Richardson to play (or start) next week???

Well, not necessarily hang himself, but get some work in. We need both to have a successful season.

 

Predicting Trask would be a better Qb than Franks is way different than predicting Trask would be as good as he was. I never remember myself or anyone on this board saying Trask was going to be a superstar, but the ones that said he was better than Felipe were met with the standard, "you think you know better than our coach? And in reality, they did.

 

You are making a moot point here as Mullen never played Trask to the same level that he has played AR this year and EJ last year. How could we know what Trask could do on the field if Mullen rarely let him see the field? Trask went 3-3 for 22 yards during the first game, where he looked much better driving the offense via the pass than Franks, and it was shrugged off by most on this board as of course he looked good because he was playing against scrubs. Trask then didn’t see any time on the field after that and Franks got all the reps until the Missouri game.

There are several posters on this site, including the late Graygator, who were pushing for Trask over Franks even as Mullen stubbornly stuck with Franks over the first 6 games of 2018. We knew that Trask was a much better passer than Franks, and that would be what it took to make this offense go, especially since there were receivers running wide open every game that Franks would miss. We saw Franks continually miss open receivers and wondered why Trask was never given a shot to show what he could do. It took a complete meltdown by Franks in 2018 for Trask to even see the field in game 6, and he played similar to how he played against the scrubs earlier in the year.

Most people may not have saw Trask putting up the numbers he did, but that isn’t the point. All of us saw that Franks wasn’t getting it done on the field and knew Trask could do a better job than Franks if given the opportunity. And that is the main point, which is why did it take 6 games in 2018 and an injury in 2019 for Trask to get an opportunity to see the field, especially in view of Franks on the field struggles.

 

AR did surprise me with his accuracy and anticipation. From the camp reps I saw of him in HS, he was very raw and missed a lot of throws. Looks like he’s gotten a lot better in two years.

 

Jones actually has been horrible. Having more turnovers than Tds against you first two cupcake opponents is horrible imo. I mean, he could be worse but he's been really bad.

 

In a lot of ways I think Spurrier's offense help QBs look good. There was so much Receivers running to open grass and QBs throwing to open grass. They were so much in sync because they're both seeing the same thing so the QB is always throwing before receiver had made his break. Was just a beautiful thing to watch

 

He put in quite a bit of work with his personal QB coach the last couple of years in H.S.
He got a lot more polished. His coach raves about his intelligence and really has said for awhile that the sky is the limit for him.

 

The problem with the bolded is the what-ifs that resulted from Mullen choosing Franks over Trask. If he had chosen Trask, we most likely would have been competing for the NC in 2019. That 2020 offense wouldn’t have lost to UGA, and would have given LSU a run for its money, especially with getting a 2nd chance at them with a healthy DL in the SEC championship game.

Can you imagine getting the 2020 level of offensive performance with the 2019 defense? Mullen spent 2018 molding the offense to Franks strengths, and then spent part of the 2019 season molding the offense to Trask’s strengths. We could have competed for a NC in 2019 if the offense was even remotely similar to the 2020 offense. The 2020 offense didn’t have the benefit of a full spring and look how it turned out. Imagine getting a full spring in 2019 to install the same offense.

 

All that has surprised me about AR is that he is a generational athlete. (shouldn’t have surprised me, perhaps, but it did). His accuracy has been ok (better in his second game than the first). His anticipation on single reads has not been special. Overall, his ability to make reads has been very poor (not terribly surprising at this stage). If he were starting, he’d have to be run-first to open up fakes and rollouts that don’t require reads.

 

His accuracy in the second game was A+ on difficult throws. NFL level throws, more specifically Pat Mahomes level throws. We’ve never, ever had a QB that can make that throw to Copeland where his helmet came off.

He is a top 5 pick after next year. At this point it’s just a matter of do we get 1.8 seasons of him, 1 season of him, or 0 seasons of him.

 

Sometimes I have to check myself when listening to Denny’s appraisal because he isn’t bashful about talking all his guys up but he seems to be spot on with Ant

 

I think you are conflating separate things.

Point 1 - no one knew because Mullen didn't let him play. That is a separate point. The sample size we were working off of were spring games and extremely limited play time.

Everyone is seeing Richardson play

See sample size component of point 1

Based on what, your gut and 3 passes? See sample size component of point 1

As you have alluded to, the lid was kept on Trask so yes, we all wondered why he didn't get a shot. But that is separate from what we are seeing today. Richardson is lighting the world on fire for everyone to see

So I'm pretty sure we are both in agreement on nearly everything except for what I alluded to previously regarding people who called for Trask early and often. You were the early adopters, and all Gator fans were the beneficiaries.

 

This is a better point to make. 2 coaching staffs choosing Franks over Trask was damning, but hindsight, also incorrect.

 

I get agree, except the "just some slight thing that's not going to get worse unless you are unlucky" thing is what no one will know until it happens, with or without bad luck. I've had calf pulls and they suck. Right when you think it's ok to run again, it starts tightening up on you halfway down the block. Then back to the drawing board. I hope he is 100% and plays. We need him. If not, wait .

 

He was accurate on those single reads and his arm is strong. Also has a nice motion, which he can vary. Those weren’t NFL-level plays against NFL-level defenses, but he did what he was supposed to do. And to be clear: he is such a strong runner, that he may be able to rely more on plays like that. Opponents are going to have to worry about him so much as a runner.

Look, if he is a top-5 pick after next season, then it will mean that at least next season was likely very successful. He certainly has the natural ability to be in that category.

 

Trask was injured in 2017, which is why it was Franks, Del Rio, and the transfer, and then Franks alone when the other two qbs got hurt.

 

NFL guys are already drooling from that pass to Copeland. They just drafted freaking Trey Lance high.

 

Basically up until that point, even with the highlight reels, I told myself "this guy is hitting everyone who is completely wide open or just making EVERY run look easy"

That pass changed my mind. That was an incredibly difficult window to make it in. Of all his highlights, that was the best of all from the QB (not athletic) position.

 

What does Dooley know that no one else knows? A strained calf is way less problematic than a strained hamstring.

 

Has to be a typo. Nobody grabs their upper thigh if they strain a calf muscle. Even CDM said he strained his hammy.