Jake to the portal

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I honestly thought Jake was going to be very good. The multiple transfers, including the last one between schools in Georgia, led me to think he was quick to learn offenses, and his high school film looked clean.

He looked better in lashlee’s offense than gattis’s offense — just like everybody else — and he had a few “spark” moments where he came in laser focused. But he never really put together a great full game and had some Jarren Williams style awkwardness to his game.

I still think he can be a college starter at the P5 level but think dropping down a level to get more playing time makes more sense.
 
Pretty much what Ben said above. He flashed and some of his mistakes I attributed to getting used to the speed of the game at this level. I was pretty bummed out when he split and our backup was basically Jacurri.
 
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Garcia reminds me of a qb 15+ years ago named Mitch Mustain. Talent and skill set only.

For those that don’t know Mitch Mustain, he was one of the highest rated qb’s out of the 2006 recruiting classes. Won several awards his senior season and let his team to an undefeated season and class championship for the Springdale Bulldogs in Arkansas. That team was loaded, but he got all the praise.

He eventually signed with Arkansas (Razorbacks) and was put in as the starter after a few weeks into the season. He played horribly and was moved back to 2nd-3rd string. The Springdale mafia was up in arms and blamed the head coach (Houston Nutt) at the time.

Mustain transferred to USC after his freshman year, but remained buried on the depth chart for the rest of his eligibility.

The fact is, he just wasn’t that good. Was great in high school, but never really had the arm talent for the next level. Same with Garcia, as many posters pointed out during his recruitment and after he signed. He just doesn’t have the arm, or legs, to excel at the collegiate level. Now, Garcia seems to have a better work ethic and attitude than Mustain did, so time will tell if that will translate to anything of significance.

Mustain's HS Coach? Gus Malzahn, who was able to get a college job by bringing Mitch to Arky.
 

Even in his moment of glory, he did the wrong thing. Had a dude WIDE open, and instead of making a pass any QB in Pop Warner could make, decided to make a lunge for the endzone, almost blowing the game in the process. The rule of thumb on that play, if you aren't able to walk in and have someone wide open across your face, THROW THE FOOTBALL.
 
Mustain's HS Coach? Gus Malzahn, who was able to get a college job by bringing Mitch to Arky?
Yes, as @razrcane pointed out earlier, Malzahn was hired and given title of co-OC by helping them sign the Springdale boys. Was definitely a packaged deal.

I'm not a fan of Malzahn, but he was going to land a college coaching job sooner or later. He had been killing it at the high school level for several years. Before making Springdale a juggernaut, he took Shiloh Christian to levels they had never seen.

That 2005 Springdale team that won the state championship outscored their opponents 600+ to 100+. Their first game was at Evangel Christan (Brock Berlin's high school) and whipped them 35-7. They also played one of the top powerhouse programs in Oklahoma (Jenks) and destroyed them. Their closest game that year was actually the Evangel Christian. They tore through their conference schedule and absolutely obliterated every team they played in the playoffs. I have to give some of that credit to Malzahn. Once he left, Springdale fell back to mediocrity.
 
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Even in his moment of glory, he did the wrong thing. Had a dude WIDE open, and instead of making a pass any QB in Pop Warner could make, decided to make a lunge for the endzone, almost blowing the game in the process. The rule of thumb on that play, if you aren't able to walk in and have someone wide open across your face, THROW THE FOOTBALL.

Play call was actually perfect but he was absolutely SHOOK by then.

Definitely been a letdown so far for his career. But I wish him nothing but the best, he really seemed like he wanted to be a Cane.
 
Yes, as @razrcane pointed out earlier, Malzahn was hired and given title of co-OC by helping them sign the Springdale boys. Was definitely a packaged deal.

I'm not a fan of Malzahn, but he was going to land a college coaching job sooner or later. He had been killing it at the high school level for several years. Before making Springdale a juggernaut, he took Shiloh Christian to levels they had never seen.

That 2005 Springdale team that won the state championship outscored their opponents 600+ to 100+. Their first game was at Evangel Christan (Brock Berlin's high school) and whipped them 35-7. They also played one of the top powerhouse programs in Oklahoma (Jenks) and destroyed them. Their closest game that year was actually the Evangel Christian. They tore through their conference schedule and absolutely obliterated every team they played in the playoffs. I have to give some of that credit to Malzahn. Once he left, Springdale fell back to mediocrity.
Yes, he was killing it, but there's no way he was going to get a P5 OC gig as his first position with zero collegiate experience without pimping out his guys. Malzahn has had a good career, but his climb is one of the many reasons why I support athletes being able to participate in the free market. Imagine if guys like Mustain and others were able to get NIL money back then, and Malzahn couldn't pimp them out for a gig.
 
Yes, he was killing it, but there's no way he was going to get a P5 OC gig as his first position with zero collegiate experience without pimping out his guys. Malzahn has had a good career, but his climb is one of the many reasons why I support athletes being able to participate in the free market. Imagine if guys like Mustain and others were able to get NIL money back then, and Malzahn couldn't pimp them out for a gig.
I am in 100% agreement about supporting athletes being able to participate in the free market. I think you, and I, and majority of us have thought for years that it should not be illegal for college athletes to receive some type of compensation for their services.

I don't think it's as simple as Malzahn "pimping" out the Springdale guys to get a gig. There were several that received offers from other top colleges. There was a ridiculous amount of pressure on those Springdale recruits to stay at home and sign with Arkansas. I think it was more of Mustain, Damian Williams, and a couple others that forced the issue of Malzahn coming with them. Mustain held all the cards. Before any of them signed, there were rumors that all the Springdale boys might sign with other schools. The Arkansas fan base would have exploded if that happened. However, it turned out that Malzahn and Houston Nutt was a match made in ****.
 
Even in his moment of glory, he did the wrong thing. Had a dude WIDE open, and instead of making a pass any QB in Pop Warner could make, decided to make a lunge for the endzone, almost blowing the game in the process. The rule of thumb on that play, if you aren't able to walk in and have someone wide open across your face, THROW THE FOOTBALL.
Yup i was screaming at my tv to throw him the ball but I think at that point he didn’t trust himself to make that pass. That game was ******* terrible and that’s saying a lot from last year
 
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