Does LB Depth & Entrance of Ruddock = Derby to LB

Foval21

Well-Known Member
I look at the LB problems from this year and what Derby did in HS on defense and I feel like his athleticism could have really helped the defense this year. Plus when you look at the skills that Ruddock has I just can't see Derby being a better QB than him. What does everyone think about this?
 


I think Derby is going to get his chance..problem is you never know how these kids develop. I will tell you I like Derby at QB because he is a run/pass threat which could be a nice change of pace. What would be awesome is for VandenBurg to get 2 more years then Derby 2 at the start then Ruddock for 2. We could have 6 years of really good QB play....when's the last time that happened?
 




We learned this year we need to be deep at LB. We may also learn next year that we need to be deep at QB. I hope Jame vandy does well but he really has only played in a couple games. We need him to be real good and we need to run the football much better next year. Should have a strong OLINE and a stable of backs assuming J Hamp, AROB, COker, and the redshirts all come on in

Hoping we can muscle folks more next year and then hit the play action to McNutt and Davis and get CJ FED going down the seem.

I really think our team will be strong next year. Not national champs strong, but good and in the top3 in the Big10.
 


I look at the LB problems from this year and what Derby did in HS on defense and I feel like his athleticism could have really helped the defense this year. Plus when you look at the skills that Ruddock has I just can't see Derby being a better QB than him. What does everyone think about this?

IMHO AJ Derby would be a fool to not take this opportunity to play LB. Now is his chance, not just because I don't think he will play QB, but because he has a chance to help this team to his best ability. That and he will not get the opportunity again, barring injury, if someone else claims the position and plays solid. That is Ferentz football. Play the starters no matter what, all the time, nobody else. That is one of only two things that I disagree with on Ferentz football, but it is also one that would not allow AJ another chance - if he misses his opportunity and another LB shines next season.
Now if AJ stays at QB I will call him a fool again. Why? Because he isn't that good. You have a slightly above average running QB and a below average passer. Does that make a winner for a top Big Ten team??? He barely complete 50% of his passes! And that was in HIGH SCHOOL! On a very talented City High team... JV completed 70% of his passes, Wienke and Ruddock were something around 65-67%. Lookup ANY decent college QB and you will not find ONE of them that is around 50% completion. Not one. And that is college, not high school. I am not buying the "he can run" horse crap. He can run ok, but he can't run that great. Now if he could run Brad Banks good, I would be on the side of letting him try to play QB. For sure. But he can't.
So AJ, play LB or rot your talents. End of story.
 


I think Derby is going to get his chance..problem is you never know how these kids develop. I will tell you I like Derby at QB because he is a run/pass threat which could be a nice change of pace. What would be awesome is for VandenBurg to get 2 more years then Derby 2 at the start then Ruddock for 2. We could have 6 years of really good QB play....when's the last time that happened?

That isn't mathematically possible unless Rudock were to play at Iowa for six years.
 




IMHO AJ Derby would be a fool to not take this opportunity to play LB. Now is his chance, not just because I don't think he will play QB, but because he has a chance to help this team to his best ability. That and he will not get the opportunity again, barring injury, if someone else claims the position and plays solid. That is Ferentz football. Play the starters no matter what, all the time, nobody else. That is one of only two things that I disagree with on Ferentz football, but it is also one that would not allow AJ another chance - if he misses his opportunity and another LB shines next season.
Now if AJ stays at QB I will call him a fool again. Why? Because he isn't that good. You have a slightly above average running QB and a below average passer. Does that make a winner for a top Big Ten team??? He barely complete 50% of his passes! And that was in HIGH SCHOOL! On a very talented City High team... JV completed 70% of his passes, Wienke and Ruddock were something around 65-67%. Lookup ANY decent college QB and you will not find ONE of them that is around 50% completion. Not one. And that is college, not high school. I am not buying the "he can run" horse crap. He can run ok, but he can't run that great. Now if he could run Brad Banks good, I would be on the side of letting him try to play QB. For sure. But he can't.
So AJ, play LB or rot your talents. End of story.

How the heck would you know at this point...to my knowledge he didn't step foot on the field this year and take one snap. Isn't that what Kirk and staff do...take modest talent and mold it into NFL material?! Oh wait we are talking about the QB position aren't we....the ugly KOK specter raises its ugly head again.
 


You usually want two guys behind your starting QB. Assuming next year JVB gets the job Wienke and Derby will be the backups as Ruddock will presumably red shirt. In 2012 though I think it's all bets are off as you will have four QBs in the mix.
 




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