Thanks Ellis Hugh, BBF and DeafValley. I appreciate the info on Mauck and what you meant about him being Saban's man. You are right. I did not know that he and Coach Saban had a close personal relationship. I had no idea that he stayed in touch with him after he chose to play baseball. I think it was a good move. I think it worked out just like coach Saban thought it would. Maybe he figured on Mauck coming back out of the pro baseball scene to play college football. And, if he did, chances are he was coming to where coach Saban was coaching. I did not mean to put Mauck down and believe me, if Mauck is the man that is #1 coming into the first game, I will be one of his biggest fans. However, I do not agree with DeafValley that if a quaterback can run one system he can automatically run a different system. You can see that happening everyday in college football. A QB that can direct a run oriented football team to near perfection may not be able to run a pass oriented football team. That has to be obvious. And I do believe that the Big 10 is a much different conference than the SEC and that difference was made very evidently by way of what took place with all of the Big 10 teams against SEC teams. On New Years day alone we were 3-0 against them. The SEC had a 5-3 record in all bowl games this year and the Big 10 had a 2-5 record. I realize that this doesn't say a whole lot, but you have to agree that something is different (and better in the SEC). I love LSU sports, espcially football. I don't get a lot of info on what is going on at LSU except what I can get at DandyDon.com and what LSU fans are saying about the team. I do not have tunnel vision. Just a desire to sharpen my vision. I am trying to get a better concept of what is going on with the QB battle. I just feel that the apparent lack of throwing the ball in the games that I have seen Mauck play in, leaves a desire for a better throwing QB. Especially considering the talent we have at WR. I do not think that leaves Mauck at the bottom of the pack, just in the pack. I believe in the LSUfootball program. Especially the coaches. And I believe that Mauck, Randall, Clausen or Richard (maybe not a good spelling) all have an equal shot at leading the Tigers. I just didn't and still dont see where Mauck's talent level is above that of the other QBs. I have heard some good things about Clausen and his concept of the offense, and his arm strength. Have any of you heard any good or bad things about him? Is there any info on Randall and his strengths and weaknesses? I would like to hear your thoughts. But please don't mistake my ignorance of the situation for tunnel vision. Thanks again for all the good info. Geaux Tigers.......
Here is some info on the other Qb's Memphis. I gathered this from nothing more than what we (the media) are able to see in practice. First Marcus Randall. Well with Randall one thing is for sure, you cannot say anything bad about his athletic ability or his arm strength. His only problem that i have noticed is he is a bit erratic when pressured (remember the pass he threw to Myers that ended with Jerel cutting a flip from the hit). Of course this will get better with experience. Clausen was smaller than I thought he would be. I stress WAS because i am sure coach Moffit has him on the weights. At times he showed to be coming along, but I have yet to see him consistently complete passes of more than 15 to 20 yards. He just didn't have the armstrength to keep the ball on a line. But in all actuallity, this assessment can just be thrown out the window for the simple fact that he got more snaps in practice this year than Mauck or Randall by running the scout team. Two years ago the skinny on Randall was that he would probably be better suited at another position, but that was before he got all of that practice time with the scout team. So you never can tell about how these young guys will progress. Mauck has a few advantages over these guys. 1. He has already proven he can get the job done. 2. He is older, and is very poised. 3. IMO he has the strongest arm of the three (with Randall being just a hair behind). 4. He is about as intelligent as you could ask a football player to be. He is in Pre-med and carries close to a 4.0 GPA. As far as his passing goes, he does need to work on his touch and accuracy, but go back and look at the SEC CG tape. Two times he had Clayton wide open streaking down the middle of the field, and over threw him by two or three yards. Had he had more experience, he may have completed those passes, and he would have racked up 120 yards on those two plays alone. It all comes down to timing, and had he had more reps with the first team his timing would have probably been a little better, wouldn't you agree? Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that he will for sure be the starter. Any o these guys could surprise us, I just think he is in the drivers seat at this point.
