For some time now SC has had QB problems. Going back to the Taneyhill days when they brought in a true frosh mid-year, it has often been musical chairs. The only time it really worked was when Connor Shaw had to take over for bad boy Garcia, who had multiple issues, legal and otherwise. Even Shaw had a slow start but made himself into a good QB.
Jake Bentley is the latest off the bench savior since McIlwain and Orth could get beyond the 14 points a game average. Now that Bentley is the starter, Mrs. McIlwain has been all over social media yelling favoritism because Bentley is the coach’s son and got to start against the powerhouse UMass Minutemen. She has a point in that Brandon is a running QB and was swarmed most of the time with neither time to throw or to run. But, still, he did not progress well either. My guess is that McIlwain is near the end of his collegiate football career. His future at SC looks like a backup. If he stays at SC then I think he is wearing a baseball uniform.
The mom situation got so bad that Muschamp had to address it at a press conference. These things seldom turn out well. I feel for the family as they were sold a bill of goods when the coaching staff knew that Bentley was the man. Several have confirmed that. I know, recruiting is a dirty business and coaches lie, but this one goes beyond that.
So, look for a platoon system with McIlwain coming in for short yardage situations, especially near the goal. They like to run the QB keeper with him with a couple of twists, but one is a modified naked bootleg to the right. His keeping it in short yardage situations has had some success but they have run it so often (by their standards since they seldom get that deep in opponent’s end of the field), so do not be surprised if there is a variation, maybe a trick play or pass.
Receivers In the summer it was can anyone play receiver? Pharow (sp) Cooper is gone and the only one returning receiver with any experience, even limited at that, was quick Deebo Samuels, who has had a long history with hamstring injuries. Those have continued this season.
Slot—leave this one blank. They have not found one even though they have tried. One reason is that they have not been able to get an open QB. Often when a situation exists and slot formation is called for, they often do not use one.
Tight end—this has turned out to be a bright spot for SC with converted minor league baseball player, Hayden Hurst, turned wide receiver walk-on to now a 252 tight end who may be the best athlete on the team. He does a lot of things well.
Along with Deebo, freshman Bryan Edwards is developing and is beginning to look like a threat. No doubt that the receiving corps is better than they expected. If Bentley can get them the ball they can make yardage. They will test our secondary down the field. If they can get any type running game going (big if) then it will go deep for sure if we stack the box. We should be able to stop them without anything special but who knows, we have a strange team.
Running back by committee—Look for them to keep on trying to get a back they can call a go to guy. They thought it was going to be David Williams, who appears to have talent, but Muschamp has been all over him for work ethic and other related issues. He has been saying the right things but not performing on the field, but recently has been improving. AJ Turner has some nice moves in space as he showed with a 75 yard run to open the game against the Aggies. But after that he was usually buried under defensive linemen. SC thinks the future at RB is Rico Dowdle, who is beginning to show positive signs. The problem for SC is that the running backs are too often met at the line of scrimmage.
Offensive Line Good gosh they are bad. All summer we heard how they were the strength of the team. If you believe that then go crawl under a rock, there is no hope for you. This week they do get starter Donnell Stanley back (maybe, see below) after an injury but even with that this is a sorry line. Their running backs seldom get into space and the QB is usually being chased. They may get Donnell Stanley back, who has been injured since the opening game at Vandy, but it was reported he was “gimpy” on Tuesday. How effective he can be after a 7 week layoff is to be seen.
Look for SC to try to establish the run, especially with our makeshift defensive line. I do not think they can with consistency if we come to play. If they can get any running game going then Bentley will try to chunk it down the field to test us.
The announcers last week were talking how well Bentley scrambled but he did not have SEC pressure on him, and some of his scrambles were easier on the run types, rather than being swarmed by the likes of Mr. Barnett and company. I reviewed every snap from the UMass game and he got little real pressure, especially while in the pocket. I think the kid showed some signs that he may be a good QB in the SEC but UMass was awful and he missed several easy throws. Made some nice ones too. They also ran a lot of quick screens to protect him—not surprising. But, he is a freshman and if a bad team can bring a HS senior in mid-year and score on us then we should have our behinds kicked all the way back to Knoxville. I absolutely do not think that will happen and I’m sure we will have some nice de4fensive looks and surprises for him.
I might add to all this that while SC has recovered a bunch of fumbles to save some games, like ECU and UMass, they also fumble a lot too. I expect us to get some turnovers.
