TR can be an adequate qb with a much easier schedule

[Thick]

and we can go bowling. Just being able to make the easy passes, being 6'5, offensive line being better, WR's being better should be enough to ease everyone's mind. The big question should be our running attack, and who is going to step up and be a producer? I think Russell will have his ups and downs, but he is a smart kid that will run the offense (getting us into the right checks) the way it should be run. He has the opportunity to get better each year.

 

[mstatefan88]

I like his size, and he has good speed to complement it. I think he wins the starting job, but Perkins speed, and Ballard's experience will get them some PT also.

 

[Todd4State]

is him adding muscle in the offseason. I saw him at Super Bulldog Weekend last year, and he was the size of a toothpick. He's going to need that muscle to run the option.

 

[JimC1097]

[No message]

 

[ronartest]

That despite the success of Relf running the ball this year, and despite the fact that Russell has never played a college down, Tyler will still be the starter?

 

[Todd4State]

His first start against Madison Central and his last game against South Panola.

When I saw Russell play in HS, there were times where he would do things that would make you scratch your head. He would also do things that would make you say "Wow!". When I saw him in high school, I thought he would be a guy that would be a solid starter at QB, but he would need to be RS for a year and then go from there. I thought he would have to RS because of his inconsistency at times, and also to put on some muscle. I saw Chris Garrett play in HS to, and I can tell you that Russell is better.

If there's a misconception about Russell, it's that he's slow. He ran a spread in high school, and he was asked to run the option some. Now, he's no Micheal Vick, but he's also no Ben Rothlisberger either. He can run OK. I'd say he's comparable to Tyson Lee in that category. I don't know what his 40 time is, but he's fast enough.

So, personally, yes, I think Russell will start because he's a better passer than Relf and I think he will make our offense more dynamic, espcially in tandem with Relf. Really, to me, the biggest thing that was holding our offense back was the lack of a guy that could get the ball to our receivers. Russell has the arm to do that, and that's going to be more of a priority since we don't have a proven guy like a Dixon to bail us out and lean on.

 

[Hotel Roosevelt]

Russell will start. Or rather I should say: I'll be surprised if Russell isn't the starter. Relf ought to be a big part of our offense due to his running abilities, but it's hard to see his passing game improving to the point where he will be able to hold off Russell.

 

[Coach34]

.

 

[patdog]

Relf will never be the full-time starter, but he'll make a real good change of pace QB coming in for Russell.</p>

 

[ronartest]

With your point about him making our offense more dynamic. My main concern is the offense becoming so predicatable from the aspect of the defense knowing that when Tyler is in, a pass is coming and when Relf is in, the run is coming. And like you said, there will be no Dixon to bail us out like he did so many times this year. I just don't see Russell having the speed nor the power it takes to make a defense honor his running ability, and with us not having a proven RB, we become very one demensional no matter who we have in at QB, whether it is the run with Relf or the pass with Tyler.

 

[rhs43]

I saw him play a bunch in high school b/c I went to Meridian High a few years before him. I didn't go to every game b/c I was going to State, but there were a lot of games where he made you say WOW the whole game without wondering at any time what the hell he was thinking. Todd, you did get to see him play against two of the better teams he played against with SP definitely being the best he played against and I agree he didn't WOW as much as he did against the Oak Grove's and the George County's, but he will be pretty good by the time it's all said and done. Also, I think we all agree that a freshman is going to go through some highs and lows during his first year in the SEC. Let's just hope there are more highs and that his red-shirt year did him some good. He is very smart like you said, has a level head and won't get rattled very easily. I'm not sure if he is even as fast as Lee was though, I will admit that, but he might be, who knows. I know for a fact he won't be dropping balls on the turf on a read play like Lee even though Lee did get better. He is nowhere near where he needs to be size wise, but I have never looked at him and thought he looked like a twig. What did concern me though is although he did put on some weight between his junior and senior year in high school to where it was very noticeable, he looked the same to me last year as he did his senior year at MHS. I'm sure he put some weight on, but he might need to cut down on the extra passing in the off season and do some extra weight lifting. After being at a D1 school for a year of playing football, most people look noticeably different, and I didn't see that in him.

 

[rhs43]

With your point about him making our offense more dynamic. My main concern is the offense becoming so predicatable from the aspect of the defense knowing that when Tyler is in, a pass is coming and when Relf is in, the run is coming. And like you said, there will be no Dixon to bail us out like he did so many times this year. I just don't see Russell having the speed nor the power it takes to make a defense honor his running ability, and with us not having a proven RB, we become very one demensional no matter who we have in at QB, whether it is the run with Relf or the pass with Tyler.

