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View Full Version : Towles Will Play Saturday



BigBlue92
10-01-2012, 01:06 PM
http://www.kentucky.com/2012/10/01/2356398/kentuckys-maxwell-smith-requires.html

bluesuedeshoes
10-01-2012, 01:22 PM
Wow!

Catfan73
10-01-2012, 01:43 PM
I would be willing to bet that Joker makes sure Towles takes at least one snap from under center instead of in the shotgun just so that he can make his point.

Badinage
10-01-2012, 02:46 PM
Whitlow took snaps under center this past game. There appears to be drama about that comment for a very small minority of the fan base.

SalsaKat
10-01-2012, 03:16 PM
I'm conflicted on this. On the one hand, I understand the need to try whatever you have to in order to make the QB position work, and yanking a redshirt because of injury is not unusual and something Joker specifically discussed at the beginning of the year. On the other hand, why waste the kid's eligibility on THIS tire fire?

Catonahottinroof
10-01-2012, 03:33 PM
Whitlow can play at a few positions. He'd be a great spread option QB. Not sure if you'd ever see UK commit to that kind of philosophy.

fastkat
10-01-2012, 05:32 PM
I'm conflicted on this. On the one hand, I understand the need to try whatever you have to in order to make the QB position work, and yanking a redshirt because of injury is not unusual and something Joker specifically discussed at the beginning of the year. On the other hand, why waste the kid's eligibility on THIS tire fire?

Well why don't we just pack it in and call it a year.

I'd venture to say if Max gets a medical redshirt someone will get an RS next year barring another injury.

Catfan73
10-01-2012, 05:50 PM
Whitlow took snaps under center this past game. There appears to be drama about that comment for a very small minority of the fan base.

Too bad they didn't have him do it right before the half instead of standing there while the clock ticked down. All that 'under center' experience really came in handy, didn't it?

Lfbj00
10-02-2012, 02:45 PM
Whitlow took snaps under center this past game. There appears to be drama about that comment for a very small minority of the fan base.

In a artice written by LARRY VAUGHT on 9-27-12:

“A lot of things hurt the young kid (Towles). He hadn’t been underneath the center a lot. We tried to use him as much as we could without being under the center. Those players we did have under center, he wasn’t comfortable with those. But we did try to use him in the shotgun a lot. But other times, you’ve got to play better.”

Now, you may want to turn a blind eye to this, but this is'nt the media saying this, or the fanbase saying this, this is the HEAD COACH saying this. And this wasn't a year ago, or a month ago, this was 5 days ago. There is not a Cat Fan on this earth that does not want PT to succeed more than me, but there was a reason he was 4th on the depth chart.

Catfan73
10-02-2012, 03:33 PM
And that reason is because the staff decided to make Whitlow 3rd on the depth chart. If they thought he was better than Towles, wouldn't they have made Towles 3rd string and redshirted Whitlow?

In other words, why would you take whichever guy you thought had more upside to eventually start and burn a year of eligibility having him man the 3rd string spot on the depth chart?

Lfbj00
10-02-2012, 03:51 PM
And that reason is because the staff decided to make Whitlow 3rd on the depth chart. If they thought he was better than Towles, wouldn't they have made Towles 3rd string and redshirted Whitlow?

In a word...NO. Your not going to redshirt someone in the QB position if you think they may be able, or will have to, help you this year. Clearly the coaches thought that Jalen was farther along that he could help if needed this year.

I think they wanted nothing more than to RS Towles this year. As you have stated before, for no other reason than for seperation among the QB classes. But with Max's injury, that seems to not be possible anymore. What bothers me more than this is the question...Is Morgan Newton REALLY THAT BAD, that he has been delegated to roughly the 4th QB, behind a true Sophomore and 2 Freshmen? Going into the 5th game of realistically, a done season, couldn't Jalen be the starter with MN as the backup, and PT LISTED as 3rd string, but not use him unless it is absolutely nescesary?

We've used a lot of the Frosh this year, but because of need at the positions they are in. I don't think using PT at this juncture is because of need, but more of a straw grasp at fan appreciation.

Catfan73
10-02-2012, 04:07 PM
I think what you're saying might very well have been the case if we had been going into this season without a starter at quarterback, but pretty much everyone knew that Max Smith would be starting. The quarterback position is a lot like kickers and punters in that only one really plays. The backups are just that, backups in case of injury. You have to have the next one ready though when the starter graduates. Ask yourself another question--why pull the redshirt off of Towles now if Whitlow is better? Using your logic, since Newton started the season 2nd on the depth chart, he should be vastly better prepared to help this year. Sure, Towles would have to be ready to play, but the staff isn't saying he'll keep the redshirt on if at all possible, they're saying he definitely will play.

