re: Fall Camp Discussion- Bo Nix Named Starting QB

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Marcello corrected the report that Joiner will be a FB.

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I was kind of interested to see how a 220lb WR was going to block DE and LBs

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Mathew Hill

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Im a little giddy to see if he can play like I think he can. He looks like a player

Everything Gus Malzahn said after first day in shoulder pads

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“OK, all right, first day in shells today. We had a full practice; it wasn’t split. We got a lot of team reps, and that was by design. We’re trying to throw a lot of these young guys in there, the least experienced guys in there and see what they can do an evaluate. A whole lot of team reps, really good for evaluation. With our older guys, we’re just continuing to try to build our foundation with the little things and everything that goes with that. We’ve got two more practices—think we got one more day of shells, then we’ll go full (pads) and take a break, and then we’ll come back with the scrimmage. Of course, that scrimmage will be important to a lot of the guys, especially the freshmen. We’ve been challenging those guys to seize the moment when given the opportunity. I think today, really, from a coach’s standpoint, as many team reps as we did in practice I think it’ll be a really good evaluation and give us a lot of good information.”

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Scrimmage Thursday?

“Yeah, whatever day that is; two more practices and a day off. My days are already running together.”

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Emphasis today was on team drills?

“Yeah, we, first day in pads you’re going to do the blocking and getting off blocks and all the drills that you do with pads. The early part of practice was some individual and hook-ups and releases and protection drills and things like that, but the second half was really team-oriented with a lot of 11-on-11 with, really, all three groups, you know, our ones, twos and threes, and trying to give them all a chance to show what they can do. And, probably more than anything is the freshmen; you get a chance to see their mistakes on film, and the ones that correct and can get better, that’s usually the guys that can have a chance to help you.”

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Different pep in step of linemen on contact day?

“Oh yeah, it was intense. Our guys, our first units on both sides, it was intense. They compete. Sometimes you got to say, ‘whoa,’ but I think that’s a good characteristic.”

Aggressive?

“Yeah, they’re pretty aggressive.”

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Stronger finish to practices last two days after slow finish on Day 1?

“The second day they came back, we had some leaders step up. It was a little cooler. It’s unfortunate that we’ve had some weather issues with lightning and all that, so we’ve been indoors a little bit more than we like to, but some of our guys that we challenged after that first day, they came back and they finished practice better the second day, and today was a long one. It was still good energy at the end. They’re wanting to compete.”

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On linebacker KJ Britt saying this is most athletic defense he has seen:

“Yeah, I mean, I think we’re athletic. I think we’re athletic. The big thing, probably, for me is the experience because we’ve been athletic in the past, but I think when you got experience you can play faster, you know, and be more instinctive, so I think that’s probably the biggest thing that I see; they understand their defense, their role, the responsibility allows them to play faster than having to think through everything. At least with the older guys you can really see that.”

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KJ Britt is a leader for you?

“You got to have a leader. Of course, Deshaun Davis did a wonderful job in that area for us last year. K.J.’s kind of been that guy that’s really stepped up in that role. He did that in the spring, and you can tell already he’s taking it to the next level as far as fall camp.”

On receiver Will Hastings:

“He’s super quick. He’s one of the quickest guys we’ve had. He knows how to get open, and from a quarterback standpoint, you always have a couple guys that you know can get open and will be where they should be. He’s kind of one of those guys that has that ability.”

Will Hastings is healthy?

“Yeah, I mean we’re trying to be smart with him and slowly progress him, but he’s got good reps, and I think he’s getting more and more confidence every time he’s out there.”

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What have you seen from offense's tempo so far?

“We’ve been straining them. I mean, we’ve been challenging them to go fast and just straining them to be second-nature. We’re trying to get all of them to do that. Obviously, our older guys understand a little bit more what we’re doing, but like I said, our goal is to put 11 guys on the field and try to keep those guys, so we’re working hard on that. I think that was in the book you talked about. I think it was.”

That's a change for you. A lot of subbing last three years. Did someone tell you to stop?

"No, no. It really is being versatile enough as far as a couple of key positions, to have that ability, to get to most of your formations with the same person out there."

