Lee has the arm, but that means nothing without the mental aspect of the game. You're right his problems reading defenses are fixable. But his confidence is shot. On the field, he doesn't play with confidence at all. And im not sure the coaches have confidence in him either. Lee will have to have the best offseason a QB has ever had to have a chance at seeing the field next year. Time will tell.
I expect to see JJ standing tall and making throws in the pocket. The less often we roll him out.. the more often we can use that on 3rd downs. I expect him to fumble a few times due to his slow release.. unless that's fixed. I don't expect him to throw many INTs though.. his legs are good enough to run instead of forcing a pass.
I don't think I'm as much a student of the game as most of you out there are,but I agree with Red as far as Jarrett Lee goes. It's way too early to write him off; he was just a freshman this past season. As LSU fans (especially lately), we have the highest expectations and may be a little too disappointed in the Lee situation. Coach Miles realizes that Lee was thrown to the wolves last year, mentally broke down, and lost his confidence in himself. I think CLM is just the right coach to gradually bring his confidence back. Jarrett Lee just doesn't come across as a quitter. He said he wasn't thinking about transferring and I think that indicates he's got enough gumption to get back up and keep trying. He seems to have the right attitude and he seems to be coachable. Coach Miles impresses me with his ability to manage these young athletes in particular. He'll successfully rehab JL. As optimistic as I am about Jordan Jefferson, I think Lee will rebound well and will be a true contributor to our success whether he starts or not.
what i would like to see is Jefferson start and be "the guy". I would like to see Shepard redshirt and learn as much of the playbook as possible. Hatch back up and Lee 3rd string. Hatch can play in mop up time, and Lee needs to go to the "Jai Eugene School of Towel Waving" there is always a need for a good towel waver.
Jefferson, Lee, Hatch, Shep, Garrett red shirts. Jefferson has both the arm, the run ability, and the cool and ball security to do the job. Lee has an SEC arm, he just has to mature and be taught the ball security. But he doesn't run well, which limits what you can do with him. I think he can learn his reads better and become a good QB with some more time and coaching. Hatch doesn't have an SEC arm, which is a major deficiency for a QB. Good runner, may have a few plays for him, with a surprise medium pass to keep the defense honest. Shep will come along like Jefferson, the spring will help him out. I am not sold on his arm, watched the UA game. I liked his feet, guys real quick (can you say Percy Harvin?). I am glad to see us build the stable of scholly QB's back up. I've said before, part of our problem this year went back to the failure to sign a good QB for 2 years, from Flynn to Perrilloux, and then the year after Perrilloux. That's on Les and Jimbo, a major mistake IMO. I hope Les learns his lesson from that. Going into this season with a walk on soph as your leading candidate was real bad, and it showed in the record. One kid gets hurt, then you are really bad off. You obviously need a viable plan if 2 QB's are out for a while. Looks like we are back on the road, and I thank Gary Crowton for that, and for seeing the need to bring in Hatch, which was an emergency call by Crowton IMO, after he say how thin the cupboard was. Crowton seems like a smart guy, I hope he wants to stay at :lsup: for a long time. Edit: I hope the hype on Shepard has not been too much. IMO, it has been too much. He should have a nice and productive career here, and I hope he is the next Bert Jones or JaMarcus Russell, but he may be the next Matt Mauck. We'll see. The hype is so high, I don't think anyone can live up to it. We need to damp down the expectations, kid will onlyl be a freshman, and he will be subject to all things freshman, like not knowing the play book and being away from home for the first time. Look at the little running back McGuffie who left Michigan to go to Rice, near home. It happens. Shep talked big like he'd recruit a bunch of his buddies, but he didn't.
The sunshine pumping over Shepard is so far over the top that he will be considered a failure by many fans unless he comes in and makes an immediate impact. Its a terrible position to put a true freshman in. Further, if Jefferson continues to improve and remain the starter the door to the QB spot gradually closes on him. The more he plays in specialty roles or as a hybrid receiver lessens his prospects of being a full time QB. Les will have his hands full managing Shepards expectations and goals. Of course Shepard could just come in and overwhelmingly win the starting job but that's unlikely.
I see where LSU has offered a scholarship to QB Jake Heaps from the west coast for 2010. Its on Scout.
