re: Jalen Hurts Mega Thread

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Exactly, but how many true Frosh has been diamonds? Hurts would be one of the few (Rosen was good for UCLA last year but still lost some games for them)

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We would have to hope that the talent around Hurts can cover for his inexperience. His ability to scramble will help as well. I'd rather him decide to run than force a dumb throw. I know there will be growing pains, but I hope we can minimize them with talent and play calling. We basically know what we are getting with Bateman (I'm just not a fan of his style of play). Hurts could be great or terrible or anything in between. That's a chance I'm willing to take. The coaches on the other hand......

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compare Gus to Nick

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Bannable offense IMO

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However, that may mean Bama drops a couple of games this year.

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Here's the thing - if he's the best to the point of earning the job as a true freshman and Bama drops a couple of games, what evidence would there be to suggest that they wouldn't drop those games and maybe others if the QB was one of the guys that couldn't beat out a true freshman?

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there's a lot of learning he's going to have to do on the job, if he wins it.

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Without a doubt, but there are a couple of things to keep in mind. The first is that he's not exactly a true freshman. Since he was an EE, he's been on campus since January participating in practices and workouts. That's nowhere near the same as a redshirt year, but it is a far cry from a just arrived in August really true freshman.

The second, and maybe most important, is that this is the guy the staff picked to play the scout team role of Watson in the run up to the title game in January. That's a heck of a job to thrust onto a kid that should have still been in high school and strongly suggests to me that he made an immediate impact on the staff.

I just don't have the worry others do. He's going to make mistakes, sure but he's also probably going to make spectacular plays so odds are it will all balance out.

Hurts is also a coaches son, so he probably has an atypical knack for playbooks etc.

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I don't think Hurts prepared them too good for Watson.

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How can you truly be prepared for that guy...

Did Watson start every game as a true freshman in 2014?

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Watson entered his true freshman season as the backup to starter Cole Stoudt, but still received extensive playing time.[5] During his high school career, Watson wore number 4. At Clemson, that number had been retired after quarterback Steve Fuller graduated. However, Fuller allowed the number to come out of retirement so that Watson could wear it.[6] Through three games, he had completed 29 of 41 passes for 479 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions, outperforming Stoudt. Watson was named the Tigers starter on September 21.[7][8] In Watson's first career start vs. the North Carolina Tar Heels, Watson set a Clemson record with six touchdown passes and threw for 435 yards in route to a 50–35 victory.[9] On October 11, 2014 Watson broke a bone in his right hand in a game against the Louisville Cardinals. He left in the 1st quarter and was out for the whole game, and was also out for the games against Boston College, Syracuse, & Wake Forest. He would return for the game against Georgia Tech only to suffer a LCL strain and he missed most of the game.[10] During the following week in practice it was reported that Watson had tweaked his knee; it was later revealed that he had torn his ACL.[11] Watson would not play against Georgia State the following week. He underwent surgery to repair his ACL the Friday before Clemson's bowl game against Oklahoma.

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LINK

If Hurts is the best guy we got why not start him now, history has shown that the coaching staff knows best and even if Bateman has experience, that won't mean shite if he is put in a situation he can't handle. Also, I would rather have the kid start and play against the hard teams such as Ole Miss and Tennessee to get prepared for what he will have to experience later on in the year because then is when he will be tested the most.

OK, my concerns are two things really. First, he has never been the man on the big stage. Will the spotlight shake him running out in front 100,000 fans and with America watching on TV?
Second, does he want to be the man? Maybe I don't know how to word it. Did he show up thinking he would redshirt and learn the offense in year one?

I can't wait either way. If....if we have a Watson like talent to go with this defense then it really won't be fair what Saban and Kiffin are about to do this year.