesn't matter with Auburn, because of the SEC transfer rules. No way Vandagriff would get a waiver to transfer to AU under the #woke waiver rules about player 'well-being', instances of sexual assault, etc.
A Prison Search Light Case Study: Tyler Buchner
Riding high off a No. 1 signing class, and for all their chops to "see QB, go get QB" wherever, whenever (Aloha!), Saban and Rees couldn't get to a confidence level from ANY of their Spring ballers. So Saban gives new, young OC Tommy Rees enough rope to hang himself, bringing in his former pupil, 6'1 215 Tyler Buchner from Notre Dame. From Notre Dame sports info, Buchner was the first Chinese-American to play at a Power 5 program, starting against Ohio State last season (10 of 18 for 177 yards in a respectable 21-10 Irish road loss in their season opener). Buchner would suffer a season ending injury the following week, September 10th against Marshall, and miss the next 10 games, the whole regular season. Buchner returned from injury for the bowl game against South Carolina, 16 weeks following his injury, finishing with a career-best 274 yards passing on 18 completions and three touchdowns. Added two scores on the ground, rushing for 61 yards on 12 carries and two more touchdowns, and connected with Logan Diggs for a 75-yard touchdown, marking the second-longest touchdown pass in Notre Dame bowl history and was the second-longest play from scrimmage by the Irish this season. Delivered a game-winning touchdown drive in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, finding Mitchell Evans for the game-winning touchdown with 1:38 remaining in the game, and was named the Taxslayer Gator Bowl game MVP.
So Buchner simply hasn't played that much, at all, due heavily to injury. He's got talent, so it doesn't mean he won't excel and quickly win the starting role with such a supporting cast, but South Carolina as an opponent is hardly a failsafe test of ability, particularly when you adjust for the meaninglessness of Bowl games and how they rarely sport full rosters or fully motivated starters. Meanwhile, Buchner's arrival as a Tommy Rees "pet" in the QB room gives Saban some unrest to manage, perhaps. Such is the port hole. Buchner will get a fair test of his SEC caliber "ceiling" the 2nd game, at home vs. Texas. Good chance Buchner will need to be successful through the air, as Sark brings a talented QB room and some scoring artillery. Following Texas, bammer goes TO USF in Raymond James stadium (why the hell I don't know?) September 16th but should be a laugher as the Bulls were 1-11 last season, followed by Ole Miss at home Sept. 23rd, followed by back to back road games at State, and at College Station. So Rees and Saban will know about Buchner, pretty early season, before legit teams Tenn and LSU come to town, much less a hostile road trip for Buchner in Jordan-Hayer.
So Buchner wants to test his mettle in the blinding glare of a prison search light (what I did there), he'll be getting exactly that in T-Town, against defensive savages he rarely saw in San Diego growing up nor at ND. It is hard to imagine that being a linear, smooth, undisrupted path for Buchner, as even Bryce Young had his struggles last season in 3-4 key games, two with an "L".
Is Casey Thompson Hugh's last / best QB option?
Maybe, as today is the last day of portal entry except for grad transfers. I guess we'll either hear of a Casey Thompson scheduled visit to Awwbern, or we'll hear that he cleaves unto another (e.g. Napier is desperado in Gainesville, and really needs to show he can field a competent QB after Richardson going 4th in the draft). Dang, Matt Rhule had SIX QB's in the room at Nebraska, and knew from the jump some would bolt after Spring.
Most of the analysts I've read or heard consider Casey the most experienced, productive QB in the portal as we stand, as that "bar" is currently pretty low. "Auburn seems to make the most sense", one analyst said, "if Hugh Freeze is not completely confident in Robby Ashford. It also makes sense that Thompson would have limited eligibility, since you have Walker White coming in. This is going to be Walker White's offense in the future, most Auburn people would say right now."
Thompson had one year of grooming by Steve Sarkisian at Texas in 2021, which is a big deal. Casey spent four years at Texas (2018-21), playing in 19 games with 10 starts. He completed nearly 64 percent of his passes (185-of-290) for 2,422 yards and 30 touchdowns while rushing 73 times for 210 yards and five scores. Thompson had three career games with five or more touchdowns - all in 2021 - the most in Texas history. Casey's father, Charles, played QB at Oklahoma '87 and '88, as did his brother (2011-2013).
Thompson battled through injuries to start 10 of 12 games at quarterback in his first season at Nebraska in 2022, missing the Minnesota and Michigan games due to injury. He completed 63 percent of his passes (173-of-274) for 2,407 yards and 17 touchdowns, while adding five rushing touchdowns. Thompson had three 300-yard passing games this season, becoming only the fifth quarterback in Husker history with three 300-yard passing games in a season. He has also threw at least one touchdown pass in each of his 10 games. Thompson's insane scramble escape and long downfield strike against Northwestern was an ESPN highlight.
So if Hugh passes on Thompson, it may well mean that he knows a grad transfer is a lock to come to Auburn, with the holdup perhaps being completing graduation requirements before it being public about a transfer. Grayson McCall? I don't know. Who else y'all got?
Because of his grooming, veteran experience at a high level with some good QB coaching, Thompson seems the ideal "plug and play" solution for Hugh Freeze. And while it may freak Robby, who knows, the summer camp and early Fall competition is worth the risk. To his credit, Hugh is not 'settling' I don't think for the 8-win ceiling, and who knows, maybe a Casey Thompson pushes that ceiling potential to 9 wins, which would be flirting with coach of the year honors.
E5
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