Ben Hicks commits!

[vielsiehorsepower]

I personally bet Hicks knows the new offense better than Davis by the end of this spring practice. I wouldn't hand anything to Davis based on last season-he hasn't earned it. All he demonstrated was that he was an athlete-which we already knew-not that he's a QB.

someone needs to push Davis so he learns the playbook

Stallion what is up with your hate of davis? Are you really going to judge him for how he threw the ball in the run and shoot yourself in the foot offense? If anything we have evidence that players who didn't necessarily succeed running it (padron and mitchel) were still good players. The guy has an arm and like many have pointed out this isn't exactly a complicated offense as far as throwing the ball. It's absurd to say that hicks will know the playbook better...that's pure speculation based on absolutely nothing that you can draw a logical line of thinking from. Do you think that because it took him awhile to learn June's [deleted] offense? Guy has an arm, runs like the wind, and can change direction on a dime. Whats the problem? On paper sounds like the prototypical qb for this offense. You know this is a spread triple option and not a pass first offense right?

I generally agree with most things you say (and actually I don't post much because you often very adequately cover all of my points of view and it'd just be redundant) but I think you're off base just assuming a)Davis can't hang in an offense that couldn't match his skill set better b)that hicks will be good enough to take the job from him as a true freshman when he has yet to play a college snap. and c)that chad morris is going to bench a RS Junior who is a fantastic ath in favor of a frosh qb that he'd have to adjust the offense for.

I see no reason whatsoever to assume that Hicks will just come in, learn the playbook faster, and take the job. Could it happen? Yeah, totally but you've really got no real reason to assume that unless you've got some insider info that I dont.

[Stallion]

"It's absurd to say that hicks will know the playbook better."

Why is that absurd. You do realize that Hicks is enrolling for spring semester and will go through spring practice. I've watched Hicks' videos and I think he runs a pretty similar pass offense. Davis didn't learn the last offense-what makes you think he can learn this one. He was completely lost last year and survived ONLY due to his athleticism. I expect a QB to competently run an offense-and I question why Davis was so unprepared. A&M wanted to move him to another position, he didn't start the whole year in JUCO and he was unprepared to run SMU's offense last year. I see a pattern. Even the walkon knew the offense better and how to distribute the ball in 3-4 seconds albeit with a lot less talent. He needs someone to light a fire under him to do the things necessary to be competent in the passing game. This isn't analoguous to the Justin Willis situation because a) Justin Willis produced better offensive results than June's QBs and b) Hicks is going to be able to go through spring practice

[vielsiehorsepower]

"It's absurd to say that hicks will know the playbook better."

Why is that absurd. You do realize that Hicks is enrolling for spring semester and will go through spring practice. I've watched Hicks' videos and I think he runs a pretty similar pass offense. Davis didn't learn the last offense-what makes you think he can learn this one. He was completely lost last year and survived ONLY due to his athleticism. I expect a QB to competently run an offense-and I question why Davis was so unprepared. A&M wanted to move him to another position, he didn't start the whole year in JUCO and he was unprepared to run SMU's offense last year. I see a pattern. Even the walkon knew the offense better and how to distribute the ball in 3-4 seconds albeit with a lot less talent. He needs someone to light a fire under him to do the things necessary to be competent in the passing game. This isn't analoguous to the Justin Willis situation because a) Justin Willis produced better offensive results than June's QBs and b) Hicks is going to be able to go through spring practice

He will start learning the offense the same day as Davis so I'd chalk that up to a draw at best.

Did anyone other than Gilbert learn this offense? No other qb who has been on campus since JJ arrived has panned out. And of course the walk on knew the offense better, he's been here since 2011 and Davis got here in june of 2014. While I can't vouch one way or the other for why aggy wanted to move him to another position (as there are too many variables to that specific scenario that I am admittedly ignorant to), Morris wanted him as a qb at Clemson so I'm going to lean on that and assume he probably has the tools to fit this offense well. And I wouldn't expect him to start at TJC, considering he was injured half the season.

I do however agree that a fire does need to be lit under him and he does need to improve as a passer. Anyone could tell you that. Having said that I will say that June's offense is absurdly complicated and takes 5 years to learn and a qb's passing ability should not be held against him in that ancient offense. If Ben Hicks even ties with Davis for the job Morris should give Davis the nod simply because of his experience. If Davis proves ineffective, or morris wants to use a dual qb system that's fine by me but yet to be seen. However I don't think we have given Davis enough of a chance to show what he can really do. Sure, stich got the ball out in 3 seconds but his arm was weak and accuracy suspect.

Before we crown Hicks the savior of the hill top, let's let him actually win the job and see what Morris can make out of Davis. Davis is raw and I don't deny that and I'm all for him being somewhere else on the field if need be. I just feel we haven't seen that need arise yet.

