Smothers Prep for the Week

[Wyldcard]

I'm really hoping you are right about his abilities. It will certainly be interesting to see.

His skillset is tempo and he is the only true RPO QB in the room. We may run all tempo on Friday or as I said earlier we might run something similar to what we saw against Wiscy. If we run tempo, we may just see the tempo offense Frost has always wanted to run here which is at light speed as to say. Either scheme it will be aggressive all the way. That offense we saw against Wiscy was very aggressive and that performance was overall the best and most consistant we have seen this year and I think most agree and it was against the #1 Rushing, #2 Passing and #1 Total Defense and #3 in scoring Defense in the country and we made it look foolish imo.

 

[Wyldcard]

It's a ****** thing to do. But some people just have to be ********.

But I'm interested in seeing Smothers get his chance. He'll be under a lot of pressure thanks to an average oline.

Below average OL, The OL has been a real bane to this team most of the year as with a stout line we are 11-0

 

[HikingHusker]

Obviously we have no clue how Logan will do this Friday, but having the week knowing you are going to start is going to help him tremendously. The offense may look the way Scott intended it to be with quicker decision making with Smothers. Quick, short routes and option plays will give Iowa some problems. We need turnovers from the defense as well!! Captain Obvious here…

I just hope this quick decision making you are referring to doesn't remind us of Crouch or Jammal Lord dropping back to pass and taking off to run 3/4 of the time.


Kidding aside, I hope Logan has a good game and he can get the ball to his playmakers. I'd really like to avoid seeing him with 20+ carries.

 

[JOHNNY N]

Below average OL, The OL has been a real bane to this team most of the year as with a stout line we are 11-0

I was trying to be nice for the holidays

 

[TruHusker]

Some interesting, if uninformed, comments in this thread.

The focus this week will be on what Iowa does on D and what to counter that with on O. I am not sure why they would want him to "go fast" when he needs to read the D and make play calls on the fly. They may do it on some prescripted plays. Young guys need a second to simmer down, their heartbeat is off the charts. The D will do everything to confuse him. I know that is what I would do, fake blitzes, zone blitzes, anything to keep him off balance. He will be schooled on decision making, when to dump it off, when to throw it away and when to take the sack. I am afraid taking the sack could e a theme Friday.

As for him, they are likely working on his reads and footwork with RB's and WR's. Timing is nearly always an issue with a new QB and now you have several new RB's in the mix as well.

I believe it will be important for Smothers to get off to a good start and get comfortable. That doesn't mean big plays and avoiding sacks, just not giving up big negative plays - i.e. falling back from the rush and tossing it up for grabs. Could be interesting.

 

[Wyldcard]

Some interesting, if uninformed, comments in this thread.

The focus this week will be on what Iowa does on D and what to counter that with on O. I am not sure why they would want him to "go fast" when he needs to read the D and make play calls on the fly. They may do it on some prescripted plays. Young guys need a second to simmer down, their heartbeat is off the charts. The D will do everything to confuse him. I know that is what I would do, fake blitzes, zone blitzes, anything to keep him off balance. He will be schooled on decision making, when to dump it off, when to throw it away and when to take the sack. I am afraid taking the sack could e a theme Friday.

As for him, they are likely working on his reads and footwork with RB's and WR's. Timing is nearly always an issue with a new QB and now you have several new RB's in the mix as well.

I believe it will be important for Smothers to get off to a good start and get comfortable. That doesn't mean big plays and avoiding sacks, just not giving up big negative plays - i.e. falling back from the rush and tossing it up for grabs. Could be interesting.

I am informed and have been to a few practices this year as well. Plus I saw the kid play his senior year.

 

[inthedeed]

run, run, run. when the safties cheat up far enough then pass, pass, pass. really hate his throwing sideways twist but if he can keep from ints who cares, think a new starter will need extra time before each play so wont be a fast offense on friday.
keeping iowa running backs from having heisman day is what worries me. for some reason we dont teach tackling.
the skinny dude with the big feet maybe the thanksgiving special desert in this one.

