SDS: UK Should Stick with Towles in 2015
- Thread starter Smashcat
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I have been a big supporter of Towles since he arrived. I felt like he could really be our next great quarterback. However, I was not impressed with him last season. Early on it looked like the Kentucky of old with him slinging the ball all over the place, but as the season went on he really struggled and we went from the pass to the QB run. Maybe part of it is on the offensive line, but even in the cupcake games he didn't seem to be able to throw the ball around with a lot of consistency. Bearing that in mind I would have to give Barker every opportunity to try his hand. I usually prefer experience in the SEC, but we have to have a solid quarterback to win, and I'm not sure that is Towles. He might grow into that this season, and I hope he does, but last season didn't really indicate that he was making strides towards becoming a top quarterback.
It's hard to say who *should* be the quarterback w/o actually seeing them practice. And at the end of the day, Stoops/Dawson will pick the guy that gives UK their best chance to consistently move the football, so it's kind of silly to tell them which guy they should go with.
The only aspect I can think of that leads me to lean toward one guy is experience. I'm just tired of going through seasons with inexperienced QB's (LOL).
GBB!!!
The only aspect I can think of that leads me to lean toward one guy is experience. I'm just tired of going through seasons with inexperienced QB's (LOL).
GBB!!!
Patrick started out firing last year. By the last 4 or 5 games he couldn't even complete a bubble screen because the ball skipped in front of the receiver. This is a good time for both of them. The article makes it sound like the other positions have all ready be settled. Barker needs reps because we have two scholarship QB's. Other positions should be up for grabs. Then the fall fine tuning.
I'm an Optimist and I think we will have good starters and good depth. We need to start strong and battle the teams to our best abilities! I'm behind coach Stoops and his staff 100%!
I'm an Optimist and I think we will have good starters and good depth. We need to start strong and battle the teams to our best abilities! I'm behind coach Stoops and his staff 100%!
I agree with Eirk. It will and should be settled in practice. Towels fluttered when UK got into the meat of their schedule which caused me to have legitimate concerns about his ability.
Towles must improve his pocket presence, his reads, and accuracy. If he doesn't do that he could lose the starting job. It will come down to whether Barker proves he is the better option. Experience is meaningless if you can not get the job done. I am not saying he will not improve and I hope he does because he has been through the SEC wars and knows what to expect.
Towles threw for 2700+ yds last year, the most by a UK QB since 2010. This despite having a weak OL, his best WR, Blue, hurt most of the year, other terribly inconsistent WRs, no TEs to speak of and a D that put tremendous pressure on the O to try to keep up on the scoreboard. Of course he needs to get better but so does a hell of a lot of other guys.
In the final 6 games he averaged less than 200 yards per game, a completion % of 52.5 and 4TDs to 5INTs.
He broke 300 yards passing in 3 games - he didn't break 250 in any of the other 9 games.
His total QBR was good for 11th in the SEC.
We need Towles to really step up in the passing game, or we need Barker to unseat him. I am hopeful we will be better at all positions around the QB, we also have to be better at QB.
Pocket presence, reads, accuracy......even experience are all meaningless without an O line. That is what Towles (or Barker) needs most. Improve the Line, and Towles will be just fine. Provide shoddy protection, and it doesn't matter who you have at QB....we will struggle on O.
If Barker starts, he better be decidedly better than Towles in practice (and in games), because one think I sure don't want to hear is the convenient excuse about all new QBs "This is only his first time facing the fire......You can't expect a QB to be successful in only his first year as a starter...." yada, yada, yada.
Shore up that line and we have a chance for a nice season next year.
GBB!
I don't really think much of this publication. They have made some bone-headed comments and predictions in the past that were not correct. Here they are making statements about Barker's state of readiness that they have no earthly idea what they are talking about.
Obviously you want to go with the guy that's been there and done that, and that's Towles unless Barker makes a strong case to do otherwise, but until we get deep into fall camp no one, not even our own coaches will know the answer to that.
