JohnLSU, you make some good points about all three QB's.. but what you fail to mention about the 18 year old Jefferson is his ability to run and make LSU's offense three-dimensional. Jefferson has a really good arm and his running ability makes the play action really killer. Also, Jefferson brings the option back to a offense who has the athletes to play it perfectly (Williams and Murphy). With Lee at the helm, when he drops back he has to throw the ball somewhere, which equals more interceptions. Jefferson can drop back to throw, scramble, and make a big play out of nothing. That's what we would have had with Perrilloux this season as well.
I've been a fan of Lee since he was recruited. Lee was put into a very tough situation. Not only was he thrust into the SEC but this year's Tigers had a real void of senior leadership and character. Not a great combination. That said, I was very impressed with Jefferson. His arms strength and accuracy are as good as Lee's if not better. His mobility is what separates him from Lee. I think the QB position will be an open battle that includes Shep as well. Unless Jefferson makes no progress over the off season, I don't see Lee beating him out for the job.
Exactly! No one has earned the position and it will be a wide open competition with every QB on the roster given a shot. The one that has the leg up is the one that uses the off season to improve the most. None are ready to play at this point.
Jefferson can definitely beat out Lee. The question is will Shepard beat them both out? To have any chance of doing that he will have to get an early jump on learning the play book. And even then it will be tough because I doubt if he will get the reps he needs in spring practice.
If JJ has a great bowl game THROWING the ball, then Lee will have a hill to climb in the spring. If JJ is average throwing and relies mostly on his mobility (which is OK but defnitely NOT as awesome as some folks seem to be hinting at), the bowl game will not go well for us and Lee and JJ will start the spring even. Honestly, with JJ coming on, I don't see a place for Hatch anymore. I guess we'll see.
Are you serious? What did Lee or JJ do to earn the starting position next year? Hatch could very well be the starter in game one. Until someone actually earns the spot, which no one has, I wouldn't tag anyone out of the competition.
Like I posted above, Hatch's 2008 stats are similar to Mauck's 2002 stats. Can Hatch be for 2009 LSU what Mauck was for 2003 LSU? In 2002, Mauck was 24 -- Hatch is now 23. Like Mauck, Hatch is some QB that ended up at LSU by following a coach that previously recruited him. Mauck was recruited by Saban at MSU and then went on with his life before coming back to Saban at LSU. Hatch was recruited by Crowton at BYU (which has an outstanding reputation for turning out great QBs) and then went on with his life before coming back to Crowton at LSU. Laugh all you want, but I still have faith in Hatch (as well as Lee and JJ). Here is a highlight clip of Hatch, he looks pretty good to me -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6BDcJ4WvHw
JJ has a long windup, and I am unsure if his arm is stronger than Lee's. Lee can fling it downfield and when he does, it's pretty accurate. However Lee did not break his habit of looking down receivers. I am curious how much is bad habit and how much is him failing to recognize the defense, knowing the route option of the receiver, and therefor not having to stare down the receiver. Sometimes I got the impression he didn't know and waited until someone was open to throw. Consequently he didn't go through his progressions. Both are fixable but it will depend on the coaches and Lee to do it. JJ certainly brings mobility to the game that we had with Hatch and a better arm than Hatch. If JJ continues to improve, it would seem he gives us more options then Lee. Kind of similar to the situation at OSU this year with Pryor taking over. A previous poster mentioned JJ's performance in the bowl game as being important. I agree or Spring will be wide open. The real unknown will be Shepard and how much of a shot he gets right away. By all accounts he works his butt off, so I anticipate he will not redshirt and instead play some QB, but winning the starting job may be tough unless JJ implodes or gets hurt. I imagine Garret will redshirt. Certainly, we will have options next year we did not have in 2009.
That was middle tenn and an intrasquad game. Hatch is a nice runner, not much of an arm. If his passing stats resemble Mauck's, Crowton just gave him some high percentage routes to throw. He is not our answer, was not this year, won't be next year. Competent backup at best, IMO.