I'm not being a smart ***, b/c I'm really not sure, but didn't Texas Tech pretty much trow the ball 70% of the time when Graham Harrell played? If so, that worked out pretty well, and yes I know it wasn't the SEC. I'm just saying so what if we have to sling it around with 5 wide with Tyler. The kid can throw the hell out of a football (with accuracy too), and if our O-line were to give him time in the pocket he will make plays with his arm. Also, he might not be as fast as Lee much less Relf, but I know he is smart enough to make the right reads. At MHS, when he ran the option read, there were two rb's in the backfield and if he kept the ball the second rb was there running with him in case he needed to pitch it. He's smart, and if we make a few tweaks in the offense to fit him better, I don't see why he couldn't be successful at running the option a little.

 

[ronartest]

I'm not being a smart ***, b/c I'm really not sure, but didn't Texas Tech pretty much trow the ball 70% of the time when Graham Harrell played? If so, that worked out pretty well, and yes I know it wasn't the SEC.</p>

Was the last and only coach to use a passing offense that was the one demensional in the SEC. He ended up with a 20-26 record, even with a #1 overall QB in Tim Couch, and he payed off half the players that he recruited. My point is that you can't be that one demensional in a league with the best defensive players in the nation.

 

[Todd4State]

I'm not being a smart ***, b/c I'm really not sure, but didn't Texas Tech pretty much trow the ball 70% of the time when Graham Harrell
played? If so, that worked out pretty well, and yes I know it wasn't the SEC.</p>

Was the last and only coach to use a passing offense that was the one demensional in the SEC. He ended up with a 20-26 record, even with a #1
overall QB in Tim Couch, and he payed off half the players that he recruited. My point is that you can't be that one demensional in a league with the best
defensive players in the nation.

A lot of the reason for that record was because while they had a very good offense, they had a very undersized and a very bad defense. Emphasis on very bad.

I actually believe that a team could be successful in the SEC running an offense like what Cincinnati or SMU runs, but that team is still going to have to have a good defense and good special teams to survive in the SEC. Honestly, I don't see why we couldn't do that at MSU. We have a QB that would fit that system in Russell. If we get that Fye dude from California, he would fit that system to. We have Wilder and Berry that could be the WR's, Bumphis, Heavens that could be slot WR's, and Green who could be the slotback/h-back/TE. We also have Robert Elliott who looked better at the end of the year, and then some other RB's that we could use especially LaDarius Perkins and Conner. Is there some Indian rule that we have to be a power running team or an option team?

Then we hire an agressive DC who is creative and continue to get good defensive players like we always have in general, and then play good ST's.

That would be awesome- a pass first 4-5 WR spread offense that puts tons of points on the board, do some trick plays like Boise State, and then have an aggressive blitzing defense, and solid ST's, and then we would be the most fun team to watch in the country.

 

[smootness]

We're not going to be one-dimensional! There is a position called running back and in virtually every offense ever created, they are the primary ball carriers while the quarterback does the passing. Yes, when Tyler Russell is in and doesn't hand off, the defense will probably suspect it's a pass. You know who else that's true for? Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Philip Rivers, Aaron Rodgers, Brett Favre, Colt McCoy (though he does run well), Case Keenum, and Sam Bradford. Seems to work out just fine for those offenses. I don't know where this mentality that we must have a perfectly dual-threat QB came from. Yes, it is ideal in this offense, but again, we do have RBs who will get a whole lot of carries. My guess is that we'll run the ball at least half of our plays next year, resulting in a pass % that is actually below 50. When Russell doesn't hand off, the % of pass plays will probably be high, but that isn't how that stat is determined. We will probably still be a primarily run-first team, even with Tyler Russell. It seems like some people believe that since Russell won't run all the time, our team won't.

The primary reason this offense is made for a QB that can run is because of the threat of the run, not as much the actual running itself. It utilizes a whole lot of zone-read, and you want the QB to be smart and able to pick up some yards if the defense collapses on the RB. Tyler Russell seems quick enough to do that; Tyson Lee was, and he isn't any faster than TR. With a QB like Relf, who doesn't throw very well, you need him to be very effective actually pulling the ball down and running in order to move the offense. With somebody like Russell, you mostly just need the threat of the run, and he'll be able to provide that. Tebow wouldn't run nearly as much as he does if they actually had some legitimate RBs instead of 5-9, 180 pound guys. We will have guys like Montrell Conner, Vick Ballard, and Rajion Neal. They'll do the bulk of the running, and Russell will pass. Seems perfectly fine by me.

By the way,
Chris Relf on scout: 4.87 forty.
Tyler Russell on rivals: 4.89 forty.
Just sayin.