so, he wasn't asked to do much throwing the ball and the playbook was basically not available. but, i noticed a few things...
he has a live arm, obviously, and he can throw on the run. i read somewhere on the boards that he reminded folks of ochs in terms of physical ability and i think that is a pretty good analogy (altho i hope hansen is much less concussion prone).
that touchdown pass he threw really was a thing of beauty. did you see him look off the defender, pump, and then throw? that showed a lot of maturity for a true frosh. and the throw was perfect.
on the negative side, he tried to force a few passes into receivers where he had absolutely no business trying to pass. the INT was a perfect example of a pass you don't throw. but, i also noticed that he often put the ball where you are supposed to put it (away from the defender) so he is pretty fundamentally sound. he needs to learn that he cannot force passes--- bad things will happen in this league.
finally (and i don't know if this was because of the limited playbook they gave him), i would like to see him scramble and then hit the downfield receiver, rather than always tucking and running. he is such a running threat that defenders will come up to stop him on scrambles and there will be guys open down the field.
all in all, i like his speed, his arm, and his size. but, if they can't run the full offense while he is on the field, his success this year will be limited. once kjsu realized that he was going to play zone-read all day, they were able to successfully adjust in the second half. the Buffs will need a bigger bag of tricks the rest of the way.
the kid has some game. fingers crossed!
he has a live arm, obviously, and he can throw on the run. i read somewhere on the boards that he reminded folks of ochs in terms of physical ability and i think that is a pretty good analogy (altho i hope hansen is much less concussion prone).
that touchdown pass he threw really was a thing of beauty. did you see him look off the defender, pump, and then throw? that showed a lot of maturity for a true frosh. and the throw was perfect.
on the negative side, he tried to force a few passes into receivers where he had absolutely no business trying to pass. the INT was a perfect example of a pass you don't throw. but, i also noticed that he often put the ball where you are supposed to put it (away from the defender) so he is pretty fundamentally sound. he needs to learn that he cannot force passes--- bad things will happen in this league.
finally (and i don't know if this was because of the limited playbook they gave him), i would like to see him scramble and then hit the downfield receiver, rather than always tucking and running. he is such a running threat that defenders will come up to stop him on scrambles and there will be guys open down the field.
all in all, i like his speed, his arm, and his size. but, if they can't run the full offense while he is on the field, his success this year will be limited. once kjsu realized that he was going to play zone-read all day, they were able to successfully adjust in the second half. the Buffs will need a bigger bag of tricks the rest of the way.
the kid has some game. fingers crossed!