Quarterbacks

[ClassOf81]

I gather the coaches won't officially name a starter until August, but I'm curious about the QBs and their spring/summer regimens. Last year they all were new -- Romo and Eckert were new to SMU, and those two plus Phillips were new to Coach Burns' offensive system.

Now they have a year under their belts, and two springs with Coach Burns. Coach Burns said several times last year (understandably) that he hadn't thrown his entire playbook at them yet, because they needed time to digest what he had given them. Do they now have 100 percent of his offense? I read somewhere (in reference to another coach) that sometimes an offense can take a full 3-4 years to learn all of the details and variations. Is that the case with Coach Burns' offense? It seems to have countless wrinkles to it, and obviously the quarterbacks, more than anyone else, have to understand all the nuances.

And with a firmer grasp of the offense, does anyone know how their offseason workouts/throwing sessions are different from last year's?

[Hal]

Charlie Weiss was quoted somewhere as saying the only Notre Dame players who will get his full offense are the guys who are true freshmen now, so they had this spring plus four full seasons. Of course his offense is different from Burns' offense, but most offenses these days take a good deal of time to absorb and get comfortable in.

[GoRedGoBlue]

I gather the coaches won't officially name a starter until August, but I'm curious about the QBs and their spring/summer regimens. Last year they all were new -- Romo and Eckert were new to SMU, and those two plus Phillips were new to Coach Burns' offensive system.

Now they have a year under their belts, and two springs with Coach Burns. Coach Burns said several times last year (understandably) that he hadn't thrown his entire playbook at them yet, because they needed time to digest what he had given them. Do they now have 100 percent of his offense? I read somewhere (in reference to another coach) that sometimes an offense can take a full 3-4 years to learn all of the details and variations. Is that the case with Coach Burns' offense? It seems to have countless wrinkles to it, and obviously the quarterbacks, more than anyone else, have to understand all the nuances.

And with a firmer grasp of the offense, does anyone know how their offseason workouts/throwing sessions are different from last year's?

The pro's always say it takes until the third season to get going...

College Playbooks are never that complicated since they less time with players being together...but I would imagine it is always better to have a Freshman QB come in, get to know the playbook for 3 season as a backup/RS, then play his final 2 so that the playbook is second nature rather than fighting to understand it while you are implementing it.

I would imagine that after two Spring games and one season, these guys at least have the basics down.

[SMUguy]

I would think so, too .... at least the basics. I wonder if it will be 2006 before Coach Burns really unveils everything. His playbook is certainly much more extensive and creative than Coach Kueck's a few years back.