AD vs RW round 1 @ UCO

[lleachieshusband]

I agree. It could go one of two ways... It could wake us up and we play well the rest of the way, or it's a sign that we're going to have a down year. Either way, calls for Rich Wright's head are ridiculous even if you feel he's a better coordinator than head coach. You lose the coordinator too... And AD is not coming back. Listen, Dorrel had an amazing run at NW, but he left... it's not "payback" as a post in this thread said earlier. He took an opportunity and good for him. Let's also not forget that AD had an amazing staff during his time at NW as well, which included Rich. As good at building an offense and offensive game planning as AD was, Wright was equally as good on the other side of the ball. We haven't had truly great quarterback play since Zimmerman really, which coincides with ADs departure... how much of that was really AD, how much of that is now Todd Sturdy, or how much of that is we just haven't hit on our QB recruits? Both Hohensee and Braden Wright are tremendous athletes, but they're not pure passers and we struggle at times to move the ball. There are problems for sure that need to get fixed... our offensive line hasn't looked good, our quarterbacks are under duress, we keep putting the ball on the ground, etc., etc. Those are things that can be corrected or helped with good coaching... we'll have to see if they get corrected or not. If they don't, maybe some changes do need to be made, but RW isn't one of them.

In and among everything above (and I’d argue our QB recruiting has gone downhill as well), there is one thing that we haven’t done very much from the Mel (and even AD) days, and that is keep our redshirts as redshirts. In recent years, how many times have we redshirted players only to pull it just as quickly? Is this something that is hurting our player development over the long term?

[ctrabs74]

As long as you aren’t sandbagging. We all know UCO has no shot in this one. We’re just hoping to score a TD and not get shutout in front of the home fans! Glad you like our punter though!

That might have been the ultimate "sandbagging" moment on the MIAA forums. UCO's upset win is making me wonder if Northwest is slipping or if the gap is narrowing (Pitt State, UNK) atop the standings (though it's been a few years since I've really been paying attention to D2 football, admittedly).

[Predatory Primates]

That was RW’s first year after AD left. We were playing our previous year’s 3rd stringer as our QB1 that year … and it showed.

I remember the QB being kind of a statue, and having a rough go of it.

[RollChos]

That might have been the ultimate "sandbagging" moment on the MIAA forums. UCO's upset win is making me wonder if Northwest is slipping or if the gap is narrowing (Pitt State, UNK) atop the standings (though it's been a few years since I've really been paying attention to D2 football, admittedly).

Not sandbagging. Anyone that tells you they saw that upset coming is lying. I would definitely agree the gap is narrowing. NW isn’t the unbeatable beast they used to be. In fact, they haven’t won in Edmond since 2016 now.

[Wallst]

In and among everything above (and I’d argue our QB recruiting has gone downhill as well), there is one thing that we haven’t done very much from the Mel (and even AD) days, and that is keep our redshirts as redshirts. In recent years, how many times have we redshirted players only to pull it just as quickly? Is this something that is hurting our player development over the long term?

If the kid is good enough as a true Fr to play you can't redshirt him. With the transfer portal he will go elsewhere and play.

[Predatory Primates]

Not sandbagging. Anyone that tells you they saw that upset coming is lying. I would definitely agree the gap is narrowing. NW isn’t the unbeatable beast they used to be. In fact, they haven’t won in Edmond since 2016 now.

I saw it coming, but assumed it would be 2 or 3 years away.

[lleachieshusband]

If the kid is good enough as a true Fr to play you can't redshirt him. With the transfer portal he will go elsewhere and play.

That’s a big difference now, but we actually stopped doing it when RW became head coach prior to the transfer portal becoming a thing. We were taking redshirts off to fill gaps in positions due to lack of depth, injuries, or both, not because the kids were good enough.

[lleachieshusband]

I remember the QB being kind of a statue, and having a rough go of it.

He was a drop-back passer who didn’t impress during the previous seasons, not very mobile, and not very quick with his reads. It didn’t help that the QB2 at the time, Baker, wasn’t deemed accurate enough to step up, and Randy Schmidt, who was probably a better QB than either one of them, got injured early on. After Zimmerman, we really had no one in development and our first recruited QB post-AD was Braden Wright, which should tell you something.

[RollChos]

I saw it coming, but assumed it would be 2 or 3 years away.

BS.

[Alfred33]

He was a drop-back passer who didn’t impress during the previous seasons, not very mobile, and not very quick with his reads. It didn’t help that the QB2 at the time, Baker, wasn’t deemed accurate enough to step up, and Randy Schmidt, who was probably a better QB than either one of them, got injured early on. After Zimmerman, we really had no one in development and our first recruited QB post-AD was Braden Wright, which should tell you something.

Braden Wright at the time was thought to be a pretty good get... he was redshirted and won the MIAA Freshman of the Year Award. Maybe Rich Wright, or Charlie Flohr, or somebody else does warrant some criticism for either his lack of development, or regression if you feel that way about him, or maybe just the way that they chose to use him... he was never going to be a pure pocket passer. I don't know, but I think most Bearcat fans were pretty excited about Braden Wright at one point. But yes, the first RW season, we definitely had a big drop off in talent at the QB spot, but it felt like we had what was going to be our answer for the next 4 years after that... it just hasn't maybe worked out quite the way we had hoped. When a kid wins the job and is that successful his freshman year, you're almost stuck with him whether it's good or bad the rest of the way through. I mean that's a tough decision to move to someone else, especially when the team is 19-3 in conference play after 2 years with 2 conference championships. It definitely wasn't as pretty or as dominating as it was under Adams or Zimmerman, but it was hardly a failure.

