2014 Questions about practice...Readiness

[lwjr]

Did June ever recruit any four or five star QB's or WR's out of HS while at Hawaii? This is not meant as a negative comment I was just wondering.

[CalallenStang]

From a pure Xs and Os perspective, I think June is maybe not elite, but probably pretty decent at the very least. I base this opinion on his bowl record (excluding the uninspired Armed Forces Bowl fiasco), where he has had extra practices, extra time to prepare, and most importantly, more time for the kids to heal up.

I have a higher opinion of our recruits than most. Where I think we fall flat is that being a small, expensive school, we don't have the same caliber and depth of walk-ons. That makes recruiting and retaining student-athletes EXTREMELY important. How many times has a key injury or two, or a kid forming a rock band (or whatever the excuse for the loss), screwed an entire season? When every recruit counts, lackadaisical recruiting and/or not recruiting to fill projected needs exacerbates this issue.

I continue to be surprised that in June's pass-happy offense we have yet to recruit a blue chip QB or receiver. But beyond that, even if we are unable to land a 4- or 5-star at the offensive skill positions, we need to be sure that everyone in each recruiting class is legit, and we can't (for example) overload at slot receiver when we're thin and/or inexperienced on the OL and DL. And if we go JUCO or transfer as a Band-Aid for our recruiting, we need to make sure the kids we give 'ships to can actually play (Ashcraft, Lowe, etc.).

You lost me on the walk-ons thing. Could you explain?

[Stallion]

I've always said I think we lose the non-conference games because we aren't as good... not because we aren't well prepared.

That said, I think either way June is not going to be around for 2015 if we finish under .500. And we aren't going to finish over .500 if we get smushed against Baylor, A&M, and TCU.

JasonB sorry-but you clearly made "we are better than Texas Tech" arguments last year specifically with regard to Tech's defense which you thought was not very good and at QB. I clearly remember pointing out that while Tech was replacing starters that even their backups had proven to be much better quality than SMU's backups

[Stallion]

And here it is:

JasonB

SMU is better at RB, QB, LB, DB, and S.
TT is better at OL, DL, and WR.

If Tech was a traditional team, they would run a ball control offense behind the offensive line, to spare the QB and wear SMU down on a hot day. But that isn't KK's style.

I think this game is a lock to go over. That said, I expect both teams to struggle a little offensively at the beginning of the game. The TT DL will disrupt the SMU offense from getting in a rhythm, while the SMU receivers drop a couple of passes. Meanwhile, the TT QBs will take a little while to get started, as Tech is surprised by the speed of the SMU secondary and is forced to play it a little closer to the vest than they want to.

Either the SMU offense will get on track first and put too much pressure on the young Tech QBs than they can handle, or the Tech offense takes the first step forward and the SMU defense gets worn out in the heat.

I will go with home field advantage and an experienced QB, 38 - 24 SMU. But I am really wary that if the SMU OL and DL don't play well (I think we are better on DL than people think, and the OL is definitely better than last year), the score might flip.

I don't see this as being a close game if SMU wins. The Tech QBs will force things and turn the ball over I think. The SMU offense was really bad last year - 90th in total offense, 115 in pass efficiency. The offense will be much improved this season, which will allow us to turn opposing mistakes into points without relying on the defense to score it for us.
JasonB Hall of Famer
Hall of Famer Posts: 2558Joined: Mon Aug 27, 2001 2:01 amLocation: Allen, Tx, USA

[Stallion]

From a pure Xs and Os perspective, I think June is maybe not elite, but probably pretty decent at the very least. I base this opinion on his bowl record (excluding the uninspired Armed Forces Bowl fiasco), where he has had extra practices, extra time to prepare, and most importantly, more time for the kids to heal up.

I have a higher opinion of our recruits than most. Where I think we fall flat is that being a small, expensive school, we don't have the same caliber and depth of walk-ons. That makes recruiting and retaining student-athletes EXTREMELY important. How many times has a key injury or two, or a kid forming a rock band (or whatever the excuse for the loss), screwed an entire season? When every recruit counts, lackadaisical recruiting and/or not recruiting to fill projected needs exacerbates this issue.

I continue to be surprised that in June's pass-happy offense we have yet to recruit a blue chip QB or receiver. But beyond that, even if we are unable to land a 4- or 5-star at the offensive skill positions, we need to be sure that everyone in each recruiting class is legit, and we can't (for example) overload at slot receiver when we're thin and/or inexperienced on the OL and DL. And if we go JUCO or transfer as a Band-Aid for our recruiting, we need to make sure the kids we give 'ships to can actually play (Ashcraft, Lowe, etc.).

You lost me on the walk-ons thing. Could you explain?

No because its RIDICULOUS. See first TCU then Baylor

[Big12Mustang]

And here it is:

JasonB

SMU is better at RB, QB, LB, DB, and S.
TT is better at OL, DL, and WR.

If Tech was a traditional team, they would run a ball control offense behind the offensive line, to spare the QB and wear SMU down on a hot day. But that isn't KK's style.

I think this game is a lock to go over. That said, I expect both teams to struggle a little offensively at the beginning of the game. The TT DL will disrupt the SMU offense from getting in a rhythm, while the SMU receivers drop a couple of passes. Meanwhile, the TT QBs will take a little while to get started, as Tech is surprised by the speed of the SMU secondary and is forced to play it a little closer to the vest than they want to.

Either the SMU offense will get on track first and put too much pressure on the young Tech QBs than they can handle, or the Tech offense takes the first step forward and the SMU defense gets worn out in the heat.

I will go with home field advantage and an experienced QB, 38 - 24 SMU. But I am really wary that if the SMU OL and DL don't play well (I think we are better on DL than people think, and the OL is definitely better than last year), the score might flip.

I don't see this as being a close game if SMU wins. The Tech QBs will force things and turn the ball over I think. The SMU offense was really bad last year - 90th in total offense, 115 in pass efficiency. The offense will be much improved this season, which will allow us to turn opposing mistakes into points without relying on the defense to score it for us.
JasonB Hall of Famer
Hall of Famer Posts: 2558Joined: Mon Aug 27, 2001 2:01 amLocation: Allen, Tx, USA

He was actually pretty accurate in his prediction. Our OL and DL didn't do their job and we got beat 41-23...close to his 38-24

[Stallion]

just missed by 32 points

[Big12Mustang]

just missed by 32 points

He said if we messed up in our OL/DL the score would FLIP. So yes, [deleted] 38-24 Texas Tech is pretty close to the actual 41-23.

[Junior]

Did June ever recruit any four or five star QB's or WR's out of HS while at Hawaii? This is not meant as a negative comment I was just wondering.

recruit or actually sign?

[lwjr]

Did June ever recruit any four or five star QB's or WR's out of HS while at Hawaii? This is not meant as a negative comment I was just wondering.

recruit or actually sign?

Sign

[78pony]

Jason B, getting whacked up side the head by Stallion once again. Aren't you getting tired of this, Sunshine???

[Statler]

I used to think JJ was a good not great game day coach....then...

I experienced at Tulsa...at Tulane.

(That is all)

[LHS81]

Hire me as the new SMU football coach, and the non-tackling practices would be a thing of the past. . . In fact, I would bring in other teams for "live(ly)" scrimmages starting with this team.

[lwjr]

Hire me as the new SMU football coach, and the non-tackling practices would be a thing of the past. . . In fact, I would bring in other teams for "live(ly)" scrimmages starting with this team.

Don't know if we could beat them.

[smustatesman]

Beat ? Or spank them