His QB coach was an offensive lineman. That pretty much sums it up.
During Deacon's stint as #1 QB how many times could Marco have run for a 1st down if he was #1 QB?
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BirdistheWord
HR Heisman
Hill was bad enough throughout the season where Lainez should have been given some in game opportunities. He did not look comfortable throwing in the bowl game but people are on here extrapolating his 7 passes like it is a reasonable sample size.
Hill has a big arm, but a qb with tree roots was exactly what we did not need given our poor OL and receiving corps.
Either way, it shows you just cannot have enough good qb’s on the roster.
Also, Tennessee was in all out kill the QB mode as we were down big.
Kirk said they were going to get Deacon in shape this off season
I do love the evaluation of Lainez as a QB based on his mop up duty against Tennessee. And then throwing up his numbers as some objective basis for judging his ability to be an effective quarterback. Other than his ability to scramble, which could have come in handy at times, what he did in the last half of the fourth quarter provides no meaningful insight into what he will do in the future. I have no clue if he'll be a QB1, but he should get his chances this spring.
BirdistheWord
HR Heisman
hill: 0.5
Lainez: 68
Tennessee 35-0 Iowa (Jan 1, 2024) Box Score - ESPN
Box score for the Tennessee Volunteers vs. Iowa Hawkeyes NCAAF game from January 1, 2024 on ESPN. Includes all passing, rushing and receiving stats.
They wanted the shut out, did the blitzing look like they were playing prevent?
IMO Iowa staff has fallen into a bad habit of putting too much weight into physical attributes. We should be looking for shorter, agile qbs with real skills that are being overlooked by other schools. See: Brock Purdy, McKenzie Milton.
BirdistheWord
HR Heisman
KF seems to value size/arm strength over mobility. Lainez and Cade have bucked that trend recently ( Lainez has good size and is mobile). But hoping Tim influences QB recruiting towards more fleet of foot options. Not sure we make being smaller a requirement but certainly can be more open to a purdy sized option.
He won't though. Kirk said point blank that Lainez will be competing for #2 spot.
What has deteriorated the most has been the O-line and the protection and or run blocking they once provided the offense as a whole. Needs to be fixed before any of the Offensive numbers see improvement.
BirdistheWord
HR Heisman
Yes, but we need to recruit QB's who can convert more off schedule throws. Stanley, Petras and Hill are not exactly setting the bar in that regard. Petras could have had better protection but missed a lot of "easy" throws, and largely had a decent group of receivers. Hill has experienced the perfect storm of poor protection, maybe a decent running game and certainly terrible receiving options. But he also missed a lot of make-able throws.
If Marco shines during spring drills and still impresses in August then maybe it is Lester's decision on who starts or if Cade starts but Marco gets actual game series or game play reps
So you believe that was a fair and equitable evaluation compared to what Hill was given?
Buddy, it’s extremely well known, board to board the fans are always complaining the coaches are playing the wrong guys. Why would I put any effort into changing your option…seriously…
I saw a guy with some athleticism, and an ability to scramble for a first down that couldn’t complete a pass…or score TDS
You saw a guy that looked exciting, ran fast and got first downs….:
But at the end of the day, no TDs…
But again, it’s a well know fact, coaches rarely play the guys they think give them the best chance to win.. and if you were an ISU fan you’d wonder why their coaches aren’t play the right guys too…
That’s what fans like you do….
Probably not, but since I’m now the head coach, I’m prepays to tell you Marco was not ready….our QB recruiting and development sucks, but we weren’t playing the wrong guy per se….we had no guy.
And it’s sad really. Not any sadder than fans getting to see their “hero backup, quarterback, play” and then somehow convinced themselves he really was a better option. Lol that’s sad too but the fact that a program like Iowa has no quarterbacks is really gross….
Deacon seems like a nice guy and a team can win with a QB who is not mobile but can move the offense with his arm. Unfortunately, Deacon can't move and he couldn't throw the ball in the ocean with his feet standing in the water. There have been a lot of flame throwers who could hit 100mph but are unable to throw strikes.