[Predatory Primates]

Braden Wright at the time was thought to be a pretty good get... he was redshirted and won the MIAA Freshman of the Year Award. Maybe Rich Wright, or Charlie Flohr, or somebody else does warrant some criticism for either his lack of development, or regression if you feel that way about him, or maybe just the way that they chose to use him... he was never going to be a pure pocket passer. I don't know, but I think most Bearcat fans were pretty excited about Braden Wright at one point. But yes, the first RW season, we definitely had a big drop off in talent at the QB spot, but it felt like we had what was going to be our answer for the next 4 years after that... it just hasn't maybe worked out quite the way we had hoped. When a kid wins the job and is that successful his freshman year, you're almost stuck with him whether it's good or bad the rest of the way through. I mean that's a tough decision to move to someone else, especially when the team is 19-3 in conference play after 2 years with 2 conference championships. It definitely wasn't as pretty or as dominating as it was under Adams or Zimmerman, but it was hardly a failure.

Maybe QB development is the area
to improve?

[northwest missouri state]

recruiting has slipped but that isn’t news. qb play has been a focal point but the truth is it’s slipped all over the place on both sides of the ball. obv not as much on the defensive side and there are also obv good players in the program but it is worth mentioning. a run like we had is absurdly unsustainable but the disappointing thing is that the team was not ready to play and frankly looked disinterested and it’s not the first time it’s happened with this regime. idk what the answer is i would have expected rich wright to have fig’d it out by now tbh but something is amiss process wise week to week. losses happen, i’m not lamenting that necessarily but rather the effort. it is impossible to have your “a” game every week but 5 turnovers is unacceptable. to say we were sloppy is the height of understatement. the penalties bc of the offenses struggles were crippling when they occurred.

[jimbo slice]

recruiting has slipped but that isn’t news. qb play has been a focal point but the truth is it’s slipped all over the place on both sides of the ball. obv not as much on the defensive side. a run like we had is absurdly unsustainable but the disappointing thing is that the team was not ready to play and frankly looked disinterested and it’s not the first time it’s happened with this regime. idk what the answer is i would have expected rich wright to have fig’d it out by now tbh but something is amiss process wise week to week. losses happen, i’m not lamenting that necessarily but rather the effort. it is impossible to have your “a” game every week but 5 turnovers is unacceptable. to say we were sloppy is the height of understatement. the penalties bc of the offenses struggles were crippling when they occurred.

haven't watched the kid so don't know him at all but he seemed scattered or rattled Saturday. if he's normally steady, it all started on the bad snap at the beginning of the game. i've looked at that play a couple of times and he wasn't even looking in the direction of the snap when it happened. the ball was drug and hit the centers leg which put it out of reach even if he did turn on it and manage to corral it. seeing the snap that way tells me the center misheard something and realized halfway through the snap he screwed up. the int across the middle early in the 1st quarter was right after the botched snap and he tried to force that ball with that linebacker stepping right in front of it. maybe he didn't see the linebacker but the receiver did him no favors. didn't even attempt to fight for the possession. just let him have the ball.
After those two possessions, Hohensee seemed to be in hyper drive and couldn't settle down. i think you guys had 4 or 5 fumbles and lost 3 of them? he's rolling out and throwing across his body into double coverage etc. i don't know i didn't think it was all his fault. he WAS making plays just didn't have enough help around him at times. hell, what do i know, we have offensive problems of our own.

[Alfred33]

Maybe QB development is the area
to improve?

Yeah, I think that’s a legitimate question or concern. Or it could just be that is just what he is. If you look at his numbers year to year, there’s not really any kind of a drop off, but there’s no real jump forward either. It’ll be interesting to see what the next group of quarterbacks bring.. They will have been in the program for a couple years before really seeing the field.

[Alfred33]

recruiting has slipped but that isn’t news. qb play has been a focal point but the truth is it’s slipped all over the place on both sides of the ball. obv not as much on the defensive side and there are also obv good players in the program but it is worth mentioning. a run like we had is absurdly unsustainable but the disappointing thing is that the team was not ready to play and frankly looked disinterested and it’s not the first time it’s happened with this regime. idk what the answer is i would have expected rich wright to have fig’d it out by now tbh but something is amiss process wise week to week. losses happen, i’m not lamenting that necessarily but rather the effort. it is impossible to have your “a” game every week but 5 turnovers is unacceptable. to say we were sloppy is the height of understatement. the penalties bc of the offenses struggles were crippling when they occurred.

I agree with this. I also don't think it's realistic for those that think we'd still be at that same level we were during that 4 year stretch if AD had stayed all these years. Would we better? Possibly. But, I'm sure someone else would've given RW a shot at being a head coach... he might've even moved up a level as a coordinator. RW has his faults for sure, but would people view him differently as a head coach if AD was his offensive coordinator and offensive line coach? Which would be basically what AD was working with. I know that simplifies it, but I just think a lot of it has to do with staff, which granted, is his responsibility to get right. That said, the guy is 42-10 with 3 conference championships and 4 playoff births in 4 years. Only in Bearcat land is that offensive on the D2 level.