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On the tight ends:

"Well, I mean, we've got all four of those guys that we started out with in camp. We're impressed with them. I'm probably gonna be able to tell you after the first scrimmage. We rotated them all today and the last two days. But after the first scrimmage, I'm really hoping we get some kind of more information than what we have now."

Quarterbacks more comfortable?

"They're more comfortable than they were in the spring. But that should happen. Like I said the other day, we put quite a bit of install, just to challenge them. It's been good for them. There's nothing like getting out there in 11-on-11. Seven-on-seven is great, but you get out there with the all-11 and all the different things the defense can do and all that — you see how they're reacting, you see what they're good at, and you see what they need to improve on. It's been really good for us, like I said, with this practice with the pads, to give us some really good information from a coaching standpoint."

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Malik Miller working at running back?

"Yeah, he is. That's what he's doing. He's playing our 4 back."

He's gained weight?

"Yeah, he's done well in the offseason. Big guy. He has experience, too. He has game experience. Matter of fact, he has some big-game experience."

On third-team quarterback Cord Sandberg?

"He's coming on. He's really a guy that we've been doing a lot of 3s, just trying to get him back into the swing of things. You can see he's much improved from the spring. It's starting to become more natural to him. He's been playing baseball for five or six years, so you can see every practice. And the thing about him is that he's wanting to be good. He really studies hard, and he's real tough on himself. And he can run. He's a true dual-threat guy."

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Anything about the quarterbacks stand out during their first day in shoulder pads?

"There were so many plays out there. Right now, it's kind of all running together. We were going pretty fast, trying to get a lot of plays. There weren't really anything that stood out now. Maybe after I watch the film, there will be some good and some things that we'll probably need to improve upon."

First scrimmages have been big in determining quarterback battles in past. Hoping for same Thursday?


"I mean, you hope so. Every practice — the scrimmages are more important in evaluation than practices. Like I said at first, it's going to be one of those deals where we're putting them through as many situations as we can. When we know for sure the guy that gives us the best chance of going against Oregon, we'll name. It's still kind of no timetable, but I'm looking forward to the first scrimmage."

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The question is which QB is better for Gus' system

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I don't think anyone argues this point. Speaking in very broad terms, if Nix is an A at throwing and a C at running and Gatewood is an A at running and a C at throwing, I think I would lean towards Nix starting in that situation. I just think it's frustrating to see a QB that overthrows deep balls, misses open receivers, and can't take full advantage of a deep receiving corp that could be a strength of the team this year.

Granted, I understand that a truly dominant running QB can open up the pass and make it a lot easier on the QB. But there is a big difference between a QB that can use his legs to keep plays alive and keep his eyes downfield (Mayfield and Lawrence seem to have this ability), and a QB that tucks and runs every play without letting WR's get open. We also know that being good at running and being good at running the read option is is an entirely different beast as Willis showed all of us.

So if I have to have a QB that is average at one, give me the QB that can pass, especially if he has the ability to move around and keep his eyes downfield, as it appears Nix was very capable of doing in the spring game. But with all that said, I don't think we know the answers to any of these until we see them live in a scrimmage/game.

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Malik Miller working at running back?

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Dumb question

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I don't think anyone argues this point. Speaking in very broad terms, if Nix is an A at throwing and a C at running and Gatewood is an A at running and a C at throwing, I think I would lean towards Nix starting in that situation. I just think it's frustrating to see a QB that overthrows deep balls, misses open receivers, and can't take full advantage of a deep receiving corp that could be a strength of the team this year.

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i tend to agree with you, but i feel like Gus would take the opposite with the running being valued so highly in his offense

Agree'd. Ability to connect on the deep ball and not turn the ball over are the biggest keys for Gus.

Until Newton, Gus really didn't have just stud athletes at QB.

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Speaking in very broad terms, if Nix is an A at throwing and a C at running and Gatewood is an A at running and a C at throwing, I think I would lean towards Nix starting in that situation.

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History states that Gus should do the EXACT OPPOSITE of that....

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It’s going to really suck if Nix is named the starter.

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going to really suck if Nix is named the starter. We will then have a QB great with spreading the ball around teamed up with a coach that is afraid to use the middle of the field. Not a great duo

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Lol wut, he won the west with stidham. It will not suck if Nix is named starter