Our weekly Twitter Tuesday mailbag file continues this week where you ask National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell your football questions via social media. Here are 11 questions, including when Nick Saban will start being critical of his quarterbacks.
This is a really good question. I think Saban will become more frank about the quarterback situation as the season progresses. Right now he has one goal – keep Jalen Hurts from transferring and leaving the team because if Tua Tagovailoa gets hurt and Hurts is gone, Alabama is in big trouble. But with Hurts in the fold and thinking he has a chance to win the starting job, all is well in Tuscaloosa. So the short answer is yes, he will start to share his true feelings sooner or later.
Obviously I know what you’re getting at after one game. Jeremy Pruitt inherited a roster with some talent, but the team looked awful against a West Virginia team some thought the Vols would upset. It’s too early, of course, to judge Tennessee under Pruitt but it’s never a good sign to see a team get throttled the way they did. I thought Tennessee would score a few more points and be able to move the ball better against a West Virginia defense that is average at best nationally. It’s way too early to panic, and I know you’re not doing that, but if I’m a Tennessee fan, I’m disappointed in the effort.
I’ll go outside the Power Five and say quarterback McKenzie Milton from UCF. It will take a monster season from the quarterback to be in the mix and UCF will likely need to go 12-0 or 11-1, but he will continue to put up monster numbers. A lot of guys hurt their chances over the weekend but Milton is a guy who moved up the list a bit.
Notre Dame will have the better season despite a tough schedule. With Wisconsin, Michigan State, Penn State and Ohio State left on the schedule for the Wolverines, we could be looking at a 7-5 season at best if they don’t improve the offense. In the meantime, I can see Notre Dame going 9-3 and 10-2 despite its tough schedule because the Irish have more offensive balance.
I was very impressed with Auburn overall in its win against Washington. The defense especially impressed me but quarterback Jarrett Stidham is starting to take the next step as well. The front seven for Auburn is very impressive and among the best in the country and once the running game comes around on offense, this will be a very balanced team. Washington couldn’t handle the defense and the pressure and it is one of the best teams in the country. Watch out for the Tigers. They will be tough for everyone this year.
There have been a ton of early commitments this year, especially during the spring and summer and it seems to be getting out of hand. I am a big proponent of the early signing period and I originally thought it should be in August. In fact, I still think it should be in August but December isn’t a bad start. More than 70 percent of prospects signed in December and I think that number increases this recruiting year. It’s one of the best moves the NCAA has made in recent years.
I think Florida fans should be encouraged by what they saw from Feleipe Franks. He looked more comfortable in the pocket, looked like he had more command of the offense and that’s the key for him. If he stops relying on his big arm so much and doesn’t try to force things, he can be a very good quarterback and we saw some of that Saturday. It wasn’t against a good opponent, so let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves, but Franks looked good and should build on that performance.
I’d be worried a little bit. South Carolina is not a bad team and they can give some teams some trouble. Are the Gamecocks as talented as Georgia? No. But the Gamecocks are at home, have some offensive playmakers and could make this a game if they keep it close by the second half.
The answer is yes. The bigger question is when will Michigan be good again? This might not be the season. Shea Patterson was supposed to be the difference-maker right? Based on what I saw offensively in Game 1, the Wolverines have a lot of fixes they need to make to beat the good teams on their schedule. Eventually they break through, but right now Jim Harbaugh has them stuck in neutral.
I wouldn’t say the ACC always struggles against out of conference opponents in the openers, but it has happened. Miami looked horrible against LSU and Louisville got destroyed by Alabama, but neither of those are shockers. North Carolina looked bad against Cal and perhaps that wasn’t as much of an upset either, but overall the ACC didn’t do that bad. They just, of course, lose the big games against Power Five opponents for the most part.
There were a ton of true freshmen that stood out so it’s hard to pick one but in this case I will. Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence is under as much pressure as anyone in the country when it comes to living up to the hype and I thought he looked great. Yes the opponent wasn’t good, but for a kid who was playing high school quarterback last year he looked impressive. USC quarterback J.T. Daniels would be the other player I’d mention because he should be in high school this year.