They've all missed makeable passes. They've all had multiple passes dropped at crucial moments that would have retained possession of, or scored points after.
Until you've been on the receiving end of a D-lineman running through you while throwing a pass you really have no idea how these guys dealt with the frustrating play in front of them. Would a more athletic QB changed things over all? It's possible the numbers would have been more positive and being more athletic has got to be an asset no matter what position is involved. All I know is a few times of getting lit up will make your feet happy and possibly hurry your reads and throw passes that look damn ugly from the stands. And when you actually hit someone in the hands and it's dropped. It sucks.
I just hope they can get some continuity up front and get THE ATTITUDE back the O-line use to play with. It ain't pretty sometimes but the wear and tear the BIGS inflict during the game does pan out later in the game. I miss that part of IOWA football.
BirdistheWord
HR Heisman
Agree on the O line piece, it has gotten bad. Many QB faces the same challenges with bigger and faster d lineman coming at them all game. Even better pocket awareness and ability to move within the pocket well are traits we are generally not seeing for Iowa QB’s lately. I am excited for change but am skeptical we won’t see much under KF, would love to be wrong.
I totally get when our O-Line has been bad for several years now but wouldn’t that make our QB awareness even better? Man I’m hoping for the best with our new OC and QB he selects.
BirdistheWord
HR Heisman
College qbs must be able to run at least a few times a game, planned or unplanned. Statue pocket passers don't work.
Hell, they aren't present in the NFL anymore either post Brady.
If I could pick one thing that Lester gets through to KF about it's that
Hell, they aren't present in the NFL anymore either post Brady.
If I could pick one thing that Lester gets through to KF about it's that
I find it impossible to believe that a guy who completed 81% of his passes his senior year in HS all of a sudden can’t throw now. Call it first game jitters or whatever, but judging him on such a minute sample and saying that is who he is, is a bit much. Hill showed week after week after week who he was.
Love how you project your thoughts into my opinion, but the truth is, I've watched decades of college football and I saw the worst starting QB at this level in all my years of watching college ball. To believe that KF went out and found a QB, who I assume we won away from other offers, that was even a lower quality than the worst I've seen is truly hard to believe. Unfortunately, we all know of KF's relentless, slavish devotion to his first pick no matter the results, in this case worst in the nation. If all of our backups are truly poorer than Hill, they have no business being on the squad and, once again, that's on the head coach. If they are not getting any reps in practice to simply justify Kirk's decision to trot out Hill every game, than that's doing a great disservice to not only the recruits, but to the fans and the football program as a whole.
We will never know if he or Kirk makes that decision.
I lean towards it being 150% KF’s decision.
BirdistheWord
HR Heisman
You are just not coming off as objective IMO. I tried rallying around Hill this season, he has a big arm and not a lot of help I will admit. But he is without question the least mobile QB I have seen in the last 10-15 years. His pocket presence is awful.
His QBR in the bowl game was effectively zero. I believe he had four turnovers with 1 being a pick six and another handing ball to Tenn at our 7 yard line which easily converted to a TD - IIRC.
So the staff trots Lainez out there for the 4th quarter. Zero previous snaps. Zero. We are down 28-0, so the defensive line can certainly be aggressive, not likely to see a balanced offense.
Lainez ran for first downs on each of his first 4 Carries. He looked uncomfortable throwing it and was 2 for 7.
You keep saying he hasn’t run for any TD’s? Thr dude played one quarter and was running for his life. He was the leading rusher on 6 freaking carries!
I am not saying he will be the long term answer. And just because the coaches chose not to play him does not mean that was the right move.
They should have put him into a few ‘neutral’ type game situations where run or pass could be feasible -
before the bowl game or even utilized him on a few different packages.
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Well, Petras completed 63% his senior year in HS and couldn’t reach 60% during his tenure with the Hawks. I doubt Lainez has regressed so much that his small completion percentage in the 7 passes he threw is representative of what he shows on a daily basis. Just doesn’t make any sense.
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