Post Spring Analysis, Part 1

[hmt5000]

Lorenzen made a great point last year. No one knows what the progressions are or who is hot on any given play. A whole lot of assumptions are being made and they could turn out right or they could turn out wrong. Maybe he was told to go to 2 reads then tuck it. Maybe he was told to wait on 1 guy because they saw something up top. Let's wait til game 6 this year before we throw him away.

 

[ktbug]

Having seen both.
-Woodson eventually proved to have better accuracy and touch.....in his junior/senior yr. Early on he wasn't nearly as good.
-Towles has a much faster release.....and he does have the edge in arm strength. Time will tell if the accuracy and touch improve as he matures.

It's hard to compare the 2 really. I think a Sophomore Towles is slightly ahead of a Sophomore Woodson. But you can't compare a upperclass Woodson to an underclass Towles. As we all know, Woodson went beserk his junior and senior yrs. We'll be very fortunate if Towles has the same trajectory.

Woodson had/has a much stronger arm, maybe a little less than J-LO, but certainly the top two at UK in my 40+ years.

 

[BlueRaider22]

Woodson had/has a much stronger arm, maybe a little less than J-LO, but certainly the top two at UK in my 40+ years.

Once again......you must compare Towles as a sophomore to Woodson as a sophomore. Not a sophomore to a junior/senior. Although both players had plenty of arm strength, Towles is probably a little more physically gifted as a sophomore. Woodson came back as an upperclassman who really changed his body.....and obviously exploded as a prospect. We will have to see if Towles follows the same trajectory.

 

[Levibooty]

Towles has lots of room for improvement, he is also just starting his Jr season so he has lots of time to improve his game. The guy has flaws and talent so anybody dismissing Towles after his So season is just expecting too much. I look for Towles to improve a great deal this year.

 

[REVTREAD]

Towles has a hall of fame bloodline and by all accounts a great work ethic. I think it all starts to
come together for him this year.

 

[Caveman Catfan]

If Woodson is a model to provide a projection for Towles, we should be excited about Towles' future. And, if Barker is pushing Towles, we should be excited about the future of the position at UK.

 

[Brock28]

Towles will be a first round draft pick. I wouldn't trade him for any QB in the country.

 

[TuckyFan]

I will add my 2 cents on the QB conversation:

Towles did display poor vision/ability to move through his progressions last year. He had enough skill to make bad decisions work against poorer teams, but it showed up quite a bit later in the schedule. That latter half of the schedule also had him running for his life and ultimately, it wasn't about who to throw to as much as it was a scramble/pass decision. Horrible conditions to assess a QB in, honestly. We'll see what he's got this year. I don't doubt he will be better in that his protection will be better (even if he didn't improve a bit, and I'm sure he did).

Barker will be a factor this year, I think. He will play. They will get him game action. He may be forced to play meaningful minutes at some point and I think they will want him ready. If he gets an opening, really I think as far as most fans go, anything could happen (surely there are some that have seen him enough in practice to know, but I'm not one of them). I think this is a plus for our offense, not a detractor. We haven't had any QB depth in a long, long time.

 

[Blue Decade]

I will add my 2 cents on the QB conversation:

Towles did display poor vision/ability to move through his progressions last year. He had enough skill to make bad decisions work against poorer teams, but it showed up quite a bit later in the schedule. That latter half of the schedule also had him running for his life and ultimately, it wasn't about who to throw to as much as it was a scramble/pass decision. Horrible conditions to assess a QB in, honestly. We'll see what he's got this year. I don't doubt he will be better in that his protection will be better (even if he didn't improve a bit, and I'm sure he did).

Barker will be a factor this year, I think. He will play. They will get him game action. He may be forced to play meaningful minutes at some point and I think they will want him ready. If he gets an opening, really I think as far as most fans go, anything could happen (surely there are some that have seen him enough in practice to know, but I'm not one of them). I think this is a plus for our offense, not a detractor. We haven't had any QB depth in a long, long time.

Blue Raider hit the nail on the head. Towles was only a sophomore last year. The sophomore season is always a year of learning and maturation, but Towles looks like a future NFL 1st round draft choice at an early stage of development. The poor vision rap is offered by people who don't understand that Kentucky's offensive line was the worst in the SEC last year. It's tough to see the field while you are being sacked. The numbers don't lie, and Towles was sacked more last year than any other SEC quarterback. You say bad decisions work against poor teams. But I think a bad SEC offensive line didn't get exposed by Tennessee Martin or Ohio, then was badly exposed by SEC defenses. No quarterback looks good when his offensive line can't protect him. Blake Sims played a bad game against Ohio State for exactly that reason. When you assess Towles' 2014 performance, you have to take into account that he was a sophomore, that his offensive line wasn't very good, and that he played with 1 of the thinnest and weakest group of receivers in the SEC. Despite all of that, Towles ranked #5 in the SEC in passing yards per game as a sophomore. The only way Barker sees the field in 2015 is if Towles gets hurt, or if UK is ahead on the scoreboard by 25 points. I am encouraged by the idea of Barker staring in 2017-18, but the job belongs to Towles now.

