My personal feeling is that Jason Butt is jumping the gun a bit in suggesting that Georgia’s offer to a dual-threat quarterback in the class of 2018 represents a sea-change in approach to what we’ve been used to offensively around these parts for a while, “Smart told him he’s looking for a quarterback similar to Clemson’s Deshaun Watson” notwithstanding.
For the sake of argument, let’s say he’s right, though. Again, personally speaking, the sentiment expressed in the header should be Smart’s only mantra as Georgia’s head coach, but let’s be honest here: programs like Alabama and Georgia use preparing players for the next level as a major selling point to recruits. So how does Smart balance use of the spread offense to win against the standard-issue NFL whine these days about college players coming out of spread attacks not being fundamentally prepared for the pros?
Get The Picture 
Train the dual threat on a pro-style.
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CKS is smart enough to sign this guy to keep him off of another playoff team whether he is the starter at UGA or not. Man what an upgrade from the non-thinker Richt.
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Yeah…that is why Smart is after him.
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Rivals has him listed as a Pro-Style QB.
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And DeShaun Watson is going to be a helluva pro, too.
If Jacob Eason pans out as the kind of quarterback we’re hoping and gets himself drafted, that’s all Kirby will need to sell our continuing ability to get quarterbacks ready for the NFL. And if this kid is even 70% of the player that DeShaun Watson is, then he’ll be a star in whatever system he’s in. Watson is a singular talent. He can run and run well, but his accuracy throwing the ball both inside and outside of the pocket is what makes him truly special. I continue to lament our inability to get him to Athens.
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I’d argue that Deshaun Watson isn’t dual threat so much as he is run threat. It seemed that they used his QB runs mostly to keep the defense honest, not as offensive production.
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Dual threat is the new thing in the NFL, I don’t see Smart having a hard time selling a Dual threat QB or any other position for that matter. Further what success has Urban had with NFL QBs and Ohio St has been in the National Title picture.
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It’s much easier to get a duel threat type guy in house when there is already a freshman 5* pocket passer on the team. Eason’s presence will run off other pro style kids who want to play early.
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The real question is what in the hell does “Dual-Threat” actually mean. Is it a euphemism for “Black”? A Quarterback that also has legit running-back skills? An athlete playing the QB position that lacks legitimate QB skills? I am inclined to call it the latter. To me, “Pro-Style” refers to a style of play i.e. diagnosing coverages and blitzes, adjusting fronts, checking out of bad plays / into good ones, working progressions, etc. regardless of their athletic ability.
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Ole Miss had a dual threat QB this past year. He was white, if my memory is correct.
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WOOSH!
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I suspect that any inference made based on an offer made to a 2018 recruiting might be questionable.
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Question: ‘So how does Smart balance use of the spread offense … not being fundamentally prepared for the pros?’
Answer: They become DBs in the pros. Which is another description for a Labrador retriever on two legs.
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Just win. Mariota went #2. Watson will go #1 in the 2017 draft. Newton went #1. Pros just want the best player. Colleges should do the same. When you get pigeonholed over style, you’ll lose. There will always be players available, you just gotta showcase their talents.
Be stubborn about winning, not about the system. The coaches that figure this out will collect trophies.
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Yep. Until this past season, it had been decades since a former Bama QB won an NFL game. I’m sure that fact really bugged their fanbase too.
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I never understood why Richt would pass on the best dual threat kids in the country, even when they were from Georgia, but then take a flyer on some 3* dual threat kid nobody’s heard of.
I don’t care about scheme, or changing a scheme, or whatever. I’m just glad if Smart’s going to recruit a dual threat guy, he’s at least a stud.
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Watson would be one helluva TE.
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Kirby has already seen how to utilize a “dual threat” QB. Sims certainly wouldn’t have been considered a “pro style” QB and Bama seemed to adjust to his skills just fine.
My thought is good coaches have certain ways they want to attack and then utilize the skill sets of their players to do so. Adjusting the specific play calling to take advantage of a certain player’s skills just doesn’t seem like such a daunting challenge.
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We just need Kiffen at OC. Hate him if you want, but the boy can coach and offense.
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an offense
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The choice of Cheney as OC and the qb offers out there tell me that Kirby doesn’t want a reputation that scares away any particular type of qb. If you can play qb and want to play at UGA we’ll adjust to you not the other way around. The advantage to that is that it should keep all types of scout team qbs in the fold and it broadens the pool of qb talent available to us. We may not recruit qb nationally any longer, but we’ll have a spot for the top in state qbs every year. In short, we’re casting with a bigger net in a smaller pond. We’ll just have to see how that works out for us.
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I have always thought that the best coaches will coach to the talent of their players. The NFL is a copycat league. They almost all run the same offense and defense. Colleges run whatever the coach thinks will win and it makes being a college defensive coordinator the hardest job in football. Just look at the teams we play, spread teams, triple option run from under center, triple option run from shotgun, pro-style, chuck and duck etc. I would hate to have to game plan the variety we see. The personnel needed is totally different for almost each type. I think Bama figured this out and had two separate defensive personnel groups based on the offense they faced. Kirby needs the depth because of this problem. Mark, bless his heart, was married to the pro-style and would tease us with Logan Grey or Batta but would never change the system or even put in the package for them that the fans thought were coming. I watched the whole UF game thinking surely the read option was coming early and often but it didn’t happen and we got killed. At least the book on Chaney is he can adept to the players, as was demonstrated when UT killed us with the rollout from a quarterback who was not a duel threat.
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