UT should shut this offense down. If we do not, then it is on us, because they are simply not that good.
Jake Bentley is the latest off the bench savior since McIlwain and Orth could get beyond the 14 points a game average. Now that Bentley is the starter, Mrs. McIlwain has been all over social media yelling favoritism because Bentley is the coach’s son and got to start against the powerhouse UMass Minutemen. She has a point in that Brandon is a running QB and was swarmed most of the time with neither time to throw or to run. But, still, he did not progress well either. My guess is that McIlwain is near the end of his collegiate football career. His future at SC looks like a backup. If he stays at SC then I think he is wearing a baseball uniform.
The mom situation got so bad that Muschamp had to address it at a press conference. These things seldom turn out well. I feel for the family as they were sold a bill of goods when the coaching staff knew that Bentley was the man. Several have confirmed that. I know, recruiting is a dirty business and coaches lie, but this one goes beyond that.
So, look for a platoon system with McIlwain coming in for short yardage situations, especially near the goal. They like to run the QB keeper with him with a couple of twists, but one is a modified naked bootleg to the right. His keeping it in short yardage situations has had some success but they have run it so often (by their standards since they seldom get that deep in opponent’s end of the field), so do not be surprised if there is a variation, maybe a trick play or pass.
Receivers In the summer it was can anyone play receiver? Pharow (sp) Cooper is gone and the only one returning receiver with any experience, even limited at that, was quick Deebo Samuels, who has had a long history with hamstring injuries. Those have continued this season.
Slot—leave this one blank. They have not found one even though they have tried. One reason is that they have not been able to get an open QB. Often when a situation exists and slot formation is called for, they often do not use one.
Tight end—this has turned out to be a bright spot for SC with converted minor league baseball player, Hayden Hurst, turned wide receiver walk-on to now a 252 tight end who may be the best athlete on the team. He does a lot of things well.
Along with Deebo, freshman Bryan Edwards is developing and is beginning to look like a threat. No doubt that the receiving corps is better than they expected. If Bentley can get them the ball they can make yardage. They will test our secondary down the field. If they can get any type running game going (big if) then it will go deep for sure if we stack the box. We should be able to stop them without anything special but who knows, we have a strange team.
Running back by committee—Look for them to keep on trying to get a back they can call a go to guy. They thought it was going to be David Williams, who appears to have talent, but Muschamp has been all over him for work ethic and other related issues. He has been saying the right things but not performing on the field, but recently has been improving. AJ Turner has some nice moves in space as he showed with a 75 yard run to open the game against the Aggies. But after that he was usually buried under defensive linemen. SC thinks the future at RB is Rico Dowdle, who is beginning to show positive signs. The problem for SC is that the running backs are too often met at the line of scrimmage.
Offensive Line Good gosh they are bad. All summer we heard how they were the strength of the team. If you believe that then go crawl under a rock, there is no hope for you. This week they do get starter Donnell Stanley back (maybe, see below) after an injury but even with that this is a sorry line. Their running backs seldom get into space and the QB is usually being chased. They may get Donnell Stanley back, who has been injured since the opening game at Vandy, but it was reported he was “gimpy” on Tuesday. How effective he can be after a 7 week layoff is to be seen.
Look for SC to try to establish the run, especially with our makeshift defensive line. I do not think they can with consistency if we come to play. If they can get any running game going then Bentley will try to chunk it down the field to test us.
The announcers last week were talking how well Bentley scrambled but he did not have SEC pressure on him, and some of his scrambles were easier on the run types, rather than being swarmed by the likes of Mr. Barnett and company. I reviewed every snap from the UMass game and he got little real pressure, especially while in the pocket. I think the kid showed some signs that he may be a good QB in the SEC but UMass was awful and he missed several easy throws. Made some nice ones too. They also ran a lot of quick screens to protect him—not surprising. But, he is a freshman and if a bad team can bring a HS senior in mid-year and score on us then we should have our behinds kicked all the way back to Knoxville. I absolutely do not think that will happen and I’m sure we will have some nice de4fensive looks and surprises for him.
I might add to all this that while SC has recovered a bunch of fumbles to save some games, like ECU and UMass, they also fumble a lot too. I expect us to get some turnovers.
UT should shut this offense down. If we do not, then it is on us, because they are simply not that good.
