"Should Carson or Cody punt here?"When it gets right down to it, making tough decisions might be one of the most-important roles of a head coach in college football...and these tough decisions are clearly Hope's achilles heel- from timeouts, play-calling after time-outs, adjustments at halftime and who to play, Purdue's third-year head coach struggles when making large decisions.
"Who will play QB today...and for how long?"
"Who is going to return kicks & punts?"
"Who will be the featured RB?"
"How can I find a way to play 30 receivers in today's game?"
Next year, Hope might have his hardest personnel decisions while at Purdue in front of him, depending on a few variables.
At quarterback, many believe Robert Marve will be granted a sixth year by the NCAA (I'm not in agreement with that assessment). If that's the case, the stable will be absolutely busting at the seams with horses.
A completely healthy Robert Marve, Caleb TerBush and Sean Robinson would all be available for the Spring game in this scenario...and in the fall, it gets more confusing.
Former starters and fellow Seniors, Marve and TerBush will both be available and chomping at the bit to play. RS Sophomores and former starters, Sean Robinson and Rob Henry will both be available...and let's not forget, Henry was called the future at QB and was a team captain, prior to going down to a busted ACL. On top of four good, experienced options, Austin Appleby will be coming in. Appleby seems to be the best true drop-back option of all of them. Sure, Appleby should be a no-brainer redshirt candidate.
But...
If Marve isn't granted the extra year of eligibility and Henry's knee has minor setbacks, I can definitely see a scenario in which Appleby burns his redshirt early in the season as Hope gets nervous about being in the situation he was in back in 2010.
One would think this is the best problem to have. But if the adage of having two quarterbacks really meaning you have zero. What does it mean to have three...or four that play???
I think every coach in the nation wants this type of problem. But, my fear is that without choosing one starter, the quality of play will be watered down. As a result, Hope's Boilers might once again be left with an offense, that while balanced, is not great nor overpowering in any one aspect of the game. And if the past few defenses are any indicator, Purdue's offense will need to put up points to be anything more than a soundly-mediocre program.
4 comments:
I really find it hard to believe that Marve will get a sixth year. I don't see how they grant him one after Keith Smith being denied. I feel bad for Marve has he tried to turn it around at Purdue and never really got the break he needed. Unfortunately, from a leadership and toughness standpoint, we will miss him. From a passing/performance standpoint, meh.
I'm all aboard the Austin Appleby train with Henry moving to RB (assuming Ralph is out)I just don't believe Henrys' arm is D1 worthy. I completely agree with your assessment of Coach Hopes' lack of ability to make tough decisions. The best players should play...PERIOD. The bottom line is, if he cannot figure out who that is, he shouldn't be head coach. "Platooning" rarely works at this level and I doubt Coach Hope will be one of the few to be successful doing it.
I think the bigger problem on offense is a lack of effective receivers. Edison is great, but the receivers aren't coming back to the ball when they run their routes. Over the last 2 games, the announcers have commented on how the receivers are making it hard on their quarterback by not coming back to the ball. Additionally, aside from Ross and Siller, our other receivers are undersized. On defense we've got undersized cornerbacks. This isn't an issue when we play teams like Illinois and Minnesota, but when we play teams that have bigger guys like Notre Dame and Michigan, we get shut down. I've read that there are some big guys coming in next year, so maybe that'll help.
I know this post is older than dirt, but its 2 am on a Sunday night, so I might as well weigh in. There isn't a snowball's chance in Hell Marve gets another year. Poor guy...he really could've done some special things. As much as Rob Henry means to the locker room, he really is just a poor man's Tim Tebow with less religion and more politics. Then again, all that bastard did in college was win. Then again, anyone could've won with the talent he had around him. Now, I am a big time Terbush hater, but as of right now I think he's our best option. I can't wait to see Robinson take some snaps in April in hopes that he proves me wrong. Appleby's day will come, and now I see we signed ANOTHER QB for next year. He'll probably be moved wherever Gary Nord can render him most useless. Oh well, BOILER UP!
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