The reason is because Joker knows Mississippi State will stack the box with 9 players when Jalen is in the game. It would be 60 minutes of what we saw in the last 30 minutes against South Carolina. I'm not saying Towles is that much better than Whitlow, if at all, but our offense is a lot more suited to his style of play. They wanted to redshirt him so we would have a guy with not only some experience in the system but would also have a couple of years of eligibility left once Max graduated, not because they didn't think he could help us this year, as we are seeing now with the decision to play him Saturday.

Lfbj00
10-02-2012, 04:23 PM
CF73, I can see your point as well. So I think we are both right in some way. The Newton situation still bothers me, as well as the fact we are gonna have a logjam at the qb spot next year. I don't think Max will get a rs from the NCAA, so that will still give them a year, but you'll still have a junior, 2 sophomores, and a freshman next year in Resse Phillips.

SalsaKat
10-02-2012, 04:23 PM
Maybe I'm way off base here, never having coached a snap of football, but I get the impression that it's much easier to throw a newbie multi-threat QB out there than a newbie pocket QB. I guess as a pocket QB you have to be very comfortable with reading defenses, running through your checkdowns, so forth in order to be even remotely effective. A scrambling QB, if he doesn't feel comfortable with all that, still has the option of making a play with his legs. I suspect that the staff felt Whitlow was better prepared to help the team now, and Towles would surpass him in time and be the QB of the future. It would explain why Whitlow was already out there taking snaps even if Towles were considered the "better" QB. It also wouldn't surprise me to see Towles struggle a lot more than the fans anticipate on Saturday. Again, this is all my own reasoning and/or speculation.

dan_bgblue
10-02-2012, 04:48 PM
Nice post Salsa, and accurate in my opinion. USC had prepared for a pocket passer, and Whitlow was a curve ball that put them on their heels for a couple of quarters. I don't think Newton or Towles could have done that.

Coach Phillips made a statement to Lonny Demaree earlier in the season, and he said they probably would not run the Wildcat very much but when they did, Newton would be the Wildcat. That actually blew me away, and then we find out that Newton has been practicing at the H back slot for the past 3 weeks. I am not at practice to see what is going on, but whatever it is sure looks strange from the outside looking in.

Catfan73
10-02-2012, 05:31 PM
Very sensible post, Salsa. Dan, I agree with what you said also, but isn't the guy taking the snap in the wildcat formation really a halfback?

dan_bgblue
10-02-2012, 08:04 PM
Halfback or running QB, I guess. The H back lines up similar to a tight end, but they are a step or two behind the los.

MickintheHam
10-03-2012, 09:36 AM
I'm conflicted on this. On the one hand, I understand the need to try whatever you have to in order to make the QB position work, and yanking a redshirt because of injury is not unusual and something Joker specifically discussed at the beginning of the year. On the other hand, why waste the kid's eligibility on THIS tire fire?

You raise an interesting point with the redshirt issue. My observation is that most of the major programs are redshirting fewer people at the skill positions. But it doesn't necessary mean other positions still stockpile redshirts.

I believe there are many fewer redshirts than there were 8 to 10 years ago. What's changed? More HS kids are coming to college prepared to play. HS linemen already have the size necessary to play the college game. It's a matter of learning the position during the summer and fall. If they don't have the size, they continue to be redshirted. Many of the QBs and WRs who play 7 on 7 during the summers are ready to play when they come to college. High school football players are catching up to where HS basketball players have been for some time. In HS they are playing year-round (maybe not in Kentucky) just as basketball players do and more and more are coming to college campuses expecting to play and to leave after 3 years. Coaches have to be able to identify these kids and be prepared to develop them accordingly.

I have no idea if Towles is ready to play SEC football. But I think it is fair to say the redshirt doesn't mean what it did back when Tim Couch played for the immortal Bill Curry. Today if you are a 4 or 5 star QB, you should expect to play in your first year. I'm glad Towles is being prepared for the opportunity to play.

Catfan73
10-03-2012, 10:50 AM
This makes a lot of sense except I think the quarterback position is different. I think if one were to examine most of the major programs we'd find that the elite recruits at QB either play right away or get redshirted, without much in between, regardless of the recruit's expectations. At quarterback especially, you want them to expect to play right away, and I would guess that the ones that don't have a decent returning starter in front of them usually do play right away. I know that if we had not had Max Smith returning this year then I would have wanted to see Towles right from the get-go.

I still hate the idea of taking the redshirt off of Towles for this tire fire, as Salsa so eloquently put it, but they probably think that if they don't it'll appear as though they've given up. At least this way they'll all be on fairly even terms next year as they battle for the starter's job.