Obviously you want to go with the guy that's been there and done that, and that's Towles unless Barker makes a strong case to do otherwise, but until we get deep into fall camp no one, not even our own coaches will know the answer to that.
I'm not sure the meat of the schedule had anything to do with it. Towles was better against Georgia, Miss State and Florida than he was against Vandy, Ohio and Louisiana Monroe. The other explanation that he struggled late as the O line had problems doesn't wash either. The O Line dominated against Ohio and Vandy Towles was below average in both games. Actually he was awful against Vandy. Most other reasons people give as to why Towles struggled don't hold water either. He seems to just simply struggle. No reason or explanation to it, it's just part of his game. He will prove that he can play the position one way or the other this year.
The one excuse that might hold water is that I believe he got poor QB coaching the past 2 years. Neal was more of a receiver coach than QB coach and I believe it showed. Even if Neal stayed we needed to bring in a pure QB coach. This is one area I believe Dawson will clearly make progress on since he seems to be better at QB development. Also in both seasons we mad the decision on the start way too late. In both years the obvious choice ended up getting the job but there is a big difference in getting the bulk of the first team reps in spring and not getting them until a week before the first game. Whether it's Towles or Barker the decision needs to be made while we are still in spring ball so that our QB and WRs can get in sync.
I'm not being a smart @$$ BUT - why would a fan base in Collegiate football not just accept the coaches decisions? Does one really believe that if BARKER was better than TOWLES then the staff wouldn't start his @$$? This staff wants to win and I, for one, understand that they know what they want to do and they see the QB a HECK of a lot more than any of us have in all different situations and they have based their decisions on that knowledge.
Remember - Patrick was a 1st year starter WITHOUT A QB COACH......I believe that this staff will appropriately evaluate and start whom they feel gives us the best chance to win ball games.....simple as that. And I will cheer for either one because they are leading OUR TEAM INTO BATTLE!
Remember - Patrick was a 1st year starter WITHOUT A QB COACH......I believe that this staff will appropriately evaluate and start whom they feel gives us the best chance to win ball games.....simple as that. And I will cheer for either one because they are leading OUR TEAM INTO BATTLE!
Being a Towles fan I hope he has improved to be the starter and show improvement. But being a bigger fan of UK Football I want the guy who is going to make us a major threat through the air every game. If that is Towles great. If that is Barker, great. Go Cats!!!
I think this has been a decent thread and discussion! Something most all of us forget, the last six opponents all went to bowls and we were only in two of those games. Miss. St and UL ( a team I still think we should have beaten ) Remember
LSU
Miss.ST
Georgia
UT
Missouri
UL
We still have a ways to go but I do believe we get there. I think Dawson was a very good hire. We all know you have To Be Able to run to set up the pass! I feel positive we make a lot of progress this upcoming season! I think we go bowling! IMHO
LSU
Miss.ST
Georgia
UT
Missouri
UL
We still have a ways to go but I do believe we get there. I think Dawson was a very good hire. We all know you have To Be Able to run to set up the pass! I feel positive we make a lot of progress this upcoming season! I think we go bowling! IMHO
I'm a big fan of Pat Towles, loved how he fought back and won the job last year when there were people around the UK program writing him off saying he'd never play another snap at QB for UK again, ought to t'fer or move to TE. Very proud of the young man, so many other weak willed youngsters all across the country would have left for an easier route to playing time, but he put his head down, paid for & did work all on his own away from UK campus.
However I fully and completely trust Stoops and Dawson to play the QB who best moves the ball, puts points on the board, and wins games. If it is Towles, great, if it is Barker, he's also got my support 1000%. I also fully expect both to play next season, every game, not just because of injuries or blowout situations.
However I fully and completely trust Stoops and Dawson to play the QB who best moves the ball, puts points on the board, and wins games. If it is Towles, great, if it is Barker, he's also got my support 1000%. I also fully expect both to play next season, every game, not just because of injuries or blowout situations.