 

[Wyldcard]

@LonghornInOmaha should be known as dumbassinOmaha!

You've got every right to your opinion of course, your wrong on everything and everyone see's your posts when you so. Little bit of advice, quit making yourself a continual arse on the board as you'll be better off for it!

 

[King Kong]

Iowa has 21 INTs this season. Just "throw it up" against that defense is asking for trouble...... but if he does decide to chuck a rainbow downfield, then its Allen not Manning that you want to target - that guy is having an All-Big Ten year.

Well, the deep throw interceptions may be better then us punting

 

[Magni]

Don't forget with Martinez being injured so often this year, Smothers has taken a ton of first team reps. So, he's not just getting them this week. There were times this year where Martinez just practiced once or twice during the week and Smothers was running the offense with the starters the rest of the week. Should pay dividends against Iowa.

 

[Charlie Marlow_rivals363743]

@LonghornInOmaha should be known as dumbassinOmaha!

You've got every right to your opinion of course, your wrong on everything and everyone see's your posts when you so. Little bit of advice, quit making yourself a continual arse on the board as you'll be better off for it!

Did I miss something?

 

[Husker.Wed._rivals]

I fully expect win or lose Smothers will have an outstanding game and I (and many other fans) will be sick to my stomach thinking about what this year could have been with a P5 QB at the helm. For those who think the line and RBs are a worse problem than QB, I don't buy it. A good QB elevates those around him, makes good decisions to help the line and backs, and encourages/demands acceptable play. I recall Tommie Frazier wasn't real popular with his teammates. But he wasn't here to be popular, he was here to win.

 

[dinglefritz]

run, run, run. when the safties cheat up far enough then pass, pass, pass. really hate his throwing sideways twist but if he can keep from ints who cares, think a new starter will need extra time before each play so wont be a fast offense on friday.
keeping iowa running backs from having heisman day is what worries me. for some reason we dont teach tackling.
the skinny dude with the big feet maybe the thanksgiving special desert in this one.

To be fair that kid from Wisconsin is a beast. At least some of those missed tackles were because he was 6-2, 235 with huge legs and a sub 4.5 40 time. Has squatted over 600lbs. I don't think there is any doubt that Wisconsin is using "vitamins" in their S&C program. One of the Watt boys said as much.

 

[WHCSC]

I fully expect win or lose Smothers will have an outstanding game and I (and many other fans) will be sick to my stomach thinking about what this year could have been with a P5 QB at the helm. For those who think the line and RBs are a worse problem than QB, I don't buy it. A good QB elevates those around him, makes good decisions to help the line and backs, and encourages/demands acceptable play. I recall Tommie Frazier wasn't real popular with his teammates. But he wasn't here to be popular, he was here to win.

What do you consider an outstanding game?

 

[oldjar07]

I'm expecting Smothers is going to have a very tough game against one of the best defenses in the country at forcing turnovers. It's a tough environment for a young inexperienced qb to be in, and I'm not expecting a lot of positive things to happen.

 

[BuckysBoys1]

Watch the game....he was asking Martinez on almost every snap.

And your second point would hold up if MS didn't end up getting the ball handed to him afterwards.

Why do you think Belt was in on the two minute drill? He hasnt practiced at RB in two years. Hasn’t blocked a blitzing linebacker in two years. And they trusted him more than Marvin Scott to know the signals from the sideline.

 

[Husker.Wed._rivals]

What do you consider an outstanding game?

Its like porn, I can't define it, but I know it when I see it.

 

[barney44]

Hope I'm wrong but we're going to miss Martinez.

 

[BuckysBoys1]

His skillset is tempo and he is the only true RPO QB in the room. We may run all tempo on Friday or as I said earlier we might run something similar to what we saw against Wiscy. If we run tempo, we may just see the tempo offense Frost has always wanted to run here which is at light speed as to say. Either scheme it will be aggressive all the way. That offense we saw against Wiscy was very aggressive and that performance was overall the best and most consistant we have seen this year and I think most agree and it was against the #1 Rushing, #2 Passing and #1 Total Defense and #3 in scoring Defense in the country and we made it look foolish imo.

