Week 11 - Sac State at #2 Montana State

[Kadeezy]

The only way Andy is gone after this season is if Troy Taylor is fired by Stanford and there is mutual interest in a reunion. That scenario probably keeps Richardson at OL, and Fresques as QB coach. There is a non-zero chance this happens, and there is precedent (Hauck to UNLV, back to UM). Maybe 5% chance this happens…

Like I’ve said before, Thompson will almost assuredly be back as HC and will have to make serious changes to the staff and roster if he wants to keep his job. The 2025 recruiting class is already shaping up to be our “highest rated” ever - but we should probably be prepared to lose a couple of those guys with any serious overhaul to the team staff…

 

[OldSchoolHornet]

I'm still with you SD.

 

[HornetFootballFan]

Neither of those teams had/have a redshirt freshman QB and are irrelevant to our current situation. Now answer my question:

Please explain how firing the coaching staff puts Hornet football in a better position for next season. Explain it to me like I haven't just become a Hornet fan in the last 5 years.

The fact that we only had a redshirt freshman QB again is the fault of coaching staff.

Would you consider that a smart well planned decision? 1) KB who is fragile and couldn’t make a full season without injuries 2) Not recruiting via Portal another strong backup QB?

That’s bad planning. That was risky and they got exposed for not being more prepared with better depth.

I see value in some of your points. But I also see bad strategic decision making as a coaching staff and our program at a point that might have trouble recruiting talent going forward when losing games becomes status quo.

The defense has been disappointing and it’s supposed to be the AT / HC strength as coach.

I wish I knew the best decision to get the FB program back to winning again. Whether, it’s just a shuffle or replacement of a few coaches?

But anybody that doesn’t take this seriously should ask themselves if this level of FB will be able to compete in PAC12 FBS or will we give up 70 points and just make excuses…

 

[Hornet99]

The whole college football environment today is hurting these kids heads. Even if we had Dorian Hale, he’d be a strong rotation running QB this seatthat would’ve gotten significantly played time.

 

[SDHornet]

The fact that we only had a redshirt freshman QB again is the fault of coaching staff.

Would you consider that a smart well planned decision? 1) KB who is fragile and couldn’t make a full season without injuries 2) Not recruiting via Portal another strong backup QB?

That’s bad planning. That was risky and they got exposed for not being more prepared with better depth.

I see value in some of your points. But I also see bad strategic decision making as a coaching staff and our program at a point that might have trouble recruiting talent going forward when losing games becomes status quo.

The defense has been disappointing and it’s supposed to be the AT / HC strength as coach.

I wish I knew the best decision to get the FB program back to winning again. Whether, it’s just a shuffle or replacement of a few coaches?

But anybody that doesn’t take this seriously should ask themselves if this level of FB will be able to compete in PAC12 FBS or will we give up 70 points and just make excuses…

I'm not sure how it's on the coaches for not having a plan to replace their quitter starting senior quarterback on the fly other than going with the redshirt freshman who was being groomed to take over anyways.

In what world would a talented and desirable transfer quarterback want to come to a program where a true freshman got significant reps the season prior and is the obvious heir apparent? Even if the coaches pre-emptively bounced KB in the offseason, you think players would want to come to a program whose coaches bounced their senior quarterback that just led them to a post season win? Do you people understand that only a non-serious program would pull such a ridiculous move? You think KB and his crew wouldn't blast such a move all over SM and knee cap any chances of landing serious recruits/transfers?

You people need to get with the times and start thinking things through before posting utter nonsense. Nothing anyone has posted about this situation has considered the ramifications free agency has on the situation. It's all just emotional knee jerk reactions to placate a desire to win games that are already over.

I said this before and I'll say this again, yes it sucks that KB quit on this team and put the program in this situation, but all this really did was speed up the Conklin timeline by a season. Did people seriously think because Conklin would have gotten another season of spot starts and limited reps behind KB that it would be enough for him to tear through the '25 schedule? If anything this season is a boon for Conklin considering he gets to throw to two very experienced and talented receivers in Gipson and Grover and kickstart his development. I just hope Conklin sticks around because no doubt he'll get some offers this offseason, but he certainly won't be here if Coach Fresques is axed.

You people need to stop dooming. Yes the losing sucks, yes the coaches are accountable for the sub par results this season, yes there should be some changes to the staff, no Andy and Bobby shouldn't get fired. If these coaches can keep Conklin and surround him with talent then this Hornet offense will be very exciting to watch for years to come.

 

[Green Cookie Monster]

How exciting is a pocket only QB? Run into a dynamic defense that shuts down the pass then the O is one dimensional. Not sure why Conklin was recruited when it has been proven that a dual threat QB is what the modern college game requires.

 

[Kadeezy]

The whole college football environment today is hurting these kids heads. Even if we had Dorian Hale, he’d be a strong rotation running QB this seatthat would’ve gotten significantly played time.

Man, If DH had stuck around.... He would've gotten that QB run he's been chasing for years.

 

[Kadeezy]

Gonna be a rough WR room next year...

Starters:
Scudero (So.)
Gandy (Sr.)
Smith Jr (So.)

Wildcards?
Cope
Nicholsen

 

[Super Hornet 2.0]

Gonna be a rough WR room next year...

Starters:
Scudero (So.)
Gandy (Sr.)
Smith Jr (So.)

Wildcards?
Cope
Nicholsen

Are you assuming that we're going to continue with a one-back set? You can write me off as too old school, but I'd love to go back to a two-back set. That would get the running game going easier, both with lead and with the option game. It would also make play-action passes much more believable....

 

[OldSchoolHornet]

SD the guys who should read your last post twice and then ponder your view most likely just blew through it without any consideration. Sad, but most likely true.