I agree with all of this. I was a big fan of Towles, and even bigger when he came out in game 1 and threw for 377 yards and a touchdown. He looked fantastic that day going 20 of 29. Then he came out the next week against Ohio and threw the ball 31 times and only completed 17 for 170 yards. He also ran the ball 22 times. That game was a head scratcher and many people just blew it off as, "Well, we were just trying not to show our hand before the Florida game." That made sense when we came out against Florida and Towles threw it for 369 yards and 3 touchdowns. The 24 or 45 completion percentage and 3 ints weren't ideal, but it did renew my confidence in Towles. Then we had the Vandy game where he did throw it 30 times completing 23, a great percentage, but he only put up 201 yards and a touchdown and ran the ball 15 times. A low was the LSU game where he threw for 146 yards on 19 of 36 passing. He went almost a month without having a really good game, which came in the MSU game where he threw for 401 yards and 2 touchdowns on 24 of 43 passing. The last four games he struggled even worse than ever before as he never got over 200 yards.
There doesn't seem to be much rhyme or reason to his success (or lack of). Maybe it is just a lack of consistency due to poor accuracy, but against teams he should have dominated against in the air he struggled, but against some very solid defensive teams, like Florida and MSU, he was able to rack up some big yardage. He did have a very solid year numbers wise, but the consistency was not there. If we want to win going forward we need someone we can rely on weekly. He was not it. I hope he becomes that because I think it would be much better for our program to have him break out and give Barker another year to mature than it would be for us to rely on Barker in his RS freshman year, even if he breaks out. Either way, we need someone to consistently step up.
I don't like when people said he played really well against Florida. He threw 3 interceptions and Florida also dropped at least 3 that were right in their hands. He ended up looking okay stats wise, made some big times throws, but also got extremely lucky on some. I commend him for battling through out the season. Yes our o-line was weak, yes our WRs were inconsistent, but that isn't what caused the miss reads of coverage and bailing out of the pocket so quick. Many times he didn't even complete his drop before he bailed from the pocket. He may start the season, but I just don't know if he will be the one who finishes it.
I agree with a lot of what you say...but to be fair to Towles, his final INT was a drop by Timmons...that throw was $$$ and should've been a game winner snapping a multi-decade streak. Towles would've been a major part of that - no matter how he played in following games.
SDS is a blog driven on line "publication" that uses a variety of "independent contributing writers". Some are quite good and write meaningful stories and other are complete hacks and homers. FWIW, I agree with much of this writer's opinions.
More specifically, I do agree the QB focus in the spring should be on "developing" Towles rather than an open audition between him and Barker. The truth here is Towles is a returning 12 game starter. His 2718 yards passing last season ranked him 48th nationally and #5 in the SEC. Not All American numbers but not exactly shoddy.
Furthermore, I divided Towles stats between the first and second half of the season and there is not a HUGE difference in performance despite a huge difference in the caliber of defenses played. In the first 6 games he was 122 for 199 for 1506 yards against an FCS school and 5 FBS programs with an average pass defense ranking of 65. In the last six games he was 103 for 194 for 1212 yards against 6 FBS pass defenses with an average ranking of 19 and none worse than #39.
IMHO, the job is Towles to lose. The caveat here is if Barker "shows more with less opportunity". The reality for players trying to unseat an incumbent starter (especially at QB) is they generally must do so by a knockout and not a TKO.
Peace
More specifically, I do agree the QB focus in the spring should be on "developing" Towles rather than an open audition between him and Barker. The truth here is Towles is a returning 12 game starter. His 2718 yards passing last season ranked him 48th nationally and #5 in the SEC. Not All American numbers but not exactly shoddy.
Furthermore, I divided Towles stats between the first and second half of the season and there is not a HUGE difference in performance despite a huge difference in the caliber of defenses played. In the first 6 games he was 122 for 199 for 1506 yards against an FCS school and 5 FBS programs with an average pass defense ranking of 65. In the last six games he was 103 for 194 for 1212 yards against 6 FBS pass defenses with an average ranking of 19 and none worse than #39.