 

[TuckyFan]

Blue Raider hit the nail on the head. Towles was only a sophomore last year. The sophomore season is always a year of learning and maturation, but Towles looks like a future NFL 1st round draft choice at an early stage of development. The poor vision rap is offered by people who don't understand that Kentucky's offensive line was the worst in the SEC last year. It's tough to see the field while you are being sacked. The numbers don't lie, and Towles was sacked more last year than any other SEC quarterback. You say bad decisions work against poor teams. But I think a bad SEC offensive line didn't get exposed by Tennessee Martin or Ohio, then was badly exposed by SEC defenses. No quarterback looks good when his offensive line can't protect him. Blake Sims played a bad game against Ohio State for exactly that reason. When you assess Towles' 2014 performance, you have to take into account that he was a sophomore, that his offensive line wasn't very good, and that he played with 1 of the thinnest and weakest group of receivers in the SEC. Despite all of that, Towles ranked #5 in the SEC in passing yards per game as a sophomore. The only way Barker sees the field in 2015 is if Towles gets hurt, or if UK is ahead on the scoreboard by 25 points. I am encouraged by the idea of Barker staring in 2017-18, but the job belongs to Towles now.

It's not one thing or the other. Both are true. There were depth problems at WR and protection issues with the OL, but he also exhibited bad decision making that has been mentioned. Certainly that could be because the guy is only a SO and starting his first year in the SEC. Time will tell the tale.

My post isn't about pitting Towles against Barker. I think Towles will be better than last year. I think Barker will also be improved, and Barker nipping at Towles' heels will be a good thing. I also think Barker will play. I think our OL may be our most improved unit. Bottom line, there are lots of room for optimism in our QB performance. I know some people pull for one QB over the other. I'm not one of those people. I think two good QBs is a fantastic luxury. I'm looking forward to both guys being better for a variety of reasons: age, surrounding cast, OC who seems to have a better feel for bringing along QBs.

 

[SaguaroCat]

Towles has a stronger arm. He could throw a harder, straighter out pass. I would trust him to force it into a window better and that will get him into an nfl camp for sure if not drafted.

But ironically, Woodson threw a better deep ball. Much better at dropping it into place and putting enough air under it. Towels can improve that and might get to Andres level. But last year, what deep balls he completed were well under thrown and only successful because of the competition or plays made by the receiver. You think that will get better with reps.

I expect big improvement on the line. Betting on experienced lines is one of the safest things in football. Last year we had freshmen play because we had no option. This year, if it does happen, it will be because they are talented and beat out an experienced player. Plus, freshmen linemen rarely get better as the year goes on, they just get beat up. Not that our schedule didn't get tougher, but don't discount that as a part of the reason we struggled at the end of the year. With the depth we have, I expect more fight against better teams later on. And then there is Zach West. Let's not forget how good he looked at the beginning of the season before getting injured. He doesn't even need to be improved, just healthy.

 

[Katonic]

Shannon Dawson isn't mentioned nearly enough in this thread. He will be huge, huge in Towles development this year. I really think everybody will be stunned by his improvement.

 

[bluescat92]

Conrad will go over a hundred more then we realize.

 

[RV2]

...I know some people pull for one QB over the other. I'm not one of those people. I think two good QBs is a fantastic luxury...

I agree and that's always puzzled me as well. I could maybe understand if the kid was your kin or even if he was from your particular area but the average fan rooting for one over the other, even to the point of disparaging the 'opponent' always struck me as somewhat demented.

 

[bluescat92]

The staff better have both of them ready to go. When was the last season we only had to use one quarterback. Someone gets dinged up or injured so they both better be ready.

 

[TuckyFan]

Exactly my point, bluescat. Having two guys that should have the tools to win SEC games is the kind of progress our program has to make. Not solely, of course. But let's say Towles is having an all-conference type of season and were to get nicked up and sit 3 games. That could be the difference between bowling and not, could be the difference between winning the east and not at some point. I'm elated to have them both, can't wait to see how iron sharpens iron and these guys both help UK take a leap forward this year.

 

[Dakota25]

I like the breakdown. Looking optimistic about this season