These are 2 red shirt freshman, which is a big difference from a freshman coming in from high school. These guys have been practicing with the team all year. They have been a part of the team and have been learning the Saban system all along. With the return of the depth we have, we should win the West no matter what QB gets the call.
I know I have posted stats from UK, UM, and UA. He was a combined 37-68 (54%), for 646 yards, 6 TDs and 0 INTs, with an average rating of 164.5. The first half against UT was pretty good, too. Plus, he was some wheels. He only threw 1 INT outside of the Auburn game (his first road start, first game without DJ, and the same week that Saban lost a family member).
My thing is this, I want to see the RS Freshmen getting experience while we have a defense that can bail them out if they get into hot water, while they have running backs that can carry the load if the passing game isn't there. This is probably THE BEST time to break in a new quarterback, with all the talent surrounding them. If Marcus Randall does start this year and is the starter all the way through, we are left with having to break a new quarterback in in 2005 also. I just think the sooner he starts getting action, the better he will be later on.
I keep picturing Marcus Randall lining up in shotgun formation, with Justin Vincent/Alley Broussard/Barrington Edwards beside him with four wideouts. With Randall in there it is like having 4 wide receivers and two strong running backs still in the backfield. With 5-6 defenders out wide to cover the WRs, it has to make our five offensive linemen salivate to be facing blocking schemes like that. A lot fewer defenders to worry about.
Even better split out the RB also and leave Randall in shotgun formation and let him run it or pass it. Hey, let's bring back the single wing!! lol
If Randall goes into the first game as the starter it will be because he earned it. Saban is going to play the players that give LSU the best chance to win period. If the freshmen are so good that they beat him out so be it but don't discard Randall so fast. At the beggining of last season many thought we needed one of the freshmen to beat out Mauck for us to be competitive on a national level. Jimbo will work with them all and he and Saban will put our best QB on the field. It is a wide open 3 man race at this point IMO.
I was a fan and a defender of Marcus Randall in the 2002 season. He was thrust into a difficult situation and performed as well as could be expected for as green as he was when he was put in the spotlight. I was never an advocate of pulling him, and I feel that he's a terrific athlete. That being said, how many of you honestly think he looked good during his mop-up duties this year? He would come into a game when we were ahead by 30+ points and look like a deer caught in headlights most of the time. If he couldn't look confident in such a situation, should we really hope he's our 2004 starter? I believe that Coach Saban and Coach Fisher will start the best QB. If Flynn and Russell are as "all-world" as projected, I honestly believe one of them will be the starter. I still would like to see what Randall could do at DB or perhaps sharing kick-off return duties with Skylar Green.
And that is what Saban will do. He will decide who we have the best chance to win with next year, not worry about the year after next as one poster subcribes too. And if one of the freshman win the job that fine, if randall wins it fine. But to say we should move one of our 3 QB's to defense will not happen. Not unlss he brings in 2 more all of a sudden. You need 4 QB's to go into spring and fall realistically. Think about how many passes are thrown everyday giving like 7 wide receivers and 5 or 6 running backs chances to catch the ball and run routes. Plus you have to have scout team QB's during the season. Auburn was down to their last QB a few years ago when they had only 3 and the first 2 were injured. And every one thinks Marcus is a runner/athlete, I guess since he is black and ran for one long run against Texas, but he's not. Mauck was considered the running QB and Randall the drop back passer. He couldn't play safety anymore than most of the lineman we have.
I wasn't disappointed with Mauck much in the VaTech game. You have to remember that there were close to ten dropped passes in that game, and our defense was somewhat out of shape I think, as well as fumbles by Toe. Anyways, Randall has the physical tools to be good, but I wonder if he has the football instincts to be good. He was very inconsistent when he played, so the question is how long unitl Flynn is a full time starter.
That is absolutely rediculous. Regardless of how they may have been considered as HS athletes, Mauck and Randall are VERY similar when it comes to athleticism. I have seen Randall run on more than one occasion (not just against Texas), and I think he has a step on Mauck. Even if that was the only run I saw, it doesnt change the fact that it took a Texas DB 20 yards to catch a QB. This is the second time today that I have seen race brought up when discussing our QBs. Get over it.