He is missing the P part

 

[TheRealHerky]

I think he will have time to throw, Iowa tends to not put a lot of pressure on a QB in the pocket. They will be in the defensive backfield however waiting for him to make a mistake, so it's a different kind of pressure on the QB.

Unless of course you a Purdue QB. They feel none of this pressure against Iowa and just shred away.

 

[73 Red I]

The coaches have commented in the past that Logan makes quick decisions. They have said a lot of good things about Adrian but I’ve never heard anyone on staff call him a quick decision maker.

I heard he was a quick blinker. Is that the same??

 

[dinglefritz]

Why do you think Belt was in on the two minute drill? He hasnt practiced at RB in two years. Hasn’t blocked a blitzing linebacker in two years. And they trusted him more than Marvin Scott to know the signals from the sideline.

That's not true. Belt has been practicing at RB and WR and I'm pretty sure he's had game snaps at RB earlier this year. He's a DuckR hybrid RB/Receiver and he knows the whole play book for WR and RB. Hell he practiced at safety at one point I think a year or two ago. Very bright kid.

 

[NikkiSixx_rivals269993]

I'll be surprised if Smothers can throw the ball downfield. Doesnt appear to have a Power 5 arm.

some of those can look scary, some can look brilliant..

I hope they have a nice game plan for him, because he can probably do a lot of things better than AM except maybe the 50/50 deep balls.

So if we stay in the shorter yardage game, I can see lots of option read stuff, going lots of different directions, including a very high tempo.

If Yant is playing, he can also help take the pressure off the QB.

We probably still need to take a few shots downfield, but I can see the offense looking a lot different with Logan running it.

It's his showcase for next season. I hope he takes the opportunity and just rips it on Saturday. I have a good feeling about it.

 

[TarheelHuskerFan_rivals]

Smothers will probably make the same amount of bone headed costly mistakes Martinez does every game. The difference is he's new and can hopefully learn from them. We're going to hear "there's a freshmen mistake" "there's that inexperience showing" but we all know Martinez would be making the same kind of mistakes, so what is there to lose?

 

[BuckysBoys1]

some of those can look scary, some can look brilliant..

I hope they have a nice game plan for him, because he can probably do a lot of things better than AM except maybe the 50/50 deep balls.

So if we stay in the shorter yardage game, I can see lots of option read stuff, going lots of different directions, including a very high tempo.

If Yant is playing, he can also help take the pressure off the QB.

We probably still need to take a few shots downfield, but I can see the offense looking a lot different with Logan running it.

It's his showcase for next season. I hope he takes the opportunity and just rips it on Saturday. I have a good feeling about it.

I agree with most things except the tempo. I think it will be even slower. We will try and shorten the game to limit his mistakes.

 

[RiLLLLLLLLey]

heard he was a quick blinker. Is that the same??

 

[barney44]

Smothers will probably make the same amount of bone headed costly mistakes Martinez does every game. The difference is he's new and can hopefully learn from them. We're going to hear "there's a freshmen mistake" "there's that inexperience showing" but we all know Martinez would be making the same kind of mistakes, so what is there to lose?

Hopefully he can produce. Martinez makes more than his share of mistakes but he also made some plays as well. If Smothers can learn from his mistakes and make some plays happen then I can suffer through his inexperience.

I'm not sure our offensive line will offer him any favors though.

 

[WHCSC]

I agree with most things except the tempo. I think it will be even slower. We will try and shorten the game to limit his mistakes.

I’m thinking the opposite

 

[phoenix4nu]

To be fair that kid from Wisconsin is a beast. At least some of those missed tackles were because he was 6-2, 235 with huge legs and a sub 4.5 40 time. Has squatted over 600lbs. I don't think there is any doubt that Wisconsin is using "vitamins" in their S&C program. One of the Watt boys said as much.

I've suspected that for a while.

 

[Baxter48_rivals204143]

I've suspected that for a while.

You notice Wisconsin offensive linemen their heads are bigger than the helmets I don’t see how they get them on sure sign of using special vitamins

 

[GBRforLife1]

And this is based on what?

