W
Wes Mitchell
Guest
One of the most interesting questions for South Carolina's 2015 season, in my opinion, is, where does incoming freshman Lorenzo Nunez fit into the mix? Traditionally, it usually makes sense to redshirt incoming freshman quarterbacks and offensive linemen, but there's certainly a strong case to be made for getting Nunez into the mix in 2015.
As you can see from Nunez's senior highlights, he brings several aspects to the quarterback position that the Gamecocks other' quarterbacks simply can't provide. Quarterbacks coach G.A. Mangus has always been a proponent of having a quarterback who can also run the football and head coach Steve Spurrier, who once built his offenses around pocket-passers, has also had his eyes opened to what the threat of the run from that position can do.
Defenses are not only bigger but also faster than they once were, and in the SEC, many of South Carolina's opponents have the talent up front to get pressure on the quarterback by just rushing four which allows them to leave seven in coverage. That means tighter windows to throw the football. A quarterback who is a running threat helps to flip the advantage back to the offense as the defense has to account for that aspect.
Connor Mitch had a strong spring program and looks to be the Gamecocks' sure starter at quarterback. Mitch can make all the throws and actually showed this spring that he can run a little bit too. If he continues to do the right things this summer, he's going to have the chance to put up big numbers as the Gamecocks' starter in the fall.
But college football is all about finding out how many weapons you have and using them to your advantage. Spurrier has already shown that he likes putting Pharoh Cooper in the backfield at quarterback and letting him use his natural ability to make people miss. South Carolina was very successful with that at times last season, and the playbook that Cooper had access to (or at the very least the number of different plays that were called) seemed to expand as the season progressed. Not only was Cooper successful while in that position, but just the threat of that look, provided something that defenses had to prepare for in practice -- that's never a bad thing.
While Cooper will certainly have the opportunity to continue to do some of those things, Nunez would fit perfectly in a backup quarterback role where he is inserted into the game to give the defenses another look to prepare for. Could Cooper simply retain that role? Absolutely. But as the Gamecocks' top receiver, Cooper will already have plenty on his shoulders as Carolina gets him the football in many other ways (return game, motioning into the backfield, etc.). Also, with Cooper in the backfield, the Gamecocks receiver corps is diminished.
Allowing Nunez to fill the "running quarterback" role early in his career, would allow Cooper to stay on the field as a threat at receiver, while also giving the Gamecocks a running threat in the backfield. It's going to be difficult for any true freshman quarterback to learn an entire playbook in a couple of months, but this would allow Nunez to use his natural abilities to help the team, and get more comfortable playing, while continuing to learn the playbook. The beauty in that is that South Carolina could continue to expand the Nunez package of plays just as it did with Cooper last year. That would also give South Carolina a backup with actual experience as opposed to someone who would have to come in completely cold if something were to happen to Mitch.
As you can see from Nunez's highlights above, he didn't have much help on that team, and is used to having to scramble to make something happen. Not only is Nunez very explosive and a natural runner, he's also comfortable throwing on the run. Nunez can bring those things to the Carolina offense while he continues to get more comfortable in a more advanced passing offense than the one he played in in high school. With the transfer of Brendan Nosovitch, there are really no other players on the roster (other than Cooper, of course) who can provide to the position what Nunez does.
With four months until the kickoff of the 2015 season, plenty can still change, but from my viewpoint, this is Connor Mitch's offense and he's put himself in position to be "the guy" at the position this year. But Nunez can be a weapon in 2015 as well.
As you can see from Nunez's senior highlights, he brings several aspects to the quarterback position that the Gamecocks other' quarterbacks simply can't provide. Quarterbacks coach G.A. Mangus has always been a proponent of having a quarterback who can also run the football and head coach Steve Spurrier, who once built his offenses around pocket-passers, has also had his eyes opened to what the threat of the run from that position can do.
Defenses are not only bigger but also faster than they once were, and in the SEC, many of South Carolina's opponents have the talent up front to get pressure on the quarterback by just rushing four which allows them to leave seven in coverage. That means tighter windows to throw the football. A quarterback who is a running threat helps to flip the advantage back to the offense as the defense has to account for that aspect.
Connor Mitch had a strong spring program and looks to be the Gamecocks' sure starter at quarterback. Mitch can make all the throws and actually showed this spring that he can run a little bit too. If he continues to do the right things this summer, he's going to have the chance to put up big numbers as the Gamecocks' starter in the fall.
But college football is all about finding out how many weapons you have and using them to your advantage. Spurrier has already shown that he likes putting Pharoh Cooper in the backfield at quarterback and letting him use his natural ability to make people miss. South Carolina was very successful with that at times last season, and the playbook that Cooper had access to (or at the very least the number of different plays that were called) seemed to expand as the season progressed. Not only was Cooper successful while in that position, but just the threat of that look, provided something that defenses had to prepare for in practice -- that's never a bad thing.
While Cooper will certainly have the opportunity to continue to do some of those things, Nunez would fit perfectly in a backup quarterback role where he is inserted into the game to give the defenses another look to prepare for. Could Cooper simply retain that role? Absolutely. But as the Gamecocks' top receiver, Cooper will already have plenty on his shoulders as Carolina gets him the football in many other ways (return game, motioning into the backfield, etc.). Also, with Cooper in the backfield, the Gamecocks receiver corps is diminished.
Allowing Nunez to fill the "running quarterback" role early in his career, would allow Cooper to stay on the field as a threat at receiver, while also giving the Gamecocks a running threat in the backfield. It's going to be difficult for any true freshman quarterback to learn an entire playbook in a couple of months, but this would allow Nunez to use his natural abilities to help the team, and get more comfortable playing, while continuing to learn the playbook. The beauty in that is that South Carolina could continue to expand the Nunez package of plays just as it did with Cooper last year. That would also give South Carolina a backup with actual experience as opposed to someone who would have to come in completely cold if something were to happen to Mitch.
As you can see from Nunez's highlights above, he didn't have much help on that team, and is used to having to scramble to make something happen. Not only is Nunez very explosive and a natural runner, he's also comfortable throwing on the run. Nunez can bring those things to the Carolina offense while he continues to get more comfortable in a more advanced passing offense than the one he played in in high school. With the transfer of Brendan Nosovitch, there are really no other players on the roster (other than Cooper, of course) who can provide to the position what Nunez does.
With four months until the kickoff of the 2015 season, plenty can still change, but from my viewpoint, this is Connor Mitch's offense and he's put himself in position to be "the guy" at the position this year. But Nunez can be a weapon in 2015 as well.