 

[Hornet99]

Inagine if we didn’t lose Lynch and Broussard to UW and KB played, both offense and defense would’ve been a little better, more wins, in the playoffs, not beating Montana St but still significantly better. Just waiting on Conklin to save us isn’t the answer, need depth at every position to compete unfortunately

 

[SDHornet]

How exciting is a pocket only QB? Run into a dynamic defense that shuts down the pass then the O is one dimensional. Not sure why Conklin was recruited when it has been proven that a dual threat QB is what the modern college game requires.

Depends on the talent surrounding that pocket passer. I agree a dual threat QB brings a different dynamic to the offense, but a talented pocket passer surrounded with talent can be just as potent, if not more. I mean, has watching what ETT has been doing not been exciting? He's 4th in the BSC in rushing (3rd in the BSC in all purpose yards) and that's with missing some time.

The biggest concerns with a pocket passer I have is the weather aspects given some of the locales we hit in conference play.

 

[SDHornet]

Gonna be a rough WR room next year...

Starters:
Scudero (So.)
Gandy (Sr.)
Smith Jr (So.)

Wildcards?
Cope
Nicholsen

The coaches need to hit free agency market hard. With a player like Conklin, I think there will be strong interest in coming here.

 

[Kadeezy]

The coaches need to hit free agency market hard. With a player like Conklin, I think there will be strong interest in coming here.

Agree, need a big body or two opposite Scudero, and a Carlos Hill/Deandre Carter threat too... Not asking too much LOL

 

[Green Cookie Monster]

Depends on the talent surrounding that pocket passer. I agree a dual threat QB brings a different dynamic to the offense, but a talented pocket passer surrounded with talent can be just as potent, if not more. I mean, has watching what ETT has been doing not been exciting? He's 4th in the BSC in rushing (3rd in the BSC in all purpose yards) and that's with missing some time.

The biggest concerns with a pocket passer I have is the weather aspects given some of the locales we hit in conference play.

Pocket passers take too long to develop. OHara came in and kicked ass and part of it was his ability to keep Defenses guessing. Like the PSU QB who single handidly dismantled the Hornet defense. If Dunniway was the only QB, we would not have had the success we did.

ETT is hurt, so that went up in smoke. What if Conklin went down, just throw in the towel for the season? Too much rides on a pocket passer.

 

[HornetFootballFan]

Are you assuming that we're going to continue with a one-back set? You can write me off as too old school, but I'd love to go back to a two-back set. That would get the running game going easier, both with lead and with the option game. It would also make play-action passes much more believable....

We need to mix things up. Show different looks to disguise play calling. OC has stumbled often in past 2 seasons already.

 

[HornetFootballFan]

Pocket passers take too long to develop. OHara came in and kicked ass and part of it was his ability to keep Defenses guessing. Like the PSU QB who single handidly dismantled the Hornet defense. If Dunniway was the only QB, we would not have had the success we did.

ETT is hurt, so that went up in smoke. What if Conklin went down, just throw in the towel for the season? Too much rides on a pocket passer.

YES! HC Taylor evaluated his talent pool and got the most out of his roster.

Implemented what many predicted was going to be a huge mistake w 2 QB system and silenced the naysayers.

 

[Green Laser]

Taylor had the luxury of two quarterbacks that were ok with sharing time. O'Hara and Dunniway understood the benefit and could be used seamlessly, that's what made it work so well.

I don't think that the coaches have had that opportunity with Bennett and Conklin. I don't know about Conklin but watching Bennett on the sideline when they would put Conklin in he didn't seem too happy. Maybe try Conklin in combo with the other QB's? It would be great if we still had Dorian Hale on the roster, he would have been perfect for this situation.

 

[HornetFootballFan]

Taylor had the luxury of two quarterbacks that were ok with sharing time. O'Hara and Dunniway understood the benefit and could be used seamlessly, that's what made it work so well.

I don't think that the coaches have had that opportunity with Bennett and Conklin. I don't know about Conklin but watching Bennett on the sideline when they would put Conklin in he didn't seem too happy. Maybe try Conklin in combo with the other QB's? It would be great if we still had Dorian Hale on the roster, he would have been perfect for this situation.

If a coach doesn’t have his team thinking the TEAM FIRST. And players are in selfish mode! Then you get that drama.

I remember LOVE as the mantra, just like special operators in military. “Do Not Let your team down!”

Broken Record: The atmosphere in the locker room is also part of the reflection of leadership from coaches as well.

Buck stops with the Coaching Staff. Every decision leading to success or failure is there’s to make.

I’m becoming a bit numb to this losing sadly,

Thankfully our stadium / FBS gives me hope that our future will be better having the ability to host FBS programs at our new stadium,

Can’t wait…

 

[SDHornet]

Pocket passers take too long to develop. OHara came in and kicked ass and part of it was his ability to keep Defenses guessing. Like the PSU QB who single handidly dismantled the Hornet defense. If Dunniway was the only QB, we would not have had the success we did.

ETT is hurt, so that went up in smoke. What if Conklin went down, just throw in the towel for the season? Too much rides on a pocket passer.

Huh? We're seeing the most pure passing quarterback in at least the last 22 years develop right in front of our eyes. Are you even watching the games? None of the quarterbacks I have seen since joining Hornet nation in 2002 come even close to the abilities Conklin has displayed in his short tenure here. Ryan Leadingham comes close, after that, no contest. We've had some solid athletes play at quarterback (Thomson, Safron, MBT, Dunniway, KB), but none with the throwing ability, mobility/pocket presence, arm strength and accuracy of Conklin.