FanPost

Will It Be Purdy or Smith?

Looking For Mr. Good Quarterback

During the last few weeks on OBNUG, all have become fixated on recruiting a quarterback. And that is a worthy fixation. Will it be Brock Purdy or Riley Smith? Bronco fans all await the next Kellen Moore. (Truth is, when Kellen came this way, nobody really had any idea how great he would become.) At this point, it’s like waiting for the birth of a prince. (Not to be confused with a former Bronco offensive coordinator.)

Teams are often built or at least defined by the leadership and skill of its quarterback. Coaches have little room for error when recruiting; they must get it right. A quarterback controversy can pass through a program like bed bugs through a cheap motel.

Watching high school recruits on video, they all look good. Granted, some are more impressive than others but the level of talent at the high school level is nowhere near adequate to make good judgments. On any given Friday night there may be only one or two on the opposing team who will ever suit-up as a collegian.

Looking For Leadership

When it comes to quarterback, leadership is needed. As far as leadership is concerned; a corporal can lead privates—it is a general who is needed.

Leadership is not to be confused with bravado, assertiveness, and confidence. For certain, a trace of those things must exist but they don’t dominate. Some may think it has to do with charisma but that has little to do with it either.

Leaders outwork everyone else. In sports, they are the first on the practice field or court and the last to leave. They are the guys in the film room when everyone else is at a party. That’s not to say they don’t have a life beyond. Their priorities are well defined, and they are disciplined about it. That sort of ethic extends to others. When the others see it and recognize it as a formula for success, they follow.

Looking For Talent and Brains

Certainly, there are a variety of intelligence categories and disciplines. There are a lot of brilliant doctors who have no idea how to change plugs in a car engine. (That’s why mechanics charge as if everybody were a doctor.) Nor would I want Frank, my mechanic, doing a digital rectal with a battery terminal brush

The quantum physics student may not be able to figure out a post pattern from a slant route. However, if you have a quantum physics student who knows when to call a post pattern instead of a slant route and has a cannon for an arm—well, you just may have a conference title.

Looking For Brains Beyond The Quarterback

Often what is not nearly talked about enough is leadership beyond the quarterback. If a school recruits a lineman or defensive back who already does those things making up leadership qualities, they already understand the chain of command. We will hear of the lineman who unifies the blocking corps. Typically, it’s the centers who calls out blocking assignments before placing his hands on the ball and snapping it. When a team gets "that" guy the quarterback can more efficiently perform.

A coach wants the two smartest guys on the team to touch the ball first—the center and quarterback; and not a bad idea if in that order.

Something Beyond Brains

Sometimes just taking a look at the schools who recruit a player may be a clue as to their academic abilities and general intelligence. Riley Smith has offers from nearly all Ivy League schools; ie: Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia. (I had an offer from Harvard; they offered to escort me from the campus. It was the sixties; they were troubling times.)

That, in itself, means little. Yet, it is an indication that hard work, study, dedication, and discipline is something important.

Although Brock Purdy has the big offer, Alabama; he has less than half as many as Riley Smith. He is not scheduled to visit Tuscaloosa for another week. This week he is at Iowa State. Indeed, he should weigh his options and future carefully. The decision he makes will effect the rest of his life.

Arguably one of the best football minds to pass through college football in recent years was Kellen Moore; nobody from one of those brainiac schools offered him a scholarship.

Ultimately the coach has to look beyond the eyes in the recruits head and see what is in the heart. In high school, a player can skate by on talent alone. When advancing to the college level it takes heart.

How do we know if a player has heart? If Brock Purdy turns down Alabama, Iowa State, and a couple other P5 programs for Boise, he really wants to be a Bronco. If Riley Smith snaps up the offer before Purdy; we’ll know he really wants to be a Bronco.


This content was not created by OBNUG and therefore may not meet our standards. On the contrary, it probably exceeds them.

Trending Discussions