IMHO, the job is Towles to lose. The caveat here is if Barker "shows more with less opportunity". The reality for players trying to unseat an incumbent starter (especially at QB) is they generally must do so by a knockout and not a TKO.
Peace
My 2 cents on the situation (and I couldn't care less who gets the job) is that Towles didn't do anything last year to give him a sizable lead going into the competition this year. If anything he left the door wide open. Judging how the competition went down last year I'd say that Towles is going to have to scratch and claw to hold Barker off until he graduates. If after a few months on campus Drew was able to make the competition a dead heat until the end I'd say Barker came out of HS more college ready. Towles being the starter is what's best for the team. He's more experienced and I'm sure his presence as the elder statesman carries more weight with his teammates because of that. He's going to have to be much more consistent than he was last year though. I was understanding of many of his struggles last year because he needed more help but his supporting cast should be much better so it's going to be on him if this offense is going to take a big step forward this year. Towles' problems are mental so I'm encouraged that Dawson immediately targeted his mental approach to the game on day one. I hope Dawson is exactly what Patrick needed and that he's able to shake his bad habits before the start of the season. If he's not able to Drew will be nipping at his heels ready for a shot. I really hope we see Barker get some action against the early OOC teams. He needs the experience in case he's forced into action
Interesting read from KSR writer Nick Roush:
"Mark Stoops was kind enough to give his football team a Spring Break away from the field, but before we lose our minds to March Madness, here's a little bit of this and that from last week.
- I hardly mentioned anything about the QBs last week, so for all of those that need minute-by-minute updates on the situation, here it is: Patrick Towles will be your starting quarterback. Coach Stoops said that he likes Coach Dawson's "fresh eyes" on the position, giving room for Drew Barker to make a move and keeping the competition for the position open.
Barker looks improved too, but he's still not a starting quarterback. Not only does Towles have the intangibles down Pat (pun intended), he's gotten bigger, more solid. His release was faster than before and OH MY GOSH, did you just see how far he threw that ball? Of course you didn't, but it's safe to say Dawson is a much bigger fan of taking shots downfield, and that just so happens to be what Pat does best."
Good info from someone who has actually seen the two quarterbacks at work.
"Mark Stoops was kind enough to give his football team a Spring Break away from the field, but before we lose our minds to March Madness, here's a little bit of this and that from last week.
- I hardly mentioned anything about the QBs last week, so for all of those that need minute-by-minute updates on the situation, here it is: Patrick Towles will be your starting quarterback. Coach Stoops said that he likes Coach Dawson's "fresh eyes" on the position, giving room for Drew Barker to make a move and keeping the competition for the position open.
Barker looks improved too, but he's still not a starting quarterback. Not only does Towles have the intangibles down Pat (pun intended), he's gotten bigger, more solid. His release was faster than before and OH MY GOSH, did you just see how far he threw that ball? Of course you didn't, but it's safe to say Dawson is a much bigger fan of taking shots downfield, and that just so happens to be what Pat does best."
Good info from someone who has actually seen the two quarterbacks at work.
This little tidbit keeps resounding in my head. The coaching staff said that they kept the ball on the ground against UofL that last drive because it had lost confidence in Towles passing ability.
IMO if this QB competition is not settled with Towles as the winner this spring and goes into the Fall unsettled then you can expect that Barker will win the competition. I just do not think the competition goes into the fall if the coaching staff is leaning toward Towles as the eventual starting QB. I at least hope this is the scenario because I don't think having a QB competition every year going into the fall is a good idea. If I am the coach of the team I am wanting my starting QB getting the lions share of the reps in the fall to prepare for the season and bond with his team mates.
IMO if this QB competition is not settled with Towles as the winner this spring and goes into the Fall unsettled then you can expect that Barker will win the competition. I just do not think the competition goes into the fall if the coaching staff is leaning toward Towles as the eventual starting QB. I at least hope this is the scenario because I don't think having a QB competition every year going into the fall is a good idea. If I am the coach of the team I am wanting my starting QB getting the lions share of the reps in the fall to prepare for the season and bond with his team mates.
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