Wishing and hoping.

It's not like the bar was exceptionally high to pass Martinez.

 

[NebChicago]

Brion Cranes, Cody Green, Luke McCafferey, Tristan Gebbia were all mythic legends until they took snaps

 

[TarheelHuskerFan_rivals]

I don't know this happens by accident:

• 7,489 career passing yards (#18 all-time in AL)
• 10,428 (7,489 passing, 2,848 rushing, 91 receiving) career total offense (#6 all-time)

• 100 (65 passing, 34 rushing, 1 receiving) career TDs (#17 all-time) -- 2 fewer passing TDs and 1 fewer rushing than Winston (103)

• 622-920 (67.6%) career completion % (#3 all-time)
• 164-216 (75.9%) in his SR season (#2 all-time)

• Had 2,204 passing yards (28 TDs), 809 rushing yards (13 TDs) on 93 carries (8.7/carry) in his SR year.
• Only played 38 of 52 total quarters his SR year. Mostly due to blowouts.
• Finished SR year 12-1.

 

[WHCSC]

I don't know this happens by accident:

• 7,489 career passing yards (#18 all-time in AL)
• 10,428 (7,489 passing, 2,848 rushing, 91 receiving) career total offense (#6 all-time)

• 100 (65 passing, 34 rushing, 1 receiving) career TDs (#17 all-time) -- 2 fewer passing TDs and 1 fewer rushing than Winston (103)

• 622-920 (67.6%) career completion % (#3 all-time)
• 164-216 (75.9%) in his SR season (#2 all-time)

• Had 2,204 passing yards (28 TDs), 809 rushing yards (13 TDs) on 93 carries (8.7/carry) in his SR year.
• Only played 38 of 52 total quarters his SR year. Mostly due to blowouts.
• Finished SR year 12-1.

Let’s hope his HS stats translate to P5. Definitely not a sure thing.

 

[LagunaHusker]

Welp, not only the caoching staff but I saw him play his senior year in HS and plus I've been to a couple of practices this year with my uncle and he most certainly does have the fastest blinkers in the room and has the best decision making in the room as he is very deliberate at what he does. He may not have the stronest arm in the room but is more than serviceable plus he knows this offense like the back of his hand as his HS ran almost the identical offense here except different terminology. With him in there Friday, we may just see the tmpo game that Frost always wanted to run. Or we may see a similar gameplan to what we ran against Wiscy.

I don't know how many have seen his SR HS Hudl, but here it is!

Nice video of Smothers. The kid looks goods just as fast and elusive as AM, arm it strong enough. I only worry about his size, not at thick as AM and worried he could get hurt with alot of carries. Most people on RSS are full of it.

 

[dinglefritz]

I don't know this happens by accident:

• 7,489 career passing yards (#18 all-time in AL)
• 10,428 (7,489 passing, 2,848 rushing, 91 receiving) career total offense (#6 all-time)

• 100 (65 passing, 34 rushing, 1 receiving) career TDs (#17 all-time) -- 2 fewer passing TDs and 1 fewer rushing than Winston (103)

• 622-920 (67.6%) career completion % (#3 all-time)
• 164-216 (75.9%) in his SR season (#2 all-time)

• Had 2,204 passing yards (28 TDs), 809 rushing yards (13 TDs) on 93 carries (8.7/carry) in his SR year.
• Only played 38 of 52 total quarters his SR year. Mostly due to blowouts.
• Finished SR year 12-1.

He certainly had the resume and physical tools in high school. The question now is what did Mario do with him over the past 2 years? When you're doing lengthy written tests of your QBs and using that as one of your main evaluation tools, I think you can't help but cause them to think too much when they get on a football field. Something tells me that time might have been better spent in the film room with Frost.

 

[BuckysBoys1]

There’s a reason Nick Saban didn’t recruit this kid.

 

[TarheelHuskerFan_rivals]

There’s a reason Nick Saban didn’t recruit this kid.

Maybe because of the other 5 star pro style qbs on his roster and recruiting class. Smothers is likely not the mold of an NFL qb