[vielsiehorsepower]

Sorry after I typed this up I realized me asking if anyone other than gilbert learning this offense could be interpreted two ways...I was referring to June's offense, not HCCM

[Stallion]

I never said Hicks should be crowned the starter. I'm saying that Davis hasn't earned the starting job yet for next year. He's going to have to earn it. I know he has the athleticism. He just was one of the least competent QBs in the country last year in the passing game. Again, I do bet though that Hicks knows the playbook better than Davis by next fall. He's a smart kid and he efficiently ran that offense with almost a 70% completion rate

Senior: 206 completions 304 passes (68%) 3153 yards 4 Ints 26 TDs in I believe 12 games
Junior: 235 completions 348 passes (68%) 3,741 yards 6 Ints 36 TDs in 13 games

Davis better be prepared because I believe Hicks will be by next fall. Go watch his video. Hicks already has a good handle on the Spread formation which Waco Midway ran albeit a more pass oriented spread than we would see from Davis

[sbsmith]

If Ben Hicks even ties with Davis for the job Morris should give Davis the nod simply because of his experience.

How much is Davis' "experience" really worth if Hicks is able to tie the guy straight out of HS?

[vielsiehorsepower]

I never said Hicks should be crowned the starter. I'm saying that Davis hasn't earned the starting job yet for next year. He's going to have to earn it. I know he has the athleticism. He just was one of the least competent QBs in the country last year in the passing game. Again, I do bet though that Hicks knows the playbook better than Davis by next fall. He's a smart kid and he efficient ran that offense with almost a 70% completion rate

Senior: 206 completions 304 passes (68%) 3153 yards 4 Ints 26 TDs

Well then that's my misunderstanding. All are valid points but some other things to consider are hicks running ability (which I'm not educated on at all truthfully) and how the talent is. What I mean by that is if Hicks is more of a pocket passer as I've been lead to believe and it's a situation where the passing game cannot get going due to him just being a frosh, poor pass protection, or poor wr play then all the defense has to do is pin their ears back and have all out lightning war. If that's the situation and Davis' passing ability is comparable to Hicks then you gotta either play the hot hand or run a 2 qb system. If the passing game isn't opening Davis can run around and make defenders have to account for him by spying on him so that should open passing game and play action a bit. I honestly don't think there will be a cement starter until fall camp and even after that whoever it is the first few games will have a target on their back.

[vielsiehorsepower]

If Ben Hicks even ties with Davis for the job Morris should give Davis the nod simply because of his experience.

How much is Davis' "experience" really worth if Hicks is able to tie the guy straight out of HS?

Davis can play in a D1 game, even if he's not a polished qb. Nothing against him it's this way with every highschool prospect, but he's hype and a practice stud until he proves it on the field. Just the way it goes. So yeah, if they're tied in over all skill go with Davis because getting hit in the mouth in highschool is not the same as getting hit in the mouth in D1

[sbsmith]

Davis can play in a D1 game, even if he's not a polished qb. Nothing against him it's this way with every highschool prospect, but he's hype and a practice stud until he proves it on the field. Just the way it goes. So yeah, if they're tied in over all skill go with Davis because getting hit in the mouth in highschool is not the same as getting hit in the mouth in D1

If they're tied then go with the future because Davis "getting hit in the mouth" obviously didn't do anything to separate him from the practice stud. Might as well see what the stud can do in live games since we won't really know what he's capable of otherwise.

[vielsiehorsepower]

Davis can play in a D1 game, even if he's not a polished qb. Nothing against him it's this way with every highschool prospect, but he's hype and a practice stud until he proves it on the field. Just the way it goes. So yeah, if they're tied in over all skill go with Davis because getting hit in the mouth in highschool is not the same as getting hit in the mouth in D1

If they're tied then go with the future because Davis "getting hit in the mouth" obviously didn't do anything to separate him from the practice stud. Might as well see what the stud can do in live games since we won't really know what he's capable of otherwise.

I see the merit of that point of view but like I mentioned above it depends on the state of the team. If the team is greatly improved then sure that's a solid idea to throw around. If it's completely inept then there's no need throwing hicks to the wolves to get killed.

[sbsmith]

I see the merit of that point of view but like I mentioned above it depends on the state of the team. If the team is greatly improved then sure that's a solid idea to throw around. If it's completely inept then there's no need throwing hicks to the wolves to get killed.

We won't really know the state of the team until the season begins. Hicks could be thrown to the wolves and end up a lot better for it. At the very least a tie should earn him some snaps that don't come as the result of a blowout.

[ALEX LIFESON]

This will be the 4th year in a row, Davis will have a new offense to learn. He better be studying hard right now.

[ponyup2018]

Seems like we might end up with a situation similar to the one A&M had last year. Stud freshman gets beat out by guy because he has minimally less experience and then the freshman ends up winning the job down the road. I know there were some outside factors involved, but I think Allen truly did beat out Kenny Hill when they re-opened the QB competition mid-season. And then Allen had some great success, particularly against Auburn and in the bowl game against West Virginia. Assuming Davis starts at the beginning of the year (and Hicks may well beat him out in camp), Hicks very well could come in down the road to win the job if Davis struggles. I think if he decides to play Davis he should have him on a very short leash with Hicks taking enough reps in practice to be ready. I think once it becomes clear that Davis is a very one dimensional player, defenses will start loading the box and going all out against the run, opening the door for Hicks to step in if Davis can't adjust and prove he's a good enough passer to keep defenses off balance.